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NASCAR Transcripts: Chase Elliott – 6.29.25 – Speedway Digest

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the race-winning driver, Chase Elliott. We are going to open right up to questions. Q. Chase, the reaction from the crowd after 44 races not hearing them do that, the chanting, what does it mean to you personally that even after 44 races without winning, you’re still the […]

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THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the race-winning driver, Chase Elliott. We are going to open right up to questions.

Q. Chase, the reaction from the crowd after 44 races not hearing them do that, the chanting, what does it mean to you personally that even after 44 races without winning, you’re still the face of the sport, the only one that can get the crowd like this?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, thanks.

It was, yeah, truthfully a pretty surreal moment. There’s really only been one other time in my career that I felt like — I don’t know. I’m not sure anything has ever matched that. It was crazy. I’ve never, like, been onstage and been a singer or anything like that. I would have to imagine it would feel something like that. It was such an incredible experience.

To your point, I think it just kind of goes to show how great our fans have been to me and to us. It just kind of really makes you appreciate them even more for really sticking with us and not giving up hope, ultimately being able to give both me and my team an experience like that, because their determination and unwillingness to quit on us is really cool.

Yeah, grateful to have experienced that. Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Winning at home was incredible the first time. They feel different. But this one, Saturday night under the lights, been a while since we won, just getting ourselves a win and advancing up on the Playoff thing. Just all the things that have come with this, that one was up there, for sure.

Yeah, just grateful to have experienced it.

Q. Do you think that was the loudest you’ve ever heard the crowd after any of your wins?

CHASE ELLIOTT: It was for me, for sure. I can’t think of one that was any louder than that. That one was different. There was one time throughout the night, they were like taking out their cell phones and have the lights on. We were coming to a restart. Visibly from my seat it caught my attention. Typically it’s hard to get a good angle at that. That just caught my attention. Man, this place looks good tonight.

Yeah, to see them that excited after the race for me, it was crazy. It was crazy. It was surreal. I don’t really know how else to describe it. It’s just one of those moments you wish you could bottle up, get it out every now and again, relive it.

Yeah, I try to box it up the best I can and make sure I never forget it.

Q. You said after the race it was a wild race. Any more satisfaction from just a driver standpoint to win a wild race?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Just to win a race is nice in general. I’m not going to go picky whether it’s wild or boring. It was nice to come out on the good end of that. It could have been one of five of us, five or six of us, there at the end. I think for me, fortunately, the runs just really timed up at the perfect time. We were able to do something with them.

I’m proud of race wins, whether they’re wild or boring or lucky or whatever, anywhere in between.

Q. How would you rate your burnout? Did you have a plan for it? It seemed to be pretty sweet.

CHASE ELLIOTT: Was it? That’s cool. I’m glad to hear that.

I did not have a plan. There was no plan. It was, yeah, very much in the moment. Tried to do what I could to make it cool, hoped that everybody enjoyed it. That was all. I definitely didn’t have time to think what kind of a burnout I would do if we won that race. It was just chaos.

Yeah, hope it was good for everybody.

Q. Is this a night that you fly home, or do you stay in the motorhome? If you’re responsible for your own transportation when you win a race, how does that change?

CHASE ELLIOTT: I’m just going to drive home tonight.

Q. Tonight?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, whenever we get done.

Q. Man, that’s wild.

CHASE ELLIOTT: It’s not that far. Sleep in my bed (smiling).

Q. I know the moment at the start/finish line was special. I wanted to ask you about the design and drive program. Almost 10 years now since you started it. What was the inspiration with you and NAPA then? How special is it to bring one of those schemes to Victory Lane tonight?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, the whole thing has been incredible. We had an event this week. It was the ninth year of the “DESI9N TO DRIVE.” Yeah, there have been a lot of influential people that have made that foundation effort what it has become today.

I think it far outgrew our expectations of what we thought it would ever be. That’s largely, in part, to NAPA. They literally pay for a race and say, Here, you take this, do whatever you want with it.

How often do you see that? Not very much. I think that’s very special.

We just thought it was time to get everyone together and just say thanks the other night. We did. That included partners. That included relationships that have been built through the program. My mom deserves a lot of credit for my foundation in general and kind of getting that going. Some of her relationships with Chilla, really just kind of to get the ball rolling.

Since then, it has become very much a team effort. To grow to be what it is… It started off as a shoe program that we auctioned off. All four Hendrick drivers wore ’em. Then NAPA got involved. When they got involved, that really allowed us to take the whole designing process to another level and get more engagement in it and through it.

Just incredible. Rhealynn and her family were just amazing people. I’m always inspired by those stories and the things that you hear her say. The things that motivate her I think are things that should be contagious to all of us and lessons that can be taken in anyone’s life.

