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Road Trip Preparation: What To Check Before a Long Journey

By
SM
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A vehicle problem halfway through a long journey is rarely unforeseeable – it is usually the result of thirty minutes of preparation that didn’t happen before departure. Whether you are driving across two states or simply covering several hundred miles to visit family, the condition of your vehicle at the start of that trip determines how predictable the rest of it will be.

This guide walks through a thorough pre-trip vehicle checklist: what to inspect, what to top up, what to replace if necessary, and why each item on this list is worth your time before you leave the driveway.

Start With the Tires – All Five of Them

Tires are the most consequential item on any pre-trip checklist and the most commonly neglected. Every tire on your vehicle, including the spare, deserves attention before a long drive.

Check tire pressure on all four road tires when they are cold, meaning the vehicle has not been driven for at least three hours. Tire pressure recommendations are found on a sticker inside the driver’s door jamb or in the owner’s manual – not on the tire sidewall, which shows maximum pressure, not recommended operating pressure. Correctly inflated tires improve fuel efficiency, handling, and braking performance, and they wear more evenly. Under-inflated tires generate excess heat, especially at highway speeds, and are a leading contributor to blowouts on long drives.

Inspect the tread depth on each tire. The legal minimum in the United States is 2/32 of an inch, but 4/32 is a more practical threshold – particularly if your journey passes through areas where rain is likely. Uneven wear patterns (more wear on the inner or outer edges, or a scalloped pattern across the tread) indicate alignment or suspension issues that should be addressed before a long drive.

Then check the fifth tire: the spare. A spare wheel that is underinflated or in poor condition is not a useful emergency asset. Verify the pressure, inspect the tread and sidewall condition, and confirm that the jack and lug wrench are present and accessible. If the spare has sat uninspected for several years, remove it and check it properly before departure.

If your spare is in poor condition and you are planning a long journey, replacing it before departure is a worthwhile investment. A new or quality used spare wheel for sale can be found through tire shops, dealerships, and online parts comparison websites like PartHunt24, depending on your vehicle’s specifications and your budget. Spare wheel price varies considerably depending on your vehicle’s wheel size, the type of spare (full-size matching vs. space-saver), and the source.

Fluids: Check Everything, Not Just the Oil

Engine oil is the fluid most drivers remember to check. It is important, but it is not the only thing that matters before a long drive.

Engine oil. Check the level with the dipstick when the engine is cold and the vehicle is on level ground. The level should be between the minimum and maximum marks. Check the condition of the oil at the same time. Oil that is very dark or has a gritty texture is due for a change. If your vehicle’s next scheduled oil change falls within the mileage you are about to cover, change it before you leave rather than during or after the trip.

Coolant. The coolant reservoir is a translucent plastic tank, usually near the radiator. Check that the level is between the minimum and maximum marks. Low coolant can lead to overheating, and overheating on a long highway drive at elevated speeds is a much more serious problem than it would be in stop-and-go city traffic. Do not open the radiator cap on a warm engine – the system is pressurized, and the coolant is extremely hot.

Brake fluid. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, which lowers its boiling point. On long descents or during repeated heavy braking, degraded brake fluid can boil, causing brake fade – a sudden and alarming loss of braking effectiveness. Check the level in the reservoir and, if the fluid appears dark brown rather than clear or pale yellow, consider having it replaced. Brake fluid is one of those inexpensive service items that drivers tend to defer longer than they should.

Power steering fluid. If your vehicle has hydraulic power steering, check the reservoir level. Low power steering fluid can cause whining noises and, at the extreme, loss of assisted steering.

Windshield washer fluid. This is often treated as a minor item, but running out of washer fluid on a highway when road spray is coating your windshield is a real safety problem. Fill the reservoir before departure and consider carrying a spare jug if you are covering significant mileage.

Transmission fluid. Automatic transmissions particularly benefit from clean, correctly leveled fluid on long drives. Check the level according to your owner’s manual’s procedure. Some vehicles require the engine to be running and at operating temperature for an accurate reading. If the fluid smells burnt or appears very dark, have it inspected by a mechanic before a long trip.

Brakes: Don’t Wait for the Warning Sign

Brake inspection before a long trip isn’t optional. Wear is gradual, easy to rationalize, and the point at which it becomes impossible to ignore is not where you want to be on a highway.

Listen for squealing or grinding when you brake during normal driving. Squealing typically indicates that the wear indicator on the brake pad has reached its contact point – a deliberate warning built into the pad design. Grinding suggests metal-on-metal contact, meaning the pads have worn through entirely. Either symptom warrants inspection before a long drive.

Pay attention to pedal feel as well. A brake pedal that sinks toward the floor, requires more pressure than usual, or pulsates under braking (often a sign of warped rotors) indicates a system that needs attention. Brake issues do not resolve themselves, and the consequences of brake failure at highway speeds are severe.

