Motorsports
Ram Officially Returns to NASCAR
Ram will join the field for the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, ending a 13-year break. Today, the brand unveiled a new Ram 1500 concept race truck that previews the design for next year. Returning to the racetrack marks a major milestone, part of a pedal-to-the-metal drive for Ram that covers 25 product announcements over […]

Ram will join the field for the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, ending a 13-year break. Today, the brand unveiled a new Ram 1500 concept race truck that previews the design for next year. Returning to the racetrack marks a major milestone, part of a pedal-to-the-metal drive for Ram that covers 25 product announcements over 18 months.
The news of Ram’s return to NASCAR was officially announced by Tim Kuniskis, CEO of Ram brand, during a live NASCAR event at the Michigan International Speedway this weekend. Jaw-dropping moments included a Ram 5500 hauling a custom trailer built specifically for smoky donuts, courtesy of Ram’s NASCAR concept truck. Anderson Silva, Hall of Fame MMA icon, took to the track to shoot HEMI®-branded T-shirts into the crowd.
“For more than a decade, customers and our dealer network asked about getting back into NASCAR. The desire was always there, but we didn’t have a plan that delivered the last tenth and following just didn’t fit our DNA,” said Kuniskis. “Now we have a solid plan that will set us apart from the field and will bring fresh new interest and engagement to America’s motorsport.”
Joining the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, in a way that only Ram can, is a natural, strategic move for the brand, as more than 40% of NASCAR fans are truck owners. The popular and competitive race series gives Ram a high-performance showcase as it launches a series of exciting and capable new trucks.
“Ram returning to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series is a major moment for the sport, and a sign that NASCAR remains a strong platform for blue chip brand partners,” said John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “We are excited to welcome Ram back to the sport. Its identity includes high performance, durability and innovation – characteristics that embody NASCAR and, specifically, the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.”
Ram 1500 NASCAR Concept
The Ram 1500 concept race truck unveiled today was molded by the Ram design team. The concept resembles a production truck, adopting elements from the Ram Truck Sport lineup (Warlock, Rebel and RHO), but honed with an aerodynamic signature to slip through the air efficiently, yet with enough airflow to cool a race engine that revs over 9,000 rpm. Body lines around the fenders and grille carry a familiar appearance, framing a large Ram logo that separates this truck from the pack.
The one-off body design is covered by a two-tone Gloss Black canvas with Molten Red lower. The Ram design team created an impactful and exciting livery that complements the visual emotion of Ram’s design DNA and highlights Direct Connection and Symbol of Protest logos. Mopar’s Direct Connection aftermarket unit is adding performance options for Ram trucks and earns prominent signage on the concept race truck.
“There will be more details on our NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program later this year,” added Kuniskis. “We are undoubtedly having fun with this project, and I truly look forward to sharing information on our team and how getting back on track relates to the future of Ram performance.”
In conjunction with the news, the brand showed off its “Ram-Demption” campaign, featuring Kuniskis behind the wheel of Ram’s NASCAR concept truck at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, with the iconic Goodyear Blimp and jets flying overhead. Different versions of the “Ram-Demption” video include 60-second, 30-second and 15-second spots that will run across NASCAR media and the Ram brand’s social media channels, plus a long-form video running on www.ram.com and on YouTube. “Ram-Demption” was created in partnership with Argonaut agency.
Ram’s racing news is part of a power celebration that includes a popular demand return of the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8, as orders open for the engine’s availability in the 2026 Ram 1500.
Ram exited factory support of NASCAR’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2012 after a 17-year run and focused on launching the new 2013 Ram 1500. Ram’s return is one part of a strategy to build on the greatest variety of sport trucks and off-road enthusiast trucks the brand has ever offered.
Ram boasts a rich history of performance trucks, including the Power Wagon, SRT10 Viper Truck, TRX, RHO, Rumble Bee, Little Red Express and Warlock.
In 2004, a Ram SRT-10, piloted by NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan, set a Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest production truck with an average speed of 154.587 mph (248.784 km/h) at the Stellantis Proving Grounds in Chelsea, Mich.
Courtesy Stellantis Media
—-
NASCAR is back!
Teams/drivers TBD – aiming for 4-6 entries.
