Shane van Gisbergen reignited his road course dominance by winning the fourth annual running of the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 27.
The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led four times for a race-high 66 of 79-scheduled laps in an event where he dominated at the launch. Van Gisbergen dominated the event’s first two stage periods, but opted to strategically pit prior to each stage’s conclusion for track position. Prior to the second stage’s conclusion, he made his final pit stop under green on Lap 43 and cycled to restart on the front row prior to the event’s third and final stage period, when a majority of the field in front of him pitted during the second stage’s break period.
At the start of the final stage period, van Gisbergen outdueled Jesse Love to maintain the top spot. Despite concerns of van Gisbergen not having enough fuel to reach the event’s scheduled distance and teammate Connor Zilisch’s late attempt to reel in amid a large deficit, van Gisbergen was not to be denied as he had enough fuel and power to cruise to his second NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of this season and his second in Sonoma, California.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Shane van Gisbergen achieved his third consecutive O’Reilly pole position at Sonoma with a pole-winning lap at 95.483 mph in 75.029 seconds. Rookie Brent Crews qualified in second place with a lap at 95.243 mph in 75.218 seconds.
Prior to the event, the following names, which included Ryan Ellis, Connor Zilisch, and Brennan Poole, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to their respective entries. Kyle Kelley, Brad Perez, and Austin Green also dropped to the rear of the field due to battery, engine, and backup car changes, respectively.
When the green flag waved, and the event commenced, pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen and Brent Crews dueled dead even through the first turn until the former cleared the latter through the second turn. As the field fanned out and jostled early for spots around Sonoma’s circuit, van Gisbergen wasted not time establishing a reasonable gap between himself and the field. Once van Gisbergen cycled his No. 9 SuperFiel Chevrolet Camaro entry back to Turn 12 and headed towards the start/finish line, he led the first lap over Crews while Anthony Alfredo, Taylor Gray and Parker Retzlaff followed suit, respectively.
Over the next four laps, van Gisbergen stabilized his early advantage to four-tenths of a second over Crews while Alfredo, Gray and Retzlaff remained in the top five ahead of Corey Day, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer and Austin Hill, respectively. Behind, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, Ross Chastain, William Sawalich, Carson Kvapil, Josh Bilicki, Jeb Burton, Will Rodgers, Alex Labbe, and Harrison Burton trailed in the top 20, respectively, while Connor Zilisch was mired in 22nd place behind Brandon Jones, the latter of whom raced off the course entering Turn 3a. In addition, Rajah Caruth was in 24th ahead of Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, and Austin Green while Lavar Scott dropped to 37th place after he slipped entering Turn 11, clipped Kyle Sieg, and sent both for a spin.
On the seventh lap, the event’s first caution flew due to a tire carcass that came off of Kyle Sieg’s No. 28 RSS Racing Ford Mustang entry in the Esses. The incident occurred not long after Sieg was trying to recover from his Turn 11 spin with Lavar Scott. During the event’s first caution period, Harrison Burton, Blaine Perkins, and Patrick Staropoli pitted their respective entries while the rest, led by van Gisbergen, remained on the track.
The start of the next restart on the 10th lap saw van Gisbergen quickly drive ahead and move in front of Crews through the first turn with a strong launch. As van Gisbergen led through the first four turns, Alfredo overtook Crews for the runner-up spot while Retzlaff, Gray, and the rest of the field followed suit. As the field cycled back to the start/finish line while fanning out and jostling for spots, van Gisbergen led the next lap. For the following three laps, Jeb Burton went off the course entering Turn 3a, and Dean Thompson spun in Turn 4a. In addition, Jones coasted his No. 20 Menards Toyota Supra entry to pit road due to a mechanical issue. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Alfredo.
On Lap 16, Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch pitted under green, but not long after, Zilisch was penalized for speeding on pit road. A bevy of names that included Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, William Sawalich, Austin Green, Brennan Poole, and Leland Honeyman Jr. pitted during the next lap before the leader van Gisbergen, along with Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love, pitted on Lap 18. With pit road becoming inaccessible to the field due to the first stage period nearing its conclusion, Alfredo cycled to the lead ahead of Crews, while Retzlaff, Gray, and Corey Day followed suit, respectively.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Alfredo fended off Crews to notch the first O’Reilly stage victory ever for himself and Viking Motorsports. Gray, Retzlaff, Day, Austin Hill, Ross Chastain, Will Rodgers, Josh Bilicki, and Alex Labbe were scored in the top 10, respectively, as 35 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap. By then, van Gisbergen was mired in 24th place in front of Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier, while Zilisch, who served a drive-through penalty through pit road following his speeding penalty, was scored in 33rd place.
Under the event’s first stage break period, nearly the entire field led by Alfredo pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Gray exited pit road first, and he was followed by teammate Crews, Alfredo, Hill, Retzlaff, Day, Chastain, Rajah Caruth, Jeb Burton, and Ryan Sieg, respectively.
