In a dramatic showdown that kept fans on the edge of their seats, Connor Zilisch emerged victorious in the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway, claiming his third NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season and the fourth of his career.

Zilisch, driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, held off teammate and road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen in a tense final-lap battle. The two traded the lead multiple times throughout the 79-lap race, combining to lead 70 of the 79 laps. Van Gisbergen, who had bested Zilisch just a week earlier in Chicago, made several aggressive moves in the closing laps, but Zilisch defended with precision, especially through the final hairpin turn.

Race Highlights:

• Margin of Victory: 0.438 seconds
• Average Speed: 81.181 mph
• Lead Changes: 9 among 4 drivers
• Caution Flags: 2 for 7 laps

Zilisch’s win also marked JR Motorsports’ 10th victory of the season and its fourth 1-2 finish, reinforcing the team’s dominance on road courses. Impressively, all five JRM cars finished in the top 10.

Top Finishers:

1. Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports)
2. Shane van Gisbergen (JR Motorsports)
3. William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) – career-best finish
4. Nick Sanchez (Big Machine Racing)
5. Riley Herbst (Joe Gibbs Racing)

With this win, Zilisch is fourth in the championship standings, continuing a breakout rookie season that has fans buzzing.

Next up, the Xfinity Series heads east to Dover Motor Speedway on July 19.

NASCAR Xfinity Series race results from Sonoma Raceway

NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers are on the grid in Sonoma, California. We’re set for the green flag on the road course of Sonoma Raceway.

View Sonoma results for the NASCAR Xfinity Series below.

Sonoma Menu
ARCA: Prac/Qual | Race
Xfinity: Prac/Qual | Race
Cup: Prac/Qual | Race

Sonoma TV Schedule

Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch set the front row. 79 laps of stock car racing are up next…

Sonoma Xfinity
Stage 1 – Report

Laps: 20 (1-20 / 79)

Green flag, van Gisbergen gets the jump. He leads off turn two. Multiples cars are in the dirt behind them, no caution.

Lap 2, Zilisch dives inside of van Gisbergen into turn 11. Zilisch completes the pass into turn two, Zilisch leads.

Lap 5, van Gisbergen leans on the bumper of Zilisch. Shane van Gisbergen retakes the lead.

Lap 14, Jesse Love is on the pit lane with a mechanical issue.

3 to go, van Gisbergen and Zilisch both dive for the pit lane. Zilisch wins the race to the pit exit!

Sam Mayer stays out and he picks up the stage one win at Sonoma Raceway!

Sonoma Results (Stage 1) : 1. Sam Mayer; 2. Brandon Jones; 3. Carson Kvapil; 4. Sammy Smith; 5. Sheldon Creed; 6. Anthony Alfredo; 7. Alex Labbe; 8. Blaine Perkins; 9. Connor Zilisch; 10. Ryan Sieg;

Sonoma Xfinity
Stage 2 – Report

Laps: 25 (21-45 / 79)

Mayer and the rest of the field heads for the pits. Zilisch cycles to the race lead.

Green flag on stage two, Zilisch and van Gisbergen run side by side for the lead. Zilisch finally clears him out of turn five.

Zilisch throws a big block into turn 11. Shane van Gisbergen gives him the bumper but Zilisch holds the lead.

Lap 28, Shane van Gisbergen has a run into turn 11. He finally completes the pass into turn two.

Lap 37, Shane van Gisbergen bobbles out of turn two. Zilisch has a run into three. He drives it deep under braking into turn three, Zilisch to the lead!

3 to go in stage two, Zilisch and van Gisbergen dive for the pit lane.

Brandon Jones stays out and he wins stage two at Sonoma Raceway!

Sonoma Results (Stage 2) : 1. Brandon Jones; 2. Justin Allgaier; 3. Sammy Smith; 4. Sheldon Creed; 5. Carson Kvapil; 6. Blaine Perkins; 7. Connor Zilisch; 8. Jeb Burton; 9. Will Rodgers; 10. Ryan Sieg

Sonoma Xfinity
Stage 3 – Report

Laps: 34 (46-79 / 79)

Jones leads the rest of the field to the pit lane. Zilisch cycles back to the race lead.

Green flag on stage three, Zilisch and van Gisbergen rub doors in turn two. Zilisch finally clears him out of turn 7. William Sawalich takes over 2nd as van Gisbergen got sideways after banging doors.

27 to go, van Gisbergen dives inside of Sawalich into turn 7. Sawalich lifts and gives him the 2nd spot.

15 to go, Zilisch leads van Gisbergen by five car lengths.

8 to go, Zilisch leads van Gisbergen by just a car length. He’s there.