The plan is for Stellantis to eventually return to Cup.
Motorsports
Shane van Gisbergen completes second straight NASCAR pole sweep – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions
SONOMA, Calif.- For the second straight weekend, Shane van Gisbergen dominated NASCAR time trials – and predictably so. On his second lap Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, the New Zealander became the only driver to top 96 mph on the 1.99-mile, 12-turn road course. Touring the circuit in 74.594 seconds (96.040 mph), van Gisbergen secured the […]

SONOMA, Calif.- For the second straight weekend, Shane van Gisbergen dominated NASCAR time trials – and predictably so.
On his second lap Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, the New Zealander became the only driver to top 96 mph on the 1.99-mile, 12-turn road course.
Touring the circuit in 74.594 seconds (96.040 mph), van Gisbergen secured the pole position for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race (3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Van Gisbergen beat second-place qualifier Chase Briscoe (95.719 mph) by 0.25 seconds to claim his first Busch Light Pole Award at Sonoma, his third of the season and the fourth of his career.
His pole-winning run followed Friday’s top qualifying effort for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma. Last weekend on the Chicago Street Course, van Gisbergen swept the poles and races in both series.
Qualifying in Group B, SVG picked up speed substantially from his first lap to his second, from 74.833 seconds to 74.594.
“I thought it could be faster,” said van Gisbergen, who won last season’s Xfinity race at Sonoma but will be making his first start here in a Cup car. “And then in the first group, we saw big gains from people in their second runs. I think the 24 (third-place qualifier William Byron) made a huge jump, which is pretty abnormal, I think, on these tires, especially this new soft tire.
“My first lap was just a banker almost. The second lap was really good.”
Byron navigated the course at 95.488 mph to claim the third spot on the grid. Ross Chastain was fourth at 95.409 mph, followed by AJ Allmendinger (95.367 mph) and Ty Gibbs (95.357 mph).
Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell claimed the sixth through 10th starting spots, respectively.
Drivers facing off in the third round of the In-Season Challenge qualified as follows: Gibbs, sixth vs. Zane Smith, 12th; Bowman, ninth vs. Ty Dillon, 26th; John Hunter Nemechek, 18th vs. LEGACY Motor Club teammate Erik Jones, 31st; and Reddick, eighth vs. Ryan Preece, 20th.
Preece, two points below the current elimination line for a berth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, may be more concerned with the position of 30th-place starter Bubba Wallace, who is two points above the cut line with seven races left in the regular season.
Katherine Legge, who finished 19th last Sunday on the Chicago Street Course, did not make a qualifying attempt and will start 37th.
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Toyota/Save Mart 350
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma, California
Saturday, July 12, 2025
1. (88) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 96.040 mph.
2. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 95.719 mph.
3. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 95.488 mph.
4. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 95.409 mph.
5. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 95.367 mph.
6. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 95.357 mph.
7. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 95.350 mph.
8. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 95.296 mph.
9. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 95.224 mph.
10. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 95.212 mph.
11. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 95.198 mph.
12. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 95.167 mph.
13. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 95.161 mph.
14. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 95.047 mph.
15. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 95.003 mph.
16. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 94.967 mph.
17. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 94.919 mph.
18. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 94.866 mph.
19. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 94.808 mph.
20. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 94.776 mph.
21. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 94.732 mph.
22. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 94.726 mph.
23. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 94.679 mph.
24. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 94.594 mph.
25. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 94.467 mph.
26. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 94.222 mph.
27. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 94.112 mph.
28. (35) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 93.949 mph.
29. (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 93.929 mph.
30. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 93.923 mph.
31. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 93.896 mph.
32. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 93.894 mph.
33. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 93.695 mph.
34. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 93.497 mph.
35. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 93.364 mph.
36. (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 92.465 mph.
37. (78) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
— By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
Motorsports
Where to watch NASCAR Xfinity Series Sonoma Race today: Time, channel, free live stream
NASCAR is headed to Sonoma, California this weekend, where the Xfinity Series will race in the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250. Saturday’s competition begins at 4:30 p.m. ET in Sonoma Raceway. The NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 2025 Sonoma Race will air on The CW, and streams live on DirecTV (free trial). What: The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250, […]

NASCAR is headed to Sonoma, California this weekend, where the Xfinity Series will race in the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250. Saturday’s competition begins at 4:30 p.m. ET in Sonoma Raceway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 2025 Sonoma Race will air on The CW, and streams live on DirecTV (free trial).
