Motorsports

Corey Heim, NASCAR Trucks points leader, on his path in racing and room for improvement: 12 Questions

Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Our series continues with our fourth consecutive series points leader interview: Corey Heim, current leader in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Tricon Garage. This interview has been condensed and edited, but the full version is available on the 12 […]

Published

1 month ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Our series continues with our fourth consecutive series points leader interview: Corey Heim, current leader in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Tricon Garage. This interview has been condensed and edited, but the full version is available on the 12 Questions podcast.

1. What was one of the first autographs you got as a kid, and what do you remember about that moment?

My family would go to the Fourth of July weekend at Daytona when I was growing up. It’s my birthday weekend (he was born July 5), so it’s always a fun thing for me. I grew up a big Denny (Hamlin) fan, so I remember going to his merch trailer at the time. His mom (Mary Lou) ran his trailer, and we had no idea, but my mom made it a point that it was my birthday to see if we could get something extra because it was my favorite driver.

They gave me a rookie card of his that was pre-signed. I thought (it) was the coolest thing ever, because within that we met his mom and we didn’t know at first. (Heim is now a development driver for 23XI Racing, which Hamlin co-owns.)

2. What is the most miserable you’ve ever been inside of a race car?

In 2021 at Watkins Glen, I had to run Kyle Busch’s shell (for the seat at Kyle Busch Motorsports). Kyle sits really strangely; he’s very low and his legs are like cramped up into his chest. That’s like the opposite of what I need, because I get a lot of hip cramping, so I need my legs to be really straight out so they’re not clenched the whole time.

It was my second-ever Truck start, and I was so uncomfortable. By the middle of Stage 2, my hips cramped up on me. I literally couldn’t walk when I got out of the truck. My guys had to carry me by both shoulders back to the hauler, and they were giving me cramping pills.

3. Outside of racing, what is your most recent memory of something you got way too competitive about?

My girlfriend (Taylor Reimer) loves Monopoly. She’s really competitive, and I’m really competitive, and that makes us clash a little bit. You know how you charge rent? There was one instance where I went to go check my phone, and I forgot to charge her rent for being on my property. And I’m like, “Hey, weren’t you on my property?” And she’s like, “Yeah, but you weren’t paying attention. You have to tell me that I owe you money for rent.” And I’m like, “What? That’s not how a board game works. If you’re on my property, you pay me rent.” She’s like, “No, you weren’t paying attention.”

So the next time comes around, and I was on some other person’s property, and I was doing everything I could to make sure they didn’t know I was on it, and they forgot — and she called me out on it because I got so worked up when she was on my property! I was like, “Taylor, you can’t be a hypocrite. You just did the same thing!” And she’s like, “Well, you’re a hypocrite because you got mad about it.” So that is part of the game, I guess.

Wait until Corey Heim is distracted before you land on his properties in Monopoly. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

4. What do people get wrong about you?

I see a lot of people talk about how I whine a lot. I don’t feel like I whine. People talk about how I complain, but I feel like that’s pretty typical for anyone who is interviewed a lot? I don’t feel like I’m a whiner. I feel like I’m pretty chill, and if the race up front is good quality and we rub a little bit, that’s fine with me. But I feel like when people overstep and wreck you, that’s when I complain and people get worked up about that.

5. What kind of Uber passenger are you, and how much do you care about your Uber rating?

I don’t Uber a lot. I’m kind of a homebody. But I’m pretty adaptable. I just read the room a little bit. If the driver is more quiet, I like to keep it that way. I don’t really care about my Uber rating, but it’s 4.9 or something.

6. This one is a wild-card question I’m mixing up for each person. I know you grew up in the Atlanta suburbs and think you started racing quarter midgets when you were 5, and you some Legend car racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But I don’t really know about your background growing up beyond that. Can you fill in the blanks for me?

My dad was always a big NASCAR fan. He raced Legend cars a lot when I was growing up at Lanier (Raceway), and he actually raced against Chase Elliott and the Dillon brothers in the same class. He was low-budgeted; he works in the gambling industry and sold old monitors from slot machines to fund his racing when I was growing up and raced locally.

I had started to love NASCAR and watch it with him, and he surprised me with a go-kart for Christmas when I was 4 years old. I started racing locally in Cumming, Georgia, and at the Lanier quarter-midget track up the road. When I first started out, it was a very low-budget operation because it was more of a hobby for us. I didn’t like losing, like most people, and was skeptical whether I wanted to continue racing. Quite honestly, when I was 7 or 8 years old, I had one foot out the door. If it wasn’t for the friends and the people I had met and formed those relationships with, I probably would have quit racing. When you’re not doing as well as you want to be, it’s not very fun.

My dad’s business started doing better, started putting more money into the racing side of things and chipped away at it and eventually decided to go Late Model racing. Had some success there, met the right people, and my dad’s business was doing better, so he was able to throw more money at it and invest in the ARCA side of things. Ever since I’ve been in Trucks, I’ve made a career out of it from there.

When you didn’t have enough funding to run well, at what point did you know you were good enough to do this? Because if you’re not winning at that age, how do you know?

I did a lot of iRacing growing up, and I was always pretty good at that, and we had a decent amount of success later in my quarter-midget career and definitely in Late Models, too. My dad always told me he didn’t have enough money to fund ARCA racing, so it was always in the back of my mind like, “I’m just going to keep doing it until I can’t anymore.”

But that’s when his business started doing a lot better, and he was able to throw a little bit more money at it for me to get that ARCA opportunity. And then little by little, Toyota started to help us, and eventually it turned into what it is now. I just always enjoyed it just enough to want to stay in it, and I felt like the day I didn’t enjoy anymore, I would be done with it. But that day never came.

7. This is the 16th year I’ve been doing these 12 Questions interviews, and I’ve been going back to a previous question and re-using it. You seem like a very even-keeled guy from what I’ve seen, so I found this one from 2012: When is the last time you got nervous about something?

I get nervous all the time. I mean, I’m nervous right now for Cup practice (Heim ran the No. 67 car at Nashville Superspeedway last weekend). I have emotions, but they’re just more internal. I feel a fair amount of stress and nerves going into these races. I want to impress people and perform at the best of my ability.

Anyone who cares gets nervous about things. Like, if you have a big event where you have to speak to a lot of people, you’d get nervous too, if you care about it. So I feel like it’s pretty natural.

8. Other than one of your teammates, name a driver who you would be one of the first people to congratulate them in victory lane if they won a race.

Tanner Gray in the Trucks. He’s been a really good teammate to me. You said no teammates, but I was thinking on the 23XI side. So I’ll say Tanner for my Tricon side. I don’t really have a lot of close friends outside of my Toyota group, so it’s a tough one.

9. How much do you use AI technology, whether for your job or your daily life?

I’ve never used it, but a lot of the photos people generate are really funny, so I’ve wanted to give it a shot. But do they all cost money to use? I’d like to use it sometime.

I’ve seen people use it for paint schemes, and people (on social media) lose their marbles because it takes away (the human element), which makes sense. But I feel like that’s just adapting to the times, you know?

Tanner Gray and Corey Heim, Tricon Garage teammates in the NASCAR Truck Series. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)

10. What is a time in your life that was really challenging, but you feel proud of the way that you responded to it?

The 2023 championship in the Trucks, just with Carson (Hocevar) and the whole mess there. (Heim was going to win the championship but was wrecked by Hocevar; Heim later retaliated by wrecking Hocevar and was penalized for it afterward.) It was just a big rollercoaster of emotions and the public perception. For the most part, I’ve been a really clean driver. I don’t really cause a lot of crap, but being under that microscope with 30 to go in a Truck (championship) race and everything happening the way it did, it put me in a bad light. I had to handle that because I pride myself on racing the way I want to be race, so seeing people come crashing down on me for retaliating was tough.

The good part of it was I had the whole offseason to just get over it. It wasn’t like I had to go racing next week with that mindset. But from a broad perspective, I feel like it was a warranted thing, but I had to just understand I was under a microscope, and it got blown out of proportion a little bit from my standpoint.

11. What needs to happen in NASCAR to take this sport to the next level of popularity?

First of all, every race would sell out if it was as big of a party as Talladega. No one is coming to watch 25 minutes of practice; you come to party and enjoy the race. Of course, there’s a fan group that enjoys the racing quality, but what are you going to do for the other three days you’re here camping out? People go for that more than anything. (More of a party scene) would help at pretty much every racetrack.

And then I feel like MLB has done a really good job with ballpark food. I’ve seen a lot of parks introduce new ballpark food. People travel just to go and try these new ballpark items. They’re crazy contraptions of food and stuff you don’t see on a normal day. That would be cool for certain tracks.

12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. The last one was with Justin Allgaier, so his question for you is: “It’s inevitable for you to be a Cup Series superstar. What has been the hardest part about your progression and what do you still need to work on to become the best all-around driver in whatever series you’re in on a given weekend?”

Just the little things I need to work on. My speed is there. My racecraft has gotten a lot better. The little things such as pit road and restarts are things I can put effort into it and continue to get better, and I can execute on it for one race — but after I stop making that a point to look at on a consistent basis, I start slacking on it again. So it’s like I need to learn how to somehow mentally let myself know (to do those things) every week.

The next interview I’m doing is with Daniel Suárez. Do you have a question I can ask him?

Aside from Trackhouse, he’s never been able to settle into a groove with one team. He was with the Xfinity team with Gibbs for one year, won the championship, went Cup racing probably prematurely (when Carl Edwards suddenly retired). Once he was getting in his groove (in Cup with Gibbs), he’s out the door going to Haas, and then once he was getting his groove there, he’s out the door with the next move. What’s it been like to have to readjust constantly every year versus being comfortable and finding his groove at Trackhouse?

(Top photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

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NASCAR starting lineup for Sonoma Raceway: William Byron third, Alex Bowman ninth for Sunday’s race

SONOMA, Calif. – The NASCAR Cup Series turned laps today in Wine Country as 37 drivers took part in practice and qualifying around the 11-turn circuit. William Byron rolled onto the track in group one and set a lap time of 1:15.025, a good enough for third place. RELATED: Xfinity Series starting lineup for Sonoma Alex Bowman, […]

Published

11 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SONOMA, Calif. – The NASCAR Cup Series turned laps today in Wine Country as 37 drivers took part in practice and qualifying around the 11-turn circuit.

William Byron rolled onto the track in group one and set a lap time of 1:15.025, a good enough for third place.

RELATED: Xfinity Series starting lineup for Sonoma

Alex Bowman, who is battling Ty Dillon this week in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, starts ninth. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will start 11th and 13th respectively for Sunday’s race.

Hendrick Motorsports is doing double duty this weekend with Corey Day piloting the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series. He was set to roll off 14th for the race slated for 4:30 p.m. start time later on Saturday.

RELATED: Check out the paint schemes for Sonoma

Here is a look at the starting grid for Sunday’s race:

Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88, 74.833
Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 74.844
William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 75.025
Ross Chastain, No. 1, 75.087
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16, 75.120
Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 75.128
Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 75.134
Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 75.176
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 75.233
Christopher Bell, No. 20, 75.243
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 75.254
Zane Smith, No. 38, 75.278
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 75.283
Chris Buescher, No. 17, 75.373
Michael McDowell, No. 71, 75.408
Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 75.437
Kyle Busch, No. 8, 75.475
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 75.517
Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 75.563
Ryan Preece, No. 60, 75.589
Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 75.624
Joey Logano, No. 22, 75.629
Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 75.666
Austin Cindric, No. 2, 75.734
Josh Berry, No. 21, 75.836
Ty Dillon, No. 10, 76.033
Cole Custer, No. 41, 76.122
Riley Herbst, No. 35, 76.254
Justin Haley, No. 7, 76.270
Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 76.275
Erik Jones, No. 43, 76.297
Noah Gragson, No. 4, 76.299
Austin Dillon, No. 3, 76.461
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, 76.623
Todd Gilliand, No. 34, 76.372
Cody Ware, No. 51, 77.478
Katherine Legge, No. 78, No time

What time is the NASCAR race today?

Saturday, July 12

Sunday, July 13

3:30 p.m. – Cup Series race, TNT

RELATED: From Winner to Champion: Relive Jeff Gordon’s 1995 NASCAR Cup Series championship all in one place

Where is NASCAR this weekend?

The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series tackle the twists and turns of Sonoma Raceway this weekend.

Where is Sonoma Raceway?