3 to go, Corey Day is off track after contact with Austin Hill. No caution as he keeps it rolling.

2 to go, van Gisbergen shoves Zilisch into turn five. Zilisch holds the lead!

1 to go, van Gisbergen beats on the bumper of Zilisch into turn four. Zilisch throws a huge block in turn 7.

Zilisch blocks the inside lane into turn 11. He holds him off.

Connor Zilisch wins at Sonoma Raceway!

Sonoma Raceway
Race Results
July 12, 2025
NASCAR Xfinity Series

Pos | Driver

1. Connor Zilisch

2. Shane van Gisbergen

3. William Sawalich

4. Nick Sanchez

5. Riley Herbst

6. Justin Allgaier

7. Taylor Gray

8. Carson Kvapil

9. Sammy Smith

10. Sheldon Creed

11. Sam Mayer

12. Austin Hill

13. Austin Green

14. Brandon Jones

15. Josh Bilicki

16. Josh Williams

17. Will Rodgers

18. Blaine Perkins

19. Dean Thompson

20. Anthony Alfredo

21. Jeb Burton

22. Harrison Burton

23. Brennan Poole

24. Corey Day

25. Kyle Sieg

26. Matt DiBenedetto

27. Ryan Ellis

28. Parker Retzlaff

29. Kris Wright

30. Jeremy Clements

31. Brad Perez

32. Daniel Dye

33. Connor Mosack

34. Christian Eckes

35. Ryan Sieg

36. Sage Karam

37. Alex Labbe

38. Jesse Love

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Point Standings

Pos | Driver | Wins | Points

1. Justin Allgaier
3 Wins

2. Austin Hill
3 Wins

3. Connor Zilisch
3 Wins

4. Brandon Jones
1 Win

5. Sammy Smith
1 Win

6. Jesse Love
1 Win

7. Nick Sanchez
1 Win

8. Sam Mayer
+163

9. Carson Kvapil
+90

10. Sheldon Creed
+54

11. Taylor Gray
+22

12. Jeb Burton
+16

13. Harrison Burton
-16

14. Ryan Sieg
-50

15. Dean Thompson
-66

16. Christian Eckes
-81

Sonoma Raceway
Video Highlights

Links

Sonoma Raceway | NASCAR

The NASCAR Cup Series field will begin its annual race at Sonoma Raceway as it ended last week in Chicago – with Shane van Gisbergen leading the way.

Van Gisbergen threw down a quick lap of 96.040mph (74.833s) to claim the pole for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. The result is the Kiwi’s third pole of 2025 and fourth overall. The prior two – in Mexico City and Chicago – both led to wins. It followed another pole run for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.

“I’m shaking. That was pretty full-on,” van Gisbergen said of his run. “I’m stoked to have Red Bull on the car. Thank you to Trackhouse and Chevy. Amazing car.

“We weren’t very good in practice, but new tires fixed it. Hopefully we can be good in the race.”

The fast lap from van Gisbergen was the only one in the 96mph range. Chase Briscoe followed in second, leading Joe Gibbs Racing with a speed of 95.719mph. The top two both came from the second group in the session, which proved dominant overall.

William Byron was quickest in the opening group, laying down a blazing 75.025s lap at 95.488mph to slot over 0.3s clear of the other group qualifiers, but that only stood for third at session’s end. The next-fastest driver from the opening group, Michael McDowell, was slotted back in 15th, with only Daniel Suarez (19th) joining him in the top 20.

Ross Chastain (95.409mph) came home fourth, with AJ Allmendinger (95.367mph) rounding out the top five after topping the charts in practice. Ty Gibbs (95.357mph), Ryan Blaney (95.35mph), Tyler Reddick (95.296mph), Alex Bowman (95.224mph) and Christopher Bell (95.212mph) capped off the top 10. Bowman’s effort was overshadowed by a potential power steering issue that forced him to pit road mid-session.

There were no cautions during qualifying, but Blaney went for a spin in the closing moments of the second group session. Ty Dillon nearly suffered the same fate during his run but made the save after running wide.

Live Fast Motorsports’ Katherine Legge was the lone driver not to set a time during the session, opting not to run with concern over brake issues.

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will go live Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. TNT and PRN will handle coverage, with in-car cameras available on the recently-rebranded HBO Max.

RESULTS

Shane van Gisbergen gave it everything he had, but Connor Zilisch was able to hang onto the lead and take the win in a thrilling finish to Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Sonoma Raceway.

Despite winning pole position for both races this weekend, van Gisbergen will not claim another weekend sweep at Sonoma. It was a race-long battle between the JR Motorsports teammates, who finished 1-2 just one week ago at the Chicago Street Course. SVG started from pole, but he and Zilisch traded the lead multiple times throughout the race. 