If your vehicle’s brakes are due for service based on mileage or the last inspection, schedule it before a long trip, not after.

Lights and Electrical Systems

Lighting failures are among the most common pre-trip oversights. A burned-out headlight may go unnoticed during daytime city driving, but becomes a meaningful safety issue on a dark rural highway at night.

Check both headlights (low and high beam), both taillights, both brake lights, both turn signals (front and rear), and the reverse lights. Checking your own brake lights requires a helper or a reflective surface. Back up close to a garage door or wall to confirm they illuminate when you press the brake pedal.

While you are at it, check that the interior lights and dashboard warning lights are functioning correctly. A warning light that has been sitting ignored for weeks is more likely to become a problem at 70 mph than during a ten-minute school run. Address any warning lights before departure. If you are unsure what a warning means, consult your owner’s manual or have it scanned for fault codes at an auto parts store or shop.

Battery: The Most Unpredictable Failure Point

Battery failure is the most common cause of roadside breakdowns and among the least predictable – cold temperatures accelerate decline, but batteries can fail in any season.

If your battery is more than four years old, consider having it load-tested before a long trip. Many auto parts stores will test a battery for free. A battery that is technically holding charge but performing below specification is a breakdown waiting to happen. Replacing a battery before a trip, at a garage of your choice, costs the same as replacing it at a roadside breakdown – and takes a fraction of the stress.

Check the battery terminals for corrosion (a white or bluish-green crystalline buildup around the terminal posts). Corrosion increases electrical resistance and can cause starting problems. It can be cleaned with a mixture of baking soda and water and a terminal brush – an inexpensive and simple maintenance task.

Planning the Drive, Not Just the Vehicle

A well-maintained vehicle driven by an impaired or fatigued driver is still a risk. A car in perfect mechanical condition is only as reliable as the driver behind the wheel.

Prioritize adequate rest before a long driving day. Fatigue impairs reaction time and judgment in ways that are measurable and serious – driving after 20 or more hours without sleep produces impairment comparable to legal intoxication.

Plan your route and identify fuel stops, rest areas, and the locations of hospitals or urgent care facilities along the way, particularly for remote stretches. Download offline maps for areas with unreliable cell coverage. Identify tire shops or mechanics along your primary route in case the need arises.

Bentley and Motorsport: The Racing Heritage Behind Every Road Car

By
SM
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Photo by depositphotos at https://depositphotos.com/

The Le Mans Legacy: 1924–1930

The Bentley Boys

In the 1920s, Bentley was not merely a road car manufacturer — it was a factory racing team with drivers who became legends. Figures like Woolf Barnato, Tim Birkin, and John Duff were part of the group known as the Bentley Boys: wealthy enthusiasts who financed and raced for the factory team. Racing in this era was a test of raw physical endurance and mechanical fortitude. Drivers contended with unpaved roads, primitive lighting, and the constant threat of catastrophic mechanical failure. The Bentley Boys were known as much for their high-society lifestyle as for their bravery, often celebrating victories with lavish parties that cemented the brand’s dual identity of performance and prestige. Their exploits gave Bentley a mystique that still defines the brand nearly a century later.

Five Le Mans Victories

Between 1924 and 1930, Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times:

  1. 1924 — John Duff and Frank Clement, Bentley 3 Litre
  2. 1927 — Sammy Davis and Dudley Benjafield, Bentley 3 Litre
  3. 1928 — Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin, Bentley 4½ Litre
  4. 1929 — Woolf Barnato and Henry Birkin, Bentley Speed Six
  5. 1930 — Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston, Bentley Speed Six

The five victories in seven years cemented Le Mans as Bentley’s spiritual home and set a standard of excellence that defines the brand’s identity to this day. These early wins established a pedigree of endurance that remains foundational to Bentley’s engineering philosophy.

Bentley’s Return to Racing: Le Mans 2003

The Speed 8

After a 73-year absence, Bentley returned to Le Mans in 2001 with the Speed 8 prototype racer. This long era of silence only added to the emotional weight of their comeback. The Speed 8 was a masterclass in modern aerodynamics and engineering, developed to reclaim the glory of the 1920s. In 2003, the Speed 8s swept first and second overall — Bentley’s first outright Le Mans victory since 1930 and a landmark moment for the Volkswagen Group’s motorsport ambitions. This victory proved that the spirit of the Bentley Boys was alive and well, bridging the gap between a century of heritage and the cutting edge of 21st-century racing technology.

