Posted on June 9, 2023June 11, 2023 by Pat DeCola

Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway
(⏰ Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX, FOX Sports App | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in California, the 16th points-paying race of the 2023 Cup Series campaign.

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | Sonoma 101

📍 Location: Sonoma, California
📐 Track length: 1.99 miles
🎟️ Buy tickets: Find weekend passes, seats for the race
💰 Cup Series race purse: $8,054,721
📏 Race distance: 218.9 miles | 110 laps
🔢 Stages: 25 | 55 | 110 (Note: there will be no actual “stage breaks”; points are awarded at each lap marker noted)
—
🚪 Entry list: Cup Series drivers entered
📋 Starting lineup: Denny Hamlin on pole | Full recap
🚗 Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
🏆 Most recent winner: Daniel Suárez | No. 99 driver re-watches, reacts to win

Key things to watch 🔑

Top story line

CHASE ELLIOTT’S RETURN, PART DEUX. For the second time in the past several weeks, Elliott will make his return to the Cup Series after being sidelined — albeit for very different reasons than his injury earlier this season. NASCAR’s most popular driver was suspended for the race at St. Louis, but will strap back in Sunday as he aims to put a rocky start to 2023 in his rearview and focus on the road ahead. The path forward isn’t a simple one, however, as Elliott’s seven races missed thus far have him buried just inside the top 30 in points and in likely must-win territory in order to make the playoffs. The good news for him? He has a shot to win at any of the remaining regular-season tracks, and Sunday marks just as good a spot for him as any. Though he’s yet to win at Sonoma, Elliott’s seven road-course wins are just shy of a pair of Hall of Famers (Jeff Gordon, 9; Tony Stewart, 8) and it’s wildly unlikely that he won’t someday — perhaps even by the end of this season — be atop that list at some point. His average finish of 8.16 on road courses is by far the best among active drivers as well (Tyler Reddick is second at 12.19) and there’s no better way for Elliott to officially stamp his mark on the 2023 season and re-announce his reign as road-course king than with a win out West.

ICYMI: Elliott moves on, aims for rhythm in return | Hendrick accepts suspension, comments on aggressive driving

History tells us…

ROAD COURSES ARE A YOUNG MAN’S GAME (LATELY). Somewhat remarkably, drivers 30 years old and younger have won 17 of the past 18 road-course races, and the one who wasn’t may not be the driver you’re thinking of. It was not that long ago that the aforementioned Elliott seemed to be battling Martin Truex Jr. — the second-oldest full-timer in the series — for every road-course trophy. The one outlier in the past 18 races has been AJ Allmendinger, however, with Truex struggling to contend for road-course wins the past few years. It’s an interesting phenomenon to observe, the more you think about it. Driving styles have unquestionably gotten more aggressive over the years, and as more and more road courses are added to the schedule it seems that the line of what is acceptable keeps getting pushed farther out there. For so long there were just two static road courses on the schedule, with the sport’s current longtime mainstays taking cues from their elders who only raced during this era that saw a very specific style of road-racing decorum. A new and unwritten driver code appears to be in store these days, however, and the old guard has yet to fully embrace it. Keep this in mind if any of the Truex/Allmendinger/Kevin Harvick/Denny Hamlin/Kyle Busch contingent finds themselves racing for the win against, say, a young, hungry and aggressive driver who won on a road course last year at Circuit of The Americas. Just spitballing here.

🔍 FULL ANALYSIS:

He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…

CHRIS BUESCHER. Last year’s top three at Sonoma — Daniel Suárez, Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell, respectively — all nabbed their best-ever finishes at the track, and honestly any of the three of them fit the mold here. It’s Buescher, specifically, that I have my eye on, however. His Cup wins have come few and far between — one in 2016, one last year in the Bristol Night Race — but it should not surprise you if he winds up in Victory Lane on Sunday. The extremely underrated road racer has finished in the top 10 in the last six road-course races — the longest active streak in the series, and the longest any driver has put together since Busch’s eight straight from 2015-18. In the list of best average road-course finish among active drivers, Buescher’s 14.81 ranks ninth overall (in a strong sample size of 27 races), with the eight drivers above him combining for six Cup Series championships. In his last eight starts alone he’s averaged a stellar 8.13 finish, with seven of his eight total road-course top 10s coming in them. RFK Racing has been a team clearly on the rise in 2023 and Buescher is clearly due.

