Road course racing brings a different kind of excitement to NASCAR’s traditional oval-heavy schedule. This type of racing demands completely different skills from what most NASCAR drivers grew up learning.

But lately, there’s been heated debate about whether NASCAR has packed too many road courses into the calendar. One veteran driver just made his stance crystal clear.

Why Does Brad Keselowski Think NASCAR Has Too Many Road Courses?

NASCAR started as a predominantly oval racing series. Over the years, however, road courses gradually made their way into the schedule, bringing a welcome change for fans tired of traditional oval racing. Initially, there were just two staple road course races: Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen.

The current schedule tells a different story. NASCAR now includes six road course races: Watkins Glen, Chicago (street circuit), Sonoma, Circuit of the Americas, the Charlotte Roval, and the newly added Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico. To RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski, six road courses seem like “too many,” especially as he spoke about a possible seventh one next year.

This expansion hasn’t happened without support. Many in the NASCAR community enjoy watching road courses. There were just two until 2018, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway and the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Fans asked for more, and NASCAR gradually added more to the schedule. Recently, Motorsports Journalist Pete Pistone weighed in on the debate about “too many” road courses.

He wrote, “The criticism from some today about ‘too many’ road courses is ironic to me because fans literally strongly asked for more just a handful of years ago – so many callers to the channel and as this story reminds on other platforms.” This comment prompted Keselowski to give his take on the matter.

The RFK Racing driver and co-owner shared on X, “We went from 2 to 6 Road course races, Possibly 7 next year. NASCAR was successfully built as a primarily oval racing series. IMSA was built as the primary road course series in North America. IMSA will always do road racing better than NASCAR and that’s ok. Yes, TOO Many Road courses in NASCAR.”

We went from 2 to 6 Road course races, Possibly 7 next year.

NASCAR was successfully built as a primarily oval racing series. IMSA was built as the primary road course series in North America. IMSA will always do road racing better than NASCAR and that’s ok.

Yes, TOO Many… https://t.co/W3pGrJwcb8

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) July 10, 2025

What Do Road Courses Actually Bring to NASCAR?

While six races might feel like a lot to Keselowski, it’s really just 16% of the 36-race Cup Series schedule. The series remains a majorly traditional oval series. But road courses do something unique: They allow underdogs to have a shot at winning.

Look at Cup Series rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who struggles on ovals but has become the road course king. He’s won three road course races in 33 Cup races. Road courses also challenge veteran drivers who grew up racing only ovals, forcing them to adapt their skills.

That’s probably why Denny Hamlin seems to echo Keselowski’s opinion on road courses. In the recent episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin said, “I’m not a road course fan. I still believe we have too many of them on the schedule … Six is a lot, considering that we are NASCAR. We’re short track racing, oval racing, full contact type racing.”

So far, road courses have delivered thrills for fans. After concluding this season, NASCAR officials can probably take a call on what the sweet spot is. They can decide if six is too many or if there’s room for one more. Let’s wait for the 2026 schedule to see what happens.

Toyota/Save Mart 350

Location: Sonoma, Calif.
Course: Sonoma Raceway
Format: 1.99-mile road course
Laps: 110

NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 Race Preview

The NASCAR Cup Series goes road racing again this week at Sonoma Raceway as Shave van Gisbergen attempts to win back-to-back races. The Trackhouse Racing driver took his second win of the season a week ago on the streets of Chicago and has an opportunity to join Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin as the only drivers to consecutive races this season. Kyle Larson won at Sonoma last season, capturing his second series win at the track after the race started with a flurry of cautions before going yellow free for the entirety of the final stage. Larson led 19 laps that afternoon and became the sixth straight driver to win at Sonoma from a top-10 starting spot. No driver has won starting lower than 12th at the circuit since Martin Truex Jr. won from the 14th position in 2013. This week’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be the fourth of six road course contests this season as everyone tries to stop Van Gisbergen’s train of success.

