Posted on June 5, 2021June 5, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (⏰ 4 p.m. ET | 📺 FS1 | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the 16th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.

Where: Sonoma Raceway, 2.52-mile road course in Sonoma, California
Qualifying: Kyle Larson won Busch Pole Award | Lineup
Green flag: 4:14 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: Sunny, with a high near 85 degrees. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph., according to NOAA.gov.
Grand Marshal: Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers head coach
Race Distance: 90 laps, 226.8 miles
Stages: 20 | 40 | 90
Pit-road speed: 40 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph
Sonoma 101: Get the full lowdown
Entry list: See who’s in the field
Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where | Expert breaks down pit selections

Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

Five to watch

Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Sonoma Raceway.

1. Reigning champion Chase Elliott has won five of the last six road-course races, including the Cup Series’ most recent event at Circuit of The Americas. Elliott is NASCAR’s active leader in road-course wins with six career victories — none at Sonoma, though.

2. Ten drivers will be making their Cup Series debut at Sonoma: Anthony Alfredo, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, James Davison, Scott Heckert, Quin Houff, Tyler Reddick, Ben Rhodes and Garrett Smithley. Six are full-time drivers (Alfredo, Bell, Briscoe, Custer, Houff and Reddick), and only one is locked into the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs (Bell) thanks to a road-course win (Daytona Road Course).

3. Martin Truex Jr. has won the past two races at Sonoma (Jeff Gordon is the only driver to win three in a row from 1998-2000) and then a third back in 2013. He is the track’s winningest active driver. Truex is also one of three drivers in 2021 with multiple wins (three) through 15 races. Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson own two wins apiece but have never won at Sonoma.

4. Out of the two road-course races so far this season, Elliott (COTA) and Christopher Bell (Daytona Road Course) have won. Elliott’s win was two races ago. Bell’s was back in the second race of 2021, and his results haven’t been stellar since. In the seven races after his win, Bell did have four top-10 finishes. But in the past six races, he hasn’t posted one.

5. There are only four drivers who finished in the top 10 in the two road-course events this year, and none of them are either of the race winners. Joey Logano (second at Daytona Road Course, third at COTA), AJ Allmendinger (not entered into Sunday’s race; seventh at DRC, fifth at COTA), Michael McDowell (eighth at DRC, seventh at COTA) and Bowman (10th at DRC, eighth at COTA).

Race-day staples

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

• Power Rankings: Can Kyle Busch end Hendrick Motorsports’ power party? | Scope the ranks
• Paint Scheme Preview: Check out the paint schemes for wine country | See the schemes
• Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice | Set your roster
• Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show

Get in on the action

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

• Betting odds for the Sonoma race | See the odds
• Big bets expected on favorites, but long shots loom | Who to bet
• Ten drivers in Sunday’s field who have never raced at Sonoma | Analyze the newbies
• Martin Truex Jr. returns to Sonoma as two-time defending winner | Read the preview
• Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ

Turning left … and right

Learn all about NASCAR’s history on road courses and the drivers considered to be the best at the track type.

• Road-course winners across all tracks | See the drivers
• Top 10 Sonoma lap leaders | See the drivers
• Every Sonoma winner ever | See the drivers
• All-time memorable moments from Sonoma | Relive the past
• Favorite moments from recent road-course races | Relive the moments

Fast facts

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

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

• Brad Keselowski has never won a road-course race in 26 starts, though he is a three-time runner-up.
• Denny Hamlin has led the most laps four times this season but remains winless.
• Aric Almirola has never finished in the top five in 23 road-course starts.
• Six of the last nine Sonoma winners got their first win of the season.
• Four different organizations won in 2021, but Stewart-Haas Racing is not one of them.

Catch the pack

Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.

• Back at home: Jill Gregory welcomes NASCAR, fans back to Sonoma | Read more
• All-Star Race: Fan Vote still open, latest top 10 revealed | Read more
• Byron’s back: William Byron to make Truck Series return at Nashville | Read more
• Downtown driving: Chicago Street Course now available on iRacing | Read more
• Step toward normalcy: Several tracks set to fully reopen as COVID-19 limits lift | Read more
• Scholarship program: NASCAR partners with Stay Plugged IN on esports initiative | Read more
• Pro Invitational Series: James Davison wins at Chicago Street Course | Read more
• Title venue: Phoenix Raceway to host 2022 Championship Weekend | Read more

Say what?

Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.

