NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who can be crowned vineyard king at Sonoma Raceway?
A fourth road course race of NASCAR’s 2025 season also marks the lone trip to California with Sonoma Raceway. The winding 1.99-mile, 11-turn circuit lies in the shadow of San Francisco Bay. It will soon play a pivotal role in helping shape the NASCAR Playoffs. Either one driver already locked in will grow their points total, or a new winner will secure their spot. Here are a few contenders who hope to raise up the winner’s glass in Sonoma victory lane.
Shane van Gisbergen
Is there any stopping Shane van Gisbergen on road courses? The two most recent Cup road races, last weekend especially, both say a resounding no. Twice a winner in Cup this year at Mexico City and Chicago, SVG walked away with two dominant Sundays. Chicago was also a weekend sweep for SVG, a feat he’s trying to repeat in Sonoma. Northern California’s defending Xfinity winner has sky-high confidence coming off of perhaps his most impressive NASCAR showing to date. SVG may have no Cup laps turned at Sonoma, but that hasn’t deterred him yet on other road courses.
“I’m excited to get there!,” van Gisbergen said. “I’ve never raced that track in a Cup car. So it’s going to be interesting to see how it races and what it’s like. I did the Xfinity race there last year and had a great time. It will be interesting with it being my second time in the Xfinity car and trying to understand how to make that car better. Then in the Cup car, it’s obviously a track everyone is going to be strong at. They’ve had so many reps there it’s going to be interesting to see if we still have a speed advantage. But looking forward to running double duty again. Excited to have Quad Lock on the Xfinity car and Red Bull on the Cup car. Both cars look epic!”
“We have been getting a lot better on the road courses as a team. Just doing really good work with the car setup and development on it. The preparation has just been so intense heading into Mexico City and Chicago, but good at the same time. In Chicago, once we got on track, the car felt great. It was incredible to have two flawless days there. Really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together this weekend in Sonoma.”
To the surprise of few, SVG is the betting favorite entering Sonoma, chasing a third-straight road course victory. The Trackhouse No. 88 may be stout in his own speed and execution. Respect is equally a big factor in racing, however. Across both races in Chicago, van Gisbergen was the center of controversy on a few restarts. Neither win last week came without SVG ruffling a few feathers. Perhaps his competition will reflect this aggression and do whatever it takes to keep from being embarrassed again by the rookie.
Chris Buescher
As consistent as anyone in Next Gen, Chris Buescher has become an elite road course threat. Engine woes in Chicago may have derailed the RFK Racing team’s chances at a solid result. They still fought and clawed their way back to a gritty top-20 day. Chicago was a rare road course race outside of the top-10 for Buescher. This is a feat he’s done for three-straight years at Sonoma.
“We talk about momentum in our sport all the time and while it’s made up in some people’s minds, it works more times than not,” Buescher said. “And to me, it means that if you can get momentum on your side for these early road courses, then I think it can carry over into Sonoma and The Glen as well. So, I’m curious to see how it all plays out. We’ll kind of get some feedback from the industry and from our fans and see where their mind is at, but I’m on board right now.”
Not only does Buescher return to California with three top-10s; they were impressive results of second, fourth, and third. 32 laps led in last year’s race alone shows that Buescher has the feel to find the front at Sonoma. The 17 can easily capture a checkered flag here. A precarious 35 points above the Playoff cut line, Sunday is a prime opportunity race for Buescher.
Tyler Reddick
Another Playoff bubble driver with a stacked road course résumé, Tyler Reddick also hopes to improve his last Sonoma showing. 12 months ago saw the Corning, California driver lead 35 laps and finish eighth, a career-best Sonoma result. The three-time road course winner hopes for a solid chance at a fourth checkered flag this weekend. Reddick will likely need a top-10 if not better to protect his large points cushion. Wins aside, Reddick believes his 2025 stats are on par with his numbers from last year.
“I’d say if I’ve looked at points just as comparing to where we were last year at this time, all the wins aren’t there,” Reddick said. “The points scored, stage points, the less DNFs, those things, we’ve been running good. So I’d say when I look at points, I’m just kind of comparing year to year, kind of where we’re at, where our performance is at.”
Reddick enters Sonoma ranked fifth in points, best of non-winners through 19 weeks. With top-fives in the last two races, Reddick is seemingly trending towards a maiden 2025 victory. The 23XI Racing driver now sets his sights on a potential home track triumph.
Kyle Larson
Speaking of California drivers, two-time Sonoma winner Kyle Larson chases a third home track win. The 2024 winner here, last season saw the No. 5 Chevrolet lead 19 laps. Fresher tires late were enough for Larson to take the top spot away from Martin Truex Jr. and drive away. Larson beams at another opportunity to perform in front of his hometown crowd.
“It’s always special to go back home,” Larson said. “I love having friends and family at the track. Especially the friends that don’t typically get to go to the track. We have dominated there in the past – hopefully we’ll be just as good and catch Jeff Gordon. It will feel hotter in Sonoma with the race being in July. The pavement will be a little bit slicker. I personally prefer the race to be in July, more enjoyable for everyone that comes into town and experience Napa.”
The six-time Cup road course winner may need a breath of fresh air this weekend. Dating back to Charlotte in May, Larson has yet to lead a lap in six-straight races with only three top-10s. Larson is nothing short of a qualifying machine around Sonoma, once having five-straight poles here. Combined with his pair of wine country wins, Sonoma has quietly become one of Larson’s best road courses. Perhaps it is here where the 5 team starts to get their season back on the right track.
Ty Gibbs
Another sleeper pick across multiple recent road courses has been Ty Gibbs. The No. 54 Toyota led laps and was in the mix at Mexico City, and closed out Chicago with a strong runner-up. Now with all of Joe Gibbs Racing rallying around him, team 54 hopes to see magic in their 106th start.
Rallying from 27th to 19th in points over the last six weeks, this span has seen five-straight top-15s for Gibbs. Chris Gabehart’s influence has seen this team turn a corner and start stringing together some better consistency. A road course is appearing more and more likely to be where Ty Gibbs snags a maiden Cup win.
Kyle Busch
The only other active multi-time Sonoma winner, Kyle Busch comes into this weekend on a heater. Despite a mid-race spin at Chicago, the No. 8 Chevrolet did fight back to a top-five run. Combined with leading the most laps at COTA in March, this team has regained their road course mojo. Busch is optimistic for another strong Sonoma showing.
“I’m looking forward to Sonoma this weekend,” Busch said. “We’ve had some good runs on road courses as of late. We had a fast car in Mexico and another last weekend at Chicago. We need to keep our good runs at road courses coming together. The guys have done a great job of putting together good stuff at them, so I’m excited about that. I always enjoy going to wine country, it’s a great place to go for a race and all the other cool reasons that everyone looks forward to getting out to Sonoma. I’m looking forward to getting back on the twisty roads of wine country and having a good race. We’ve been fast there in the past, I’ve won there a couple of times, so I hope we’ll be able to capitalize on a fast car and put ourselves in a position to win.”
Coincidentally enough, Busch’s two most recent top-fives are both road courses at COTA and Chicago. Busch’s Sonoma record has also been stout in recent years. Dating back to his 2015 win, Busch has only seen two finishes worse than seventh ever since. This includes a 2023 runner-up, and what would have been a stronger finish last year before tangling late with Ross Chastain. Can the 8 become great again on the west coast?
Only three active drivers have found northern California victory lane before. Chances are very high that a new driver holds the winner’s goblet. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 goes green Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN, and SiruisXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