During the final run both frontrunners had to worry about saving fuel, while also battling each other — with the pair lapping at a gap of less than 1 second. As the laps ticked away, van Gisbergen got progressively more aggressive, putting the bumper to Zilisch with less than two laps to go. There were some more bumps throughout the final lap as SVG tried to get alongside.

As they raced down into the final hairpin, SVG threw it to the outside, and they went side-by-side, but Zilisch was able to clear him at the exit of the final corner. The pair finished more than 13 seconds clear of 3rd.

Respect between rivals

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

“First, hats off to Shane,” said Zilisch, who now has four career wins. “That was awesome. All race long, I felt like we were racing each other with respect. I wheel-hopped into (Turn) 7 that one time and got into him. Other than that, it was awesome to get to race against him finally and battle him the whole race long.”

He also talked about the balance between fuel-saving and fending off one of the best road racers in NASCAR, adding: “It’s always the hardest, trying to save fuel while someone is breathing down your neck. There was a chance. He could have gotten by me when he hit me, and he let me have it and raced me clean. I respect the hell out of him for that, and I’m looking forward to racing against him more.”

Watch: SVG on runner-up finish: ‘What a race … I had a blast’

SVG was all smiles despite the loss, praising Zilisch for an incredible race.

“Congrats to those guys,” said van Gisbergen. “What an awesome race. I hope everyone enjoyed that. I gave him a bump into (Turn) 7 and probably could have taken it, but I just waited. I didn’t want to do it like that and then we raced down the hill. What an awesome race … I had a blast all day. Really, really fun.”

The Xfinity race at Sonoma was surprisingly clean, with zero cautions for on-track incidents. There were some spins and various forms of contact, but nothing that required a full-course yellow.

When you think of motorcycles, Aston Martin is unlikely to be one of the brands that pops up in your mind, and yet here it is: a $120,000 motorcycle (when new) without a headlight, wearing the famous wings, built not as an afterthought, but as a statement.

The AMB 001 is Aston Martin’s first motorcycle. Built in collaboration with Brough Superior,  the legendary British marque once dubbed the “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles,” production of this track-only bike is limited to just 100 examples worldwide. 

While Aston Martin cut its teeth in the pre-war Grand Prix scene in the early part of the 20th century, George Brough’s motorcycles were shattering 100mph at the high-speed Brooklands course. Now revived in France, Brough Superior built each AMB 001 by hand and this particular example, chassis No. 073, is currently up for auction through Sotheby’s Motorsport (SOMO), with bidding open until July 16 at 5:15 PM EDT.

Being offered by Strada Motorsports in Schaumburg, Illinois, this bike is made from lightweight carbon fiber and billet aluminum. The 001 tips the scales at just 396 pounds dry (180 kg). For some context, typical liter-class motorcycles weigh between 400 and 500 pounds. As for performance, at the AMB 001’s core is a turbocharged 997cc V-twin engine that produces 180 horsepower, with E98 race fuel feeding the motor.

If you’re into ratios, that’s one horsepower per kilogram, which sounds vaguely terrifying. A 1:1 power-to-weight is extremely rare, even in the performance world, and can be found on cars like the Koenigsegg One:1 and the Czinger 21C.  

Now, there’s neither a speedometer nor a rev counter. Just three lights: oil, fuel, neutral, and a smartphone mount where the dash should be. You can pair your phone via Bluetooth to look at your speed and revs. Everything else is stripped away in the name of purity. The saddle is a minimal leather strap. The front end features Fior-type forks, which are more aircraft than motorcycle. The braking system and chassis are hand-finished by Brough Superior. Michelin Power Slick 2 tires provide grip.

Now, to be fair, the AMB 001 isn’t the first time car and motorcycle cultures have collided. Dodge once bolted a Viper V10 into the Tomahawk, a $550,000 concept bike with four wheels. Allen Millyard built a fully functional motorcycle powered by a Dodge Viper V10 in his shed, and in terms of some truly radical engineering, Bimota’s Tesi 3D reimagined steering geometry with hub-centered front suspension. 

More recently, even Lamborghini partnered with Italian sportsbike maker Ducati, under the same corporate VW Group umbrella, to produce $68,000 limited-run motorcycle like the Streetfighter V4. But unlike those, the Aston Martin AMB 001 is a bespoke collector-grade machine with real racing pedigree behind it. 

For those who already own the car, the yacht, the helicopter, this could very well be the next indulgence. A collector-grade machine built in collaboration with one of Britain’s most revered motorcycle marques, this exquisite example finished in exposed gloss carbon with gold accents in showroom condition, and extensive service records, presents the opportunity to acquire and invest in something truly special. 

