NASCAR’s rising stars are hitting Sonoma Raceway for just the third time ever.

The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 is gearing up to run at Sonoma Raceway on July 12.

Here’s what you need to know about the NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

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Tickets for NASCAR Xfinity Series Sonoma race

NASCAR Weekend Pass: Get the full NASCAR race weekend experience. The NASCAR Weekend Pass includes admission to three races along with practice and qualifying for the ARCA Menards Series West, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 (July 12): Don’t miss NASCAR’s up-and-coming stars as they take on Sonoma Raceway’s famed road course for the third time ever for the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250.

Promotions, discounts for NASCAR Xfinity Series Sonoma race

Kids tickets: Kids 12 and under get in free for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West races at Sonoma with a ticketed adult. Kids can also get into the NASCAR Cup Series race for $10 with a ticketed adult. NOTE: Limit two per ticketed adult. Tickets and credentials are required for gate entry for children age 12 and under.

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College tickets: College students, using their .edu email address, will be able to access discounted tickets for the NASCAR race. There is a limit of four tickets per customer.

Hero ticket offer from GOVX: GOVX is thrilled to offer exclusive, special pricing on select NASCAR tickets for you and your family. This special offer is reserved for our heroes — Military personnel, first responders (Firefighters, EMS, EMTs), law enforcement, teachers and other government service personnel. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to experience the thrill of NASCAR at a fraction of the cost. Verify your eligibility today through GOVX and secure your tickets.

Weather guarantee: If weather postpones a NASCAR race held at a Speedway Motorsports venue and a ticket holder is unable to attend on the rescheduled date, the Weather Guarantee provides a ticket credit toward a future NASCAR race at any Speedway Motorsports venue.

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NASCAR driver autograph schedule for July 12 at Sonoma Raceway

NASCAR drivers will be signing autographs in the souvenir trailers this weekend, including July 12.

• Visit participating drivers NASCAR souvenir haulers for details on securing an autograph

• A wristband may be required to attend certain Driver Autograph Sessions

• Wristbands will be distributed by the souvenir trailers or appearance location and a purchase may be required

All times Pacific

Sammy Smith: 11:05 a.m. at Hendrick Motorsports Merchandise Trailer

Justin Allgaier: 11:05 a.m. at Hendrick Motorsports Merchandise Trailer

Carson Kvapil: 11:05 a.m. at Hendrick Motorsports Merchandise Trailer

Conner Zilisch: 11:05 a.m. at Hendrick Motorsports Merchandise Trailer

Cole Custer: 1 p.m. at Ford Performance Merchandise Trailer

Ryan Preece: 1:30 p.m. at Ford Performance Merchandise Trailer

When is NASCAR Sonoma race?

The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 is set for 3:30 p.m. CT on July 12 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.

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NASCAR Sonoma race TV channel

The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sonoma race will be broadcast on The CW.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Xfinity Series Sonoma race: What to know about Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250

GEBHARDT Interlogistics Motorsports’ Valentino Catalano was able to run down and take the lead away Saturday morning (July 12) from MLT Motorsports’ Jonathan Woolridge less than 10 minutes into the race. From there, he was able to hold on to IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race No. 1 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. For Catalano, it’s his fourth win of the season in seven races.

Catalano won by 2.331 seconds over Woolridge. Turner Motorsport’s Jake Walker was third, then Forte Racing’s Brian Thienes. Wright Motorsports’ Adam Adelson was fifth.

Woolridge started from the overall pole in his Ligier JS P320-Nissan. With home track knowledge in his back pocket, he managed to pull away early from GEBHARDT Interlogistics Motorsports’ Valentino Catalano and Oscar Tunjo.

However, the pace advantage over the two GEBHARDT-entered Duqueines was short-lived. As soon as Woolridge caught the back of the field, Catalano and Tunjo ran him down in a hurry.

Catalano was able to make the move to the outside on the Mario Andretti Straightaway a little under 10 minutes to take the lead from Woolridge. Once out front, Catalano slowly began to pull away.

Tunjo was eventually able to get past Woolridge for second, then ran down his teammate from a couple of seconds back. By halfway, the duo were running nose to tail.