So grateful to have her here. I told her this is not normal, so make sure you enjoy this as much as she could. Those types of moments and all the stars aligning, that stuff doesn’t happen every day. I recognize that. I try to cherish that stuff, because it’s just hard to come by.

Q. What kind of impact do moments like that have on you as a person getting to work with kids? Are those the kind of moments that just let you step back and give you that perspective of how many other things are bigger than the sport?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of things bigger than the sport. That’s certainly a great reminder, being one of ’em.

Like I said, so many of those kids have had just extremely tough roads. It’s no fault of their own, right? It’s important to recognize, too, it’s not just the individual, it’s the entire family, right?

Rhealynn brought her brother out. She was just excited to have him out here, because she said that, He’s missed so many things because of me that I want him to go and have fun, right?

I think that those types of moments are just important to recognize the type of attitude that it takes to endure those journeys as a family unit and not break apart. Just a lot of good lessons in all that stuff. Grateful to have witnessed it and to have lived tonight with them and hopefully give them a day that they’ll never forget.

Q. I know there was debate towards the end of the first stage whether to pit or not. When you looked up and saw the chaos in the back of your mirror, did that assure you you made the right decision?

CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, hindsight is always 20/20, right? Of course, you could have been caught up in that crash. The crash doesn’t happen, maybe the calls that ended up pitting those guys work out, so…

Q. Your mom had a special four-legged friend in Victory Lane. How cool was that?

CHASE ELLIOTT: That’s awesome. That is his first win. He got to experience a dub here in Atlanta. It’s cool. He’s a great dog. I don’t take him a ton. Obviously, it’s kind of hard to travel with a big Doberman. Yeah, he’s been a good pup. Really cool to have him in Victory Lane, have some pictures with him there.

Q. Amid this winless streak, do you find yourself appreciating the wins more often because they don’t always come in bunches?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think there’s definitely been lessons throughout that that certainly have made me enjoy them. But truthfully, I was already to a point even before Texas or the road to that, even the road to tonight, that I think I knew that to a pretty large degree.

Truthfully, I think the road to one was long enough, and there had been enough close calls and enough just gut-wrenching losses, all those second places that led to Watkins Glen.

Fortunately, I think I got a pretty good taste of that. Or unfortunately, however you want to look at it. But I got a pretty good taste of it early on.

I don’t think that has necessarily bothered me. I just want to be competitive. It’s like I told you guys before, for me satisfaction and showing up on a weekend is relevant. Were we in contention? Did we actually have a shot? Were we up there with pace, doing the right things?

I believe that in this sport, if you’re doing all those right things, A, that’s something to be proud of, and B, if you’re doing them regularly, you’re going to get return. I thought tonight was a great example of that. Truthfully, the past three or four weeks have been a good example of that.

We’ve had some good runs. We’ve put together some great races, had some good finishes. Just had ourselves in the hunt tonight, and the cards fell our way. That’s the goal every week, is to just keep yourself in the hunt, be right there in the mix.

Certainly if things work out, I’ll always cherish and enjoy them as much as possible, because they are hard to win. Nobody has anything promised to them. I recognize that. I’ll never take that for granted in those moments, especially to do that here at home.

Q. When you have this stretch where it can be frustrating, how do not start pointing fingers, whether at yourself or the team, questioning things going on? How do you maintain the focus forward that you seem to have?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I think that’s in large part due to Alan, our relationship together. A large part of our group has been the same since I got here. Obviously Alan and I have been working together for 10 years now. There have been some personnel changes here and there. Totally understand that.

When you’re fortunate enough to climb the mountain and be able to stand at the top of the mountain with someone, that’s an incredible achievement, right? That’s something that he and I will always cherish and remember that we did that together, right?

Since then, we have failed to climb that mountain again like we want. We have fallen off of it a few times. For me it’s really, really important to climb that mountain with the same people that we did the first time and know that we never quit on each other. That’s just a really important piece of the puzzle for me.

I’m not sure it would even really feel the same if we all jumped ship. I alluded to it on TV earlier, but I’m just really proud of all of our guys for not doing just that, just showing up every week and having great attitudes, just doing everything in their power to put the car, the product on the racetrack that they do, the effort they put in going over the wall, the way Alan brings intensity to the racetrack, calling races, meetings, making sure he’s getting everything out of me. It’s all right there.

We have such a good, talented group of people that are motivated, good people away from the racetrack, too. You can’t quit on that.

Q. At stage two, you were just inches behind Reddick. You think you have maybe a chance to have overtaken him earlier?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Maybe. I mean, I tried. Yeah, I mean, I tried my best. I came up short. So I don’t know. What am I going to do? Try again.