Saturday’s sessions

As expected, recent road-course dominator Tyler Reddick was fast when it counted — but unexpectedly, his 23XI Racing boss and Toyota stablemate over at Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin, edged him out in the final seconds of qualifying for his first career Sonoma pole. Given their recent road-course acumens, it still feels more likely Reddick goes out and wins Sunday, but the pole — Hamlin’s first on a road course since 2018 — may add a further spark to a No. 11 team that had already been showing recent speed. Perhaps this is an indicator of what’s to come over the summer with this group. Also, notably, Kyle Larson was off in qualifying after leading practice and looking like the man to beat all weekend to that point. He’ll start 16th in search of his first Sonoma win.

Inside the Race 🔍

NASCAR.com’s Kim Coon and Todd Gordon analyze the ‘No stage break’ rule at Sonoma and how teams can adjust.

Familiar favorites ⭐️

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Paint Scheme Preview: Bowman, Harvick bring new schemes to California | Pick a favorite
• Power Rankings: Did Suárez find the spark he needs to make a run? | Latest driver rankings
• Fantasy Fastlane: Is Tyler Reddick the new road-course king? | Top plays, Fantasy Live advice
• Betting odds: Favorites, long shots to win on Sunday | Top bets, underdog picks
• Stacking Pennies: LaJoie recaps his day in the No. 9 and moving forward | Listen to the podcast

💎 NASCAR 75: Learn more about the history of the sport, from pioneers to current stars | Visit NASCAR 75 hub

Hot off the press 📰

Key stories and breaking news from the week leading up to the race.

• On the bubble: Defending winner Suárez shares playoff thoughts entering the race | Read more
• Out in the open: NASCAR displays counterfeit part from No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford| Read more
• Helping hand: Martin Truex Jr. enjoying a new resource in 2023 — Tyler Reddick | Read more
• Advance to Victory Lane: Elliott has chance to get season back on track | See projected results
• No penalty here: ‘Really hard racing’ at crux of Cindric, Dillon incident | Read more
• No place like home: An emotional Erik Jones earns first Money in the Bank 150 victory at Berlin Raceway | Read more
• Penalty alert: NASCAR levies L1-level penalty against No. 43 Cup team post-St. Louis | Read more
• Stacking Pennies: Corey discusses adjusting to the No. 9 car | Hear his words
• Twice as nice: Inaugural Xfinity Series race at Sonoma attracts double-duty drivers | Read more
• Safety first: Next Gen receives significant safety updates set to debut at Atlanta | Read more
• Exclusive video: Watch footage from crash test that helped inform decision-making | Watch the video
• Busch is back: Analysis: Kyle Busch surges back to title contention with RCR | Read more

Get in on the action 💰

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy and Fan Rewards.

• Fantasy Live: Participate in interactive gameplay from week to week | Choose your lineup
• Fan Rewards: New in 2023, get rewarded for your participation | Learn more
• NASCAR BetCenter: Don’t miss your chance to make picks each week | Visit the BetCenter
• Going the distance: 2023 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
• The Action Network: Picks and predictions for Sunday’s race | Expert analysis | Best race-day play

Sundays in Sonoma 🍷

A popular fixture of the NASCAR schedule for decades, relive some of the best moments and see photos from last year’s race.

• Winner, winner: Suárez makes history at Sonoma with dominant first win | Full race recap
• Final laps: Spanish call: Listen in as Suárez crosses the line at Sonoma | Watch here
• At-track photos: See best scenes from last year’s event | Scroll through gallery
• Relive in GIFs: Recap the 2022 race with the best from out West | Take a look
• A history of sippers: All-time wins: Sonoma Raceway | Take a look
• Gold rush: NASCAR’s famous firsts out West | Take a look

Take some notes 📝

Five hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• When he takes the green flag on Sunday, Kevin Harvick will surpass Jeff Gordon on the all-time starts list with 806 for ninth overall.
• The 2023 season has seen a pass for the win in the final two laps six times in the first 15 races. That’s the most in any season since at least 2010.
• Five former Cup winners (A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Justin Haley, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell) have yet to win in the Next Gen’s first 50 points races. They have two road-course wins combined, each belonging to Allmendinger.
• After 15 races in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports had five wins and Joe Gibbs Racing had three. Each team also has the same amount through 15 races this season.
• Multi-time Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr. has four top-five finishes this season — all of which came in the last seven races.