July 12, 2025

Roberto Sabato Scores First-Career Pro/Am Challenge Win

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 12, 2025) – In a surprising turn of events following the checkered flag in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli event at Watkins Glen International, Tyler Kicera was declared the winner in Round 8 of the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series following the disqualification of provisional race winner and points leader Tristan McKee. The fifth-place starting Nitro Motorsports driver coach in the No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry made his way to the runner-up position by making a lap-three pass on Sam Corry (No. 70 Stilo Helmets/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry), and then overtaking third when championship contender Thomas Annunziata (No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) faced a terminal engine issue. From there, Kicera hunted down second-place Nathan Herne (No. 15 Owosso Speedway/Blue Gold Industries Toyota Camry), taking the spot and crossing the finish line in second, behind points leader McKee. Following podium celebrations and post-race technical inspection, the first-place finisher was disqualified and Kicera was declared the winner, earning his third-career victory and first since 2022.

Third-place finisher Carson Brown and fifth-place Julian DaCosta were also issued post-race infractions disqualifying them from the event, meaning Adrian Wlostowski (No. 3 CMI/Spot-On Services/AMT Motorsports Ford Mustang) was promoted to second place, while Gian Buffomante (No. 95 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) rounded out the adjusted overall podium in third, marking the first-career podiums for both competitors. Seamus McKendree (No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) and Sam Corry (No. 70 Stilo Helmets/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry) were also elevated to top-five finishes.

Notes of Interest:

• Tyler Kicera earned his first CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series win since his victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2022, which was his last full-time season in TA2. He has since been serving as a driver coach at Nitro Motorsports.

• Kicera has made 33-career starts and has a total of three victories.

• In his 57th race in the TA2 Series, Adrian Wlostowski scored his first-career podium. It was also the first podium finish for Gian Buffomante, who has eight Pro starts in TA2.

• Seamus McKendree, who typically competes in the Western Championship, earned a top-five finish in his first National start.

• Sixth-place starter Sam Corry was forced to recover from an early flat tire, which sent him to the back of the pack, and then received late-race contact from a Pro/Am Challenge competitor while running fourth. Despite that, he still recovered to finish fifth following the post-race changes.

• Championship contender Thomas Annunziata fell out of the race after only eight laps due to a motor issue, relegating him to a 12th-place finish. Following the changes in results, he improved to ninth in class and leaves the weekend as the new points leader.

“Wow, what a weekend,” said Kicera after the race. “I didn’t even know I was driving this car until Thursday night. This win is the ultimate redemption, for so many different reasons. Brian Keselowski and the whole Nitro Motorsports crew gave me such a fast car. I can’t thank Nick Tucker enough – he’s the one who made this happen for me. This whole Nitro team is just incredible.”

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series National Championship Top 10:
1. Tyler Kicera, No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry
2. Adrian Wlostowski, No. 3 CMI/Spot-On Services/AMT Motorsports Ford Mustang
3. Gian Buffomante, No. 95 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry
4. Seamus McKendree, No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang
5. Sam Corry, No. 70 Stilo Helmets/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry
6. Eric Cayton, No. 71 Ray Skillman Auto Group Ford Mustang
7. Will Robinson, No. 51 Mike Cope Race Cars LLC Ford Mustang
8. Nathan Herne, No. 15 Owosso Speedway/Blue Gold Industries Toyota Camry
9. Thomas Annunziata, No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry
10. Boris Said Sr., No. 60 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

Omologato Watches Fastest Lap of the Race:
Tyler Kicera, No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

Bassett Hard Charger:
Seamus McKendree, No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang

In the Pro/Am Challenge, Barry Boes initially crossed the line first in class and an impressive fifth overall. However, Boes was disqualified post race, promoting Roberto Sabato (No. 61 6th Gear Garage Ford Mustang) to his first-career Pro/Am victory, followed by Keith Prociuk (No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang) in second and Doug Winston (No. 98 D&M Electric/TradeMentor.org Ford Mustang) in third.

“It’s a good day,” said Sabato on the podium. “You know, I have to thank my team; they did an incredible job. A very awesome job. And thank you to Trans Am and CUBE 3. It’s been a long time coming. I really love it.”

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Pro/Am Challenge Podium:
1. Roberto Sabato, No. 61 6th Gear Garage Ford Mustang
2. Keith Prociuk, No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang
3. Doug Winston, No. 98 D&M Electric/TradeMentor.org Ford Mustang

Full race results can be found here.

An encore presentation of today’s race will air tomorrow on SPEED SPORT 1 at 9:00 a.m. ET.

The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series takes a brief hiatus before returning to action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, August 28-31. Tickets can be purchased here.