“Yeah, going to a road course, I’m going to need the fastest pit crew on pit road to make up for my lack of road-course skills. It’s great to have them. They’ve been so strong all year. Strategy is really key at Sonoma. There’s a big balance between stage points and just trying to finish the race the strongest you can. Just trying to balance that and being a good shot to try and go win that thing.” — Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

“Sonoma is a racetrack that I haven’t been to in my career, not just in the Cup Series, but in any series. That doesn’t really concern me, though. I’ve been watching a lot of video of past races and we have a good notebook here at Hendrick Motorsports. From what I can tell, if you get buried in traffic, it’s hard to make up positions, even with pit strategy. Sonoma is a track where you either have to go for the win or go for maximum points. It doesn’t seem to be like most road courses where you can go for stage points in one stage and give up the points in another. You have to pick one strategy or the other, which is a challenge.” — Rudy Fugle, crew chief No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Maddie Meyer | Getty Images

“Our team is definitely looking forward to going back to Sonoma. It’s a place we have a lot of confidence going to, regardless of the track layout or the aero package. We’ve been fortunate to have had some good races there the last few times and been able to get to Victory Lane. We’ll have our work cut out for us on Sunday, but we feel like it’s a place we should run up front and have a shot to win at.” — Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

“Nobody is happy right now is the thing. We’re all trying to find different things to try and make our cars better and it’s just, like I said before, there’s no good way to really go about it right now when you don’t have any practice. That’s the plain and simple point. When you don’t have any practice you’re kind of guessing and you’re thinking through things and trying things at the simulator and you think they’re better, but if you’re not able to do it at that certain racetrack that certain weekend, you really don’t know how it’s gonna work out when you don’t have any practice time. In the Cup Series the competition is so stiff that if you’re off for that first run, it ruins your whole day.” — Cole Custer, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Staff Report

This article is brought to you by BetMGM.

Elevation isn’t exactly a key component of NASCAR racing, unless of course you’re talking about Sonoma. If you’ve ever visited the venue, you’ll quickly pick up on its unique attributes, as drivers actually do deal with uphill and downhill portions of the venue. It’s a once-a-year locale for stock-car drivers and forces them out of their element.

That’s what is fun about Sonoma, which will host the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Some of the drivers love this place, just north of the San Francisco bay area in wine country. Some drivers won’t admit they hate it, but you can tell by several career struggles how they probably feel — off-the-record of course.

THE FAVORITE

Chase Elliott (+210)

There’s a reason Chase Elliott tops the NASCAR odds this week, and it’s not only because he’s the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion. It’s because he’s dominated road-course racing over the past few years.

Elliott has won six of his 12 career Cup Series races juking-and-jiving his way through the rare road-course version of NASCAR. He’s only been on road courses 14 times in his Cup career, yet has six wins. Now do you understand?

Let’s backpedal for a second: It has taken him 14 road-course races to nab six wins and 186 to collect his other six career wins in the top circuit of stock-car racing. Think about that.

It makes a ton of sense to see him as a favorite, but keep in mind he’s in a race this weekend with four guys who’ve won a total of seven Cup races at the California track. Martin Truex Jr. (three career wins), Kyle Busch (two), Kurt Busch (one), and Kevin Harvick (one) have more experience here. How will they factor in?

OTHERS: Not surprisingly, Martin Truex Jr. (+375), red-hot Kyle Larson (+750), and Kyle Busch (+750) are right behind Elliott in the road-course racing odds at Sonoma. Truex is running well this year, Kyle Busch is Kyle Busch, and Larson is the hottest driver on the circuit right now. How will they perform? We shall see.

THE DARK HORSE THREAT

Kurt Busch (+5000)

Kurt has been here 20 times as of this weekend, along with Kevin Harvick (+1500). They both are tied with the most success — top 10-wise — with 10 career top-10 finishes.

Harvick and Kurt have both won here, and Kurt has seven top-five finishes to edge out Harvick’s six. They are the old men in the race, but old men have the experience to wheel around a place like this and upset the NASCAR apple cart.

Any young up-and-comer will want to keep an eye on these guys.

OTHERS: Ryan Blaney (+2000) has a road-course win in the Cup Series at Charlotte in 2018 and won a road-course race when he was in the Camping World Truck Series (Bowmanville). He has two top 10s and a top-five finish in his four career Cup Series starts at Sonoma.

THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT

Alex Bowman (+2500)

Bowman has been a consistent performer on road-course tracks. He’s only raced four times at Sonoma, and has a top 10 performance, but he’s doing well this year (12th in the Cup Series standings) and has seven top-10 finishes in 15 races this year. He also has two wins this year and is with red hot Hendrick MotorSports — do the math, right?

Erik Jones (+15000) is also intriguing, considering he has two career top 10s in three starts at Sonoma.

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports Executive Vice President and General Manager Jeff Andrews issued an apology to collaborative-partner organization Chip Ganassi Racing on Friday, taking responsibility for the performance of Ganassi’s engines during Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“We have made some corrections there and I do have to say that those are some of the toughest nights of all when you affect a great partner like we have in Chip Ganassi Racing and all their employees,” Andrews said in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We owe an apology to them because we let them down in a big, big way with both of their cars over there the other night.”

Despite Hendrick’s record-setting night, both Chip Ganassi Chevrolets landed on the opposite end of the spectrum. Ross Chastain finished 41 laps down in 37th position, while Kurt Busch completed only 139 laps before bowing out with engine issues to finish last in the 38-car field.

Andrews stated the teams are already joining forces to work on making corrections to the problems that affected CGR’s front-drive systems.

“We’ve made adjustments there and we’re moving forward,” Andrews said. “We’re working closely with those guys and staying in touch with them on exactly what happened. That was 100% on us.”

The Chip Ganassi Racing teams will look to bounce back at Sonoma Raceway this Sunday (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM). Busch saddles up for his 20th career start at the track, while Chastain will make his second.

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Zack Albert

Editor’s note: Before TrackPass’ airing of the return to racing at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday (8 p.m. ET), NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert offers his reflections of the Madhouse, a venue where he and his family watched many a race. | Subscribe to TrackPass here

Growing up, I thought every track was just like Bowman Gray Stadium. My family has lived in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, area for generations, so for Saturday night short-track racing, that’s just where we went.

The thought in my still-developing, grade-school mind was that every local short track regularly topped five figures in attendance for any given race meet (… they don’t) with admission prices that still barely crack two figures (again, no). Every track, I figured, featured the unbridled tour-type Modified cars (they don’t) on a tiny, flat track around a football field (they most certainly don’t). That’s what I knew because that’s where we went.

Now having been to other bullrings out in the wild, can confirm: There is no place like Bowman Gray Stadium.

PHOTOS: Family photo album from 1962-63 races at Bowman Gray

Before much more ground is covered, some disclosure and personal reference points: I stuck with Bowman Gray long enough to make the track home to a supplemental summer job through high school and college summers, keeping the points standings up to date and accepting any other go-fer work as needed. It was briefly part of a full-time job after college, working for the great newsman and PR whiz Hank Schoolfield. I still try to take as many current colleagues there to experience the stadium as our schedules allow.

Much earlier, back when lunch boxes and footed pajamas were still age-appropriate, Saturday mornings meant 1) cartoons and 2) checking the Winston-Salem Journal sports pages for the stadium’s weekly ad. Anything that read “Madhouse Scramble!” meant twin features and the track’s quirky inversion system. “Ladies Night!” (free admission back in those days) meant Mom might be a good sport and go with. “Demolition Derby!” meant my begging for Dad to take us would only be more intense, given my tendency to weaponize my Hot Wheels and Matchbox collection for crash re-enactments that would make a “Days of Thunder” scriptwriter blush.

Grant Halverson | Getty Images

Going meant getting a program, which often provided reading material that would last well into the next week. There were ads featuring drivers lucky (or good) enough to have sponsors willing to foot the bill for product placement, pictures from the previous week’s events and a roster of competitors for each of the four divisions, with their nearby hometowns.

And Lord, the names. For every Jimmy, Johnny, Billy or Robert, there were a substantial percentage of names that only seemed appropriate either on the driver roster or in a Marvel comic. Spider. Bubba. Dink. Eb. Puddin’. Even the long list of former track champions is crowded with entries for Pee Wee, Perk and Satch.

For years, the program listed every feature winner since the track began its operations in 1949. NASCAR Hall of Famers such as Tim Flock and Glen Wood blended in with local legends, and the 29 Cup Series races the quarter-mile hosted from 1958-71 were included. Richard Petty, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Bobby Allison and Rex White all won there.