Q. Shortly after the restart after the last caution, you were for one or two laps in the sandwich of two RFK cars. Were you thinking at that time that could be a little bit risky for you?

CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, certainly the numbers were not in my favor at that point. I knew that. Alex did, too. It was kind of me and him against the 17 and the 6. Both Brad and Chris are great speedway racers. They’re really fast. They were doing a really good job controlling the race.

It was really difficult for me to get and have any sort of control. I just felt like they always had a big run on me anytime I got the lead. I didn’t really know how to defend that. I was just hoping that Alex and I could somewhere, somehow get in the middle of that, give one of us a shot.

Fortunately, all the cards kind of fell right there in the closing laps to get a couple big runs. Got two for one there getting into one. Got to second. Somehow Alex got to third. At that point I think whether roles were the way they were or roles were reversed, if he and I did anything but push one another in that situation, we were handing the race to Brad, right?

He did me a huge solid, lining up, giving me a big shove. It was enough for me to get by Brad and get back around there to finish it off.

Q. If you didn’t have Alex behind you on the last lap, we saw big moves, how might that have changed or what would that have allowed you or limited you in what you could have done with not having Alex in this case?

CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, yeah, who knows in that situation, right? I think off of four coming to the white, I alluded to it a second ago, but if he takes me too wide right there, the race is over more than likely. We’re going to drag each other back. There was a pretty big gap back to fourth, if I’m not mistaken. I haven’t watched it back closely. The way I remember it, there was.

We’re kind of letting Brad get away. At that point we would have been side by side down the front and probably side by side through one and two. We’re never going to have enough time.

He and I both knew that the only shot we as a company had at that juncture was to line up and push and hope that something worked out good in our favor because at that point it was two, one, and one. Whether it was he or I, obviously we both want to win. I recognize that he gave me a great shove. I recognize that he took his run on Brad, too, to try to get himself to second, which ultimately helped me as well.

Yeah, those are all things that I remember. We’ll do everything we can do to try and bring fast cars over the course of the next number of weeks. Hope those guys can get a win. I think they deserve it. They’ve been fast. He’s had a terrible run of lucky feel like over the last month. It would be nice to see him grab a win and get in.

Q. We saw a lot of emotion after your win. You went into the crowd and celebrated with them, which we rarely see. Where does this win stack up in the wins you’ve had in your career in the Cup Series?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it’s up there for sure. Just the whole thing. I talked about it a little bit. It’s always such a whirlwind from the time the race ends to the time I get in here. I just haven’t had a minute, you know what I mean? Sometimes it takes a minute.

To Doug’s point, I’m going to get to drive home, have a minute to myself. I’m looking forward to that. I’ll probably have a better answer for you later on.

But tonight was really special, I can tell you that. Just the way the stars aligned, everything that went into the deal. Having the Mills family here, a lot of people from NAPA, Genuine Parts, Kelley Blue Book, Coca-Cola. It’s not just home for me, it’s kind of home for the entire car. That’s a rare thing to share with your sponsors. It’s just a special deal.

Have my mom here tonight. That was really cool. Just a lot of stuff. I haven’t even thought about all of it. As I reflect, I’ll probably give you a better answer, but it was pretty special.

Q. Inspection is clear and you’re good.

CHASE ELLIOTT: That’s good. I’ve been on the other end of that, so…

Q. According to the broadcast, you were one of only four drivers who was not involved in some sort of incident. With the ability that you had to make aggressive moves, slice and dice with the field, how did you pull that off?

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, honestly I think just good fortune, luck at certain points. I mean, there’s certain times when accidents happen. There’s just very little you can do, truthfully.

We were in good positions at good points in time for us. There will be some point down the road that we won’t be. That’s just racing.

Fortunately it worked out for us tonight, was able to stay out of the mess. Alan made some good calls early to make good track position. That’s bettering your odds. You can do some stuff, but you’re never totally safe.

I don’t have a good answer for you other than it kind of worked out. Fortunately I had a fast car. All our cards fell our way there at the end.

Q. I want to talk about towards the end of the race working with Alex Bowman at the end. Before the caution, seemed like Brad and Chris Buescher were up there with you guys fighting to take the lead. Once Buescher faded off, how big was it having Alex there in your back pocket to get around Brad?

CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, talked about it a little bit a minute ago.

He was a great teammate in that moment, for sure. Like I said, we’re coming off four to the white. If he takes me two-wide, we are all but saying, Here, Brad, you can win. If the roles were reversed, I can guarantee you that wouldn’t have been the case other way around, right?