What: The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250, a NASCAR Xfinity Series race
When: Saturday, July 12, 2025
Where: Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: The CW
Streaming Service | Free Trial | Promo | Monthly Price |
---|---|---|---|
DirecTV | Yes | $30 off first month | $86.99 |
fuboTV* | Yes | $20 off first month | $84.99 |
*It’s important to note that The CW has less reliable coverage on fubo, and new subscribers should check local channel availability.
Here’s a recent NASCAR story via The AP:
CHICAGO (AP) — Shane van Gisbergen burned out his tires in celebration, sending white smoke into the air. He signed a rugby ball and punted it into the stands in downtown Chicago.
It was a familiar scene.
Van Gisbergen completed a Windy City sweep Sunday, winning the NASCAR Cup Series race on the tricky street course in downtown Chicago.
“Epic weekend for us. I’m a lucky guy,” van Gisbergen said.
A talented one, too.
The 36-year-old New Zealand native became the second driver to sweep the Xfinity and Cup races in a single weekend from the pole, joining Kyle Busch at Indianapolis in 2016. With his third career Cup win, he also became the winningest foreign-born driver on NASCAR’s top series.
It was van Gisbergen’s second victory of the season after the Trackhouse Racing driver also won last month on a Mexico City road course.
“He’s the best road course stock car racer that I’ve ever seen,” Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said. “I think when he’s done with us all and walks away from the sport, I think he’s going to walk away as the best road course racer that this sport has ever seen.”
Marks brought van Gisbergen over from Australia’s Supercars for the first edition of NASCAR’s Chicago experiment in 2023, and he became the first driver to win his Cup debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
He also won Chicago’s Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash.
“This joint, it’s changed my life,” van Gisbergen said. “I didn’t have any plans to do more NASCAR races when I first came over here, and I never thought I’d be in NASCAR full time.”
In what might be the last NASCAR race on the downtown Chicago circuit, Ty Gibbs was second and Tyler Reddick finished third. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.
“My team called a great strategy and got me in position to get me up front to compete for the win,” Gibbs said. “It worked out for us today, so I’m glad to have a good finish, but we wish we could have gone for the win.”
Michael McDowell joined van Gisbergen on the front row and quickly moved in front. He won Stage 1 and led for 31 laps before he was derailed by a throttle cable issue.
Van Gisbergen regained the lead when he passed Chase Briscoe with 16 laps left. As fog and rain moved into downtown Chicago, van Gisbergen controlled the action the rest of the way.
AJ Allmendinger was sixth, and Ryan Preece finished seventh. Ryan Blaney, who won the second stage, was 12th.
“I thought overall it was a pretty decent day. It was nice to win that stage,” Blaney said.
William Byron’s day was cut short by a clutch problem. The Hendrick Motorsports driver leads the point standings by 13 points over Chase Elliott.
After McDowell seized the lead early in the race, Carson Hocevar caused a multicar crash when he hit the wall and spun out between Turns 10 and 11. Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suárez and Will Brown were among the drivers collected in the wreck.
“I didn’t see it until the last second,” Keselowski said. “I slowed down and I actually felt I was going to get stopped and then I just kind of got ran over from behind. It’s just a narrow street course and sometimes there’s nowhere to go.”
Ty Dillon and Reddick moved into the third round of NASCAR’s inaugural in-season tournament when Keselowski and Hocevar were unable to finish the race. Dillon, the No. 32 seed, eliminated Keselowski after he upset top-seeded Denny Hamlin last weekend at Atlanta.
Gibbs, Preece, Alex Bowman, John H. Nemechek, Zane Smith and Erik Jones also advanced. The winner of the five-race, bracket-style tournament takes home a $1 million prize.
Bowman, the 2024 champion on the downtown street course, won his head-to-head matchup with Bubba Wallace. Bowman and Wallace made contact as they battled for position late in the race after they also tangled in Chicago last year.