The Continental GT3 Program

GT3 and Customer Racing

Bentley’s current motorsport activity centers on the Continental GT3, developed with M-Sport. This machine is a radical departure from its road-going sibling, stripped of luxury to become a focused racing force. The GT3 uses a dry-sumped version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, restricted to approximately 500 hp for Balance of Performance compliance. Crucially, the road car’s heavy all-wheel-drive system and torque-converter automatic are replaced by a rear-wheel-drive setup and a sequential racing gearbox. Extensive use of carbon fiber panels and polycarbonate windows reduces the weight to approximately 1,300 kg—nearly 900 kg lighter than the production model. The GT3 car competes in:

  1. The GT World Challenge Europe
  2. The Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC), where Bentley has secured the manufacturers’ title
  3. British GT Championship
  4. Various national GT3 series across Asia and the Americas

Customer teams purchase the Continental GT3 for their own programs, meaning Bentley-branded GT racing takes place across multiple continents each season.

How Motorsport Shapes Production Cars

Performance Heritage in the Continental GT

The Continental GT Speed and Bentayga S draw directly on GT3 development for chassis tuning, tire specification, and electronic driver aids calibration. The GT3 program serves as a live R&D laboratory. For instance, suspension geometry testing in competition provides critical data on camber and anti-roll settings used to calibrate the road-going Continental GT Speed. Brake data collected during high-temperature endurance races helps improve the thermal management and durability of production brake packages.

Even the Bentayga S benefits from suspension geometry and electronic stability tuning developed through track testing programs. Traction control mapping and throttle response logic are refined using GT3 data to ensure high-performance models remain composed at the limit. Looking forward, Bentley’s ‘Beyond100+’ strategy commits to a future of electrification, with electrified racing cars currently in active development to ensure the Bentley racing spirit thrives in a sustainable era.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many times has Bentley won Le Mans?

Bentley has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times: five consecutive victories from 1924 to 1930, and once more in 2003 with the Speed 8.

What is the Bentley Continental GT3?

The Continental GT3 is a racing-specification version of the Continental GT, developed with M-Sport and homologated for GT3-class competition worldwide.

Is there a connection between Bentley’s racing cars and road cars?

Yes. The GT3 program directly influences chassis setup, suspension tuning, and electronic calibration of high-performance road cars like the Continental GT Speed.

Where can I test drive a Bentley road car?

Contact bentley denver to arrange a Continental GT test drive and experience the motorsport-derived performance firsthand.

The Ownership Experience: The Consumer Endpoint

If you’re in the Denver, Colorado area, bentley denver is the authorized Bentley dealership serving the Rocky Mountain region. With access to the full Bentley lineup, an expert sales team, and the kind of personalized service that matches the cars themselves, Bentley Denver delivers an ownership experience as exceptional as the vehicles.

Ready to see what Bentley has to offer? Visit Bentley Denver today to explore current inventory, arrange a test drive, or speak with a specialist.

Business Name: Bentley Denver
Address: 8301 Parkway Dr, Lone Tree, CO 80124
Phone: (303) 996-7392

The Rise of Live Roulette in Online Gaming

By
SM
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Photo by Kaysha on Unsplash

Not that long ago, online roulette was a fairly simple experience. You opened a website, clicked a few buttons, watched a digital wheel spin, and waited for the result. It worked, but it never quite captured the feeling people associated with roulette in the first place.

The game itself wasn’t the problem. The missing piece was the atmosphere.

A roulette table has always been about more than numbers and probabilities. There’s the anticipation while the wheel spins, the reactions around the table, and the simple fact that something real is happening in front of you. For years, online gaming struggled to recreate that feeling.

Then live roulette arrived, and things started to change.

Today, live dealer games are one of the fastest-growing segments of the online gaming industry. What was once seen as a technical novelty has become a standard feature across countless platforms. More importantly, it has changed what people expect from online casino entertainment.

When a roulette wheel became something you could actually watch

The idea behind live roulette sounds obvious now: instead of relying entirely on computer graphics, stream a real dealer spinning a real wheel.

But when the first versions appeared, the concept felt surprisingly ambitious.

Internet speeds were slower, video quality was inconsistent, and live streaming technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is today. Early live casino products attracted curiosity, but they were still far from mainstream.

The timing turned out to be perfect.

Over the past decade, people have become comfortable spending hours watching live content online. Sports broadcasts, Twitch streams, podcasts, YouTube live events and social media streams have become part of everyday life.

Against that backdrop, watching a live roulette table suddenly felt natural rather than unusual.

Instead of interacting with software, players were watching an actual event unfold in real time. The wheel was physical. The dealer was real. The outcome wasn’t hidden behind an animation.

That simple shift made a bigger difference than many industry experts expected.

It’s not just about realism

At first glance, it might seem that live roulette became popular purely because it feels more authentic. That’s certainly part of the story, but not the whole picture.

The format introduced several things that traditional online roulette couldn’t easily provide:

  • Real dealers rather than automated interfaces
  • Live video from professional studios
  • