This past weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series made their annual trip to California, taking on the 1.99-mile road course in Sonoma. The field of 37 drivers knew the challenge ahead of them, and with Shane van Gisbergen winning two out of three road course races up to this point, prior to the green flag, the field knew he’d be fast, after snagging the Pole from Chase Briscoe on Saturday. Here’s how it all played out.
Stage 1
Shane van Gisbergen won the past week’s race at the Chicago Street Course, and was able to surge ahead of the pack on the Northern California road course. By Lap 10, SVG had created a 1.3-second lead ahead of William Byron, who drove up to second after starting third and finishing dead-last the prior week in Chicago. Throughout the field, various drivers worked with their crew chiefs to decide on whether to go for stage points or be more conservative to go for the race win at the end of the afternoon.
Ultimately, SVG decided to come down pit road on Lap 23, with just three-to-go in Stage 1, allowing his teammate, Ross Chastain, to take the lead for the time being, as Byron also left the pits right as SVG came in for a fresh set and fuel. Chastain, who won the Coca-Cola 600 and locked himself into the post-season, won the first stage, collecting his playoff point and ten championship points, as SVG, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and William Byron rounded out the top-5.
Stage 2
Leading to the green to begin the second stage on Lap 30, the 36 other competitors knew SVG was going to be strong, as he led them across the line. In the middle of the pack, Ryan Blaney got loose, bouncing off of Briscoe’s bumper, indicating that the aggression level was picking up and that drivers would do whatever it takes to grab real estate. On Lap 31, A.J. Allmendinger spun coming up the hill after running fifth, and John Hunter Nemechek also went for a spin after making contact on track as well. On Lap 45, Chastain accidentally got into his teammate going into Turn 11, spinning out Daniel Suarez’s #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet.
By Lap 55, the halfway point of the race, Kyle Larson attempted to hold the lead from SVG, bobbling the #88 Red Bull Chevrolet after successfully passing Larson, which allowed SVG to win the second stage. Rounding out the top-5 was SVG, Larson, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Stenhouse Jr., respectively.
Final Stage
From this point forward, the race was on. SVG and Briscoe led the field to the green on Lap 60, as Blaney and Buescher trailed the duo going into Turn 1. On lap 62, Buescher got into Blaney, accidentally sending him off track and got him stuck. Seconds later, Wallace spun on the Turn 2 hill, as did Denny Hamlin, all prompting a caution.
On the next green flag, SVG kept the lead, as his pace remained. With 29-to-go, drivers began pitting during green flag runs. Even during pit stops, Shane van Gisbergen was too fast for the entire field. With 15-to-go, Cody Ware lost his wheel coming up the hill in Turn 3, prompting a caution. Amongst those pitting during the caution included Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski. Fresh tires give drivers a huge advantage, but SVG’s road racing expertise is tough to beat. With 11-to-go, Noah Gragson was turned going into Turn 7, damaging his #4 Ford Mustang, simultaneously ending his day and bringing out another caution.
The green flag was waved again on Lap 104, and this time, Briscoe was able to hold his own for a while, going side-by-side with SVG. Caution came back out shortly after, due to Stenhouse Jr. slamming the tire barrier in the esses, prompting a clean up.
On the final restart, SVG got a shot from Christopher Bell, surging him ahead, as Briscoe once again went toe-to-toe with SVG. Elliott’s fresh tires allowed him to drive up to third place, but it was not enough, as SVG took his third-consecutive road course win of the season.
Post-race Notes
After the race, drivers had plenty to say in the media center about their eventful days in wine country. Shane van Gisbergen was the most ecstatic, being that he’s on a role in his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“This is amazing. This is why we go racing. I had a great time. It’s awesome to have Red Bull on the car this weekend. Trackhouse Racing gave me a great Chevrolet again. What a great couple of weeks! Just to execute, make no mistakes, have great pit stops, great strategy and be able to hold them off there at the end, it’s incredible. Chase (Briscoe) was driving really well. We had a lot of fun there” (van Gisbergen).
The TNT in-season tournament has been fun to watch thus far, as underdog, Ty Dillon has been turning heads, advancing round-after-round in the bracket, after having the 32nd-place seed initially.
“It was a rough couple of laps there. Alex (Bowman) and I race really clean. I told him, ‘man, if it wasn’t for the million dollars, I probably wouldn’t have done that, but I had to’. It’s been an incredible run for this No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team. We’ve worked so hard for this opportunity. I can’t thank Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, Ty Norris and Kaulig Racing for giving me the opportunity to shine again. I’ve worked so hard to get here and I’m just grateful. All of our partners that are on board, this has just been so much fun” (Dillon).
Exiting Sonoma Raceway, heading into Dover Motor Speedway this weekend, William Byron leads the points +14 over teammate, Chase Elliott. The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 takes the green flag on Sunday, July 20th at 2:00PM EST/11:00AM PST on TNT, where 37 drivers look to tame the “Monster Mile” of Delaware. You won’t want to miss this one!
Sources
Dillon, Ty. Post-Race Media Notes. Sonoma Raceway, 2025. Provided by Chevrolet.
van Gisbergen, Shane. Post-Race Media Notes. Sonoma Raceway, 2025. Provided by Chevrolet.
Every Man on Every Crew, LLC. 
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