Each feature victory was listed in 7- or 8-point type, and the text seemed to get smaller each year in order to fit on a program page. It’s probably why I needed glasses at such a young age and, in turn, probably why Paul Radford was my favorite driver. Sure, he had a cool nickname — the “Ferrum Flash” in a nod to his Virginia hometown — and drove a bright orange No. 07 Modified, but the key connection was that he wore eyeglasses, something that made me more OK with being teased as “four eyes” as a kid.

Forging a personal bond with the weekly program and the stadium’s stars wasn’t exclusive just to me. Depending on which driver was featured on the cover of that Saturday night’s program (usually a winner from the previous week), some fans would rip the first page off and trash it if the driver was a bitter rival.

The rooting interests and passions still run deep at the stadium, almost cartoonishly so. The pictures of school-age kids in the front row offering middle-finger salutes to their racing villains has nearly reached meme status. And the near-weekly antics that turn viral on social media — be it physical confrontations involving cars, fists or both — have sometimes blurred the lines between racing and reality TV. It’s why the track and safety workers who respond to wrecks usually have the Winston-Salem police alongside them just in case a YouTube moment erupts.

Don’t point the finger (index, middle or other) at social media, though, because haymakers and brushback pitches have been happening at Bowman Gray before Facebook was ever a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. Allison and Curtis Turner unleashed all manner of hell on their cars’ bodywork in a rough-and-tumble clash during the Grand National era that’s still talked about. The story has mutated with each retelling but usually ends with a ticked-off Turner buzzing the track with his plane on the way out of town.

The track’s legend and reputation have reached far outside of the North Carolina piedmont in recent years, perhaps partly because of its ability to go viral but it’s also an embrace that’s attributable to a renewed interest in stock-car racing history at the grassroots level. Bowman Gray has been doing this with some success for 70-plus years now, and after a season lost to COVID-19 in 2020, its racing schedule will resume this Saturday night with its annual 200-lap Modified main event.

The track has evolved with recent facility upgrades and some of the names have changed on both the driver roster and list of feature winners, but the sights, sounds and smells all feel familiar no matter the year. Before the track’s “Madhouse” nickname took on a life of its own, in our household it was simply called “the stadium,” with no other descriptors necessary.

There’s still no place like it.

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Terrin Waack

More than a quarter of Sunday’s field for the NASCAR race at Sonoma Raceway has never turned a lap in a Cup Series car around the 2.52-mile road course in California.

There are 37 drivers entered in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and 10 will be making their Sonoma debuts in NASCAR. Of those 10, six are full-time 2021 competitors. Then, of those six, only two are rookies, which makes their introductions a given since Sonoma is a Cup-only track, and the other four lost their chance in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of Sonoma’s sole event.

Take a look at all 10 drivers and their situations (alphabetically listed):

Anthony Alfredo – full time; rookie season with Front Row Motorsports.
Christopher Bell – second full-time season, now with Joe Gibbs Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
Chase Briscoe – full time; rookie season with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Cole Custer – second full-time season with Stewart-Haas Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
James Davison – second part-time season, now with Rick Ware Racing; never raced Sonoma.
Scott Heckert – making second career Cup Series start with Live Fast Motorsports; previous was not at Sonoma.
Quin Houff – second full-time season with StarCom Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
Tyler Reddick – second full-time season with Richard Childress Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
Ben Rhodes – making first career Cup Series start with Spire Motorsports.
Garrett Smithley – fourth part-time season, now with Rick Ware Racing; never raced Sonoma.

Alfredo, Bell, Briscoe, Custer, Houff and Reddick are the six full-time Cup Series drivers right now fighting for points and ultimately the championship. Even though Bell is the only one who has won a race this season (Daytona Road Course) and is therefore automatically locked into the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs, Reddick ranks the highest in the current points standings among his Sonoma first-timers. He’s 13th. Bell is 15th.

RELATED: Sonoma 101 | Paint schemes | Betting odds

Reddick is truly on a roll this season.

The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet pilot has placed in the top 10 in eight of the 15 events down. Through last year’s 36-race schedule, he had nine top-10 finishes total – so he’s already on pace to set a career high. Also, the last time an RCR driver had at least eight top-10 results at this point was 2015 with Ryan Newman, who was in his 14th full-time season. Reddick is in just his second.

Reddick matched his career-best finish of second in the third event of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He was runner-up at Texas Motor Speedway last year in the 18th race of the season.

Two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, Reddick won the Busch Pole Award, and it not only marked his first career pole but also Richard Childress Racing’s first road-course pole since 1996 with Dale Earnhardt.