🔮 Advance to Victory Lane: Racing Insights projects Sunday’s finishing order

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Brandon White

The Houston family has long been synonymous with success at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Ken Houston kickstarted the dynasty with a track championship in 1964 before his brother Tommy tallied two titles and eight NASCAR Xfinity Series victories of his own. Tommy’s two sons in Andy and Marty carried on their family’s efficiency at Hickory with championships in 1994 and 1997, respectively.

Andy’s son Clark Houston is the latest member of the family to excel in a Late Model Stock after earning his first victory in the division on May 21, which carried extra significance for the younger Houston since he got to celebrate in Victory Lane with his dad.

“We’ve had a really rough start to the season just getting caught up in wrecks,” Clark said. “To finally get it done meant a lot. My dad doesn’t get to come to most of them since he travels with the [NASCAR Cup Series] schedule on weekends. With the [Cup] race being at [North] Wilkesboro, he was able to be there, so it was such a special moment.”

Clark Houston is finding momentum in his first full-time Late Model Stock season at Hickory Motor Speedway. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Although he was not alive to see most of his family race at Hickory in their prime, Clark has plenty of fond memories watching races in the track’s grandstands alongside Andy while getting acclimated to the people who maintained the vibrant culture at the facility.

Clark’s first opportunity to work in the pits came at the age of 12 with Doug Hauser and his son Dillon. The time spent with the Housers helped Clark gain a broad understanding of the commitment and sacrifice necessary to stay competitive against many other efficient organizations in the southeast.

As Clark continued to learn from the Housers, he became determined to follow in his family’s footsteps as a racer and got connected with Ashley Huffman, another staple in Hickory’s community. The duo ended up forming a successful partnership that saw Clark win a title in the Southeast Super Trucks Series in 2021.

Clark and Huffman now find themselves in the middle of their first full-time season in Hickory’s esteemed Late Model Stock division. Although he expected a learning curve in Late Model Stocks, Clark said racing at Hickory in trucks helped prepare him for every challenge the track throws at him.

“[Hickory] is a very unique track,” Clark said. “The corners are very different, so the main thing is to get through [Turns] 1 and 2 good so that you can set up your passes and get underneath somebody going into [Turn] 3. Things can get crazy there, so keeping the fenders on the car has also been emphasized to me.

“You don’t want to make dumb decisions early that will cost you late in the race.”

For Clark, having a full field of cars nearly every week at Hickory has been beneficial toward his development. The initial struggles he and Huffman faced in 2023 helped Clark compartmentalize his situation and understand every win would have to be earned.

Andy Houston is proud of the perseverance Clark has shown in his first full year of competition at Hickory. Having experienced many of the same pitfalls his son is going through now, Andy is encouraging Clark to stay true to himself and learn with every race.

“The biggest thing I’ve told Clark is to not give up,” Andy said. “When I started Late Model racing, it took until my third season before I won a race, and then once I won a race, it was like the floodgates opened. We won a lot of races and a championship, but this is Clark’s first season racing in the top division. He needs to be patient and to keep trying. Things will work out.”

Andy believes his son is more prepared than ever to tackle Hickory’s crown jewel events, with the first one being the Jack Ingram Memorial taking place Saturday evening.

STREAMING: Watch the Jack Ingram Memorial LIVE on FloRacing

Clark was one of 26 drivers who took part in the inaugural Jack Ingram Memorial last season. He found himself deep in the field at the start with an 18th-place qualifying run and did not have a chance to work his way forward after being swept up in an accident on Lap 4.

Now with more laps at Hickory under his belt, Clark has plenty of optimism heading into this year’s Jack Ingram Memorial. His strategy for the 111-lap feature will depend on his qualifying effort, but he hopes to earn a better starting position so he can avoid potential early chaos.

“We obviously need to qualify well, because track position is going to be big,” Clark said. “If we’re not able to qualify how we like, our main thing is going to be keeping the fenders on it and the tires under me.

“This is the first long feature we’ve ran this year, so if you’re not the fastest car, save your stuff so you have something in the closing laps.”

Through watching Clark’s career so far, Andy said his son has excelled in longer races that require drivers to conserve tires and equipment. That’s why he thinks Clark will be in contention at the end of this year’s Jack Ingram Memorial.

Clark Houston added to his family legacy at Hickory with his first Late Model Stock win on May 21. (Photo: Gardner Street Photography)

Although Andy believes Clark has more talent compared himself at this point in their respective careers, he has no idea what his son’s future entails beyond Hickory. Despite this, Andy is thankful for the support Clark does have, and he plans to cherish every opportunity to watch his son race around a facility that has meant so much to the Houston family.

Watching Clark drive his No. 6 car into Victory Lane at Hickory was a highlight for Andy as both a racer and a parent. Which also reinforced the idea that the Houston name remains prestigious at Hickory nearly 60 years after Ken won his title.

“With my family’s history of winning races and championships at Hickory, that was as big a moment as any of the races I’ve won,” Andy said. “You want more for your kids than what you have. I was thankful to be there since I don’t get to attend many of his races, so for [Clark] to put that thing in Victory Lane was such a special moment.”

Clark is confident he can keep the momentum going Saturday in the Jack Ingram Memorial. He has long been familiar with the stories of Tommy racing against Ingram and would love to win a race named after one of the greatest drivers in the history of Hickory and NASCAR.

Even if Clark comes up short of a checkered flag Saturday, he takes great pride in being able to race at Hickory and carry on a proud family legacy that spans nearly six decades.

“Between my great uncles, my grandpa, my uncle and my dad, this is just what we do,” Clark said. “We race at Hickory, and winning there just means so much.”

Posted on June 8, 2023June 24, 2023 by Holly Cain

LE MANS, France — At the end of opening remarks in the Garage 56 team press availability, IMSA President John Doonan dropped a well-received surprise announcement. A production-version 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 edition will be presented for sale later this year – a nod to this week’s celebrated entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and there will be only 56 of the iconic Camaros available in the United States.

The Garage 56 effort is a tribute to NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season whose entry at Le Mans this week is a collaboration among NASCAR, NASCAR’s winningest team (Hendrick Motorsports); the winningest manufacturer (Chevrolet) and winningest tire (Goodyear). Production is expected to begin later this year at the Lansing, Mich. Grand River Assembly plant.

GARAGE 56: Latest news, updates from Le Mans | Prime Video greenlights documentary

Among the special details, the Camaro will have a Garage 56 “badge” on the front fenders, Garage 56 emblems on the floor mats and steering wheel badge. A NASCAR windshield header decal, white Goodyear front wheel arch decals and door decals of the No. 24.

“Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,’’ said General Motors President Mark Reuss, who is expected to be at Le Mans this week.

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Zack Albert

LE MANS, France – Jordan Taylor had been in France for barely more than 24 hours and he was already doing coach things. The Garage 56 project’s alternate driver joined Tuesday’s autograph session and then, promptly, playfully took it over.

Donning his “COACH” T-shirt and equipped with a proper coach’s whistle, Taylor kept the autograph line moving and directed his teammates in the 24 Hours of Le Mans preliminary. He’d arrived at the track freshly from his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway last Saturday, flying from Oregon to Salt Lake City then on to land in Paris on Monday morning.

Taylor’s vast Le Mans experience has been a crucial factor in why he was recruited to join the Garage 56 initiative, the NASCAR Next Gen-based project that’s inching closer to its run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this Saturday and Sunday. But the 32-year-old IMSA ace has already made strides in diversifying his own portfolio, dipping his toe in the stock-car waters with recent starts in the Cup Series, Xfinity and even Late Models.

“I’ve been enjoying it,” Taylor says, “and I think now that I’m learning each car and different series, it’ll just keep getting better and more understanding what the cars can do.”

Those experiences have also opened the eyes of the NASCAR community, who have recognized Taylor’s skill, along with his embrace of the stock-car world through the eyes of his alter-ego of Rodney Sandstorm. Taylor made his Cup Series debut in place of the injured Chase Elliott in March at Circuit of The Americas, qualifying the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevy an impressive fourth before a series of bruising late-race restarts left him 24th in the final order.

It was enough of a performance to compel the Hendrick executive branch to keep his number handy.

“We absolutely, 100 percent would give Jordan another opportunity if something arose within our camp,” said Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports team president and general manager. “Trying to help him currently with a couple other possible scenarios for him within the NASCAR arena to get him some more experience, but I think he showed what he’s capable of in a very difficult situation getting in that 9 car at COTA in just a handful of laps and going out there and qualifying as well as he did.

“Certainly the racing is a lot different than what he’s used to, and that was a heck of a baptism, so to speak, with what he went through there, but he handled it like a pro and (has) got a ton of talent. So without question we would, if we have that need, we would look to Jordan very quickly. He fit in very well with our group and contributed a very high level.”

The other opportunities Andrews mentioned have already come to pass. Taylor said a conversation at COTA between Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon and Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice put his appearance at Portland in motion. Taylor said he had never driven an Xfinity Series car, but he had the pace to qualify Kaulig’s No. 10 Chevrolet sixth on the grid with limited practice.

