Posted on June 8, 2021June 8, 2021 by Zack Albert

This story first appeared on April 28:

NASCAR joined Texas Motor Speedway officials Wednesday in announcing the format for the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race, unveiling a six-round, 100-lap bout for the Fort Worth track’s first hosting of the annual invitational event.

The procedures for the June 13 non-points exhibition (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) were first revealed on FOX Sports’ Race Hub. The race winner will collect $1 million, and an additional $100,000 will be presented to the fastest pit crew in a mandatory stop near the end of the race.

The race format and procedures:

Starting lineup set by random draw.
Round 1: 15 laps. After this round, the field will be inverted starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th positions, to be selected by a random draw.
Round 2: 15 laps, with entire field inverted after this segment.
Round 3: 15 laps, again the field will be inverted starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th positions, to be selected by a random draw after this round.
Round 4: 15 laps.
Round 5: 30 laps. The lineup for this round will be determined by cumulative finish from the first four rounds, with the best cumulative finisher starting from the pole. Any ties in the aggregate score will be broken by (in order): Most career All-Star wins, most career Cup Series points race wins or 2021 Cup Series driver standings. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during this round. The crew with the fastest stop will pocket $100,000.
Round 6: 10 laps. Cars will line up according to their finishing position from the previous round for the final segment.

“Drivers and pit crews better pack their lunch pails because they are going to have to work extremely hard to earn the honor of celebrating in Victory Lane,” said Texas Motor Speedway president and GM Eddie Gossage, who also plans an old-timey, wild West motif for pre-race ceremonies. “This is a full metal rodeo for a big ol’ bag of dough.”

Only green-flag laps will count in the All-Star Race.

The rules configuration for the All-Star Race will use the high-downforce aerodynamics package at the 1.5-mile track, but engines will use a tapered spacer reduced from 59/64th of an inch to 57/64th. That setup is currently used on superspeedways, where horsepower targets are in the 500-510 range.

A total of 17 drivers have already clinched All-Star berths: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. The criteria for eligibility includes NASCAR Cup Series race winners in 2020-21 and full-time drivers who are either past All-Star winners or past Cup Series champions.

RELATED: See every All-Star Race winner

The rest of the field will be completed in the NASCAR Open qualifying race (June 13, 6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and the All-Star Fan Vote. The Open will be run in three segments — 20 laps, 20 laps and a 10-lap shootout — with segment winners and the overall winner advancing to the All-Star main event. Fan balloting will determine the final driver in the field who is otherwise ineligible.

“Texas has always felt like an All-Star market; it is a big-event market and Texas Motor Speedway thrives under a bright spotlight,” said NASCAR executive VP and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell. “The entire Speedway Motorsports and TMS team has done an incredible job embracing and elevating this event, creating a must-see show for fans at the track and watching from home on FS1.”

Coverage of the NASCAR All-Star Race will be sponsored by NASCAR Premier Partners Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, GEICO and Xfinity.

Elliott won last year’s All-Star Race, held for the first time at Bristol Motor Speedway. Of the 36 previous editions, 34 were held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with only last season’s Bristol invitational and the 1986 running at Atlanta Motor Speedway held away from the North Carolina track.

Posted on June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Not-so slowly but oh-so surely, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs picture is coming into focus.

Ten events remain in the regular season, and most of the 16-driver postseason field is already set. There have been 11 different race winners who are all currently guaranteed berths. That leaves five spots up for grabs by the way of victory or points.

Then, of course, there are the three playoff rounds before the championship race itself.

“I mean, it’s still a lot of racing left,” Kyle Larson said. “I think if you were to point right now at a favorite, I think for sure you’d have to look at us.”

Not wrong. Larson has been on fire lately, rattling off five top-two finishes in a row. The two most recent were wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway. He now has three wins this season, with the other coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Larson is one of three drivers with more than one win this year. He is tied with Martin Truex Jr. from Joe Gibbs Racing for the series’ lead, while Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman has two of his own. The other eight unaccounted-for races were each won by a different driver.

Also with victories: the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports garage (Chase Elliott and William Byron), all of Team Penske (Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney), two more Joe Gibbs Racing members (Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell) and then one Front Row Motorsports surprise (Michael McDowell).

It has been four weeks since someone outside of Hendrick Motorsports has won, though. Two weeks since the victor was someone other than Larson.

“It’s hard to say it’s good when you’re not winning, at least that’s for me,” Logano said. “You get paid to win. Top fives are great and running towards the front is good, but we need more speed to beat them. The 5 is the class of the field right now.”

Even still, Larson does not top the point standings. Denny Hamlin does by 47 points, which matters for the event Regular Season Champion title. That puts him 12th on the playoffs leaderboard (above the cutoff line by 333 points).

Hamlin is tied with Larson for most top-five results (nine) and with Byron for top 10s (12). Hamlin just hasn’t won yet. This drought comes after a series and career second-best seven-win season in 2020.

Another winless surprise: Kevin Harvick, who sits ninth in points and 13th in playoffs (safe by 152). He has had four top fives and 11 top 10s. Harvick won a series-high and career-high nine races last season.

At this point last season, Hamlin and Harvick accounted for half of the race wins with four apiece.

By no means should Hamlin or Harvick – or really anyone – be counted out. Again, there are 10 points-paying races left, starting at Nashville Superspeedway on June 20. There are three new venues on deck (Nashville, Road America and Indianapolis Road Course), along with five familiar tracks (Pocono Raceway (twice), Atlanta Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International and Michigan International Speedway) before the wild-card finale at Daytona International Speedway.

Only then will the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs picture be in full focus.

“We’ve got to stay sharp,” said Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels. “Then, come playoff time, that’s when we’ve really got to be on top of our game.”

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Chip Ganassi Racing pulled off quite the turnaround within a week.

After filling the bottom two spots last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain both rallied back with top-10 finishes Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. Both times, the two Chevrolets were listed back-to-back on the results sheet.

“A good day for both the No. 1 and 42 teams,” Chastain said. “I got to race with the No. 1 car a lot there at the end and only touch a little bit, which is hard to do here. A good teammate and good building day for CGR.”

RELATED: Official results

Chastain placed seventh in Sonoma’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Busch was just ahead in sixth. Chastain’s result tied for his second best in 2021, and Busch’s also marked his second best.

The experience levels couldn’t really be more different. While Chastain is in his first full-time Cup Series ride, Busch is a former champion (2004) in his 21st full season. Chastain made his second career start at Sonoma. Busch notched his 20th.

“We had a smooth day,” Busch said. “We figured out how to have a nice, easy execution. I worked with Ross, our teammate, to get two top 10s. It was almost a top-five type car, just needed better drive off the corners. To be in the mix and have the right strategy and have a smooth day, we’ll take it, and we’re going to build on it.”

RELATED: Kyle Larson scores Sonoma win

The 37th and 38th finishes at Charlotte were flukes. Hendrick Motorsports executive vice president and general manager Jeff Andrews even publicly apologized and took responsibility for the performance of Chip Ganassi Racing’s engines on Friday. The organizations have a collaborative partnership as Chevrolet-backed teams.

Neither Chastain nor Busch is currently in the playoff picture. Busch is ranked 18th in the points standings, two spots outside the 16-driver field. Chastain is a bit further back in 20th. Ten races remain in the regular season, with the next points-paying opportunity not until June 20 at Nashville Superspeedway since the exhibition All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway is this upcoming Sunday (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Sonoma was a step back in the right direction for Chip Ganassi Racing, though. Busch and Chastain did both move up a standing tick after the pair of strong runs.

“Whoa, seventh on a dry road course,” Chastain said. “This No. 42 team is so good. They gave me a Clover Chevy that I can go out and race with the best Cup Series guys. It just seems wild.”

Posted on June 6, 2021June 6, 2021 by Reid Spencer

SONOMA, Calif. — Score another sweep for Kyle Larson, who dominated an action-filled Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

Through a spate of late accidents and restarts, Larson held off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott and three-time Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr. to claim a second-straight race in which he also swept both the first and second stages.

The victory was Larson’s first at the 2.52-mile road course, his third of the season and the ninth of his career. It was the fourth straight 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports and the first time since 2014 that HMS has posted four-straight wins.

The victory was the 270th for Hendrick, extending the record the organization broke last Sunday.

Coming off last week’s win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, Larson made the overtime win look easy. But looks can be deceiving, said the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet.

“It was not easy,” said Larson, who grew up in nearby Elk Grove, Calif. “Just keeping it on the track is tough, especially when you’ve got two of the best behind you on the last restart.”

Elliott was able to stay on Larson’s bumper after the race went to an overtime restart — the result of a four-car accident in Turn 4 on Lap 88 of a scheduled 90. But Larson inched away over the final two laps.

“I felt like I did a good job on the (restart) before and was able to stretch it out a little bit,” Larson said. “I didn’t want to give it another try at it, but (Chase) kept the pressure on. Martin was strong, too.

“What a car! I thought I would be OK today, but I really didn’t know how I would race — I don’t think any of us really knew with no practice, but our car was really good there, and I can’t say enough about it.”

The closeness of his hometown — east of Sacramento — made the victory that much more satisfying.