Key Stats at Sonoma Raceway

• Number of races: 35
• Winners from pole: 6
• Winners from top-5 starters: 18
• Winners from top-10 starters: 26
• Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
• Fastest race: 83.922 mph

Previous 10 Sonoma Winners

2024 – Kyle Larson
2023 – Martin Truex Jr.
2022 – Daniel Suarez
2021 – Kyle Larson
2019 – Martin Truex Jr.
2018 – Martin Truex Jr.
2017 – Kevin Harvick
2016 – Tony Stewart
2015 – Kyle Busch
2014 – Carl Edwards

Unlike the streets of Chicago, Sonoma Raceway is a purpose-built racetrack that snakes through the hills of northern California’s wine country. The track is narrow and features many challenging off-camber and blind-apex turns. Despite the track’s relative lack of passing opportunities, two specific areas (turns 7 and 11) see significant action due to heavy braking at corner entrance. These are places where use of the bumper can net a driver a position if they are close enough and aggressive enough. Like most road courses, track position and pit strategy are key elements of success. The prerequisite to those keys is having a fast car to begin with, though. Qualifying is a good indicator of success. No driver has started outside of the top 15 and won this race since 2008 and most victors start inside the top 10. Once track position is secured through a top qualifying effort, pit strategy will help teams maximize the advantage. Last year, Kyle Larson was last to pit on the final run to the finish, which gave him fresh tires and maximum grip to climb back to the lead for the win. Saving grip to keep competitors behind in the final miles is likely to be the aim again this season.

RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools

NASCAR Lineup Optimizer

NASCAR Projections

DraftKings Value Picks for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)

DraftKings Tier 1 Values  

Shane van Gisbergen – $12,500
Kyle Larson – $10,500
Tyler Reddick – $10,300
William Byron – $10,000

DraftKings Tier 2 Values  

Chase Elliott – $9,800
Ty Gibbs – $9,500
Michael McDowell – $9,300
Christopher Bell – $9,000

DraftKings Tier 3 Values

AJ Allmendinger – $8,800
Chris Buescher – $8,600
Ross Chastain – $8,400
Kyle Busch – $8,000

DraftKings Long-Shot Values

Denny Hamlin – $7,700
Ryan Blaney – $7,500
Joey Logano – $7,200
Ryan Preece – $6,700

NASCAR DFS Picks for the Toyota/Save Mart 350

Chase Elliott – $9,800
Ty Gibbs – $9,500
Chris Buescher – $8,600
Ross Chastain – $8,400
Carson Hocevar – $7,000
Ryan Preece – $6,700

Shane van Gisbergen’s talents on road courses command a high price again this week. With two victories under his belt this season, it may not be a bad move to absorb the cost this week, but this lineup presents a different option. Sonoma is a different track than any the series has raced on so far this season, and this will be SVG’s first race in the Cup car at the circuit. Sonoma is also very familiar to the Cup regulars who have been racing here for many years. In short, the Cup Series veterans won’t be as easily overcome this week as they were at Mexico and Chicago, which may offers fantasy players more value by avoiding SVG this week. 

With this in mind, Chase Elliott (DK $9,800, FD $12,000) is a confident Sonoma selection. The former series champ once dominated road courses but has never won at Sonoma. However, he has been returning to form on these tracks and has three top-five finishes from his last four Sonoma tries, including a runner-up result in 2021. With six top-10 finishes from eight starts, and laps led in the last five at this track, Elliott could be one that gives SVG a run for his money this week. 

Ty Gibbs (DK $9,500, FD $12,500) should also feature. He was second at Chicago just a week ago and started in the top 10 in both Sonoma series starts. Last year, contact ended his day prematurely, but Gibbs has the road course talent that should regularly result in top-five finishes. He has four Xfinity Series road course wins and a track like Sonoma could be a likely spot for his first Cup Series win. 

One driver that has already gone head to head with SVG and come out on top is Chris Buescher (DK $8,600, FD $11,000). His 18th-place finish at Chicago was his first road course finish outside of the top 10 this season. He was seventh at COTA and 10th at Mexico. At Sonoma, since introduction of the current generation of car, Buescher hasn’t finished outside of the top five. Last year, despite starting 26th, he finished the race third. Remarkably, Buescher is still a relatively underrated racer on road courses (even after beating SVG at Watkins Glen), which is an advantage for fantasy players until his price starts to match his potential.