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen or to get raced like that, but we did,” Bowman said. “We just have to move on from it and keep digging. I don’t really know what I could have done much different.”
Top-20 finish
Katherine Legge finished 19th for her best career Cup result. She became the first woman to finish in the top 20 in a Cup race since Danica Patrick at Texas in November 2017.
Legge was the first woman to qualify for the Cup race in downtown Chicago.
Up next
The Cup Series is at Sonoma Raceway in California on Sunday, July 13.
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Motorsports
NXS Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma
Shane van Gisbergen has taken back-to-back pole positions in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as he score the pole for Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway with a 75.259-second lap around the 1.99-mile road course in Friday’s qualifying session. Van Gisbergen, who is seeking his second-consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win behind the wheel of the […]

Shane van Gisbergen has taken back-to-back pole positions in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as he score the pole for Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway with a 75.259-second lap around the 1.99-mile road course in Friday’s qualifying session.
Van Gisbergen, who is seeking his second-consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win behind the wheel of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, topped his JR Motorsports teammate Connor Zilisch for the pole by 0.244 seconds.
Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, and William Sawalich rounded out the top-five fastest in qualifying.
Here is the official starting lineup for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway. Race 19 of 33.
Pos |
Car |
Driver |
Lap time |
Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
9 |
Shane van Gisbergen (i) |
75.259 |
— |
2 |
88 |
Connor Zilisch # |
75.503 |
0.244 |
3 |
41 |
Sam Mayer |
75.644 |
0.385 |
4 |
2 |
Jesse Love |
75.839 |
0.580 |
5 |
18 |
William Sawalich # |
75.881 |
0.622 |
6 |
8 |
Sammy Smith |
75.890 |
0.631 |
7 |
1 |
Carson Kvapil # |
76.168 |
0.909 |
8 |
20 |
Brandon Jones |
76.193 |
0.934 |
9 |
00 |
Sheldon Creed |
76.208 |
0.949 |
10 |
7 |
Justin Allgaier |
76.270 |
1.011 |
11 |
54 |
Taylor Gray # |
76.281 |
1.022 |
12 |
31 |
Blaine Perkins |
76.339 |
1.080 |
13 |
42 |
Anthony Alfredo |
76.372 |
1.113 |
14 |
17 |
Corey Day |
76.432 |
1.173 |
15 |
19 |
Riley Herbst (i) |
76.439 |
1.180 |
16 |
21 |
Austin Hill |
76.502 |
1.243 |
17 |
27 |
Jeb Burton |
76.630 |
1.371 |
18 |
11 |
Josh Williams |
76.785 |
1.526 |
19 |
25 |
Harrison Burton |
76.809 |
1.550 |
20 |
07 |
Alex Labbe |
76.895 |
1.636 |
21 |
16 |
Christian Eckes # |
77.046 |
1.787 |
22 |
14 |
Connor Mosack (i) |
77.075 |
1.816 |
23 |
48 |
Nick Sanchez # |
77.137 |
1.878 |
24 |
99 |
Matt DiBenedetto |
77.194 |
1.935 |
25 |
91 |
Josh Bilicki |
77.237 |
1.978 |
26 |
53 |
Sage Karam |
77.270 |
2.011 |
27 |
71 |
Ryan Ellis |
77.312 |
2.053 |
28 |
5 |
Kris Wright |
77.355 |
2.096 |
29 |
39 |
Ryan Sieg |
77.365 |
2.106 |
30 |
51 |
Jeremy Clements |
77.369 |
2.110 |
31 |
10 |
Daniel Dye # |
77.390 |
2.131 |
32 |
44 |
Brennan Poole |
77.478 |
2.219 |
33 |
32 |
Austin Green |
77.559 |
2.300 |
34 |
4 |
Parker Retzlaff |
77.574 |
2.315 |
35 |
26 |
Dean Thompson # |
77.591 |
2.332 |
36 |
70 |
Will Rodgers |
77.696 |
2.437 |
37 |
28 |
Kyle Sieg |
78.073 |
2.814 |
38 |
45 |
Brad Perez |
78.566 |
3.307 |
DNQ |
35 |
Austin J. Hill |
78.672 |
3.413 |
# indicates Rookie of the Year
(i) indicates a driver ineligible to score points
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Motorsports
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying: Full Sonoma starting lineup
For the third time in the last month, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to run a non-oval race, with this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 scheduled to take place at Sonoma Raceway. The Cup Series uses the 12-turn, 1.99-mile (3.203-kilometer) Sonoma, California road course layout, and Sunday afternoon’s race, the third road course race and […]

For the third time in the last month, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to run a non-oval race, with this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 scheduled to take place at Sonoma Raceway.