Sonoma Raceway is located in Sonoma, California.

NASCAR In-Season tournament matchups

Alex Bowman (8) vs. Ty Dillon (32)
John Hunter Nemechek (12) vs. Erik Jones (20)
Ryan Preece (15) vs. Tyler Reddick (23)
Ty Gibbs (6) vs. Zane Smith (14)

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Drivers to watch including Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott

From Kyle Larson to Chase Elliott, here are some drivers to watch at the NASCAR Sonoma race. NASCAR is set to run at Sonoma Raceway for the sport’s only stop in California this season for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Thirty-seven drivers will hit the track and run through one of the more intriguing tracks on […]

Published

12 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

From Kyle Larson to Chase Elliott, here are some drivers to watch at the NASCAR Sonoma race.

NASCAR is set to run at Sonoma Raceway for the sport’s only stop in California this season for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Thirty-seven drivers will hit the track and run through one of the more intriguing tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit.

Here are five drivers to keep an eye on during the NASCAR Sonoma race.

Shop NASCAR Sonoma tickets

Kyle Larson

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

Car number: No. 5

What to know: Larson has three wins at Sonoma Raceway, including last year’s event. He also has five pole awards at the track.

Shane van Gisbergen

Team: Trackhouse Racing

Car number: No. 88

What to know: Shane van Gisbergen has three NASCAR Cup Series wins, all at road courses and two at the Chicago Street Circuit. “SVG” has been strong at road courses throughout his short Cup Series career and will start on pole at Sonoma.

Joey Logano

Team: Team Penske

Car number: No. 22

What to know: Joey Logano has strong runs at Sonoma, including six top 10s in 15 attempts. He has encountered some struggle in some races, but he can find a way to get through the field. He has yet to win at Sonoma, but he’s been close.

Chase Briscoe

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Car number: No. 19

What to know: Briscoe has been one of the more consistent drivers this season, especially in the most recent couple of weeks. Briscoe will start on the outside pole for the NASCAR Sonoma race.

Chase Elliott

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

Car number: No. 9

What to know: Chase Elliott has won 20 races in his NASCAR Cup Series career, seven of those wins have come at road courses, including his first win at Watkins Glen International in 2018. He won four consecutive road courses from 2019-20. Elliott does not yet have a win at Sonoma Raceway but is always a contender at road courses.

When is NASCAR Sonoma race?

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on July 13 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.

NASCAR Sonoma race TV channel

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sonoma race will be broadcast on TNT with Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the broadcast booth.

Shop NASCAR Sonoma tickets

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NASCAR makes surprising ruling on Ty Gibbs No. 54 pit road controversy

NASCAR made the final ruling on the Ty Gibbs and No. 54 team incident at the Cup Series race at Sonoma. The TNT broadcast said that NASCAR saw nothing wrong with the Gibbs pit stop, which led to a fight between the No. 54 team and Brad Keselowski‘s No. 6 team. TNT broadcasters Dale Earnhardt […]

Published

32 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NASCAR made the final ruling on the Ty Gibbs and No. 54 team incident at the Cup Series race at Sonoma. The TNT broadcast said that NASCAR saw nothing wrong with the Gibbs pit stop, which led to a fight between the No. 54 team and Brad Keselowski‘s No. 6 team. TNT broadcasters Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte agreed with NASCAR’s decision as they didn’t see any other way for Gibbs to make his stop.

It was reported that the teams of Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski got into a fight on pit road. NASCAR pit reporter Wendy Venturini said (per Taylor Kitchen) “Gibbs came to pit row – his stall right in front of Keselowski’s. Tire changer for the No. 6 was waiting on pit wall when Gibbs came in to pit and clipped the tire from the No. 6 tire carrier. The tire changer confronted the Gibbs crew after their stop and that’s when the altercation ensued.”

What Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski have done this year

Ty Gibbs is in his third year as a full-time Cup Series driver with Joe Gibbs Racing. Heading into the Sonoma Race, Gibbs has recorded four top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes, including a second-place finish at Chicago last week.

Brad Keselowski has put together a Hall-of-Fame career, recording 36 Cup series race victories and one Cup Series championship. So far this season, Keselowski has posted four top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes, including second place at Atlanta at the end of June.