There is also value to be had for fantasy rosters in choices like Ross Chastain (DK $8,400, FD $8,500). Chastain is a road course winner at COTA and Sonoma has treated him very well, too. With four top-10 finishes from five Sonoma series starts, Chastain should be expected to finish toward the front again. Last season, he scored his career-best finish at the track of fifth, which was his fourth consecutive top-10 at the circuit. 

Speaking of potential, Carson Hocevar (DK $7,000, FD $7,000) has been showing a lot of it this season. Last week, he put his car third on the grid at the street course but made a mistake early in the race that ended his day. Mexico was also a rough race for him with numerous on-track incidents, but his 13th-place finish at COTA in March lends credence to the road course potential we saw a flash of last week. Last year he qualified 13th and finished 17th in this race, and a top-15 should be within his reach Sunday, but he is likely the riskiest selection in the lineup this week. 

Ryan Preece (DK $6,700, FD $6,200) should offer more confidence, though. In his last two Sonoma starts, he finished 13th and 18th despite starting 22nd and 30th. He qualified inside the top 10 last week and finished seventh and finished 15th at Mexico. Preece has shown improvement on road courses this season and should offer top-15 potential at Sonoma this week despite being the least costly driver of our choices.

NASCAR Best Bets for the Toyota/Save Mart 350

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 4:00 PM ET Friday

Race Winner – Shane van Gisbergen +130, Chase Elliott +1400
Top-Five Finish – Ty Gibbs +150
Top-10 Finish – Denny Hamlin +275
Group Winner – Ross Chastain +240, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe
Winning Manufacturer – Ford +650

After two victories this season, Shane van Gisbergen is beginning to approach the point where wagerers may want to grab odds at +130 for the win. However, anything can happen in NASCAR and Sonoma is a different circuit than Mexico and Chicago. While SVG is certainly the worthy favorite, such low odds remain tough to swallow for now. 

A better bargain would be Chase Elliott. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has three top-fives from his last four Sonoma starts and has been approaching a return to wins on road courses, too. He has never won at this track, but his third-place finish at Mexico shows what he may be capable of this weekend. Elliott is likely to return to Victory Lane at a road course at some point and Sonoma is a track where his experience and past success gives him a better chance than usual versus Van Gisbergen.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin both offer decent odds for top finishes. Gibbs has plenty of road course potential and is on a nice run of form leading into this week’s race. He was second a week ago at Chicago and finished 11th at Mexico after qualifying inside the top five. Gibbs has shown top-five speed on road courses this season and needs to go for the win to get into the playoffs. Denny Hamlin doesn’t have that same playoff need, but he is also a regular feature in the top 10 at road courses. Prior to having DNFs in the last two Sonoma visits, Hamlin finished in the top 10 at the track five of the prior six times. He also has four top-fives from the last five races heading into the weekend.

Another attractive wager is Ross Chastain as group winner. Chastain has a habit of consistently finishing well at certain tracks, and Sonoma Raceway is one of those. In five series tries, Chastain finished in the top 10 four times, including once from the 29th starting spot. The only blemish on his Sonoma resume is his first Cup visit in 2019 when he qualified 37th and finished 33rd. Since then, he has been a top-10 machine. This track is also a good one for Kyle Busch, but Chastain’s Sonoma consistency makes him the best option in this grouping.

Lastly, Chevrolet is pulling very low odds due for this week’s win due to having Shane van Gisbergen and others behind the wheel. However, Sonoma doesn’t have a favored manufacturer. The last time Ford won at the track was with Kevin Harvick in 2017, but Ford drivers finished second and third last year, fourth and fifth in 2023, and second through sixth in 2022. There is no reason a Ford-powered driver can’t win at this track this weekend, and the manufacturer’s significantly better odds make it worth a small gamble.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it’s possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. C.J. Radune plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: cjradune, RaceDayScore: cjradune.

Shane Van Gisbergen continued his road course excellence by winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at Sonoma Raceway on Friday (July 11) afternoon with a lap of 95.191 mph.

It’s back-to-back Xfinity poles for SVG, who will start alongside JR Motorsports teammate and three-time Xfinity winner Connor Zilisch.

Sam Mayer took third, while Jesse Love qualified fourth. The top four all posted their times in the second round of qualifying. William Sawalich was the fastest driver in the first round of qualifying, and he will start fifth.

Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill completed the top 10.