“It means a lot,” said Larson, who crossed the finish line .614 seconds ahead of Elliott. “Northern California will always be home to me, even if I live way on the East Coast now. … To get back-to-back wins in the Cup Series is something I’ve always dreamed of doing, and to get it done feels great.”

Elliott, the reigning series champion, achieved his best finish at Sonoma, but couldn’t find a way past his teammate.

“I wish I knew (where Larson was stronger),” said Elliott, who has six road-course wins to his credit. “I would have tried to give him a little better run. But congrats to Kyle and (crew chief) Cliff (Daniels) and everybody on the 5 team. They’ve been doing an amazing job.

“I’m really proud of our NAPA group, though. I felt like we were a lot better there at the end than we were at the beginning. That’s definitely the best I’ve ever been here at Sonoma.”

Truex came home third, followed by Joey Logano and Kyle Busch, who summed up Larson’s dominance in one sentience.

“The 5 was just out of this world,” Busch said.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain were sixth and seventh, respectively. Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10.

Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, who combined for 16 victories in 2020, left Sonoma still winless this season. Harvick was the victim of a seven-car chain reaction crash in Turn 11 on Lap 77 during a rash of four cautions within an 18-lap stretch near the end of the race.

Without a hood or right front fender on his car, Harvick salvaged a 22nd-place result.

Up next, the NASCAR Cup Series changes it up a bit. Instead of having its 17th points-paying race, it will head to Texas Motor Speedway for the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: The race-winning No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of third-place Martin Truex Jr. had one lug nut not safe and secure. There were no other issues.

Posted on June 6, 2021June 6, 2021 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, June 7
2:30 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Road Courses (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1992 All-Star Race (re-air), FS1

Tuesday, June 8
3 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Charlotte (re-air), FS2
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air) , FS2
9:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series Mid-Ohio 150 (re-air), FS2
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/ Save Mart 350 (re-air), FS2
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, June 9
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West: General Tire 200 (tape delay), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1

Thursday, June 10
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Ward Burton, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1992 All-Star Race (re-air), FS1

Friday, June 11
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: All-Star (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, June 12
11 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
12 p.m., NASCAR Raceday: NCWTS at Texas, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR Raceday: Xfinity Texas, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 at Texas Motor Speedway, FS1 (Canada: TSN2)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, FS1

On MRN:
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 220

On PRN
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 250

Sunday, June 13
1 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 (re-air), FS1
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: All-Star (re-air), FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR All-Star Open, FS1 (Canada: TSN3, 5)
7:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: All-Star Race, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR All-Star Race, FS1 (Canada: TSN3, 5)

On MRN:
5:30 p.m., NASCAR All-Star Coverage includes the Open and All-Star Race

Posted on June 6, 2021June 6, 2021 by Staff Report

The No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford driven by Anthony Alfredo will start at the rear of the field for an inspection violation found prior to the start of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Crew chief Seth Barbour has been ejected for the violation.

Alfredo, a rookie in the sport’s top series, was slated to start 28th in the 37-car field and is making his first career start at Sonoma. The 21-year-old has made 15 starts this season with a best finish of 12th at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

Scott Heckert and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford will also start at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments. Heckert is making his second Cup start and was set to start 35th in Sunday’s race.

Posted on June 6, 2021June 12, 2021 by Tadd Haislop

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Race 5/14

Race	Steel Palace 150
Date	Saturday, June 12, 2021
Track	Oswego Speedway
Layout	0.675-mile oval
Location	Oswego, New York
Start time	7:30 p.m. ET
Laps	150
Miles	101.25
Tickets	OswegoSpeedway.com
TV channel	NBCSN (Delayed: Sunday, June 20, 10 a.m. ET)
Live stream	TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold

RACEDAY SCHEDULE: Saturday, June 12 — Garage opens: 12:30 p.m. ET; Practice: 3-4 p.m.; Qualifying: 6 p.m.; Race: 7:30 p.m.

Quick links: ENTRY LIST | PRACTICE RESULTS | QUALIFYING | RESULTS | RACE RECAP

LIVE TIMING

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

Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger and owner Matt Kaulig were riding high Saturday after the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and rightly so. Their No. 16 Chevrolet was parked in Victory Lane for the second time this season. The smiles on their faces during post-race media availability were expected and evident.

Neither Kaulig nor Allmendinger faltered when asked if Allmendinger will pilot a Cup Series car for Kaulig Racing in 2022 as the team plans its anticipated full-time foray to the premier series.

“He’s definitely on our short list,” Kaulig said. “We fully plan on running at least one car in the Cup Series next year full time. Whether that’s AJ or someone else, we’re really not sure. I think AJ, regardless, will run road courses or maybe some superspeedways, I don’t know.”

