NASCAR at Sonoma highlights: Shane van Gisbergen wins second straight race
Another week, another win for Shane van Gisbergen.
The Trackhouse Racing driver made it back-to-back wins for the first time in his young NASCAR Cup Series career with a dominating victory at Sonoma Raceway.
Van Gisbergen took the pole position for Sunday's race in Sonoma after sweeping the pole positions and the race wins in both the Xfinity and Cup Series events last weekend in Chicago.
This weekend was a similar story with even more dominance on race day. In all, van Gisbergen led 97 of the 110 laps of the race. He's by far the top driver on road courses this year with three wins (Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma) out of four races.
"Trackhouse Racing gave me a great Chevrolet again. What a great couple of weeks!" van Gisbergen said after the race. "Just to execute, make no mistakes, have great pit stops, great strategy and be able to hold them off there at the end – it’s incredible. Chase (Briscoe) was driving really well. We had a lot of fun there.”
The New Zealander started Sunday's race from the pole and kept in front early. He pitted just before the end of Stage 1, ceding the stage win to fellow Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain, and re-took the lead soon after his stop to win Stage 2.
Another pit stop dropped him down the order during Stage 3 but he quickly recovered to take the lead once again by lap 90. He kept control through late caution periods to secure the win.
Chase Briscoe came home second – exactly where he started the race. Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five.
"I don’t know if I really saw everything (van Gisbergen) had, truthfully," Briscoe said after the race. "I felt like every time I would get close; he would just start driving back away. We were definitely the second-best car. I don’t really know what more I need – maybe a little bit a grip. But even if I had a little more grip, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to gain the speed that he had.
"But overall, great day for the Bass Pro Shops Toyota. This is by far my worst race track, so to run second to him, it definitely means a lot, so proud of the day.”
Round three of the in-season challenge saw the 32-driver field whittled down once again. Four drivers remain: Ty Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick.
Dillon and Nemechek square off next week in the top half of the bracket, while Gibbs and Reddick face off to decide the bottom half of the bracket.
The rest of the Cup Series field will have a much better chance at victory next weekend in Dover. That's also the penultimate round of the NASCAR in-season challenge that will leave two drivers in contention for the $1 million prize.
Paste BN Sports had full coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Scroll below for a recap:
NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma extended highlights
NASCAR in-season challenge: Round 4 bracket
Thirty-two drivers entered the in-season challenge. After three rounds, just four remain, including just one driver from the top 10 seeds. Here's the bracket entering Round 4 in Dover:
Top half of bracket
- No. 32 Ty Dillon vs. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek
Bottom half of bracket
No. 23 Tyler Reddick vs. No. 6 Ty Gibbs
NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma leaderboard
Leaderboard at the end of Stage 2.
- (88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
- (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
- (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
- (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
- (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
- (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
- (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
- (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
- (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
- (21) Josh Berry, Ford
- (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
- (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
- (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
- (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
- (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
- (78) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet
- (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
- (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
- (38) Zane Smith, Ford
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford
- (41) Cole Custer, Ford
- (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
- (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
- (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
- (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
- (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- (51) Cody Ware, Ford
- (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
First caution for on-track incidents
The early laps of Stage 3 included Chris Buescher getting loose entering turn 1 and colliding with Ryan Blaney, who was then stuck in the dirt. Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin each spun entering turn 2. Caution flags are out as we near the two-thirds mark of the race.
van Gisbergen wins Stage 2
With one lap to go in the stage, Shane van Gisbergen overtook Kyle Larson after his latest pit stop to take the lead and the stage win.
van Gisbergen back in the lead
On the race restart following a caution period to open Stage 2, Shane van Gisbergen overtook William Byron on the inside of turn 2 to take the lead once again.
Ross Chastain wins Stage 1
The Trackhouse Racing driver took the stage win ahead of teammate Shane van Gisbergen after 25 laps of racing. Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and William Byron completed the top five runners for the first stage of today's race.
van Gisbergen leads early laps
The Cup Series' most recent winner and polesitter for today's race has built a one second gap to championship leader William Byron in second and Ross Chastain in third.
Green flag racing from Sonoma
The Cup Series field is up to speed as the green flag flies from California wine country for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
How to watch NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma
- Race: Toyota/Save Mart 350
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 PT)
- Location: Sonoma Raceway (Sonoma, California)
- TV: TNT, alternate telecast on truTV
- Streaming: WatchTNT, Max and Sling TV
Stream the NASCAR race at Sonoma on Sling
NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma weather update
The Cup Series won't have any threat of rain in this year's Toyota/Save Mart 350. AccuWeather forecasts show a zero chance of rain with temperatures in the high 80s. Sunny skies and winds up to 11 mph should make for dry running all afternoon.
Who won the pole for NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?
Shane Van Gisbergen topped qualifying for the second consecutive weekend after winning the pole and the race last weekend on the streets of Chicago. The Trackhouse Racing driver will start on the front row of Sunday's race alongside Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe.
How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is 110 laps around the 1.99-mile track for a total of 218.9 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 25 laps; Stage 2: 30 laps; Stage 3: 55 laps.
Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?
Yes, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be streamed on WatchTNT, Max and Sling TV.
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma start?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. local) Sunday, July 13, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.
What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma on?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be broadcast on TNT with an altcast on truTV. It's the third of five races to be broadcast on the network. Pre-race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET (Noon PT).
NASCAR In-Season Challenge third round matchups
Thirty-two drivers qualified for the inaugural in-season challenge. Sixteen were eliminated at Atlanta and a further eight are off the board after the race in Chicago.
The third round sees just eight drivers remaining and just two of the top 10 seeds. Four drivers will advance to the next round in Dover, Delaware.
Top half of draw
- No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon
- No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 20 Erik Jones
Bottom half of draw
- No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
- No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 14 Zane Smith
What is the lineup for the Toyota/Save Mart 350?
(Car number in parentheses)
- (88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
- (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
- (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
- (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
- (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
- (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
- (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- (38) Zane Smith, Ford
- (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
- (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
- (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
- (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
- (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
- (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford
- (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
- (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
- (21) Josh Berry, Ford
- (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
- (41) Cole Custer, Ford
- (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
- (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
- (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
- (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
- (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
- (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
- (51) Cody Ware, Ford
- (78) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet
Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma last year?
Kyle Larson cruised to victory at his hometown race after taking the lead with eight laps to go. It was a race of attrition with seven caution periods before the race hit the halfway mark. Larson pitted with 20 laps to go and worked his way methodically up from eighth place before passing leader Martin Truex Jr. for the lead and the eventual win, his third of six total victories that season.
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