At that point in time it’s our job as a company to try to get Hendrick Motorsports a win at that point in time, whether it was he or I or however that transpired, right? Naturally it did just that.

He had a run. He gave me a huge shove, like all night. I was able to do something with it. Fortunately it was enough to hold on.

Q. Next two races road courses. What kind of momentum are you rolling off of Mexico City going into the next two road course races?

CHASE ELLIOTT: I’m excited. I mean, I’m really just kind of proud of the last four weeks. Honestly, we had a really fast car at Michigan, thought we were really respectable up there. Good in Mexico. I thought we were also really respectable up at Pocono.

We weren’t as good as the 11 or 12. I certainly understand that. I thought we were right there in the hunt. Maybe a little adjustment away from getting right up there with them. Tonight we were right there in the mix. I understand this is a little different ballgame.

Those are a lot of different styles of racetracks that I feel our team has done a solid job. We’re really close of having all the pieces of the puzzle there. There’s really nowhere I’m not looking forward to going to, embracing whatever challenge comes next.

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Where to watch NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma today: Free live stream

Nascar is in California for the week, with all races happening at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. The Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Race will air on TNT, and streams live on DirecTV (free trial). What: The Toyota/Save Mart 350, a NASCAR Cup Series […]

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Nascar is in California for the week, with all races happening at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. The Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Race will air on TNT, and streams live on DirecTV (free trial).

What: The Toyota/Save Mart 350, a NASCAR Cup Series race

When: Sunday, July 13, 2025

Where: Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Stream: DirecTV (free trial), Hulu + Live TV, Sling

Streaming service Free trial? Promo Price
DirecTV Yes $30 off first month $84.99
Hulu + Live TV Yes No $82.99
Sling No No $45.99

Here’s a recent NASCAR story via The Associated Press:

CHICAGO (AP) — NASCAR’s first in-season tournament hasn’t made much of an impression on its drivers so far. Ty Gibbs said Sunday he didn’t know who his second-round opponent was until after the Cup Series race.

That might be about to change.

Gibbs is one of eight drivers still in the mix for the $1 million prize that goes to the winner of the five-race, bracket-style competition. While Shane van Gisbergen was closing out his Cup victory in Chicago this weekend, some of the most compelling action on the downtown street course was at least connected to the inaugural In-Season Challenge.

Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace raced each other hard in the final laps after they tangled in Chicago last year. Bowman got the better of the head-to-head matchup, finishing eighth and eliminating Wallace from the tournament.

John Hunter Nemechek was 15th, one spot better than his opponent, Chase Elliott. Gibbs had a strong day and finished second, good enough to beat AJ Allmendinger in sixth. Ty Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith and Erik Jones also moved on.

The 14th-seeded Smith upset No. 3 seed Chris Buescher by finishing 14th. He is matched up with Gibbs for Sunday’s road race at Sonoma.

“I hate we had to knock another Ford out, but it’s super cool to advance,” Smith said.

With the in-season tournament — part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT — NASCAR is following in the footsteps of the NBA and soccer leagues around the world. After Sonoma this weekend, it concludes with races at Dover and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bowman said the tournament wasn’t on his mind as he battled with Wallace at the end in Chicago. Whatever the reason for the contact, their head-to-head matchup certainly added a bit of intrigue to the racing behind van Gisbergen’s victory.

With the money involved and the field trimmed to eight drivers, there could be more moments like the duel between Bowman and Wallace in the final weeks of the challenge.

“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.”

It sure sounds as if Dillon is enjoying the competition. Dillon, the No. 32 seed, eliminated Brad Keselowski on Sunday after he upset top-seeded Denny Hamlin at Atlanta on June 28.

There was absolutely no drama in Dillon’s win after Keselowski was collected in an early crash that began with Carson Hocevar hitting the wall and spinning out between Turns 10 and 11. Hocevar was eliminated by Reddick.

“I’m just so proud of Kaulig Racing and our No. 10 team,” Dillon said. “I knew in a basketball city, going up against Brad in a game of knockout, I was going to have a good chance.”

Dillon takes on Bowman and Preece faces Reddick in the next round. But the most interesting contest just might be Nemechek versus Jones in a matchup of Legacy Motor Club teammates.

“I felt like if we could have gotten through the first round, these next two rounds are really good for us,” Preece said. “Our road course program is pretty strong, and we keep making it better. So going into Sonoma, I think we’re up against Tyler Reddick, so he’s really good at road courses as well, but I like being the underdog.”