After the Atlanta race, Keselowski expressed his frustration with coming up short again. “He just had the 48 behind him giving him a huge push and nothing I could do to cover that,” Keselowski said of Chase Elliott’s pass entering Turn 1 on the last lap, per NASCAR.com. “When we had our cars linked up at RFK, we could do the same thing and we lost that. Then it was just kind of a two-on-one, and fought as hard as I could.”

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NASCAR at Sonoma results: Shane van Gisbergen remains ‘King of the Road’ with third straight road course win

Published

53 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In another performance that put all other drivers’ road racing skills to shame, Shane van Gisbergen dominated by leading 97 of 110 laps to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday for his third straight win in the past month of NASCAR’s slate of road course races. Van Gisbergen’s fourth career Cup Series victory continues a historic pace for him to start his NASCAR career, as his fourth win in 34 career starts makes him the fastest driver to earn four wins to begin his career since Parnelli Jones earned his fourth win in 1967 in just his 31st Cup start.

After dominating from the pole and having done the same at both Mexico City and Chicago, van Gisbergen also becomes the first driver to win three consecutive road course races from the pole since NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon did so between 1998 and 1999 as part of a streak of six straight from 1997 to 2000. His three wins also tie him for the most this season, as he now stands alongside Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell among winning drivers atop the playoff standings.

NASCAR 2025 race schedule, results: Complete list of Cup Series race dates, winners, tracks, locations

Steven Taranto

After winning in his Cup debut at Chicago two years ago, van Gisbergen left a successful career racing V8 Supercars in Australia — where he earned 80 career victories and three championships — to move to the United States and a full-time NASCAR career. Now, the 36-year old from Auckland, New Zealand, is raising the bar for stock car road racing, and has quickly staked a claim to being one of the best road racers NASCAR has ever seen.

“It means everything. That’s why I race cars, you know,” van Gisbergen told TNT Sports. “I had an amazing time in Australia, and then to come year, the last couple years have been a dream come true. I’ve really enjoyed my time in NASCAR. Thanks everyone for making me feel so welcome, and I hope I’m here for a long time to come.”

Chase Briscoe would be best of the rest of the field in second, followed by Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Bell completing the top five. Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, William Byron, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch comprised the rest of the Top 10.

Gibbs, Keselowski crews have pit road confrontation

Though much of it occurred in van Gisbergen’s rearview mirror, Sunday’s race saw its fair share of action and dustups, including one on pit road. During a round of green flag pit stops, Gibbs and Brad Keselowski came to their pit stalls together, with Gibbs driving through Keselowski’s stall into the No. 54 stall, but coming perilously close to Keselowski’s crew already over the wall in the process. Gibbs came close enough to the No. 6 crew to clip a tire being held by crewmember Telvin McClurkin, twisting his wrist in the process.

An incensed McClurkin went over to confront Gibbs’ pit crew immediately after both crews finished their stops, which led to a brief shoving match that was broken up by NASCAR officials. Officials would later rule that Gibbs did nothing to warrant a penalty, with Gibbs himself explaining that he had been following pit road procedures.

“By NASCAR’s rules, I’m the lead car because I’m the pit box past where the 6 is, and I’m in front of him as well,” Gibbs told TNT Sports. “We have these orange lines … where if I’m behind him, I have to go around those orange lines for it to be a rule (sic). And going in, I have the right of way.

“They’re on the wall for a reason, they jump for a reason, they kind of get out of the way. Those guys like to push it, and that’s kind of the consequence you pay. That’s unfortunate for them that they had a penalty. Nothing malicious, it’s my right of way.”

Drama all the way to the end

Meanwhile, the race to advance in NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge came all the way down to the final corner, as Ty Dillon put the bump-and-run on Alex Bowman for 17th spot, allowing him to continue his improbable run as the No. 32 seed entering the tournament.

Dillon will face No. 12 seed John Hunter Nemechek in the semifinals at Dover Motor Speedway, while No. 23 Tyler Reddick will go up against No. 6 Ty Gibbs on the other side of the bracket.

The top two finishers in each matchup next week at Dover will move on to the championship round to determine the In-Season Challenge winner in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.

