Motorsports
Top DFS Picks and Betting Insights
This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series. Tennessee Lottery 250 Location: Lebanon, Tenn.Course: Nashville SuperspeedwayFormat: 1.33-mile D-shaped ovalLaps: 188 NASCAR Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 Race Preview We’re coming off of a compelling weekend of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with a three-way battle for first place between Justin Allgaier, William Byron and Connor Zilisch. Despite […]

This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Tennessee Lottery 250
Location: Lebanon, Tenn.
Course: Nashville Superspeedway
Format: 1.33-mile D-shaped oval
Laps: 188
NASCAR Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 Race Preview
We’re coming off of a compelling weekend of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with a three-way battle for first place between Justin Allgaier, William Byron and Connor Zilisch. Despite taking a speeding penalty at the start of Stage 3, Byron managed to make a great comeback to take the lead and win in overtime. We’ll now head to Nashville for what should be another great race with last weekend’s Cup winner Ross Chastain as well as Aric Almirola in the field.
Key Stats at Nashville Superspeedway
- Number of races: 25
- Winners from pole: 3
- Winners from top-five starters: 13
- Winners from top-10 starters: 19
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
Recent Nashville Winners
2024 – John Hunter Nemechek
2023- AJ Allmendinger
2022- Justin Allgaier
2021 -Kyle Busch
Nashville Superspeedway is an intermediate, D-shaped tri-oval track. Though there’s a decent history of both the Trucks and Xfinity Series in Nashville, there was a long hiatus between 2011 and 2021 with no NASCAR affiliated races. Track position appeared to be king, but we’ve seen winners come from 11th and 15th place in the last two years. We should be careful about takeaways about manufacturer in such a small sample, but we’ve seen wins from a pair of Toyotas and Chevrolets.
RotoWire NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Tools
NASCAR Lineup Optimizer
NASCAR Projections
DraftKings Value Picks for the Tennessee Lottery 250
Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ross Chastain – $12,000
Justin Allgaier- $11,700
Aric Almirola- $11,500
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Jesse Love- $10,500
Sam Mayer – $10,000
Austin Hill – $9,500
Brandon Jones – $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Sammy Smith – $8,300
Ryan Sieg – $8,100
Harrison Burton – $7,500
DraftKings Tier 4 Values
Dean Thompson- $6,700
Jeffrey Earnhardt – $6,300
NASCAR Xfinity DFS Picks for the Tennessee Lottery 250
Ross Chastain – $12,000
Brandon Jones- $9,000
Ryan Sieg – $8,100
Harrison Burton- $7,500
Dean Thompson – $6,700
Jeffrey Earnhardt – $6,300
Chastain is the headline guest for this weekend’s race, and he has an excellent history at Nashville. In four Cup Series races, he’s finished first, second and fifth. He comes at a premium price, but it isn’t prohibitive. For those who want an alternative to Chastain, I’d be willing to drop down to Mayer as a top driver to build through. His recent form has been up and down, but he is another driver who has an excellent history at Nashville (10th, fifth and third).
Tier 2 is otherwise jammed full of potential value. Jones is worth highlighting of the group, as he’s qualified no worse than 15th. His results haven’t been there, but he has speed at the track and has also topped 40 DK points in three of his last six races.
Tier 3 offers some roster glue in the middle of the price range. Sieg pops as the top value option on our optimizer. He’s had solid showings on the track but has been a true star for DFS purposes. Among full-time drivers in the Xfinity Series, Sieg ranks fourth with 35.5 DK points per race. He is sixth when taking into account Almirola and Chastain. He appears in Tier 3, but should be locked into lineups without much question.
The story is similar for Harrison Burton. He’s finished inside the top 10 in three of his last five races yet hasn’t seen a rise in price.
From there, it’s time to fill in with value. Thompson is a pretty easy choice based on the form he has shown throughout the season (30 DK points per race)and is another curious case of stagnant pricing.
NASCAR Xfinity Best Bets for the Tennessee Lottery 250
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 11:30 AM ET Saturday
Race Winner- Sam Mayer (+1200)
Head-to-Head Matchup: Brandon Jones (-115) vs. Sheldon Creed
Head-to-Head Matchup: Sam Mayer (-115) vs. Connor Zilisch
Head-to-Head Matchup: Austin Hill (+100) vs. Jesse Love
DraftKings Sportsbook is offering something new for the Xfinity Series this weekend with head-to-head matchups. This is a great avenue to make some higher-probability wagers than a race winner or top-three selection.