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Shane van Gisbergen dominates NASCAR Sonoma race

Shane van Gisbergen dominates Sonoma Raceway to claim his fourth Cup Series win, equaling Jeff Gordon’s record for consecutive road course victories from pole. SONOMA, Calif. — Shane van Gisbergen extended his winning streak to two straight and three victories in the last five weeks with yet another dominating run on a road course. The […]

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Shane van Gisbergen dominates Sonoma Raceway to claim his fourth Cup Series win, equaling Jeff Gordon’s record for consecutive road course victories from pole.

SONOMA, Calif. — Shane van Gisbergen extended his winning streak to two straight and three victories in the last five weeks with yet another dominating run on a road course.

The New Zealander once again showed he’s in a completely different class on road and street courses than his rivals as he led 97 of 110 laps Sunday to win from pole at Sonoma Raceway. All three of his wins this year have been from pole — which tied him with Jeff Gordon for a NASCAR record of three consecutive road course victories from the top starting spot.

Gordon did it between the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

Victory number four for van Gisbergen — who stunned NASCAR in 2023 when he popped into the debut Chicago street course race from Australian V8 Supercars and won — seemed a given before teams even arrived at the picturesque course in California wine country. His rivals have lamented that “SVG” has a unique braking technique he mastered Down Under that none of them — all oval specialists — can ever learn.

That win in Chicago two years ago led van Gisbergen to move to the United States for a career change driving stock cars for Trackhouse Racing. 

Van Gisbergen is the fastest driver to win four Cup Series races — in his 34th start — since Parnelli Jones in 1969. He’s also the winningest driver born outside the United States.

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

The Sonoma win made it four victories for Trackhouse in eight weeks. Van Gisbergen was second from pole in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.

Although he dominated again Sunday, van Gisbergen pitted from the lead with 27 laps remaining and then had to drive his way back to the front. He got it with a pass of Michael McDowell with 19 laps remaining, but two late cautions made van Gisbergen win restarts to close out the victory in his Chevrolet.

Chase Briscoe was second in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime, but I feel like that’s probably what it was like,” said Briscoe after not being able to pass van Gisbergen on the two late restarts — the last with five laps remaining.

“That guy is unbelievable on road courses. He’s just so good. He’s really raised the bar on this entire series.”

Briscoe was followed by Chase Elliott in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. McDowell in a Chevy for Spire Motorsports was fourth and Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing was fifth.

The mid-season tournament that pays $1 million to the winner is down to four drivers.

Ty Dillon finished 17th to eliminate Alex Bowman, who finished 19th, to complete a huge upset. Tyler Reddick (11th) knocked out Ryan Preece (16th), John Hunter Nemechek knocked out teammate Erik Jones as they finished 28th and 29th, and Ty Gibbs, with a seventh-place finish, eliminated Zane Smith.

NASCAR officials had to separate the crews for Brad Keselowski and Ty Gibbs when members from the two teams scrapped on pit road during the race.

Keselowski’s crew confronted Gibbs’ crew after Gibbs drove through their pit stall and narrowly missed hitting some of Keselowski’s crew members already in place waiting for him.

The confrontation appeared to be contained to pushing and shoving and NASCAR quickly stepped between them. Both crews were given an official warning for fighting but NASCAR said Gibbs did nothing wrong.

It took 61 of the 110 laps for the first caution for an on-track incident — when Ryan Blaney was knocked off the course and into the dirt early in the third stage. The contact from Chris Buescher left Blaney stranded, and right before NASCAR could throw the yellow, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin both spun.

It was technically the third caution of the race, but the first two were for natural stage breaks.

The race ended with six cautions — two in the final stretch.

The Cup Series races Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware, where Denny Hamlin won last year.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     



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Results, winner of Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway

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 And so it continues. For the second straight week and third straight road-course race, Shane van Gisbergen is your winner. He captured the checkered flag during the Toyota/Save Mart […]

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And so it continues.

For the second straight week and third straight road-course race, Shane van Gisbergen is your winner. He captured the checkered flag during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Somoma Raceway on Sunday, July 13.

It is the fourth career Cup Series victory and third this season for the driver of Trackhouse’s No. 88 car. All of them have come on road courses.

He, of course, already had a playoff spot wrapped up.

Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five. Let’s check out the full finishing order.

