Sonoma Raceway will play host to its 36th Cup Series race Sunday — but it’s first in July.
This is the latest in the calendar that NASCAR has visited the 11-turn, 1.99-mile road course of San Francisco. The previous 35 races were primarily held in June (from 1993-97, the race was run in May).
Kyle Larson is the race’s defending winner, leading 19 of 110 laps for his second victory at Sonoma. The previous five winners at Sonoma also led the most laps.
Larson, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez are the only active winners at Sonoma in the 37-driver field.
After starting first and winning at Mexico City and Chicago, Shane van Gisbergen will try to join Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win three consecutive road or street course races from the pole position.
Sonoma will mark the third round of the In-Season Challenge, the five-race elimination tournament that will pay $1 million to the winner.
The matchups at Sonoma are: Alex Bowman vs. Ty Dillon; John Hunter Nemechek vs. Erik Jones; Ryan Preece vs. Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs vs. Zane Smith.
Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Sonoma
(All times Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given at 3:38 p.m. ... The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:50 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 12:30 p.m. ... Driver introductions are at 3 p.m. ... The national anthem will be performed at 3:31 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 110 laps (218.9 miles) on the 11-turn, 1.99-mile road course in Sonoma, California.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 25. Stage 2 ends at Lap 55.
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 37 cars entered at Sonoma Raceway.
TV/RADIO: TNT will broadcast the race starting at 3 p.m. ... Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.
FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Partly cloudy with a high of 83 degrees and winds from the southwest at 10 to 15 mph. It’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.
LAST TIME: Kyle Larson led the final nine laps and finished 4.258 seconds ahead of Michael McDowell for the victory on June 8, 2024.