Kaulig then clarified, however, that the team will seat only one driver in its full-time car so he or she can be eligible for the playoffs and championship. The Chevrolet-backed organization has not obtained a 2022 charter yet.

Mentioning Allmendinger for road courses and superspeedways, along with saying “at least one car,” does make it seem like there is more in the works than what has already been announced, which was simply a confirmed 2022 full-time effort in the Cup Series.

Allmendinger must have caught the possible slip-up since he covered with a joke immediately afterward.

“I might be the one driving the truck to the road courses and superspeedway races,” Allmendinger said. “They may part time me for that.”

Allmendinger has Cup Series experience — 373 starts to be exact, with two coming this year. He raced there full time from 2009-11 and then again from 2014-18. Allmendinger has one career win from 2014 at Watkins Glen International that came along with a postseason berth.

Since 2019, Allmendinger has been in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing. He had five starts in 2019 and 11 in 2020 before signing on full time in 2021. Allmendinger credits his current team for falling back in love with the sport.

“I’ve told Matt and Chris (Rice) that no matter what the role is, I just want to keep being a part of the growth,” Allmendinger said. “Because I truly enjoy it. And that’s something since 2019, I’ve enjoyed more than I thought I would.”

Posted on June 5, 2021June 5, 2021 by Reid Spencer

With a remarkable run from the back of the field in the final stage at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, AJ Allmendinger charged to an overtime victory in Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 and tied Marcos Ambrose for the most NASCAR Xfinity Series road course wins all-time.

The triumph at the home track of team owner Matt Kaulig was the fifth in the series on a road course for Allmendinger, the first two-time winner at the technical 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit. Allmendinger went to Victory Lane in the inaugural event at the Lexington, Ohio, track in 2013.

RELATED: Official results

After suffering a rear-of-the-field penalty for not taking the required 50 seconds on pit road under modified pit road rules, Allmendinger restarted 19th on Lap 56 of a scheduled 75 and quickly began working his way through the field.

When teammate Jeb Burton slid into a gravel trap off Turn 4 on Lap 68 to cause the sixth caution of the race, Allmendinger had climbed to third and took full advantage of a restart on Lap 72, diving to the inside and taking race leader and reigning series champion Austin Cindric and second-place Ty Gibbs three-wide in the first corner.

Allmendinger survived contact with Gibbs’ Toyota and came out of the corner with the lead, but Cindric pin-balled off the cars of Gibbs and Michael Annett and spun through the grass, ending his winning chances.

WATCH: Late-race chaos snares Austin Cindric

After a seventh caution for a wreck involving, Kris Wright, Alex Labbe and Kyle Weatherman, Allmendinger pulled away from Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley to win by .809 seconds. Haley nursed a car with right-front damage to the runner-up finish, one spot ahead of Gibbs.

“I’m not going to lie; I was a little upset,” Allmendinger said of the penalty. “But we win and lose as a team, so I was going to fight until the checkered flag flew. I knew we had the best car …

“I was shocked that Cindric took the outside (on the restart) … I know these guys would do it to me, so I was barreling in there when I saw a gap, and I was going to come out on the other side clean.”

Indianapolis 500 winning car owner Michael Shank, who fielded the team with which Allmendinger won the 50th running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in 2012, was watching from the pits and predicted his good friend would recover from the penalty.

PHOTOS: Scenes from Mid-Ohio

“He came here to see me,” said Allmendinger, who won for the second time this season and the seventh time in his career. “How lucky am I? I love Shank. And this is Matt Kaulig’s Super Bowl … It’s just such a big deal. I always want to win for him, but here, I put a lot more pressure on myself to try to win.”

Gibbs, for one, wasn’t happy with Allmendinger’s move to the inside on the decisive restart.

“The 16 (Allmendinger) did us a little dirty there,” said Gibbs, who nevertheless collected his sixth top five (including two wins) in his seventh Xfinity Series start. “I feel like there is a point, you know … we are racing in Xfinity cars at road courses. It’s always going to be rough, but he took it to the next level.

“I guess I was a little torpedoed. I got the 22 (Cindric), knocked him out, but, yeah, I didn’t really have anywhere to go. That’s just part of it — part of the end of these races. Things get rough.”

Cindric, who led a race-high 30 laps to Allmendinger’s 23, finished 14th. Brandon Jones and road course ace Andy Lally ran fourth and fifth, respectively. Brandon Brown, Michael Annett, Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams completed the to 10.

In addition to finishing 1-2, Allmendinger and Haley won Stages 1 and 2, respectively. Allmendinger increased his Playoff point total to 13, seven behind Cindric’s series-leading 20.

WATCH: Early caution comes out for Noah Gragson | Harrison Burton’s race shortened in Stage 1

Next Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series takes on Texas Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: No issues were reported in post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage.

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