NASCAR standings: Results of Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway

  1. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
  2. Chase Briscoe, No. 19
  3. Chase Elliott, No. 9
  4. Michael McDowell, No. 71
  5. Christopher Bell, No. 20
  6. Tyler Reddick, No. 45
  7. Ty Gibbs, No. 54
  8. William Byron, No. 24
  9. Joey Logano, No. 22
  10. Kyle Busch, No. 8
  11. Brad Keselowski, No. 6
  12. Ryan Preece, No. 60
  13. Josh Berry, No. 21
  14. Daniel Suarez, No. 99
  15. Justin Haley, No. 7
  16. Chris Buescher, No. 17
  17. Ty Dillon, No. 10
  18. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
  19. Alex Bowman, No. 48
  20. Denny Hamlin, No. 11
  21. Austin Dillon, No. 3
  22. Cole Custer, No. 41
  23. Todd Gilliland, No. 34
  24. Ross Chastain, No. 1
  25. Riley Herbst, No. 35
  26. Bubba Wallace, No. 23
  27. Zane Smith, No. 38
  28. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
  29. Erik Jones, No. 43
  30. Austin Cindric, No. 2
  31. Katherine Legge, No. 78
  32. Carson Hocevar, No. 77
  33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
  34. Cody Ware, No. 51
  35. Kyle Larson, No. 5
  36. Ryan Blaney, No. 12
  37. Noah Gragson, No. 4



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Sonoma Xfinity results: Connor Zilisch holds off Shane van Gisbergen for win

Connor Zilisch held off Shane van Gisbergen over the final laps to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway. It marked the second race in a row the two finished first and second but last weekend at Chicago it was van Gisbergen defeating Zilisch. Advertisement Saturday, Zilisch withstood van Gisbergen’s pressure on the final […]

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Connor Zilisch held off Shane van Gisbergen over the final laps to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

It marked the second race in a row the two finished first and second but last weekend at Chicago it was van Gisbergen defeating Zilisch.

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Saturday, Zilisch withstood van Gisbergen’s pressure on the final lap around the 1.99-mile road course to collect his third series victory of the season and fourth of his career.

Zilisch’s victory gave JR Motorsports its series-best 10th win of the year and 98th in the series. It also was the team’s fourth 1-2 finish of the season. JR Motorsports has won the past six Xfinity road course races, the longest streak by a team in series history. All five JR Motorsports cars finished in the top 10.

Zilisch, who turns 19 on July 22, and van Gisbergen combined to lead 70 of the race’s 79 laps Saturday.

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William Sawalich was third, Nick Sanchez finished fourth and Riley Herbst was fifth.

Five rookies finished in the top 10, the most in series history on a road course. Those five rookies were: Zilisch (first), Sawalich (third), Sanchez (fourth), Taylor Gray (seventh) and Carson Kvapil (eighth).

Stage 1 winner: Sam Mayer

Stage 2 winner: Brandon Jones

Next: The series races at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 19 at Dover.



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ARCA Menards West Series: 2025 Sonoma Race Review

By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer The sixth race of the 2025 ARCA Menards West Series season took place at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA on July 11, 2025. The General Tire 200 was won in a commanding manner by Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota was the fastest […]

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By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer

The sixth race of the 2025 ARCA Menards West Series season took place at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA on July 11, 2025. The General Tire 200 was won in a commanding manner by Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich.

The driver of the No. 18 Toyota was the fastest in practice, earned the pole position, set the fastest lap of the race, and led every lap. His dominance was completely challenged during the final lap of overtime when he was pushed off the track in turn 2 by Alon Day (Venturini Motorsports). Having moved back up to fourth, Sawalich first got rid of Jack Wood (Bill McAnally Racing) by pushing him into a spin coming out of Turn 3. He then took advantage of Alon Day’s opening of the inside line in the hairpin to get into the rear bumper of leader Christian Eckes and give him a “love tape” enough to slightly destabilize the Bill McAnally Racing driver as he accelerated again. Side by side in Turn 12, Sawalich, despite a brush with the outside wall, took advantage of his better speed to take the checkered flag first, 0.66 thousandths ahead of Eckes and 1.56 ahead of Alan Day! This was the closest finish in the history of the West Series at Sonoma in 46 races!

Fourth in the race, Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) made a good point day by finishing ahead of his main rivals for the championship. He now has 299 points, 14 more than Tanner Reif (Central Coast Racing), who finished ninth in the race, and 15 more than Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing Team), who finished eighth on Friday.

It’s time to take a closer look at how the Sonoma race unfolded. 

ARCA West Practice/Qualifying

As mentioned above, William Sawalich was the fastest driver in practice, being the only driver to go under the 78-second mark with a lap time of 77.505 seconds. He finished ahead of Corey Day (Spire Motorsports), Alon Day, and Jack Wood. Jonathan Reaume (Strike Mamba Racing) didn’t do a lap, as his team finished preparing their new car in the pit lane. Nick Joanides (Performance P-1 Motorsports) encountered gearshift issues. Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Cook Racing Technologies) also had technical problem with a motor sensor issue. Finally, among the highlights of this practice, Spencer Gallagher’s (Clark Racing) accident who destroyed the left side of his No. 23 Chevrolet.