Taylor remained just outside of the top five through the first two stages at Portland. His car sustained some nose damage in the final segment of the race, then limped home to a 27th-place outcome after the gearbox gave out.

“It was unfortunate, obviously, to not get a result, but it was nice to run well,” Taylor said. “And, hopefully, people noticed.”

Among those taking note of his stock-car exploits was team owner Rick Hendrick, who seconded Andrews’ sentiments.

“He’s got so much talent, he can do it,” Hendrick said. “He is an unbelievable road racer, unbelievable communicator and just a perfectionist, so he’s put his heart and soul in this car. I hate we couldn’t run four drivers (at Le Mans). I’d love to see him have an opportunity. We might have him in a car again, in NASCAR.”

MORE: Full Garage 56 coverage | Race-week schedule

Now that he’s here, Taylor says he’s not sure what to expect in an unfamiliar role as a reserve driver, but that hasn’t kept him from coming to Le Mans prepared. He said he wrote a report for teammates Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller containing notes on the race-specific procedures, plus reference points on the optimal way to let faster cars overtake. He also has notes on the car’s characteristics, given his seat time in the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 during testing.

Just like any other coach, Taylor has his playbook ready – and it’s providing the rest of the team with some peace of mind.

“He has the most current and in-depth GT experience, and that’s basically what this car is or the closest thing it is to,” Johnson said. “So he’s done a phenomenal job in the car, and I wish we could run four (drivers), because he is so deserving of the formal label.”

Before his arrival, Taylor followed the early progress of the Garage 56 effort with its show of speed during Sunday’s test day, where the No. 24 posted laps that eventually slotted the “Innovative Car” entry between the LMGTE Am class and the faster LMP2 cars.

Since the Garage 56 car is not racing for the overall win, the program is free of the politics and gamesmanship surrounding the balance of power regulations that other classes face. But the showing on the speed chart has put an early end to the concerns that the modified Next Gen Camaro would be a roadblock to other cars in the field.

That’s bulletin-board material for any coach worth his salt.

“I think there’s no games to play for us – just go as fast as possible,” Taylor says. “But yes, it’s very good. I think it shocked a lot of people, which is exciting, I think. I’m glad it’s surprising people because I think a lot of people didn’t respect it as much as they should’ve, and now they’re seeing that it’s a proper race car, a proper program that everyone took very seriously coming into this.”

Posted on June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Noah Gragson will not compete in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, Legacy Motor Club announced Thursday.

Gragson, the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet, began experiencing concussion-like symptoms earlier this week, according to the team. Gragson was involved in a crash on Lap 197 of last weekend’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center.

“Noah’s health is the highest of priorities and we commend him for making the decision to sit out this weekend,” said team co-owners Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson. “We are appreciative that Grant was available and willing to step in since the Truck Series is off this weekend.”

MORE: Extended highlights from St. Louis | Sonoma schedule

In 15 starts this season, Gragson earned a best finish of 12th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He piloted the No. 42 Chevrolet to a 20th-place result at Circuit of The Americas in March, the Cup Series’ only other visit to a road course this season. The Las Vegas native is 32nd in points.

Enfinger is the 2015 ARCA Menards Series champion and this will be the 38-year-old’s first career start in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is a nine-time winner in the NASCAR Truck Series and has won twice already this season, most recently winning last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway.

“My thoughts are with Noah, I know how much he loves this team and the guys on it,” said Enfinger. “I’m happy to help out Legacy Motor Club and the No. 42 team.”

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Reid Spencer

NASCAR Xfinity Series regulars will have their hands full in Saturday’s DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The influx of seven full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers eager to gain seat time at the 1.99-mile road course has swollen the entry list for the first-ever Xfinity race at Sonoma to 41, with only 38 spots available on the starting grid.

Foremost among the interlopers are the last two Cup Series winners at the track—Daniel Suárez (2022) and Kyle Larson (2021). Other double-duty Cup regulars are Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola.

ENTRY LIST: See full roster of drivers qualifying

Though Allmendinger claimed both of his Cup Series victories and 11 of his 16 Xfinity wins on road courses, his finishes at Sonoma haven’t matched his acknowledged talent on tracks with both right-and-left turns.

In 11 Cup starts at Sonoma, Allmendinger has just two top 10s and an average finish of 23.5, but the Los Gatos, California, driver hopes he can improve those numbers dramatically this weekend.