The Cup Series uses the 12-turn, 1.99-mile (3.203-kilometer) Sonoma, California road course layout, and Sunday afternoon’s race, the third road course race and fourth non-oval race of the 2025 season, is set to be a 110-lap race.
The qualifying format used for road and street course races is fairly straightforward, though it does differ from what Sonoma has seen in previous years.
Drivers are split up into two groups based on the qualifying metric. The current formula is a two-variable formula which replaced the old four-variable formula after the 2024 season. A full breakdown of that metric can be found here.
Drivers with the higher (worse) scores run in the first group, and drivers with the lower (better) scores run in the second. Results of both groups are simply combined to determine the full 37-car starting lineup. There is no longer a second round, and there are no row-by-row designations based on which group a driver is in.
Follow along with our live qualifying updates from Sonoma Raceway.
NASCAR at Sonoma: Full starting lineup
1st – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
2nd – Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3rd – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4th – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
5th – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
6th – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7th – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
8th – Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
9th – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th – Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
11th – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
12th – Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
13th – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14th – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
15th – Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
16th – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
17th – Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
18th – John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
19th – Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
20th – Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
21st – Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
22nd – Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
23rd – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
24th – Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
25th – Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
26th – Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
27th – Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
28th – Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
29th – Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
30th – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
31st – Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
32nd – Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
33rd – Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
34th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
35th – Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
36th – Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
37th – Katherine Legge, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
TNT Sports is set to provide live coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway beginning a 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, July 13.
Motorsports
Shane van Gisbergen’s unique braking technique makes him favorite for NASCAR at Sonoma
Shane van Gisbergen proved in his NASCAR debut to be an elite road and street course racer by winning in his first career outing. Two years later, his rivals have gotten a good look at the New Zealander’s technique and have declared him the favorite to win Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. He will start from […]

Shane van Gisbergen proved in his NASCAR debut to be an elite road and street course racer by winning in his first career outing.
Two years later, his rivals have gotten a good look at the New Zealander’s technique and have declared him the favorite to win Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. He will start from the pole for the second consecutive week and third time in five races.
“It’s pretty awesome, we’ve had a really cool couple of weeks,” said the Trackhouse Racing driver. “It’s so cool how stoked everyone is and you feel the energy in the shop when you walk in. It’s just a cool atmosphere in the shop, everyone is lifted up.”
Van Gisbergen is on a two-race winning streak on the specialty courses following victories on the road course in Mexico City (where he won by 16.6 seconds from the pole) and last Sunday on the streets of Chicago (again from the pole). He has five consecutive finishes of seventh or higher dating back to Watkins Glen International last September.
“He’s so good and it’s rare that you see somebody stand out like that and distance himself from the competition,” said Kyle Larson, last year’s winner at Sonoma. “He’s way, way, way better than us at the road course stuff.”
The secret, his rivals have learned, is a toe-heel braking technique that none of them can master.
“If I tried to learn what he’s doing, it would take me until I retire,” Kyle Busch said.
Added Larson: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. There’s zero chance I can learn how to do that.”
Van Gisbergen, who won at Sonoma in his Xfinity Series debut last year and started from the pole Saturday in that race, will be making his Cup debut Sunday on the picturesque track in Northern California’s wine country.
Will Lester/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
He is beatable, said Denny Hamlin, but it won’t be easy for any driver to stop van Gisbergen’s dominance.
“I think you are going to need things to not go his way, and then someone is going to have to really hit it,” Hamlin said. “That, to me, is probably going to be challenging. Cautions could turn things upside down. He is beatable, on speed alone, but I would say outright pace? No.”
In addition to the way van Gisbergen brakes, Hamlin commended the way the Kiwi approaches the courses.