Creed has been very quiet in his first season with the Haas Factory Team and has a poor history at Nashville. In three races in the Xfinity Series, he has never qualified better than 14th and never finished better than 17th. As was noted, Jones’ results have been mediocre, but his qualifying form has been strong.
We’ve already covered our reasons for being on Mayer this weekend, and a safer way to bet on his form at Nashville is his head-to-head matchup against Zilisch. Setting aside track history, Mayer’s average finish this season is 10.85, while Zilisch’s sits at 15.58.
A final matchup to consider is the RCR teammates. Both should be in for good weekends, but Hill has gotten better results across the board as measured by wins and top-five finishes, particularly.
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.
Motorsports
NASCAR Sonoma race first-time fan checklist, get the most out of race day
NASCAR is heading to Wine Country. The NASCAR Cup Series is running the Toyota/Save Mart 350 to highlight a full weekend of action including the NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West. For some fans, this will be their first time attending a NASCAR race. If you’re one of those first-time fans, we have […]

NASCAR is heading to Wine Country.
The NASCAR Cup Series is running the Toyota/Save Mart 350 to highlight a full weekend of action including the NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West.
For some fans, this will be their first time attending a NASCAR race. If you’re one of those first-time fans, we have a checklist for you to get the most out of race day.
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Here’s a first-time fan checklist for the NASCAR Sonoma race.
Plan to arrive early for NASCAR Sonoma race
Fans should arrive two hours early to navigate traffic, parking and spend some time in the Fan Zone to make the day even more memorable.
Do not forget sunscreen!
The NASCAR Sonoma race will be one of the warmer days of the season, and almost always produces beautiful weather days. Make sure to bring sunscreen, getting a sunburn at a NASCAR race is painful.
Hit those merchandise haulers
Near the fan zone, there are merchandise haulers with all kinds of items for sale. Anything from hats, t-shirts, flags, pens, pencils and, of course, diecast cars, are available in these haulers. The haulers are separated by race team (for example, Hendrick Motorsports is in one hauler with Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman merchandise). There may even be a driver in the hauler to sign autographs, if you’re lucky.
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Don’t forget to eat at NASCAR Sonoma race
There are concession stands and food trucks around the speedway. Make sure to look around and find your favorites to enjoy at the racetrack.
Get to your seat early for NASCAR Sonoma race
You’ll want to make sure to get to your seat early to enjoy the pre-race festivities, a snack and a drink before the race. There will also be lots of standing, including for every restart, a few laps after, and as the race is coming to a close.
Can I bring cooler, food, alcohol to Sonoma Raceway?
Yes, coolers are allowed. They must be a soft-sided cooler no bigger than 14-inches by 14-inches by 14-inches. Backpacks and bags no bigger than 18-inches by 18-inches by 14-inches are allowed. Pre-packaged food and alcohol are allowed, but no glass containers.
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Items to bring to NASCAR Sonoma race
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A maximum of two bags per person that do not exceed 18″x18″x14″ size.
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Ear protection is recommended.
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A seat cushion is highly recommended for the concrete terrace seating in Turns 2, 3, 7 and 9.
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Water (plastic bottles only) Snacks, if you wish.
Prohibited items for NASCAR Sonoma race
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Aerosol cans (with the exception of sunscreen, sun block, hand sanitizer, and bug spray)
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Glass or ceramic containers of any kind
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Displays of the Confederate Flag
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Foam or hard-sided coolers regardless of size
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Frisbees, Balloons or any other Projectile
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InlineSkates/Skateboards/Bicycles/Hover Boards
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Laser Pointers, Noise Makers and Air Horns
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Lawn chairs and stadium-type seats with legs (all chairs must sit flat against your seat – no legs)
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Tripods and monopods that are either solid or collapsible
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Umbrellas in seating areas
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Unregistered golf carts and other off-highway vehicles including, but not limited to, ATVs, golf carts, motorized bikes and scooters, side-by-side utility vehicles (see the full golf cart and off-road vehicle policy and registration info here)
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Weapons, including, but not limited to, guns, knives, stun guns and pepper spray.
Get tickets for NASCAR 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 Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 (July 13): The NASCAR Cup Series tackles the series’ most challenging course. Be there as the green flag flies on the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
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.
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ARCA Menards Series West race (July 11): Catch the ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 200 on Friday, July 11, as the future stars of NASCAR duke it out in wine country.
Promotions, discounts for NASCAR Sonoma race
Summer of Speed Pass: The Summer of Speed Pass allows you to attend both NASCAR on July 13 and NHRA on July 25-27 for a discounted price of $199.
