By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
Shane van Gisbergen defends Sonoma win as In-Season Challenge begins
SONOMA, Calif.—It’s a weekend of both endings and new beginnings when the NASCAR Cup Series visits Sonoma Raceway for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
As broadcast coverage shifts from Prime Video to TNT, Sunday’s race also brings the start of the NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenge, a tournament of head-to-head matchups that coincides with TNT’s five-race run.
Sunday’s event at the 1.99-mile circuit also is the final road course race of the season and the last time Shane van Gisbergen is likely to be favored to win in the Cup Series this year.
But favored he will be on Sunday—and with good reason. Van Gisbergen won last year’s race from the pole, leading 97 of 110 laps. Starting with his debut event on the Chicago Street Course in 2023, van Gisbergen has collected all seven of his Cup Series victories on road or street courses.
Last year, the New Zealander set the three largest margins of victory in era of the Gen 7 race car, introduced in 2022 — 16.567 seconds at Mexico City, 15.169 seconds at the Charlotte ROVAL and 11.116 seconds at Watkins Glen International.
Van Gisbergen won the pole for last Sunday’s inaugural street course event at Naval Base Coronado, only to be collected and eliminated in a multicar wreck in Turn 1. The three-time Australian Supercars champion asserts that the racing at Sonoma will be a radical departure from what the drivers faced on the bumpy 16-turn circuit near San Diego.
“The car setup will be very different,” van Gisbergen said. “At San Diego, we were very high, very soft to try to get over the bumps, get the car nice and compliant. When we go to Sonoma this weekend, it’s very smooth and high-grip, so the car will be stiff and low.
“Everybody’s cars will be on the edge, which you have to have it like that to make grip. It’s cool to watch the differences. It’s cool to see differences in the cars on the weekend. This weekend, everybody will be pushing hard and set up for the high grip.”
Van Gisbergen also pointed to one particular area of the Sonoma course where he expects to gain time on the rest of the field.
“I have a favorite section,” he acknowledged. “At the end of Sonoma, we come down the hill, (and) there are these fast right and left handers (the esses). Before you get to the hairpin (Turn 11), it’s a very challenging but rewarding section to get right. There is a lot of time you can gain or lose there. Coming back down the hill is really spectacular to watch.”
Don’t get the impression, however, that van Gisbergen won’t be without competition. Kyle Larson triumphed at the track in 2024, adding to a record that now includes two victories and four poles in wine country. Larson would like nothing better than to end his 41-race winless streak in his native state.
Michael McDowell has finished in the top 10 in all four Next Gen races at Sonoma, with three top fives and a best result of second in 2024. Chase Briscoe hounded SVG in last year’s race and finished second, just 1.128 seconds behind.
Briscoe also is part of an intriguing matchup in the In-Season Challenge, which pits the top 32 drivers in points in head-to-head competition, with the top seed (Tyler Reddick) facing the 32 seed (Alex Bowman), the second seed (Denny Hamlin) facing the 31st seed (Ty Dillon), and so forth.
The higher finisher in each contest advances to the next round.
Seeded 12th, Briscoe takes on road course ace and 21st seed AJ Allmendinger, who is making his 500th start in the series on Sunday. Allmendinger finished 18th at Sonoma last season.
Hamlin’s matchup is a remarkable coincidence. When the In-Season Challenge began at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta last year, Ty Dillon knocked out top-seeded Hamlin. This year, they face each other again as second and 31st seeds.
Statistically, Sonoma is Hamlin’s worst track in the Next Gen era. His average finish of 31.25 over the last four seasons doesn’t augur well either for his contest against Dillon or for his attempt to catch Reddick for the series lead.
Hamlin currently trails the 23XI Racing driver by nine points, having trimmed 121 points from Reddick’s advantage in the last five races.
Ty Gibbs, winner of last year’s inaugural In-Season Challenge and its $1-million prize, is seeded fifth this year, facing 28th seed Austin Dillon in the opening round.
NASCAR O’Reilly Series race features rematch of road course royalty
In last season’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Sonoma Raceway, Connor Zilisch held off pole winner Shane van Gisbergen by a mere 0.438 seconds.
Both drivers are back in JR Motorsports Chevrolets for a rematch in Saturday’s Pit Boss/Food Maxx 250 at the 1.99-mile circuit (5:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m really pumped about getting back to Sonoma with JR Motorsports,” Zilisch said. “Shane and I had a great race for the win last year, and fortunately, we came out on top…
“It’s always great to race with (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and everyone on the No. 1 team. Getting the extra track time on Friday and Saturday is really valuable to prepare for the Cup race.”
Zilisch has struggled in his rookie year in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, but he has won twice while moonlighting in the O’Reilly Series, at Bristol and Watkins Glen. Last week, he was leading the Cup race at Naval Base Coronado when an accident not of his making knocked him out of the inaugural event.
Head-to-head on road and street courses in the O’Reilly Series, Zilisch leads van Gisbergen with four wins to the New Zealander’s two, but Sonoma Raceway is one of SVG’s favorite tracks.
“I really like Sonoma,” said van Gisbergen, who won the O’Reilly Series race from the pole in 2024 and did the same in last year’s Cup race. “I’ve had good success there. Last year in the O’Reilly race we came up a bit short, but it was one of the best races for everyone to watch.
“I really enjoyed being in it and racing Connor. It’s really cool to race in O’Reilly and Cup, and I learn a lot about the track throughout the weekend and what I need from the cars. Looking forward to having a good crack at it this weekend.”
After a breakthrough street course win at Naval Base Coronado last Saturday, Austin Hill will be looking for more at Sonoma. Hill finished fifth after leading 21 laps at Sonoma in 2024.
Looking for a rebound will be Justin Allgaier, who fell out of last Saturday’s race in 32nd place. In a record-setting season for the No. 7 JR Motorsports team, Allgaier has won five times and already has clinched a spot in the postseason Chase.
Allgaier leads second-place Jesse Love by 224 points in the series standings. He has finished seventh, sixth and sixth in his three Sonoma starts.