“Sonoma is always a special, important weekend for me,” Allmendinger said. “It’s near where I grew up, and I still get to see a lot of friends and family there. Quite honestly, it’s a race track that I don’t have a very good average finish. I’ve felt like I’ve always been fast there, but it hasn’t worked out.

“Being able to run both races, I’m really looking forward to it. Sonoma is a race track I’ve always wanted to win at, knowing it’s my home racetrack and I would be able to do that in front of a lot of friends and family. Hopefully, we can go back there and have some success to keep building on our program.”

Sonoma Raceway is one of eight road courses on the Xfinity Series schedule this year and the second straight. Cole Custer won last Saturday’s event at Portland International Raceway, outdueling Justin Allgaier in a close finish.

For either Custer or Allgaier to win this Saturday, however, they’ll have to beat some of the best drivers in NASCAR’s top division.

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

Winning a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race isn’t easy. In fact, since the modern NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was created in 1985, only 77 drivers have visited Victory Lane.

That’s what makes the start of the 2023 season particularly interesting. Through the first five races, five different drivers have secured victories ahead of the sixth race of the season this Saturday night at Seekonk Speedway.

It’s only the sixth time in the modern history of the series that the first five races have been won by five different drivers. The first such occurrence took place in 1990, when Reggie Ruggiero, Tony Hirschman, Rick Fuller, Mike Stefanik and Jeff Fuller triumphed in consecutive races to open the season.

It didn’t happen again until nine years later in 1999, when Mike Ewanitsko, Ed Flemke Jr., Rick Fuller, Ted Christopher, Tim Connolly, John Blewett III and Tony Hirschman opened the season with wins. In the process, they set the record for the most different drivers to win consecutive races to open a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season at seven.

Two years later in 2001, Jerry Marquis, Rick Fuller, Blewett, Ruggiero and Ewanitsko opened the season with wins. It happened once more in 2004, with Christopher, Marquis, Flemke, Todd Szegedy and Tony Hirschman securing victories to open the season.

It took 17 years for this to happen again, but in 2021, Eric Goodale, Patrick Emerling, Doug Coby, Justin Bonsignore and Matt Hirschman collected victories in consecutive races to open the season.

That brings us to 2023, when for the sixth time in series history five different drivers have won the first five races of the season.

It started with Ron Silk, who captured his first victory since the 2021 season with a win at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in February. The win marked his 18th series victory and his first with Haydt Yannone Racing.

Next was Austin Beers, who joined his father Eric as a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner with a dominant performance at Richmond Raceway in late March. He was followed by Coby, who collected his first victory of the year and the 35th of his career at Monadnock Speedway.

Bonsignore was next to visit Victory Lane following a back-and-forth battle with Silk at Riverhead Raceway on May 21. Matt Hirschman then powered to victory in the fifth race of the season at Lee USA Speedway two weeks ago to make it five different winners in as many races to open the 2023 season.

Drivers line up before the Granite State Derby for the Whelen Modified Tour at Lee USA Speedway on May 27, 2023 in Lee, New Hampshire. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)

To make things even more interesting, through the first five races of the season, four different drivers have earned runner-up finishes. They include Bonsignore (New Smyrna), J.B. Fortin (Richmond), Jon McKennedy (Monadnock), Silk (Riverhead) and McKennedy (Lee USA).

All of this begs the question: Will the streak of different winners to open the 2023 season continue Saturday night at Seekonk?

It’s certainly possible, as three drivers who visited Victory Lane with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2022 and have yet to win this year are entered in Saturday’s race.

They include McKennedy, the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, as well as New Hampshire Motor Speedway winner Anthony Nocella and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park victor Craig Lutz.

One also can’t count out drivers like Fortin, Jake Johnson, Tyler Rypkema and Anthony Sesely, all of whom would love to add their names to the list of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race winners.

Anything is possible when the green flag waves Saturday night for the Seekonk 150. If you can’t be there in person, you can watch the race live exclusively on FloRacing.

Posted on June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 by Staff Report

CONCORD, N.C. — Alongside the right-side door bars and extending towards the rear clip, teams will now be mandated to run a steel plate in addition to the chassis adjustments made for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The right-side door bar gussets and the removal of the front clip V-brace are changes that remain, in addition to the removal of other front-clip components to create a softer and larger crush zone for frontal impacts.

Also included in the updates are front bumper strut softening (modifications to existing parts), the requirement of an empty front ballast box and a modified cross brace. NASCAR will incur the cost of all these updates.