BetMGM has Reddick at 50-1 odds to win Sunday. Bell is a bit better at 25-1 odds, but he hasn’t posted a top-10 run since Richmond Raceway in April – seven races ago. Reddick, meanwhile, is riding a three-race top-10 streak – and seven in the last nine – that includes a ninth-place showing at COTA.

So, based on overall consistency and recent performance, Reddick looks to be the favorite out of the 10 Sonoma newbies.

Semi-related and worth noting: There are also three new teams making their Sonoma debut – 23XI Racing with driver Bubba Wallace, Trackhouse Racing Team with Daniel Suarez and Live Fast Motorsports with Heckert. Wallace has two career Sonoma starts. Suarez has three.

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Official NASCAR Release

Charlotte, NC– Today, NASCAR announced a partnership with Stay Plugged IN, the leading organizer of collegiate recruiting events in the US, to bring a three-part scholarship series to students throughout the country.

The partnership will see NASCAR provide scholarships to students interested in pursuing esports and gaming scholastically. Over the summer months, Stay Plugged IN will organize and produce two amateur tournaments where participants have the opportunity to compete in front of collegiate recruiters from around the country. Throughout gameplay, contestants will utilize NASCAR-themed vehicles available to the public for purchase in game.Additionally as part of the partnership will be a game creation competition where students learn to use coding to design games through the use of a coding platform. The partnership also creates resume building and experiential learning opportunities for students wishing to apply their skills at the collegiate level.

“Gaming is part of our DNA here at NASCAR – and we are firm believers in what the gaming world can offer students as they begin to map out their lives and careers,” said Nick Rend, NASCAR managing director of gaming and esports. “Whether it is competing in a high-level esports environment, building a career in the business of gaming, or some combination of the two, there are endless opportunities available to students to engage with the modern gaming world in a meaningful and rewarding way – and we are committed to doing our part to ensure that students can take advantage of these opportunities with the help of our friends at Stay Plugged IN.”

“We’re incredibly excited to work with NASCAR to give students more opportunities to learn, grow, and develop their skills in the gaming industry. NASCAR’s strong brand enables us to get our message out to many students across the US that may not realize the wealth of possibilities esports can bring them. We hope NASCAR fans can see how esports can be beneficial, and we know that many esports fans will be excited by the chance NASCAR is providing. Our visions aligned to blend a series of competition and educational curriculum in a way that engages students through STEM. With our companies being headquartered in Charlotte, it was a natural fit to introduce this program in our local community as well as on our national platform,” said SPIN Managing Director, Rick Suarez.

NASCAR, known globally as a leading promoter of motorsports, has made major strides in advancing its efforts in the gaming and esports landscape over the past decade – as today’s fans are able to engage with the sport across a variety of platforms such as iRacing.com, the NASCAR Heat series, Real Racing 3, and most recently via a new in-game content partnership with Rocket League.

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

While a Las Vegas bookmaker anticipates five-figure bets on some of the favorites in Sunday’s Toyota/ Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Sonoma Raceway, one sharp NASCAR bettor is eyeing a different approach.

At skinny odds of 2/1, Chase Elliott sits atop the oddsboard at Vegas-based SuperBook USA, followed by Martin Truex Jr. at 9/2 (+450, or bet $100 to win $450). Elliott, whose six wins, 7.4 average finish and 125.2 rating in the 10 road courses races since 2018 are all best in the Cup Series among drivers with more than one start, and Truex, who has won the two most recent races at Sonoma (2018, 2019), are exactly the type of drivers deep-pocketed casino regulars like to play.

“We have a few players that are willing to bet a lot on these really tiny odds, and this is the kind of race where they’ll come and bet Chase Elliott at 2/1,” said Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at the SuperBook. “And they’ll put $10,000 or $20,000 on him.”

Such sentiment doesn’t surprise Blake Phillips, a sharp bettor who specializes on NASCAR. Phillips, though, is seeking a bigger payday on Sunday.

“It’s kind of the same guys every time (expected to win on a road course). It’s going to be Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch (7/1), and now of course everyone’s counting in (Kyle) Larson (7/1),” Phillips said. “…. So you’re going to have really tight odds on those guys, and you kind of have to look for the guys who have a shot that aren’t getting counted in.”

Clear that he had just begun his handicapping for the race, Phillips said Wednesday a few long shots jump off the page as worthy of consideration.