Toyota/Save Mart 350 results

#88 – Shane van Gisbergen (R)
#19 – Chase Briscoe
#9 – Chase Elliott
#71 – Michael McDowell
#20 – Christopher Bell
#45 – Tyler Reddick
#54 – Ty Gibbs
#24 – William Byron
#22 – Joey Logano
#8 – Kyle Busch
#6 – Brad Keselowski
#60 – Ryan Preece
#21 – Josh Berry
#99 – Daniel Suarez
#7 – Justin Haley
#17 – Chris Buescher
#10 – Ty Dillon
#16 – A.J. Allmendinger
#48 – Alex Bowman
#11 – Denny Hamlin
#3 – Austin Dillon
#34 – Todd Gilliland
#41 – Cole Custer
#1 – Ross Chastain
#35 – Riley Herbst (R)
#23 – Bubba Wallace
#38 – Zane Smith
#42 – John Hunter Nemechek
#43 – Erik Jones
#2 – Austin Cindric
#78 – Katherine Legge
#77 – Carson Hocevar
#47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
#51 – Cody Ware
#5 – Kyle Larson
#12 – Ryan Blaney
#4 – Noah Gragson

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Shane van Gisbergen is Somona race winner

Jeff Gordon reflects on how to grow NASCAR’s popularity Jeff Gordon discusses the popularity of NASCAR and how the sport can continue to grow. Sports Seriously Shane van Gisbergen won his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series road course race. The NASCAR In-Season Challenge bracket is down to four drivers: Ty Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler […]

Published

1 hour ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Shane van Gisbergen won his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series road course race.
The NASCAR In-Season Challenge bracket is down to four drivers: Ty Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs.
The Cup Series heads to Dover Motor Speedway next, marking a break from road courses until mid-August.

There is no doubt.

You know, if any existed before NASCAR headed to Sonoma Raceway.

With his victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on July 13, Shane van Gisbergen continued to solidify his title as the best road-course racer in the Cup Series. At this point, he’s vaulting up the all-time list.

Check out this note.

Van Gisbergen became the first driver since Jeff Gordon in 1998 and 1999 to claim three straight road races from the pole.

“I just have to thank these guys,” van Gisbergen said, acknowledging his No. 88 Trackhouse team. “It builds up all year. Got better and better. Now, we need to keep getting better on the ovals and start proving some people wrong.”

Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott followed him to the stripe and filled out the top three.

Let’s break it down.

1. SVG is Michael Jordan on road courses? Ask Chase Briscoe

Minutes after the race, Briscoe joined the TNT crew and offered this.

“I obviously never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime,” he said, “but I feel like that’s what it was probably like.”

Yes, SVG was that good Sunday.

He led 97 of the 110 laps. After securing a Stage 2 win, the second of the day for Trackhouse after teammate Ross Chastain grabbed Stage 1, van Gisbergen overcame a pair of cautions in the final 12 laps and held Briscoe at bay.

Final margin: 1.128 seconds.

The 36-year-old from New Zealand joined Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell as drivers with multiple victories this season. All four of those gentlemen have three.

SVG also triumphed in Chicago last week and Mexico City last month.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time in NASCAR,” he said. “Thanks everybody for making me feel so welcome. Hopefully, I’m here for a long time to come.”

2. NASCAR In-Season Challenge bracket update

The 32-driver bracket is down to four.

Ty Dillon will take on John Hunter Nemechek and Tyler Reddick will square off with Ty Gibbs in the semifinals of the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge next week.

Sonoma served as the third of five rounds. Here’s how it shook out:

32-seed Dillon (17th) beat 8-seed Alex Bowman (19th)
12-seed Nemechek (28th) beat 20-seed Erik Jones (29th)
23-seed Reddick (sixth) beat 15-seed Ryan Preece (12th)
6-seed Gibbs (seventh) beat 14-seed Zane Smith (38th)

3. NASCAR schedule: Cup Series exits road courses for now with Dover race

Here’s some good news for the rest of the Cup Series.

The drivers won’t hit another road course until mid-August. Van Gisbergen’s dominance of the last few weeks will be hard to sustain.

Next week, the circuit turns to the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. The race is set for 2 p.m. on July 20. It will air on TNT.

