The NASCAR Cup Series is rolling into Wine Country.
Sonoma Raceway, a 12-turn, 1.99-mile track in Northern California, will play host to the second road course race of the 2024 season – and there's an added twist this year. The entire surface was repaved with fresh asphalt over the offseason, which could present unknown obstacles this weekend.
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Martin Truex Jr., the defending race winner, looks to pace the field again while a number of other challengers are thirsty to drink wine from Sonoma’s victory chalice on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s everything you need to know the 2024 Toyota/Save Mart 350:
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NASCAR Sonoma entry list
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Thirty-eight drivers will race at Sonoma – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.
Australian Supercars stars Will Brown and Cam Waters will both make their Cup debuts – hoping to follow in the footsteps of Shane van Gisbergen, a Superstars champion who won in his first NASCAR start last year. Brown will pilot the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing, while Water is driving the No. 60 for RFK Racing.
Elsewhere, Kaz Grala will pilot the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort. Then there’s AJ Allmendinger, a two-time road course winner who races part-time in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing.
Here’s the full entry list for Sonoma:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Kubota |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | America's Tire |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Get Bioethanol |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mobil 1 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Valvoline |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | King's Hawaiian |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Gainbridge |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Zone |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Gold Filters |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Overstock |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | FedEx |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Menards |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford Performance Racing School |
| 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing | N29 Capital Partners |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Cirkul |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | BuildSubmarines.com |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | DEX Imaging |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Autotrader |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Columbia Sportswear |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | RaptorTough.com |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Cirkul |
| 33 | Will Brown | Richard Childress Racing | Mobile X |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Love's Travel Stops |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Frontline |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Caymus Vineyards |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Save Mart |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Monster Energy |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Kroger/Tylenol |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally Pride |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Jacob Construction |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | He Gets Us |
| 60 | Cam Waters | RFK Racing | AUKUS/BuildSubmarines.com |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Wellcare |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Delaware Life |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Freeway Insurance |
When is the NASCAR race in Sonoma?
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is set for Sunday, June 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Before the race on Sunday, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. All 38 drivers will get an hour of practice on Friday.
Then, the field will compete in two-round qualifying on Saturday. Here’s how it works:
- The 38 drivers will be split into two groups (found here).
- First round: 15 minutes for each group. Drivers can make unlimited laps.
- The five fastest drivers from each group advance to the second round. Starting positions 11 through 38 are set based on speeds from the first round.
- Second round: 10 minutes for the 10 drivers who advanced. Drivers can make unlimited laps. The top 10 starting positions are determined based on the best single-lap speeds from the second round.
What is the TV schedule for NASCAR in Sonoma?
Friday, June 7 (FS1 and streaming)
- Practice: 5 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
Saturday, June 8 (FS2 and streaming)
- Qualifying: 6 p.m. ET, FS2, FoxSports.com
Sunday, June 9 (FOX and streaming)
- NASCAR Race Day: 3 p.m. ET, FOX, FoxSports.com
- Toyota/Save Mart 350: 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FoxSports.com
NASCAR Sonoma past winners, race history
Truex is chasing history this weekend. The 2017 Cup champion is a four-time winner at Sonoma (2013, 2018-19, 2023), one shy of tying Jeff Gordon’s track record.
Aside from Truex, there are just three other past Sonoma winners racing on Sunday. Kyle Busch has won twice (2008, 2015), while Larson (2021) and Suarez (2022) have one victory each.
NASCAR Sonoma favorites, drivers to watch
Sonoma is unlike any other road course on the schedule.
The track is full of hills, elevation changes and vastly different corners. So, while it’s tempting to look at the typical road course winners as the favorites, it’s beneficial to look at this track as a standalone.
Chase Elliott, William Byron and Tyler Reddick have been the three best road races over the past few years, though none of the three have won at Sonoma.
But Elliott still leads all active drivers in Sonoma average finish (12.1 in seven starts), road course average (8.9 in 30 starts) and road course wins (7). Byron has won two of the last three road races (COTA 2024, Watkins Glen 2023), leading 108 of 158 laps in those two events.
Looking at Sonoma specifically, Truex is always a driver to watch. He’s led 264 laps in 17 starts, most of all active drivers. Chris Buescher (7.3), Joey Logano (8.0), Ross Chastain (8.0) and Larson (8.0) join Elliott (5.0) and Truex (10.0) with the best average finishes at Sonoma over the last three years.
What is the weather for NASCAR in Sonoma?
NBC Bay Area is predicting a beautiful weekend in Sonoma. Temperatures could reach 81 degrees on Sunday, with some clouds in the morning before a sunny afternoon and just a 2% chance of rain. Keep up to date with the latest forecast here.