“I think there’s some guys worth a look, but I want to do a little bit more digging before I really go out on a limb, but the two that pop out instantly are Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick,” Phillips said. “Both good road course guys, and Harvick’s been historically really good at Sonoma (12.7 average finish, best in the series). Obviously, Stewart-Haas has been having some issues this season, but the issues primarily seem to be related to speed. Their cars just don’t have speed. Speed is not as important at road courses as it would be, say, at a speedway or mile-and-a-half. So sheer driving skill really comes into play, and Harvick’s a guy to keep an eye on.”

As of Friday morning, both drivers can be found at 20/1 at WynnBET, an official betting partner of NASCAR, while Blaney can be had for 25/1 at some betting shops.

Does one road course translate to another?

Analyzing data from comparable tracks is a useful tool when it comes to handicapping a NASCAR race. No two tracks are exactly alike, but information gleaned from similar 1.5-mile ovals can be applied to Charlotte Motor Speedway, for example, and steep-banked short tracks like Bristol Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway serve as useful comparisons.

Road courses, however, present a different challenge since the layouts vary drastically. Also, until recently, there have been very few road course races, meaning handicappers must work off small sample sizes.

“I do think the data translates from one road course to another, but with an asterisk,” Phillips said. “…. You have to kind of weigh them differently and understand they’re very different courses. The ROVAL (at Charlotte) is extremely different from Sonoma, for example. So if you’re treating ROVAL results the same as Sonoma results, I don’t think it’s going to give you that big of a picture.”

The 2021 Cup schedule features seven races on road courses, a big leap from the days of Sonoma and Watkins Glen being the only two such events.

Since being repaved in 2016, Watkins Glen “is so much faster than Sonoma. Sonoma is so slow and has more turns (12 vs. seven). There’s a part of the track that almost feels like Martinsville,” Salmons said. “…. Watkins Glen, they’re just flying around, they’re so fast. …. Sonoma is more technical stuff.”

Sunday’s Cup race will be just the 13th on a road course since 2017, and because of the small sample size, Phillips is taking a more qualitative handicapping approach for Sunday’s race.

“Definitely more qualitative than quantitative,’ he said. “…. A lot of what I’m going to be betting on is based on really small sample size data and recent form and some things that are tough to quantify, like which guys are really good at breaking. That’s pretty important on a road course, but it’s hard to glean from just looking at the stats. I’m going to watch a lot of previous races, the last several Sonoma races. In 2019, they had a different package, so you have to take that kind of stuff into consideration, too.”

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Reid Spencer

AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric are a pair of bookends at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Driving the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske, Allmendinger won the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race there in 2013. Cindric, the reigning series champion, is the most recent winner there, also in a No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Cindric’s victory came in 2019, before adjustments to the Xfinity Series schedule necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic removed Mid-Ohio from the 2020 slate of events.

Cindric and Allmendinger — the latter now driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing — are both expected to contend for the victory in Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 at the 2.258-mile road course (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Because of the difficulty in passing on the tight, technical course, Allmendinger favors an aggressive approach.

“You’ve got to make your own passing zones,” Allmendinger says. “It’s for sure a challenge to pass at this race track. With an Xfinity car, with the way the tires go away, from start to finish you get a big difference in lap times from the start of a run to the end of a run, so it gets a little easier to pass.

“If you get through Turn 1, you can get a good run up toward Turn 2, and you can make a passing zone out of that. At the end of the back straightaway, there’s a good passing zone there as well. In the infield, you’re kind of single file, (but) with our cars, you have the luxury of being able to use the bumpers a little bit and being able to force somebody into a mistake, if that’s what you have to do.”

Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports is the only other former Mid-Ohio winner in the field for Saturday’s race, having taken the checkered flag in the 75-lap event in 2018. Another potential contender is road course ace Miguel Paludo, who will drive the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet on Saturday.

“I’ve always really enjoyed racing at Mid-Ohio,” Allgaier says. “It’s a challenging-but-fun road course. We had a strong run just a couple weeks ago on the road course at COTA (a third-place finish), and I feel extremely confident that we will have that same kind of speed with our Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet on Saturday.

“It’s a big weekend for (sponsor) Brandt with Miguel back in the No. 8, so hopefully we can both have a strong day and battle it out for the win in the end.”