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2025 NASCAR Sonoma odds, Toyota/Save Mart 350 picks, props: Expert who nailed 17 winners likes 80-1 longshot

Kyle Larson will look to get back into the winner’s circle when he takes part in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Larson has had a lot of success at Sonoma and won last year’s event as well as in 2021. He placed eighth at the 2023 race. Larson already has three wins on […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Larson is at +600 to win the race, while Shane van Gisbergen is the +140 odds-on favorite. Other contenders include Michael McDowell (+1000), Chase Elliott (+1200) and Tyler Reddick (+1400) in the latest 2025 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway odds, from DrafKings Sportsbook. Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET. Before making any 2025 Toyota/Save Mart 350 picks or NASCAR at Sonoma predictions, you need to see what NASCAR insider Steven Taranto has to say.

Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com. He has an annual NASCAR media credential and also publishes a popular weekly NASCAR predictions column, famously calling Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez’s breakthrough wins in 2022.

Taranto was red-hot for SportsLine in 2024 as he nailed 17 winners, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. He correctly picked the Straight Talk Wireless 400 winner in Larson on March 23. Anyone following his NASCAR picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.

Now, Taranto has analyzed the starting lineup and odds for Sunday’s 2025 NASCAR Save Mart 350 in Sonoma . He’s only sharing his best bets at SportsLine. You can also use them to take advantage of the latest FanDuel promo code, DraftKings promo code or BetMGM promo code.

2025 NASCAR Save Mart 350 expert picks

For the 2025 Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, Taranto is high on road specialist van Gisbergen at +140. He has dominated road courses this year, winning two of them and placing sixth at the other. He led the most laps (60) en route to the win at the Viva Mexico 250 in June and claimed the win at last week’s Grant Park 165.

At the March 2 Echo Park Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, he finished sixth. Van Gisbergen also won the 2023 Grant Park 220, for his only other NASCAR Cup Series victory. He is a three-time season champion in his Supercars Championship career. He earned wins in 2016, 2021 and 2022. See which other drivers he’s backing at SportsLine.

Top NASCAR props for Sonoma

Head-to-head: Taranto sees Ryan Preece (+175) finishing ahead of Tyler Reddick (-240). Although Preece has yet to finish in the top-10 at Sonoma, he has five top-10 finishes over the past eight Cup Series races. He was seventh a week ago at Chicago, and was eighth at Pocono last month. His best finish this season was at Las Vegas in March, when he placed third.

Reddick, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back top-five finishes. He took fourth at Atlanta and third in Chicago. Prior to that stretch, however, Reddick struggled a bit, finishing 32nd at Pocono, 20th at Mexico City and 13th at Michigan. He has seven top-10 finishes in 2025. See all of Taranto’s picks at SportsLine.

How to make 2025 Save Mart 350 predictions

Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2025 NASCAR Save Mart 350 best bets. He’s also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who’s going off around 80-1, potentially netting any backer a huge payday. You can only see who they are here.

So who wins the 2025 Save Mart 350 in Sonoma and which massive longshot could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2025 NASCAR Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider who nailed a colossal 17 winners last year, and find out.

2025 NASCAR Save Mart 350 odds, lineup

See full 2025 Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway picks at SportsLine

(odds subject to change)

Shane Van Gisbergen +140
Kyle Larson +600
Michael McDowell +1000
Chase Elliott +1200
Tyler Reddick +1400
Ty Gibbs +1400
Chris Buescher +1400
William Byron +1800
Christopher Bell +1800
AJ Allmendinger +2200
Kyle Busch +2700
Ross Chastain +3000
Ryan Blaney +3400
Chase Briscoe +3700
Alex Bowman +3700
Daniel Suarez +5500
Ryan Preece +5500
Carson Hocevar +5500
Joey Logano +5500
Denny Hamlin +6000
Austin Cindric +7500
Bubba Wallace +10000
Brad Keselowski +10000
John Hunter Nemechek +15000
Todd Gilliland +20000
Noah Gragson +25000
Zane Smith +25000
Cole Custer +30000
Justin Haley +30000
Erik Jones +36000
Katherine Legge +42000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +42000
Cody Ware +42000
Ty Dillon +42000
Austin Dillon +42000
Riley Herbst +42000
Josh Berry +42000