Cup Series Preview

Toyota / Save Mart 350

Sonoma Raceway
Laps 110 Distance 219 mi Type road Coverage TNT · 3:30 PM ET Stages 25 / 55 / 110
1.99
MI
asphalt
Surface
Race Date
Sunday, June 28, 2026
3:30 PM ET

Sonoma Raceway is a different kind of road course — 12 turns across 1.99 miles of rolling Northern California wine country, with elevation changes that feel more like a motocross track than a Cup stop. The configuration winds through the Carneros region with heavy braking into Turn 11's hairpin, high-commitment esses, and a blind crest at the top of the hill that separates the brave from the cautious. Cup stock cars have raced here since 1989, and the event has produced some of the best road course drivers in series history: Jeff Gordon won five times at Sonoma, Tony Stewart three, and Kyle Larson broke through with a dominant 2021 win that signaled his championship-season form. The track is narrow, passing zones are limited, and tire strategy over 110 laps often comes down to stretching fuel or pitting early for a short final run. The modern Cup field has produced several new road course aces — Ross Chastain, William Byron, and Chris Buescher all contending in recent years — making Sonoma a strategic puzzle where one bad restart can cost 10 positions and one patient lap can turn a race around.

Band A · The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Historical Context

  • Tyler Reddick has 5 starts at Sonoma Raceway with a 18.4 average finish.
  • Chris Buescher has 8 starts at Sonoma Raceway with a 11.0 average finish.
  • Christopher Bell has 4 starts at Sonoma Raceway with a 12.3 average finish.

Based on Cup Series results at Sonoma Raceway from 1949-2026.

DID YOU KNOW?

Ernie Irvan finishes in the top 10 at Sonoma Raceway 83% of the time across 6 starts.

Ernie Irvan's track record
LAST TIME HERE

The last Cup race at Sonoma Raceway was the 2025 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (chaos score: 47.7).

Track history
Band B · The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

Band C · The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the Toyota / Save Mart 350 on?

The Toyota / Save Mart 350 airs on TNT on Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 3:30 PM ET, broadcast from Sonoma Raceway. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule splits between FOX, FS1, TNT, NBC, USA, and Amazon Prime Video.

What time does the NASCAR Cup race start today?

The Toyota / Save Mart 350 green flag is set for 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, June 28, 2026, airing on TNT. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

NR-Rating Track Rankings
#DriverElo RatingLast Finish
1Christopher Bell
1568
P5
2Shane van Gisbergen
1560
P1
3Chris Buescher
1556
P16
4Chase Elliott
1555
P3
5Tyler Reddick
1553
P6
6William Byron
1543
P8
7Michael McDowell
1525
P4
8Joey Logano
1518
P9
9A.J. Allmendinger
1515
P18
10Kyle Busch
1514
P10
NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type. = Previous winner at this track

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Wed, May 13, 2026, 07:50 AM ET

# Driver Exp. Finish Win %
1 Tyler Reddick Best in Field 11.2 12.6%
2 Chris Buescher 10.2 11.8%
3 Christopher Bell 7.2 11.7%
4 Chase Elliott 7.2 11.5%
5 William Byron 11.5 10.8%
6 Shane van Gisbergen 12.7 9.2%
7 Ryan Blaney 12.7 9.2%
8 Joey Logano 12.7 8.5%
9 Kyle Larson 12.9 7.6%
10 Michael McDowell 13.0 4.4%
11 Ross Chastain 16.2 4.2%
12 Kyle Busch 13.0 3.9%
13 A.J. Allmendinger 16.5 3.1%
14 Ty Gibbs 17.2 2.6%
15 Daniel Suarez 16.8 2.6%
16 Brad Keselowski 16.7 2.5%
17 Alex Bowman 16.7 2.0%
18 Casey Mears 16.7 2.0%
19 Austin Cindric 20.2 1.9%
20 Denny Hamlin 16.7 1.8%
21 Bubba Wallace 16.7 1.7%
22 Chase Briscoe 16.7 1.4%
23 Todd Gilliland 20.8 1.3%
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 21.4 1.2%
25 Connor Zilisch 21.4 1.1%
26 Ryan Preece 16.5 1.1%
27 Katherine Legge 21.4 0.9%
28 Erik Jones 21.4 0.9%
29 B.J. McLeod 20.8 0.9%
30 Ty Dillon 21.4 0.8%
31 Austin Dillon 21.4 0.5%
32 Carson Hocevar 21.4 0.3%
33 Riley Herbst 25.7 0.0%
34 Josh Berry 28.4 0.0%
35 Noah Gragson 26.9 0.0%
36 Cole Custer 25.7 0.0%
37 John Hunter Nemechek 25.7 0.0%
38 Cody Ware 28.5 0.0%
39 Zane Smith 25.7 0.0%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning — higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Go Bowling at The Glen: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P24

(1/5 top-5 hits)

38% top-5 hit rate across 11 races

History at Sonoma Raceway

Cup Series data from 1949-2026 (8 races)

Recent Results

Year Race Winner
2025 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Shane van Gisbergen
2024 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Kyle Larson
2023 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Martin Truex, Jr.
2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Daniel Suarez
2021 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Kyle Larson

All Results at This Track

Laps Led Leaders

Track Type Tendencies

road

Road course events at Sonoma Raceway favor a specific skillset — braking, corner entry, and road racing experience. Drivers with sports car or open-wheel backgrounds tend to overperform here.

Tire management and fuel strategy add an extra layer of complexity to race outcomes.

Fantasy

Dominator Plays
Martin Truex, Jr. 198 laps led
Kyle Larson 116 laps led
Denny Hamlin 54 laps led

High laps-led totals at this track

Consistency Plays
Chase Elliott 8.88 avg
Kyle Busch 12.67 avg
Martin Truex, Jr. 15.29 avg

50%+ top-5 rate at this track

Value Picks
Chase Elliott 8.88 avg, 0 wins
Chris Buescher 11.00 avg, 0 wins
Michael McDowell 11.71 avg, 0 wins

Strong avg finish but no wins — lower ownership

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