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One (1) NHRA Lower Grandstand ticket (Choice of July 25, 26 or 27)
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One (1) NASCAR Lower Grandstand ticket (July 13 Only)
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.
Last thing: have fun!
NASCAR races are some of the most fun sporting events you can attend. It can seem a bit stressful with so much stuff happening at once but just remember to enjoy the day. If you’re new to NASCAR, welcome to a sport you’ll hopefully enjoy for a long time.
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When is NASCAR Sonoma race?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is set for 2:30 p.m. on July 13 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.
NASCAR Sonoma race TV channel
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sonoma race will be broadcast on TNT with Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the broadcast booth.
Shop NASCAR Sonoma tickets
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Sonoma race: First-time fan checklist at Toyota/Save Mart 350
Motorsports
‘Fine With Me’ — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Contradicts Growing NASCAR Fan Opinions After Bitter-Sweet Chicago Weekend
NASCAR’s road course debate has drivers picking sides, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. just made his position crystal clear. While veterans like Brad Keselowski push back against the sport’s shift away from oval-only racing, the 37-year-old Hyak Motorsports driver embraces the change with open arms. The ongoing battle between old-school traditionalists and the younger generation has […]

NASCAR’s road course debate has drivers picking sides, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. just made his position crystal clear. While veterans like Brad Keselowski push back against the sport’s shift away from oval-only racing, the 37-year-old Hyak Motorsports driver embraces the change with open arms.
The ongoing battle between old-school traditionalists and the younger generation has split NASCAR. Old-school fans despise the idea of stock cars racing anywhere but ovals, while the younger generation loves it. Stenhouse falls firmly in the latter camp.
Why Does Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Support More Road Course Racing?
The Hyak Motorsports driver recently downplayed the idea of scrapping road courses from the schedule and went against the grain. Instead, Stenhouse said he wouldn’t mind running six road races yearly.
Currently, the NASCAR schedule has six road/street races, one-sixth of the 36-race calendar. To some, this means excitement, seeing the Cup cars navigate the twists and turns, tearing through tight, narrow city lanes. To others, it’s nothing but a fallacy.
Read More: ‘It Was Fake News’ – Denny Hamlin Gets Brutally Honest About NASCAR’s Failed Road Course Gamble
Cup Series veterans like Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski fall in the latter category, but Stenhouse? He’s welcoming the change with enthusiasm.
What Makes Road Courses Work for Today’s NASCAR?
“Road courses are fun. This car has, I think, closed the field up a decent amount on road courses,” he said, speaking his mind on the latest SiriusXM NASCAR feature.
He added, “Obviously, you still have guys like SVG, McDowell, Allmendinger, some of those guys that seem to be able to find just a little extra speed than others. But I think the field is really tight.”
The No. 47 driver also noted that these not-so-oval events have become a part of the schedule. According to him, the field has somehow embraced Chicago. “It’s a track just like any other race now, where when you lose track position, it’s hard to come through the field, unlike when we had our old car, where the speeds were varied throughout the field,” he said.
Stenhouse then shared his personal take: “I enjoy the road courses. So I would say at least four. I don’t think six is terrible either. I don’t know if I’d keep adding, but I think that four to six range is fine with me.”
We went from 2 to 6 Road course races, Possibly 7 next year.
NASCAR was successfully built as a primarily oval racing series. IMSA was built as the primary road course series in North America. IMSA will always do road racing better than NASCAR and that’s ok.
Yes, TOO Many… https://t.co/W3pGrJwcb8
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) July 10, 2025
Meanwhile, 2012 Cup Series champion Keselowski stirred the pot with a blunt post just a few days ago. The RFK Racing driver and co-owner stated that NASCAR, which was initially built around oval racing, should continue to do so and ditch the idea of adding one more road course from next season.
His argument was simple: IMSA, America’s long-fabled road racing series owned by NASCAR, features the “twisties.” NASCAR should stay true to its core and stick to oval racing instead of adding more street courses. But, does it seem practical?
Motorsports
Hyett, AO Racing become first repeat IMSA LMP2 polesitters at CTMP
PJ Hyett and AO Racing took pole for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the second year in a row, this time in dramatic fashion. Barrier repairs caused by an accident during the preceding Michelin Pilot Challenge race delayed qualifying by 10 minutes, but it was worth the wait. Hyett was […]
PJ Hyett and AO Racing took pole for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the second year in a row, this time in dramatic fashion.
Barrier repairs caused by an accident during the preceding Michelin Pilot Challenge race delayed qualifying by 10 minutes, but it was worth the wait.
Hyett was held up slightly by a local yellow at the final turn, but he had time for just one more flying lap. The 2024 LMP2 pole sitter drove “Spike the LMP2 Dragon,” the No. 99 ORECA 07-Gibson, to the top spot with a 1m08.888s lap, snatching pole from United Autosports’ Dan Goldburg right at the buzzer.
The AO Racing crew becomes the first repeat pole winner in four LMP2 races, following his run at Watkins Glen. Goldburg, the race winner at Watkins Glen and the current LMP2 points leader, will line up second after setting a 1m08.986s.
He was also embroiled in the late drama – the No. 22 United ORECA 07 made contact with the No. 8 Tower Motorsports car of John Farano at Turn 11 and sent Farano spinning around. The Canadian driver was able to avoid bringing out a red flag by getting his car back on track.
Steven Thomas, who suffered an early crash in the first practice session of the weekend, qualified third in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA. Jeremy Clarke had his own issues in qualifying, spinning at Turn 2 and backing the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition car into the tires. With only minor damage and a solid lap already on the board, he’ll start fourth in Sunday’s race, ahead of the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR, No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports, and No. 2 United Autosports USA cars.
Neil Verhagen and Paul Miller Racing took their first GTD PRO pole of the season – a first for the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. A lap time of 1m15.046s from the American-born, European-trained driver was enough for him to win the pole by nearly 0.3s.
The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Aaron Telitz will occupy the outside of the GT front row, setting a 1m15.309s to take a front row spot away from the No. 3 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The two works Corvette Racing cars will start side-by-side on row two – Garcia in the championship-leading No. 3 in third ahead of the No. 4 of Tommy Milner.
Dan Harper in the No. 48 Paul Miller BMW rounded out the top five, sharing the third row with local favorites Pfaff Motorsports and the No. 9 Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli.
Vasser Sullivan Racing’s strong form also netted a GTD pole position for Jack Hawksworth in the No. 12 Lexus, his first of the season individually and the second straight pole in Canada for this car, which won the pole last year in the hands of Frankie Montecalvo. It’s also the second pole of the year for the No. 12 Lexus – co-driver Parker Thompson won the pole at Long Beach earlier this year.
Hawksworth set a 1m15.305s to drop the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward out of the top spot by just 0.014s. Hawksworth then gained 0.2s on his next flying lap, securing the top spot with a 1m15.101s. Ward pushed until the final seconds of the GTD session, but would not improve from his 1m15.319s – he’ll start second.
Robert Wickens put in a solid effort to qualify third in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette. Using specially-developed hand controls, Wickens set a 1m15.876 to put the Corvette on the second row.
After Casper Stevenson’s accident during the middle of practice two Saturday morning, the English driver turned things around and qualified the repaired No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 fourth on the GTD grid.
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Motorsports
TV channel, lineup, weather for Sonoma
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 The NASCAR Cup Series has left the streets of Chicago behind after a dominant weekend from Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. He earned his second win of the year […]


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
The NASCAR Cup Series has left the streets of Chicago behind after a dominant weekend from Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. He earned his second win of the year after sweeping the pole positions and the race wins in both the Xfinity and Cup Series events.
But the grid will have to wait a bit longer to return to the comfort of oval tracks.
NASCAR swaps a street course for a road course in California wine country. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 brings the grid to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for one of the longest-running road course events on the NASCAR calendar. Since 1989, the Cup Series has raced around the circuit in an event made for the road course specialists. The 1.99-mile layout features 12 turns and plenty of elevation.
This year’s event will have an added wrinkle: NASCAR’s inaugural in-season challenge. Sonoma is the site of round three of the challenge with eight drivers still in contention for the $1 million prize.
USA TODAY Sports will have coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Follow along for all the action and results:
How to watch NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma
- Race: Toyota/Save Mart 350
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 PT)
- Location: Sonoma Raceway (Sonoma, California)
- TV: TNT, alternate telecast on truTV
- Streaming: WatchTNT, Max and Sling TV
Stream the NASCAR race at Sonoma on Sling
The Cup Series won’t have any threat of rain in this year’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. AccuWeather forecasts show a zero chance of rain with temperatures in the high 80s. Sunny skies and winds up to 11 mph should make for dry running all afternoon.
Who won the pole for NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?