The second stage period started on Lap 24 as Harrison Burton and Blaine Perkins, both of whom remained on the track and did not pit during the first stage’s break period, occupied the front row. At the start, Burton leaped ahead of the field entering the first turn, and he maintained the top spot for the next three turns while van Gisbergen, who restarted third, overtook Perkins for the runner-up spot. As Allgaier spun in Turn 7 due to slipping seconds after Sam Mayer executed a crossover move behind the former, van Gisbergen made a move beneath Harrison Burton and reassumed the lead for the next lap.
On Lap 29, the caution returned due to fluid on the track as Ross Chastain, who had small flames erupting beneath his No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet Camaro entry starting from Turn 4, used the drag strip to coast his entry back to pit road. At the moment of caution, van Gisbergen was leading by more than a second over Jesse Love, while Mayer, Zilisch, Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed, Kvapil, Austin Green, Gray, and Crews were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Harrison Burton, who spun entering the first turn a lap prior, had dropped to 35th place. In addition, Blaine Perkins, who spun in Turn 11 after getting tapped by William Sawalich on Lap 26, was mired in 33rd place. During the recent caution period, select names like Staropoli, Clements, Lavar Scott, and Kyle Kelley pitted while the rest, led by van Gisbergen, remained on the track.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 33, Love and van Gisbergen dueled for the lead through the first two turns until the latter barely cleared the former through the third turn. As the field fanned out from Turns 4a to 7a, Zilisch fended off Mayer for third place in front of Sammy Smith and Creed. From the Esses to Turns 10 and 11, a variety of on-track jostling of spots continued to ensue as van Gisbergen led the next lap by nearly half a second over Love. Soon after, Zilisch overtook Love for the runner-up spot entering the Esses as Zilisch set his sights on teammate van Gisbergen for the lead.
At the event’s halfway mark between Laps 39 and 40, van Gisbergen extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Zilisch while Love retained third place. Behind, Sammy Smith outdueled Mayer for fourth place, and he brought Creed with him as Mayer dropped to sixth place in front of Crews, Kvapil, Gray, and Green. By then, 35 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while Alfredo, Austin Hill, Day, Retzlaff, Sawalich, Rajah Caruth, Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Labbe, and Thompson were scored in the top 20, respectively.
From Laps 41 to 43, a bevy of names that included Austin Green, Gray, Alfredo, Day, Austin Hill, Retzlaff, Sawalich, Thompson, Josh Bilicki, Jeremy Clements, Harrison Burton, Love, and the leader van Gisbergen pitted. Amid the pit stops and with pit road closing due to the second stage period nearing its conclusion, Zilisch cycled to the lead, and he was ahead of teammate Sammy Smith, Creed, Crews, and Kvapil.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 45, Zilisch captured his fourth O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Teammate Sammy Smith settled in second ahead of Creed, Crews, and Kvapil, while Mayer, Caruth, Ryan Sieg, Labbe, and Will Rodgers were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 35 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while van Gisbergen was mired in 18th place in front of Love.
During the event’s second stage break period, a majority of the field led by Zilisch pitted while the rest led by van Gisbergen and Love remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Zilisch exited pit road first, and he was followed by Crews, Creed, Mayer, Caruth, Kvapil, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Labbe, and Brennan Poole, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Sammy Smith endured a slow pit service due to a left-rear wheel falling off while he was trying to exit his pit stall.
With 30 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as van Gisbergen and Love occupied the front row. At the start, van Gisbergen outdueled and barely fended off Love to retain the lead through the first three turns. As van Gisbergen led entering Turns 4a to 7a, Alfredo cycled his way up to third place in front of Gray and Day while Zilisch was motoring his No. 1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet Camaro entry back into the top-10 mark amid a series of on-track jostling and scrambling of positions. Van Gisbergen proceeded to lead the next lap, and Day moved into fourth place over Gray while Zilisch was mired in eighth place. Alfredo then started to reel in on Love for the runner-up spot as van Gisbergen stretched his late lead to more than a second.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, van Gisbergen was leading by more than two seconds over runner-up Love and by more than three seconds over third-place Alfredo while Zilisch trailed by four seconds in fourth place. Behind, Day occupied fifth place in front of Gray, Austin Hill, Retzlaff, Crews and Sawalich while Creed, Kvapil, Mayer, Josh Bilicki, Caruth, Allgaier, Clements, Sammy Smith, and Ryan Sieg were mired in the top 20 ahead of Jeb Burton, Alex Labbe, Will Rodgers, Kyle Sieg, and Harrison Burton, respectively.
Five laps later, van Gisbergen grew his lead to more than three seconds over Zilisch while third-place Love trailed by five seconds. Behind Alfredo, Gray, Day, Retzlaff, Crews, Austin Hill, and Creed settled in the top 10, respectively. As Allgaier dropped from within the top-15 mark to 21st place due to spinning in the second turn without drawing a caution, van Gisbergen added another second to his advantage as he led by more than four seconds over Zilisch with 15 laps remaining.
