Sonoma Event Info:
Date: Sunday, July 13
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Sonoma, Calif.
Format: 110 Laps, 218.9 Miles, Stages: 25-55-110
TV: TNT
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 1:35 p.m. ET Cup Practice (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 2:40 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3:30 p.m. ET, Cup Race (TNT, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- Sonoma Raceway hosts points race No. 20 this weekend as the Cup Series heads West for its annual summer date on the 12-turn road course.
- Chris Buescher leads the Cup Series this season with an average starting position of 10.2, anchored by 10 starts inside the top 10.
- Ryan Preece has five top-10 finishes over his last eight races, including at the Chicago Street Course last weekend (7th).
- The NASCAR In-Season Tournament continues this weekend at Sonoma, with one RFK Ford advancing into the “Elite 8”. The third-round matchup is as follows:
- No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: Castrol
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Body Guard
Keselowski at Sonoma
Starts: 14
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —
- Keselowski makes his 15th Cup start in Sonoma this weekend, where in 14 starts prior he has three top-10s and a 15.9 average finish.
- His best-career finish at the 12-turn course came in 2017 when he ran third. Most recently he finished 13th in 2024, and 16th in 2023.
- Keselowski has three top-10 qualifying efforts with a best of ninth in 2021, and an average of 18.8.
Buescher at Sonoma
Starts: 8
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —
- Buescher is in line for his ninth Cup start from Sonoma on Sunday, where he’s fresh off three consecutive top five results. He finished third in this race a season ago, ran fourth in 2023, and came home in second in 2022.
- He also has qualified inside the top 10 in two of the last three races, with five efforts of 12th or better in his eight starts.
- In his Cup career, Buescher has a 12.7 average finish on road courses with 16 top 10s in 38 starts.
Preece at Sonoma
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
- Preece makes his fifth Cup start at Sonoma where he has best finish of 13th in 2023. He carries an average finish of 20.3 into this weekend’s event, his second highest of any road course on the schedule.
- He holds an average starting position of 24.8, including a P20 starting spot in his debut race.
- Across 24 career races on road courses, Preece has three top 10s and a 22.1 average finish.
RFK Historically at Sonoma
Cup Wins: 2 (Mark Martin, 1997; Carl Edwards, 2014)
- Looking for the Hat Trick in the ‘Golden State’: In 113 NCS starts at Sonoma, RFK has recorded two wins, 17 top-five finishes, 38 top-10 finishes and has led 313 laps. Former RFK driver Carl Edwards earned the organization’s most recent victory at the road course in 2014.
- Hasta La Vista Baby: RFK has left the California road course victorious on two occasions in the NCS with former drivers Mark Martin and Carl Edwards. Martin earned the victory in 1997 after starting from the pole and leading 69 laps, while Edwards started fourth and led 26 laps in the 2014 running of this event.
- RFK on the Road: As an organization, RFK has made 249 starts on road courses in the Cup Series with five wins, 87 top 10s and 41 finishes inside the top five with a 17.4 average finish.
RFK Sonoma Wins
1997 Martin Cup
1997 Ruttman Truck
2014 Edwards Cup
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Chicago: Preece 7th; Buescher 18th; Keselowski 37th.
Points Standings (17: 15th, 60: 17th, 6: 28th): Buescher sits 35 points above the cutline while Preece remains just two points behind Bubba Wallace for the final playoff spot. Keselowski stayed in 28th after an early-lap incident at Chicago.