Shane Van Gisbergen topped qualifying for the second consecutive weekend after winning the pole and the race last weekend on the streets of Chicago. The Trackhouse Racing driver will start on the front row of Sunday’s race alongside Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is 110 laps around the 1.99-mile track for a total of 218.9 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 25 laps; Stage 2: 30 laps; Stage 3: 55 laps.
Yes, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be streamed on WatchTNT, Max and Sling TV.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. local) Sunday, July 13, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be broadcast on TNT with an altcast on truTV. It’s the third of five races to be broadcast on the network. Pre-race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET (Noon PT).
Thirty-two drivers qualified for the inaugural in-season challenge. Sixteen were eliminated at Atlanta and a further eight are off the board after the race in Chicago.
The third round sees just eight drivers remaining and just two of the top 10 seeds. Four drivers will advance to the next round in Dover, Delaware.
Top half of draw
- No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon
- No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 20 Erik Jones
Bottom half of draw
- No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
- No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 14 Zane Smith
(Car number in parentheses)
- (88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
- (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
- (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
- (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
- (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
- (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
- (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- (38) Zane Smith, Ford
- (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
- (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
- (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
- (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
- (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
- (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford
- (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
- (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
- (21) Josh Berry, Ford
- (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
- (41) Cole Custer, Ford
- (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
- (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
- (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
- (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
- (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
- (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
- (51) Cody Ware, Ford
- (78) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet
Kyle Larson cruised to victory at his hometown race after taking the lead with eight laps to go. It was a race of attrition with seven caution periods before the race hit the halfway mark. Larson pitted with 20 laps to go and worked his way methodically up from eighth place before passing leader Martin Truex Jr. for the lead and the eventual win, his third of six total victories that season.
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Motorsports
PJ Hyett Wins Chevrolet Grand Prix Pole
AO Racing owner/driver PJ Hyett turned a lap at 128.504 mph Saturday (July 12) to win the overall pole for Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is Hyett’s second straight pole at CTMP and his sixth career class pole. “It’s a wonderful thing,” Hyett said afterwards. “These […]

AO Racing owner/driver PJ Hyett turned a lap at 128.504 mph Saturday (July 12) to win the overall pole for Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is Hyett’s second straight pole at CTMP and his sixth career class pole.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” Hyett said afterwards. “These P2 cars and I just get along really well. I absolutely love driving this car and I love putting it on pole for the team who works so hard behind the scenes to make it fast like that.”
Hyett won the pole by .098 seconds over United Autosports’ Dan Goldburg. TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas will start third, followed by Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke. CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz was fifth.
In the session, Riley Motorsports’ Gar Robinson was quickest early on before Clarke put his yellow and green ORECA 07-Gibson on top. Hyett was able to overtake Clarke and put himself on top.
Goldburg was able to drop the quick time down into the 68-second bracket with eight minutes to go. At the time, he was a third of a second ahead of Hyett and thought that he couldn’t be beat. So, he pitted with six minutes to go and let the other 11 drivers try to beat him.
Clarke’s session came to an end early when he spun in turn 2 and backed lightly into the tires. The red flag did not come out, but Clarke’s car was damaged.
Later on, Tower Motorsports’ John Farano spun and hit the tires exiting turn 10 after contact from United Autosports’ Phil Fayer. He was able to pull away as well, but suffered rear wing damage.
Hyett chose to pit for a fresh tires of tires, potentially compromising his race since LMP2 teams only get four sets of tires for qualifying and the race. Despite Farano’s spin right at the start of the lap, Hyett was a
GTD Pro saw Paul Miller Racing’s BMWs come to the front. Dan Harper put himself on top five minutes into the session. That time was quickly beaten by Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Antonio Garcia.
Shortly afterwards, Harper’s teammate Neil Verhagen put down a lap at 117.960 mph, the fastest GT lap of the weekend. From then on, everyone tried their best to beat Verhagen, but could not keep the BMW racer from taking the class pole.
Verhagen’s lap was .263 seconds faster than Vasser Sullivan’s Aaron Telitz. Garcia will start third in class, followed by teammate Tommy Milner. Harper was fifth.
In GTD, Gradient Racing’s Jenson Altzman was fastest early on before Wright Motorsports’ Elliott Skeer usurped him. Skeer ended up topping out six minutes into the session with a lap at 115.881 mph, but the times continued to tumble.
Winward Racing’s Russell Ward dropped the pole into the 75-second bracket and improved to a lap at 117.532 mph. Then, Jack Hawksworth entered the picture.
Over the past few years, Hawksworth has been one of the fastest GT drivers in single-lap pace. On Saturday, he was able to wring out a lap to take the provisional pole with six minutes to go.
A couple of laps later, Hawksworth set a lap at 117.873 mph. That lap held up for the class pole.
Hawksworth ended up .218 seconds ahead of Ward. DXDT Racing’s Robert Wickens will start third in his Corvette, while The Heart of Racing’s Casper Stevenson was fourth. Wayne Taylor Racing’s Danny Formal was fifth.
The Chevrolet Grand Prix is scheduled to go green at 2:05 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. Coverage will air live at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network 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.
Motorsports
What to watch for in today’s NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma
For the second weekend in a row, NASCAR Cup drivers will be racing on a road course. They’ll compete today at the 1.99-mile Sonoma Raceway. Here are a few things to watch. Seeking to tie a Hall of Famer Shane van Gisbergen seeks to tie Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon’s record for three consecutive Cup […]

For the second weekend in a row, NASCAR Cup drivers will be racing on a road course. They’ll compete today at the 1.99-mile Sonoma Raceway.
Here are a few things to watch.
Seeking to tie a Hall of Famer
Shane van Gisbergen seeks to tie Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon’s record for three consecutive Cup road course victories from the pole. Gordon did it from 1998-99.
“We’ve had a really cool couple of weeks,” van Gisbergen said after winning the pole for today’s race. “You just feel the energy in the shop when you walk in on Monday and Tuesday. Even the stay-at-home guys and girls preparing the cars — it’s just a cool atmosphere in the shop. Everyone’s lifted up. Ross (Chastain’s) win kind of started it at the Coke 600, and we just got better and better. So yeah, it’s really cool for everyone.”
The race in Northern California will be held in July for the first time.
Already this season, van Gisbergen has won at Mexico and Chicago from the pole. He ranks second in the series in average finish (9.8) on road courses in the Next Gen era.
“He’s so good, and it’s rare that you see somebody stand out and distance himself from the competition as much as he is,” Larson said about van Gisbergen. “You know, he’s way, way, way better than us at the road course stuff.
“And he’s got his own technique, you can call it. Not his own because the rest of the world does it – you know, right-foot braking, clutching and all that stuff. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks … like there’s zero chance I can learn how to do that. And even if I did, like there’s zero chance that I can have it be better than what I’m probably doing with left-foot braking.”
What’s up with Kyle Larson?
The Hendrick Motorsports driver who won last year’s race at Sonoma has not led in the last six races. It’s the longest stretch he’s gone in Cup without leading a lap since the end of the 2019 and beginning of the 2020 seasons when he also went six races without leading a lap.
Larson has not had much success on road courses this season. He finished 13th at Chicago, placed 36th after his car was damaged in an early accident triggered by Kyle Busch at Mexico and was 32nd at Circuit of the Americas after being issued a two-lap penalty for a wheel coming off his car.
Shane van Gisbergen scores his third pole of the season and fourth of his Cup career.
Larson has three top-10 finishes in his last seven races.
“You know, just on paper, it looks like we’re just very average, which we have been,” Larson said Saturday at Sonoma of his recent stretch of races. “But, you know, we’ve taken days where we’ve been not a top-10 car and finished in the top-10 or even top five.
“Those days, although they’re not fun, they are rewarding at the end of it because I think, a lot of times in my past, I’ll try even too hard and make big mistakes and crash, which I’ve done that here lately some also. But, yeah, I don’t know. We just haven’t been as strong as we’ve wanted to be here lately.
“We’ve gone to some tracks where when you look at results from the past, we haven’t been quite competitive or have race winning speed and it’s kind of carried over to this year at some of those places too.”
Points races tighten
The points race for the regular season championship and for the final playoff spot have tightened.
At the top of the standings, William Byron has seen his points lead shrink from 67 to 13 in the last three races. Byron has finished no better than 27th in the past three races.
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher has scored three consecutive top-five finishes at Sonoma Raceway.
He enters today’s race 13 points ahead of teammate Chase Elliott and 19 points ahead of teammate Kyle Larson. Denny Hamlin trails Byron by 43 points and Tyler Reddick is 48 points from the top of the standings.
There have been 12 different winners this season, leaving four playoff spots via points at this time. Bubba Wallace holds the final playoff spot. He’s two points ahead of Ryan Preece, who gained 21 points on Wallace last weekend at Chicago. AJ Allmendinger is next, 43 points below the cutline. Kyle Busch is 46 points below the cutline.
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