Austin J. Hill of Joey Gase Motorsports was the only driver that failed to qualify for the race.

NASCAR Weekend TV Schedule: Sonoma, July 11 – 13

Pit Boss / Food Maxx 250 Qualifying Results

The Xfinity Series will race at Sonoma on Saturday (July 12), with coverage beginning at 4:30 ET on the CW.

Tristan Ell

Shane van Gisbergen, driving a car for JR Motorsports, claimed the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity race at Sonoma Raceway.

He toured the 1.99-mile road course at an average of 95.191 mph.

Connor Zilisch will join van Gisbergen on the front row after a lap of 94.884 mph. That gives JR Motorsports a sweep of the front row.

Sam Mayer (94.707 mph) qualified third, followed by Jesse Love (94.463) and William Sawalich (94.411).

The green flag for Saturday’s race is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. ET.

NEWTON, Iowa – INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Dennis Hauger will start from the No. 1 position for the INDY NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway race after the qualifying session was rained out. The field for the 75-lap race will take the green flag based on entrant points entering the event.

SEE: Starting Lineup

Hauger had the third-fastest lap in Friday’s abbreviated practice, turning a lap of 165.073 mph in Andretti Global’s No. 28 Nammo entry. His lap was part of the Andretti organization’s strong start to the weekend. Four of the team-related drivers turned laps among the session’s top five.

Hauger will start from the top spot for the seventh time in nine races this season. He started second in the other two.

Salvador de Alba posted the fastest lap of the 30-minute session at 165.518 mph in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car of Andretti Global. Myles Rowe was second driving the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine (165.421 mph).

“(A) shortened practice, but happy to be where we are,” de Alba said. “All the Andretti cars are pretty fast. We (turned) good laps at the very end with the used tires, so that gives us even more confidence.”

Ricardo Escotto was fourth in the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car of Andretti Cape Motorsports (164.623 mph). Rookie Lochie Hughes was fifth in Andretti Global’s No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship entry (164.291 mph).

Andretti Global’s James Roe, who won the pole for last year’s race at this .894-mile oval, had the eighth-fastest lap in the No. 29 Topcon entry (163.267 mph).

Jordan Missig had the session’s only spin, a lazy excursion off Turn 2. He did not make contact with the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, enabling him to continue after pitting.

The field was expected to include Sebastian Murray in the No. 2 DREAM RACING DUBAI entry of Andrett Cape Motorsport, but he was not medically cleared to participate in the wake of last weekend’s accident with Escotto at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Saturday’s 75-lap race starts at 1:30 p.m. ET. FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network will have the broadcasts.

In the aftermath of the NASCAR Cup Series race in Downtown Chicago on Sunday, Joey Logano said Ross Chastain admitted to wrecking him on purpose following their involvement in a multi-car fracas in the closing laps.

Logano even pled his case to league officials following the race.

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NASCAR communications official Mike Forde addressed the issue on his Hauler Talk podcast as part of a detailing on why there wasn’t a penalty stemming from their run-in.

“I would be fairly surprised if we don’t have conversations with both those drivers, whether that’s going to be together or separately, in Sonoma, to let them know that our eyes will be peeled on both the 1 and the 22 to make sure that nothing unsavory happens to make sure nothing unsavory happens at Sonoma and beyond,” Forde said. “So, that’s where we kind of stand right now.”

Read more:23XI, Front Row to likely lose charters after latest legal outcome

Forde also praised Logano for choosing to take those concerns to NASCAR beyond going even further with his frustrations in public to the media.

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“So, as we’ve said, as Amanda (Ellis, NASCAR Senior Director, Racing Communications) has hammered a bunch of times, we prefer that to happen,” Forde said. “You know, let’s, if you have a problem, if you have a critique, a criticism, whatever, our doors are open. And Logano probably more than most takes advantage of that opportunity.

“As far as, you know, driver skirmishes on the racetrack and them coming to us to say we should do something about it, I think that’s pretty rare. But as far as coming to talk to us about other things, that’s less rare. I think we wish it would happen more. Logano’s always very good. He’s one of the leaders in that driver group, and the driver advisory council, he’s on the board with Jeff Burton and a couple of other drivers. So, he takes that two-way conversation and communication pretty seriously.”