“We’ve taken a lot of the steel structural members and removed material from key elements to make this structure less stiff,” said Dr. John Patalak, vice president of safety engineering at NASCAR. “We have slots on both sides, we have deleted some cross members between the upright mounts and we’ve treated some of the areas down low that are some of the first to contact the wall on the front clip. We’ve also added slots to this ballast container as well as some holes, and it’s all an effort to increase the amount of displacement we’re getting out of the car and to reduce the accelerations that the driver is experiencing.”

A close look at the updated front-clip structure.

While frontal crash improvement work was already underway, the crash between Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece in April at Talladega Superspeedway set a baseline for testing — testing that has produced beneficial results. Larson and Preece also made visits to the NASCAR R&D Center to assist with the investigation.

“The right-side door bars of the center section is getting a steel plate welded to it and really what it does it’s strengthening the right-side door bars against intrusion for crashes like we saw at Talladega with the 5 and 41,” Patalak said. “We reconstructed that crash at a test facility and we’re pleased with the performance where we’re hanging on to everything. We still do have bent door bars but minimal intrusion and much better performance.”

Both cars in the crash test were constructed with the new safety updates.

In its second year of competition, the Next Gen race car has already made significant strides in safety due to the amount of information being gathered every weekend at the track. Incidents and experiences allow engineers at the NASCAR R&D Center to take real-world data and apply it to the car’s continued development.

“If you remember back to when we started, we did a lot of work in simulation,” said Patalak. “So, you have one clip and it’s got to live at Bristol and Dover and curb jumping at road courses and the wheel-to-wheel contact that happens every weekend. NASCAR and Dallara needed to make sure that the structure of the car was strong enough to not bend during all of those things. … That presents a challenge to crash defamation that we want to occur for the safety of the drivers.

“There’s always a balance in all of that. So, after we got a year of data under our belt, NASCAR and Dallara could really go back with wheel-force data, tire-test data and our teams are a huge resource giving us data that they get to really understand what are the true loads going through the front clip. And after we got that data, after a year of racing, we were able to go back and make our simulations better.”

These Cup Series changes are set to go into effect during Atlanta’s upcoming night-race weekend, with the race set for Sunday, July 9 at 7 ET on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 by John Crane

After starting its journey at World Wide Technology Raceway last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series concludes its westward trek with a date in wine country at Sonoma Raceway.

Last year, the Cup Series saw another driver reach a milestone as Daniel Suárez dominated the 1.99-mile road course en route to his first career Cup Series win. The winning mark additionally netted Trackhouse Racing its third and final win of the 2022 campaign.

Will the California luster from last year carry over this time around, or will it shine for others? Before we find out how Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will play out, here are some important trends to watch ahead of the action, along with Goodyear tire information and interactive ways to follow along.

🃏 WILL AN ACE OR WILD CARD PREVAIL? 🃏

Road-course racing can simultaneously bring expectancy and uncertainty to the mix. On the one hand, you have the usual suspects who have already left their mark on the road-course scene. On the other, you have drivers who could force their way into the conversation and find Victory Lane for the first time in their career, similar to Suárez last year.

After his win at Circuit of The Americas in March, Tyler Reddick has been on quite the streak when it comes to this type of track. The No. 45 23XI driver has won three of the last five road-course races and has led 28% of all laps in that span. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott — who returns from a one-race suspension this weekend — will look to find a dose of rhythm at a type of track he is all too familiar with. After all, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver leads all active drivers in wins on road courses (seven).

Perhaps another mainstay cements his place, such as Kyle Busch, who has finished in the top seven in six of the last seven Sonoma races and is a two-time winner there (2008, 2015). Maybe the Trackhouse duo in Chastain and Suárez put on a good showing worthy of finding the checkered flag once again. Who knows, maybe a different driver altogether, such as Chris Buescher — who finished runner-up at Sonoma last year — finds victory at a road course for the first time in his career.

In other words, options are aplenty for how the field could shake out come Sunday.

📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈

— Drivers 30 years old or younger have won 17 of the last 18 road-course races.

— The last time Ford won a road-course race was Ryan Blaney at the Charlotte Roval in 2018, 20 races ago.

— Toyota has won the last two road-course races, while Chevrolet has won 15 of the last 18 road-course races.