“His approach to how he attacks certain corners seems to be the thing where we’re more reactive,” Hamlin said. “I’m more reactive to seeing how someone approaches a corner to go fast. He’s proactive and knows how to approach it, so he’s better and faster before I am. And by the time I start to get closer, he then refines his technique and goes even faster.”
Joey Logano had little to offer on his current feud with Ross Chastain. It heated up last week at Chicago when Chastain spun Logano in a retaliatory move that sent Logano to NASCAR to demand punishment for a deliberate action.
NASCAR did not penalize Chastain and the two drivers have not spoken since Sunday’s postrace confrontation.
“We haven’t talked,” Logano said Saturday. “It is what it is.”
Logano didn’t want to talk about Chastain, anyway.
“He made his choices. I’m just going to go race my car,” Logano said.
As for Chastain? He maintained that “there’s three sides to every story.”
“I think that a lot of people were all running into each other for the last couple of laps,” Chastain said. “That’s what I saw.”
Bubba Wallace tried to fix his frayed relationship with Alex Bowman as soon as they arrived in California earlier this week.
The two had an incident at Chicago for the second consecutive year and have had other run-ins in the past. After the latest dustup, Bowman expressed surprise that the two were still having issues.
“I thought we had squashed our beef, but clearly we have not,” Bowman said in Chicago.
To prove to Bowman that they had indeed moved on, Wallace said he saw Bowman in a Napa Valley restaurant, approached him from behind and wrapped him in a bear hug. He later paid for Bowman’s dinner.
“I told him I messed up like an idiot,” Wallace said of his driving at Chicago. “I apologized. I was down for a couple days about it. So I bought him a meal. It felt right.”
Motorsports
Shane van Gisbergen Dominates Cup Qualifying at Sonoma
For the second consecutive weekend, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled off an impressive feat. The driver of the No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing put down a dominant lap in qualifying (74.594s/96.040mph) to collect the pole position for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway — his second pole position of the weekend […]

For the second consecutive weekend, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled off an impressive feat.
The driver of the No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing put down a dominant lap in qualifying (74.594s/96.040mph) to collect the pole position for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway — his second pole position of the weekend at the 1.99-mile road course in Sonoma, California.
During last weekend’s annual trip to the Chicago Street Course, the Auckland, New Zealand-native made himself a piece of history, becoming the second driver to win from the pole in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series on the same weekend. Having racked up the pole for both events this weekend, it’s a mark he’ll look to duplicate at Sonoma.
The mind-blowing lap time, which had van Gisbergen sitting a quarter-second faster than any other driver, went straight to the top of the speed charts at the start of the second 20-minute group. However, with only a slim margin, the New Zealander went back on the racetrack hoping to retain the pole.
STARTING LINEUP: 2025 NCS Toyota / Save Mart 350
“I’m shaking. That was pretty full-on. I’m stoked to have RedBull on the car. Thank you to Trackhouse and Chevy, amazing car,” said van Gisbergen. “We weren’t very good in practice, but new tires fixed it. Hopefully, we can be good for the race. But what a cool day.”
There wasn’t a single driver who returned to the racetrack that even came close to the lap of the Trackhouse Racing driver, but that didn’t stop him from schooling the remainder of the field.
Chase Briscoe, who challenged Shane van Gisbergen for the pole last weekend at the Chicago Street Course, was the second-fastest driver in qualifying on Saturday. Briscoe and van Gisbergen have combined to win the pole position in six of the last eight NASCAR Cup Series events.
William Byron was the quickest of those in the first group of qualifying, but had to settle for a third-place starting spot. Ross Chastain posted the fourth-fastest lap, and AJ Allmendinger (the fastest car in practice) rounded out the top five.
Ty Gibbs was sixth fastest in qualifying, with Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell rounding out the top-10.
In 12th-place, Zane Smith put together a strong qualifying result for his Front Row Motorsports team.
Other notables include Chase Elliott (13th), Chris Buescher (14th), Denny Hamlin (16th), Joey Logano (22nd), and Austin Cindric (24th).
Katherine Legge, after an incredible effort to get into the Chicago Street Race last weekend, suffered mechanical issues with her Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet in practice and thus did not make a qualifying run.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway will take place on Sunday, July 12 at 3:30 pm ET on TNT Sports, Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
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