However, just as soon he got to Catalano, disaster struck. The left front wheel decided that it didn’t want to stick around anymore. The wheel came off on the pit straight and went down the hill and hit the tire barrier in turn 1. Tunjo pulled to a stop right next to it to bring out the safety car.

The green came back out with less than 10 minutes to go. From here, Catalano opened up a comfortable advantage and held on to take the win.

Turner Motorsport’s Jake Walker started from the GTDX pole in his BMW M4 GT3, but he came under almost immediate pressure from AF Corse’s AJ Muss. Muss tried on the first lap to get past, but just couldn’t do so.

It turned out that the first lap was his only real opportunity to get it down. Once everyone got into a rhythm, Walker was roughly a second a lap faster than Muss. As a result, it didn’t take long for Walker to have a lead of over 10 seconds.

Further back, Walker’s teammate Vin Barletta had contact with the GSX Porsche of Angus Rogers in Moss Corner, spinning Rogers out. That resulted in a drive-through penalty for Barletta that ultimately cost him a lap

The caution brought everyone back together, but Walker had a number of slower GSX cars between himself and Muss. Muss had to deal with Wright Motorsports’ Adam Adelson instead. The two battled hard for second and even made contact on the pit straight, resulting in debris coming off of Adelson’s Porsche.

That contact did not go unpunished. IMSA stewards determined that Muss was at fault for the contact and assessed him a 10-second post-race penalty.

Meanwhile, Walker drove away from the pack to take the win. It is his fourth win in the last five races.

Walker’s margin of victory was 12.440 seconds over Adelson. Yes, Muss beat Adelson to the line, but the penalty knocked him back to third. ST Racing’s Samantha Tan was fourth.

RAFA Racing Team’s Kiko Porto started from the GSX pole. He was able to open a small gap on the rest of the class. Meanwhile, BSI Racing’s Steven Clemons was able to get past Ian Porter for second.

Even with the caution bringing everyone back together, Porto was never seriously threatened en route to his fifth win of the year.

The margin of victory was 8.597 seconds over Clemons. Twoth Autosport’s Chris Walsh was third, then Justin Di Benedetto. Rebel Rock Racing’s Frank DePew was fifth.

Porter was running third in class, but had a mechanical problem on the final lap of the race. He ended up finishing eighth.

Race No. 2 for VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET Sunday morning. The race will be streamed live on both the IMSA Official YouTube channel and on Peacock.

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He’s the manager of the site’s FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site’s Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

Sonoma Raceway is set to continue NASCAR’s recent run of races on road and street courses, with Sunday afternoon’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 Cup Series race set to be the third non-oval race in the last five weeks.

Qualifying for Sunday’s 110-lap race around the 12-turn, 1.99-mile (3.203-kilometer) Sonoma, California road course is set to utilize a relatively straightforward format, though this format differs from what has been used at Sonoma in previous years.

First of all, the qualifying metric that was used from 2020 to 2024 has been scrapped. Before the 2025 season began, the four-variable formula was replaced by a much simpler two-variable formula, which is broken down in more detail here.

The drivers who have higher (worse) scores are set to qualify in the first timed group, while those who have lower (better) scores are set to qualify in the second.

The results of both groups are simply combined to determine the full 37-car starting lineup, with no more row-by-row designations based on group and no more second round shootout for the pole position.

Here is a look at the two qualifying groups for Saturday’s Sonoma qualiyfing session.

Full NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order at Sonoma

Group 1

1 – Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

2 – Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

3 – Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

4 – Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

5 – Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

6 – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

7 – Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

8 – Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

9 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

10 – Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

11 – Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

12 – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

13 – Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

14 – Katherine Legge, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet

15 – Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

16 – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

17 – Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

18 – Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

19 – Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

Group 2

20 – Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

21 – Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

22 – Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

23 – John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

24 – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

25 – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

26 – Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

27 – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

28 – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

29 – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

30 – Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

31 – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

32 – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

33 – Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

34 – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

35 – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

36 – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

37 – Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch are the heavy favorites to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma, and Dan Marcus tells you which driver to back in NASCAR DFS contests on DraftKings.

Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250

Location: Sonoma, CA
Course: Sonoma Raceway
Format: 1.99-mile road course
Laps: 79

Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 Preview

We had some relatively predictable results in Chicago last weekend, with Shane van Gisbergen winning a close race over Connor Zilisch That duo should be in for another good weekend as the Xfinity Series heads west to Sonoma, California, another road course race rather than a traditional oval. We’ll delve further into the details of the weekend later in the article, but it’s worth noting that the Xfinity Series has a relatively limited history at the track. 

Key Stats at Sonoma Raceway

• Number of races: 2
• Winners from pole: 1
• Winners from top-5 starters: 2
• Winners from top-10 starters: 2
• Winners from 21st or lower starters:

Last 10 Road Course Winners

2025 Loop 110- Shane van Gisbergen (1)
2025 Chilango 150 – Daniel Suarez (39)
2025 Circuit of Americas – Connor Zilisch (1)
2024 Roval – Sam Mayer (2)
2024 Watkins Glen – Connor Zilisch (1)
2024 Chicago Street Course –  Shane van Gisbergen (1)
2024 Sonoma Raceway -Shane van Gisbergen (1)
2024 Portland International Raceway – Shane van Gisbergen (1)
2024 Circuit of the Americas – Kyle Larson (1)
2023 Roval – Sam Mayer (1)

We have a very limited sample for the Xfinity Series at Sonoma, though the two races we have seen have come in the last two years. The raceway is considered a very technical course, featuring 12 turns on a course that sees significant changes in altitude. It’s worth studying the recent sample of races at road courses, including the three already completed in 2025. Circuit of Americas and Watkins Glen are the most comparable tracks to Sonoma, so extra weight should be given to the results we’ve seen at those circuits.

RotoWire NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Tools

NASCAR Lineup Optimizer

NASCAR Projections

DraftKings Value Picks for the Pit Boss/Food Maxx 250 

Based on Standard 50k Salary Cap

Tier 1 DraftKings Values

Shane van Gisbergen – $13,000
Connor Zilisch – $12,000

Tier 2 DraftKings Values

Sam Mayer – $9,500
Sheldon Creed- $9,300
Justin Allgaier – $9,200
Austin Hill – $9,000
Jesse Love – $8,600

Tier 3 DraftKings Values

Christian Eckes – $8,300
Taylor Gray – $8,200
Austin Green – $7,800
Alex Labbe – $7,200

Tier 4 DraftKings Values

Josh Williams – $6,600

NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Picks for the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250

Connor Zilisch – $12,000
Christian Eckes- $8,300
Nick Sanchez – $8,100
Austin Green – $7,800
Alex Labbe – $7,200
Josh Williams – $6,600

The driver pool to consider is very similar to what we saw last week, but pricing has changed significantly. In turn, that changes the strategy of how to build the most effective lineups. Van Gisbergen will be a landslide favorite to win yet another road course and potentially sweep another weekend of events, but his price continues to rise (up $500 from The Loop). He’s still clearly a good pick, but Zilisch raced him tough and potentially learned a lesson after being raced harder than expected on the final restart to cost him a chance at a win.

Mayer is another excellent road course driver, albeit now overshadowed. He opens up so much in the rest of the build relative to Zilisch and van Gisbergen and should be seriously considered. He would allow a more balanced lineup, potentially pairing him with the likes of Hill or Love.

Eckes, Gray and Green are all standout options in Tier 3, and I’d be happy to roster all of them. Eckes has finishes of fifth, fourth and 15th in the road courses this year, two of which required significant recovery drives that racked up DK points. Gray was in contention for a top-10 finish last weekend before getting involved in an incident through no fault of his own in Chicago, yet his price has dipped $800 and to its cheapest point since Memorial Day weekend. Austin Green is a cheap road-course ace.

After that, it’s about making the budget work. Williams pops on the optimizer thanks to some very strong work at road courses this season, and looks to be the premier value option.

Best Bets for the Pit Boss/Food Maxx 250

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 11:30 AM ET Friday

Head-to-Head Matchups:

Sam Mayer (-115) vs. Sheldon Creed (-115)

Austin Hill (-125) vs. Justin Allgaier (-105)

Christian Eckes (-105) vs. Jesse Love (-125)

Taylor Gray (-115) vs. Sammy Smith (-115)

Race Winner: Sam Mayer (+1600), Austin Hill (+2000)

We continue to see head-to-head offerings for Xfinity Series races, which is a very nice addition to wagering options. As can be expected, many are close calls. In what is becoming a common theme, Gray is my favorite of the group. Smith has had good results at road courses this season, but his history is checkered at Sonoma. Eckes also stands out due to price. He shouldn’t necessarily be a favorite against Love, but even odds feel more appropriate.

As was the case last week, it’s tough to take the favorites in this race because the odds are so short for both Zlisich (+140) and van Gisbergen (-150). Things will shift with qualifying, but getting some of the second-tier drivers in the context of road courses is the direction to go early in the weekend.

Mapping out your wagers for the Xfinity Series race? Check out the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes to get special offers and make the most of your bets.

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. Dan Marcus plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: marcusd91
DraftKings: dmarcus87.

July 12, 2025

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 12, 2025) – Practice and qualifying have concluded for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race at Watkins Glen International. 14-year-old Tristan McKee in the No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro set the fastest time, earning his first-career pole award and setting a new track record of 1:49.077. McKee currently leads the series point standings, in addition to the Rookie of the Year and Young Gun Award rankings.

“This weekend has gone really well,” said McKee. “We’ve been fastest in almost every session. Huge thanks to my guys; they brought a really, really good car. This track is a lot of fun. It’s more towards my style of driving, so I’m having a lot of fun. I want to thank Scott Speed and Josh Wise for having me prepped really well. We unloaded really fast off the trailer. Thanks to everybody: Spire, Gainbridge, TeamSLR. They just made it all work.”

Barry Boes (No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) was the fastest of the Pro/Am Challenge contenders, qualifying an impressive fourth overall with a time of 1:49.827.

The race will be contested today at 1:05 p.m. ET. It will be streamed LIVE on Trans Am’s YouTube channel, @TheTransAmSeries, and broadcast LIVE on SPEED SPORT 1, with coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. An encore presentation will air on SPEED SPORT 1 tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. ET. For more information on where you can watch SPEED SPORT 1, click here.

Qualifying Top Five:
1. Tristan McKee, No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro (1:49.077)
2. Nathan Herne, No. 15 Owosso Speedway/Blue Gold Industries Toyota Camry (1:49.505)
3. Carson Brown, No. 8 PayCafe/Ebb Logistics/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro (1:49.791)
4. Thomas Annunziata, No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry (1:49.860)
5. Tyler Kicera, No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry (1:49.886)

Fastest in Pro/Am Challenge:
1. Barry Boes, No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro (1:49.827)

Full provisional qualifying results can be found here.

Practice Top Five:
1. Tristan McKee, No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro (1:49.903)
2. Adrian Wlostowski, No. 3 CMI/Spot-On Services/AMT Motorsports Ford Mustang (1:50.763)
3. Sam Corry, No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry (1:50.808)
4. Carson Brown, No. 8 PayCafe/Ebb Logistics/SLR0M1 Chevrolet Camaro (1:50.976)
5. Tyler Kicera, No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry (1:51.000)

Fastest in Pro/Am Challenge:
1. Barry Boes, No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro (1:51.633)

Full practice results can be found here.

The NASCAR Cup Series will begin its lone visit to California this year by turning laps Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.

An hourlong practice will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET on the 11-turn, 1.99-mile road course, followed by qualifying for Sunday’s 110-lap race.

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The Xfinity race will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET. Defending winner Shane van Gisbergen is in the field.

Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Sonoma weekend

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher has scored three consecutive top-five finishes at Sonoma Raceway.

Sonoma Saturday schedule

(All Times Eastern)

Saturday, July 12

Garage open

• 12:30 – 10 p.m. — Xfinity Series

• 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

• 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. — Cup practice (truTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

• 2:40 – 3:30 p.m. — Cup qualifying (truTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

• 4:30 p.m. — Xfinity race (79 laps, 157.21 miles; Stage 1 at Lap 20, Stage 2 at Lap 45; CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weather

Saturday: Mostly sunny with a high 83 degrees and winds from the south to southwest at 10 to 15 mph. It’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.