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In the qualifying session, Sawalich took pole position with a lap time of 77.507 seconds, finishing 1 thousandths of a second ahead of Alon Day. The second row was occupied by Corey Day and Tyler Reif (Sigma Performance Services). Bill McAnally Racing drivers Christian Eckes and Jack Wood shared the third row. Reaume made his first laps and was logically last. It’s worth noting that two drivers didn’t take part in the session: Joanides, whose team hadn’t resolved the aforementioned issues in time, and Gallagher, whose team was configuring the backup car loaned by Sigma Performance Services. It’s worth noting that last year, Joe Farrè (SPS) and T.J. Clark were partners. There was a great sense of solidarity between them.

GREEN!!!

Sawalich gave no one a chance to challenge him for first place as the green flag waved. Behind him, Tyler Reif made an excellent start and moved from fourth to second place in the first two turns. Joanides did not start the race, his car having stopped in his pit box. Eric Johnson, Jr. (Jerry Pitts Racing) experienced transmission issues and rejoined the pit lane before the first lap of the race. He would restart well behind the pack.

On lap four, Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) rejoined the pit lane with suspension issues. Johnson, Jr. stopped briefly due to a broken left rear axle coming out of the hairpin but managed to restart, only to stop in his pit box the following lap. He would return to the track five laps down.

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By lap 10, the top 10 was as follows, with Sawalich leading ahead of Tyler Reif, Alon Day, Corey Day, Christian Eckes, Jack Wood, Trevor Huddleston, Will Rodgers (Naake Motorsports), Kyle Keller, and Eric Nascimento, Jr. (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports). Kaylee Bryson, then 19th, reported that her engine was losing power but continued her race.

By lap 14, Sawalich was still leading, while Joanides finally took to the track. But he soon complained of the same broken shift linkage issue.

The first yellow flag was waved during the 17th lap when Will Rodgers went off the track on the climb to Turn 2, got a rock that broke the dry sump pump belt. The motor of his No. 88 Ford smoked, forcing the 2018 Sonoma race winner to stop in Turn 7A avoiding further engine damage. Rodd Kneeland, 17th, received the free pass. Joanides was again stopped in his pit box after slowing down for two laps. He wasn’t the only one stopped in his pit box, as Reaume was also there.

At the restart, Sawalich maintained the lead, while Corey Day took second place from Tyler Reif, who went wide in Turn 4. Christian Eckes tried to take advantage of the opening but spun while trying to pass Tyler Reif entering Turn 7A without triggering a yellow flag. Alon Day and Jack Wood also took advantage of the opportunity to pass Tyler Reif, who had to swerve to avoid the spinning car of Eckes. Joanides returned to the track on lap 23 but would eventually retire shortly after.

Quarterley in the wall!

On lap 26, Alon Day passed Corey Day for second place. One lap later, Dale Quarterley spun in turn 4 and hit the inside wall. The left front of his car was badly damaged, but he managed to reach the pit lane without causing a caution. However, he had to retire.

The next yellow flag came on lap 33 and marked the midway break. Kneeland received the free pass for the second time. Note that Bryson was again experiencing engine power losses.

The complete standings at the halfway point are as follows. Sawalich leads ahead of Alon Day, Corey Day, Wood, Nascimento, Huddleston, Keller, Caleb Shrader (Jerry Pitts Racing), Robbie Kennealy (Jan’s Racing Team), Tanner Reif, Eckes, Jeff Anton (Quarterley Racing), Ryan Philpott (Philpott Racing), Rodd Kneeland, Souza (-1), Bryson (-1), Davey Magras (Davey Magras Racing at -2 laps), Blake Lothian (Strike Manba Racing at -3 laps), Reaume (-3), David Smith (Shockwave Racing at -5 laps), Johnson, Jr. (-5), Gallagher (-5), Quarterley (out), Rodgers (out) and Joanides (-24).

The restart was given on lap 38, with Sawalich leading the way. This would be the quietest part of the race, aside from a few positional changes within the pack. But on lap 51, Johnson Jr. attempted to make an inside pass on Kneeland in turn 12, and the two drivers collided. While Johnson Jr. fared well, Kneeland spun off, hitting the outside wall hard and being hit at full speed by Kennealy, who had nowhere to go. The impact was very violent, and both cars were destroyed. The red flag was waved on lap 52 and lasted 13 minutes while the track was cleared of debris and the wall repaired. There was no free pass, as Kneeland was involved in the accident.