With 10 laps remaining, van Gisbergen’s lead stood at more than four seconds over Zilisch, while the rest of the field, led by third-place Love, trailed by double digits. Meanwhile, Hill, who made an unscheduled pit stop a lap prior due to concerns of having a loose wheel, plummeted to 28th place while Love was pressed by Alfredo, Gray, and Day for third place. Love was overtaken by Alfredo, Crews, and Gray during the next lap as van Gisbergen led by more than three seconds over Zilisch. Amid Leland Honeyman Jr.’s slow coast around the track due to a mechanical issue, no caution was thrown as van Gisbergen led by four seconds with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved, and the final lap started, van Gisbergen maintained the lead over Zilisch. Despite being mired in lapped traffic and amid concerns of not having enough fuel to finish the event’s scheduled distance, van Gisbergen was able to cycle his way around Sonoma smoothly for a final time before he returned to the final stretch to the finish line and claimed the checkered flag by more than a second over Zilisch.
With the victory, van Gisbergen achieved his sixth NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career win in his 39th start, his third driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro entry for JR Motorsports and his second at Sonoma in three years. The three-time Superscars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, also racked up the 17th victory of the 2026 season for the Chevrolet manufacturer and the 12th for JR Motorsports (JRM), with JRM achieving its second consecutive O’Reilly victory in Sonoma, California.
“A little bit [tense to finish],” van Gisbergen said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “I’ve luckily [had] enough [fuel]. I think I saved enough early. [I’m] Sorry it wasn’t the most exciting [race]. I guess boring’s good when you’re the one leading. Thank you to SuperFile and JR Motorsports, Chevy. What an amazing car, like to lead like that, and the car was just so good the whole race. [I’m] Stoked to get another [win] for these [No. 9] guys.”
Zilisch, who led a total of four laps, set the fastest lap of the event on Lap 55 and nearly executed a flip strategy move by pitting prior to the final stage period and navigating his way back towards the front while trying to reel in van Gisbergen, settled in second place for his third top-two result in his eighth O’Reilly start with JRM in 2026. As a result, both Zilisch and van Gisbergen finished first and second in the O’Reilly event at Sonoma for a second consecutive time, with the latter prevailing this season. Despite falling a position short of winning at Sonoma for a second consecutive year, Zilisch was satisfied with the result, as both he and van Gisbergen turn their attention to Sunday’s Cup Series event at Sonoma.
“I feel like our Roto-Rooter Chevrolet was fast enough to compete, but we were just matching each other the entire run there,” Zilisch said. “[van Gisbergen] was probably saving fuel and managing his stuff and giving me hope, but I’ll at least believe that we had something for him. So yeah, I mean, a good day for JR Motorsports. Good to get another road course win for the team and a solid run for the No. 1 team.”
Brent Crews settled in third place for his seventh top-five result of the 2026 season while teammates Anthony Alfredo and Parker Retzlaff capped off their strong starts and overall runs at Sonoma by finishing fourth and fifth. As a result, the duo achieved Viking Motorsports’ first-ever race weekend of having two entries finishing in the top five in an O’Reilly event.
Carson Kvapil, who was making his fourth and final start of this season with DGM Racing, finished in sixth place for his 11th top-10 result of the 2026 season. Corey Day, Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10 in the final running order. Notably, Justin Allgaier capped off his long afternoon by finishing in 26th place while Austin Hill navigated his way up to 22nd place. In addition, Taylor Gray, who ran out of fuel on the final lap and was not able to cycle back to the finish line under his own power, plummeted to 29th place.
There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The event featured four cautions for 11 laps. In addition, 28 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 19th event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the standings by 207 points over Jesse Love, 213 over Corey Day, 216 over Sheldon Creed, and 247 over Austin Hill.
Results:
- Shane van Gisbergen, 66 laps led
- Connor Zilisch, four laps led, Stage 2 winner
- Brent Crews, one lap led
- Anthony Alfredo, five laps led, Stage 1 winner
- Parker Retzlaff
- Carson Kvapil
- Corey Day
- Sam Mayer
- Jesse Love, one lap led
- Sheldon Creed
- Sammy Smith
- Austin Green
- William Sawalich
- Rajah Caruth
- Ryan Sieg
- Josh Bilicki
- Will Rodgers
- Harrison Burton, two laps led
- Alex Labbe
- Jeremy Clements
- Jeb Burton
- Austin Hill
- Ryan Ellis
- Brennan Poole
- Patrick Staropoli
- Justin Allgaier
- Josh Williams
- Dean Thompson
- Taylor Gray, one lap down
- Blaine Perkins, one lap down
- Kyle Sieg, one lap down
- Lavar Scott, one lap down
- Dawson Cram, one lap down
- Kyle Kelley, two laps down
- Leland Honeyman Jr. – OUT, Battery
- Brandon Jones, 11 laps down
- Ross Chastain – OUT, Rear End
- Brad Perez – OUT, Fuel Pump
Next on the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule is the series’ return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 4, and air at 5:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM.
