NASCAR returns to the rolling hills of California’s wine nation this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.
Apart from 2020, NASCAR’s top-level Cup Collection has raced yearly on the 1.99-mile highway course since 1989. This yr’s race for Cup Collection races and it’s also the beginning of NASCAR’s $1 million In-Season Problem.
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“I really like kicking the in-season event off at Sonoma as a result of I believe we’ll have some upsets,” TNT broadcaster and former NASCAR crew chief Steve Letarte advised USA TODAY Sports activities final week. “I do know Sonoma goes to be electrical. It all the time is. It has a really completely different really feel, but it surely’ll be filled with followers.”
Ty Gibbs is the pole sitter for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The 23-year-old driver of the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing received his first Cup Collection race earlier this season, profitable at Bristol. He has traditionally been a robust competitor on highway programs. Gibbs has top-five finishes at Circuit of the Americas and Watkins Glen this season and was seventh at Sonoma final yr.
Carson Hocevar — a fellow 23-year-old who additionally received his first Cup Collection race this season at Talladega — was second in qualifying on Saturday for the second straight weekend.
Most observers of NASCAR although would take into account Shane van Gisbergen to be the favourite on Sunday. The motive force of the No. 97 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing received at Sonoma final season, and he additionally took the checkered flag in Saturday’s second-tier O’Reilly Auto Components Collection race.
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Regardless of crashing out at final week, the 37-year-old from New Zealand has been dominant on highway programs in his handful of years in NASCAR. A win on Sunday would tie him with AJ Allmendinger for probably the most all-time highway or road course wins throughout NASCAR’s prime three nationwide touring collection at 14. On the Cup stage, van Gisbergen has received six of the previous eight highway or road programs races.
Heading into Sunday at Sonoma — the 18th race of 36 on the schedule this season — Tyler Reddick holds a slim eight-point lead over Denny Hamlin for the highest spot within the standings. After Sonoma, simply eight races stay till the postseason Chase begins.
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates profitable the Straight Speak Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates profitable the Straight Speak Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 1: Tyler Reddick celebrates profitable the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
(Logan Riely, Getty Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates profitable the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
(Mady Mertens, Imagn Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 15: Tyler Reddick celebrates along with his household and crew after profitable the 68th working of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
(Mike Watters, Imagn Photos)
Right here’s all the pieces you might want to know in regards to the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday:
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma begin?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is scheduled to start out at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, June 28 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.
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What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma on?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will probably be broadcast on TNT and truTV. It is the primary of 5 races to be broadcast by TNT Sports activities. Pre-race protection will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will probably be within the sales space for the race broadcast, whereas Marty Smith will anchor pre- and post-race protection alongside former drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray.
Will there be a stay stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?
Sure, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 may be streamed on HBO Max. Particular person in-car cameras for drivers will also be seen on HBO Max.
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What number of laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is 110 laps across the 1.99-mile observe for a complete of 218.9 miles. The race could have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 25 laps; Stage 2: 30 laps; Stage 3: 55 laps.
Who received the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma final yr?
Shane van Gisbergen received at Sonoma final season, his third of 5 victories final yr in his first full-time season within the Cup Collection. van Gisbergen led 97 laps at Sonoma, breaking the earlier observe file of 92 set by Jeff Gordon in 2004. Popping out of a restart with six laps to go, van Gisbergen cleared Chase Briscoe on the third flip and pulled away for the win. On Sunday, van Gisbergen has the possibility to grow to be the ninth driver in Cup Collection historical past to win a number of races at Sonoma.
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What’s the lineup for the Toyota/Save Mart 350?
(Automotive quantity in parentheses)
John Hunter Nemechek (42)
What’s the NASCAR In-Season Problem?
For the second consecutive yr, drivers will face off in a bracket-style competitors over the course of 5 races starting at Sonoma. The group of the profitable driver will probably be awarded a prize of $1 million. Drivers advance by merely ending forward of the opponent they’re matched up with. The winner will probably be topped on the Brickyard 400 on July 26. Ty Gibbs received the problem final season, besting Ty Dillon within the closing.
NASCAR information and notes for Sonoma
AJ Allmendinger is making his five hundredth profession begin within the Cup Collection on Sunday. The motive force of the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing is the forty eighth driver in Cup Collection historical past to succeed in the 500-start milestone.
Apart from Shane van Gisbergen, the one different energetic Cup Collection drivers to win at Sonoma are Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez. Connor Zilisch, a rookie within the Cup Collection this yr, received the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Components race at Sonoma final season.
Christopher Bell continues to be sporting a solid on his left wrist after fracturing it throughout a three weeks in the past. Brent Crews will probably be standing by to alleviate the motive force of the No. 20 Toyota as he did final weekend on the Naval Base Coronado road course.
Kyle Busch tribute at 2026 Sonoma NASCAR race
NASCAR tracks are persevering with to honor the late Kyle Busch, whose dying on Might 21 on the age of 41 shocked the racing group. Busch handed away resulting from problems from extreme bacterial pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, resulting in hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation, .
Sonoma Raceway has Busch’s black No. 8 printed on the observe this weekend and in addition put his stylized quantity and signature on the wall on the eighth flip. Sonoma has additionally added Busch to the observe’s Wall of Fame.
Busch, a two-time Cup Collection champion and NASCAR’s all-time chief in wins throughout its prime three touring collection with 234, captured three victories in his profession at Sonoma. He received Cup Collection races there in 2008 and 2015, then a Truck Collection race in 2022. Busch additionally holds the NASCAR Cup Collection file for many consecutive seasons with no less than one win at 19.
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