(Via Racing Insights)

NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥

2022: Daniel Suárez wins first Cup race of career with thrilling victory | WATCH

2021: Kyle Larson tames Sonoma’s twists and turns en route to dominant win | WATCH

ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️

Saturday, June 10

— 5:05 p.m. ET: Practice (FS2, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

— 6 p.m. ET: Qualifying (FS2, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, June 11

— 3:30 p.m. ET: Toyota/Save Mart 350 (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

MORE: Full weekend schedule at Sonoma

RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞

Similar to Circuit of The Americas earlier this season, the choose rule will be in effect. The lack of stage breaks will further bring a different strategy for drivers to navigate in addition to a surplus of tire wear (more on that below).

Goodyear runs one tire on Cup cars at road courses with two different tire codes, which will allow the tires to tread directionally as a way to handle the stress expected to be put on them. Sonoma is now aligned with other NASCAR road courses, with the Sonoma setup being the same as the one run earlier in the year at Circuit of The Americas. The setup will be run again at the Chicago Street Course, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Watkins Glen International and the Charlotte Roval.

Teams will be allotted one set of tires for practice, one set for qualifying and six sets for the race (five race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying).

Goodyear will bring its 18-inch wet weather radials to Sonoma for use by Cup teams should NASCAR decide the conditions warrant them. The last time NASCAR ran a wet weather tire on a road course was at Watkins Glen in August 2022.

In the event of a lost wheel that is contained to pit road, the offending team will be subject to a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions. If the infraction occurs during a caution period, the offending team will restart at the tail end of the field.

If the wheel breaks free outside of pit road, the new rules guidelines mandate a two-lap penalty, plus a to-race suspension for two crew members. Each penalty is series-specific: Violations in one series will not impact those crew members’ eligibility to participate in other series.

RELATED: See rules changes for 2023

FAN REWARDS 🫵

Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy.

There’s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program.

Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.

JOIN TODAY

FOLLOW THE RACE 📲

NASCAR Mobile has now added support for fans to “Follow the Race” and access live leaderboard and race information from Live Activities in the current app release (v13.2.0), available now. Android users, we didn’t forget you — the same functionality has been custom-built for Android devices, as well.

How to access Live Activities on iPhones:

Make sure your iOS device has been updated to 16.1 or higher.
Available on the leaderboard of all NASCAR Series races.
Click on the three-dot menu near the top right of screen.
Select “Follow the Race.”
Swipe up to access the home screen and you will see the Live Activities at the top.
Lock the device and you will see Live Activities on the Lock Screen.
To turn off, simply visit the leaderboard, click the three-dot menu and “Unfollow the Race.”

FANTASY LIVE 🏆

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.

How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week, in-car cameras will be available.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 by Zack Albert

LE MANS, France — NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick said that last weekend’s one-race suspension of Chase Elliott for rough driving was a punishment that was accepted, but that his drivers should have an outlet for voicing their displeasure for on-track incidents with their rivals.

Hendrick was soaking in a different style of motoring press overseas during Thursday afternoon’s “Meet the Team” availability at Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe, supporting his Hendrick Motorsports’ Garage 56 entry alongside partners NASCAR, Chevrolet and Goodyear. But the Hall of Famer’s racing operations back across the Atlantic still had his attention, including the recent penalty to Elliott that forced him to the sidelines for the Cup Series’ most recent race outside of St. Louis.

The disciplinary actions stemmed from Elliott’s retaliation in crashing Denny Hamlin during last month’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But Hendrick also spoke Thursday to the overall culture of on-track aggression, suggesting that NASCAR competition officials might intercede.

“I think you have to accept it if you did it. But when you get roughed up and you get roughed up by the same person all the time or multiple times in a race, the frustration sets in and you just … you’ve ruined my day, I’m gonna ruin your day,” Hendrick told NASCAR.com. “And I think NASCAR is gonna calm that down, but until something was done, they were going to keep on doing it. So I don’t like it, but I feel like our guys have the right to retaliate, but we’ve got to now not wreck the guy.”

Elliott returns to Hendrick’s No. 9 Chevrolet this weekend for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Tuesday, the 27-year-old driver told NASCAR.com that the incident was an “unfortunate circumstance on many accounts, and I hate that we’re in the position that we’re in,” but that he understood and respected competition officials’ decision to suspend him.

MORE: Weekend schedule for Sonoma

Two days later and an ocean away, Hendrick said he’d prefer to see disputes settled outside of the car than on the track.

“I’d rather after the race confront them and ask them what the deal is,” Hendrick said. “But our sport’s been about pushing and shoving. It’s a fine line when you get over that. If somebody pushes and shoves you and puts you out of the race, then what are you going to do?”

Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (⏰ Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX, FOX Sports App | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)