The restart was given on lap 55, and the top 10 was as follows. Sawalich led ahead of Alon Day, Corey Day, Wood, Eckes, Keller, Tyler Reif, Huddleston, Shrader, and Nascimento, Jr. Jack Wood pulled off a successful move, quickly passing both Days to move into second place. However, Israeli Alon Day managed to retake second place on lap 58. The following lap, Eckes overtook his teammate Wood for third place.

On the 61st and penultimate lap, Keller, well established in the top ten, ran out of fuel. Despite shaking his car, he stopped just after the starting line, triggering another yellow flag, the fourth. Bryson received the free pass and came back to within one lap of the leaders.

OVERTIME!

We’re treated to overtime. The race restarts on lap 65 for a one-lap dash. Sawalich is pushed off the track entering turn 2 by Alon Day, who also goes into the dirt. Sawalich gets back onto the track but lost momentum. Behind, Alon Day also gets back on the track and hits Eckes, who in turn hits Wood.

Eckes is the new leader ahead of Alon Day, Wood, and Sawalich. But in turn 3, Sawalich pushes Wood into a spin. Wood finishes the race in 13th place. In turn 7A, Huddleston takes the fourth position from Corey Day for fourth place. The championship leader has his best career race at Sonoma.

In the esses, Eckes and Alon Day are in the middle of a battle, which benefits Sawalich, who closes in on them. Arriving at turn 11 (hairpin), Sawalich took advantage of Alon Day’s opening of the inside lane to get into the rear bumper of leader Christian Eckes and give him a “love tape,” enough to slightly destabilize the Bill McAnally Racing driver, who widened his line and was hit by Alon Day. Upon re-accelerating, Sawalich was side-by-side with Eckes in turn 12. Sawalich, despite a brush with the outside wall, took advantage of his faster speed to take the checkered flag first, 0.66 thousandths ahead of Eckes and 1.56 ahead of Alan Day!

The rest of the top 10 was completed by Huddleston, Tyler Reif, Nascimento, Jr., Corey Day, Keller, Tanner Reif, and Anton.

“Yeah, I don’t really know what happened in [turn] 1. I don’t know if I overshot it or pretty sure I got ran into. Yeah, think so. But I mean it is what it is. It was a good race, good racing the No. 25 [Alon Day] and everybody else. That was definitely our race, but it sucks it had to happen that way. We did what we could to get our Starkey Camry in Victory Lane, so I’m glad that we’re here. It took me a while to figure out how to do a burnout.” Sawalich said on Victory Lane.

This is William Sawalich’s fourth West Series victory, his second on a road track after last year’s victory in Portland. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will next race there on August 29th.

Meanwhile, the West Series will return to action on August 9th for the NAPA Auto Parts 150, which will take place on the half-mile tri-oval at Tri-City Raceway in W. Richland, WA. This race will mark the start of the second half of the series.

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ARCA Menards West Series: 2025 Sonoma Race Review 6



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Full Toyota/Save Mart 350 results

For the third time in the last five weeks, the NASCAR Cup Series is on a non-oval course this weekend, with Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 marking the third road course race and fourth non-oval race of the 2025 season just one week after the series’ lone street course race in Chicago. After briefly using the […]

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For the third time in the last five weeks, the NASCAR Cup Series is on a non-oval course this weekend, with Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 marking the third road course race and fourth non-oval race of the 2025 season just one week after the series’ lone street course race in Chicago.

After briefly using the full layout in 2019 and 2021, NASCAR returned to the Sonoma, California venue’s 12-turn, 1.99-mile (3.203-kilometer) track in 2022 and has used it ever since. Sunday’s race is scheduled to be a 110-lap race.

Notably, this is the first time NASCAR has ever raced at Sonoma in July, and it is the first time NASCAR has raced there in a month other than June since the race was held in May from 1993 to 1997.

In addition to serving as the 20th race on the regular season schedule, this race is also the third race of the inaugural five-race In-Season Challenge. Just eight of the initial 32 drivers remain in contention, and four more are set to be eliminated on Sunday.

Saturday’s two-group qualifying session determined the full starting lineup for Sunday’s event. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen the pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe started beside him on the front row. A full starting lineup can be found here.

Follow along with our race updates from Sonoma Raceway.

NASCAR at Sonoma: Stage 1 results

1st – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2nd – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

3rd – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

4th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

5th – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

6th – Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

7th – Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8th – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

9th – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

10th – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

NASCAR at Sonoma: Stage 2 results

1st – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2nd – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

3rd – Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

4th – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

5th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

6th – Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

7th – Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

8th – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

9th – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

10th – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

NASCAR at Sonoma: Full race results

The 21st race on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. This race used to be known as the Wurth 400, but the races at Dover and Texas Motor Speedway switched title sponsors this year. TNT Sports is set to provide live coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 20.



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