Preview notes: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has hosted seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races dating back to the inaugural event on August 17, 2013. The first Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio was won by Allmendinger driving for Team Penske. … The seven Xfinity races have produced four different pole winners, led by Sam Hornish Jr. with three poles (2014, 2016, 2017). … Austin Cindric leads all active Xfinity Series drivers in poles at Mid-Ohio with two (2018, 2019). … The seven Xfinity races at Mid-Ohio have also produced seven different winners — AJ Allmendinger (2013), Chris Buescher (2014), Regan Smith (2015), Justin Marks (2016), Sam Hornish Jr. (2017), Justin Allgaier (2018) and Austin Cindric (2019). … Jeremy Clements in the only driver to make all seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Mid-Ohio. … Chris Buescher (2014) and Justin Marks (2016) both won their first NASCAR national series race in the Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio. … The youngest Xfinity winner at Mid-Ohio is Austin Cindric (08/10/2019 – 20 years, 11 months, 8 days) and the oldest is Sam Hornish Jr. (08/12/2017 – 38 years, 1 month, 10 days).

Posted on June 3, 2021June 4, 2021 by Staff Report

William Byron is set to make his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the first time since 2016 in a partnership with Rackley W.A.R., the team and Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday.

The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series will field a second truck for the first-year team — the No. 27 Chevrolet — alongside newly signed Josh Berry, in the highly anticipated return to Nashville Superspeedway on June 18 at 8 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Byron is no stranger to success in the Truck Series, racing his way to seven wins, 11 top fives and 16 top 10s in 23 starts at just 18 years old in his lone full-time season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports before moving to the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports.

Nearly five years later, he’s hoping to become the first series winner in Nashville since Austin Dillon in 2011 — almost a decade ago.

Already on pace for a career year in the premier series, Byron is riding an impressive wave of momentum that has him currently third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings — trailing only Denny Hamlin and teammate Kyle Larson.

Posted on June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 by Reid Spencer

If your name isn’t Truex, Busch or Harvick, you haven’t won a NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway in the past decade.

NASCAR’s premier division returns to the 2.52-mile road course north of San Francisco for the first time since 2019, given that the scheduled 2020 race there was squelched by the coronavirus pandemic.

The leading active winner at Sonoma with three victories, Martin Truex Jr. has triumphed in the last two events there and will look for a third straight in Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“We’ve been going there a long time, obviously, and been able to figure out some tricks and some things that work for me and really just dial the car in to the way I like to approach the track and the things I look for in a car,” said Truex, who is coming off a disappointing 29th-place finish in last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

“We’ve been lucky to have great teams and great race cars out there at Sonoma. For whatever reason, it’s just been a really good place for us. We need to get some momentum back, and this would be a good place to do it this weekend.”

Kyle Busch has two wins at the Sonoma road course, and Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick have accounted for one each. Among active Cup drivers, Truex, the Busch brothers and Harvick are the only former winners at the track in the field for Sunday’s race.

But Truex is the only current Cup driver who has won a race on the 2.52-mile configuration of the course, with the addition of Turns 5 and 6 replacing the short straight between Turns 4 and 7 in 2019. Turns 5 and 6 collectively make up the “Carousel,” a sweeping 200-degree radius corner that will have most drivers on edge as they navigate the difficult stretch of track.

“One of the toughest turns now is that Carousel,” says Californian Cole Custer, who has never raced a Cup car at Sonoma but who finished fourth in a 2019 K&N Pro Series West race on the new configuration. “I think it’s just a really awkward corner, and it doesn’t feel like a corner a race car should be going through.

“It’s really tight, really downhill, off-camber. It’s just a really tough corner, and it’s something that you never go through there and feel like you did it right. It never feels natural, so it’s one of those things you just kind of have to hit your marks and make sure you don’t overdo it through there.”

Chase Elliott comes to Sonoma as the undisputed master of NASCAR Cup Series road course races over the past three seasons. The reigning series champion got his first Cup victory at Watkins Glen in 2018. Six of his 12 wins have come on road courses, most recently in the inaugural Cup race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Sonoma, however, is a riddle Elliott has yet to solve. In four starts at the technical track, Elliott has a best finish of fourth in 2018.

“Sonoma is a place that I haven’t done a very good job in the past,” Elliott says. “It’s been a pretty big challenge for me. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been there, so it’s been a while.

“When we were there in 2019, I felt like we were doing a great job and in a good position before we had our mechanical issue, so I’m looking forward to getting back and having another shot at it.”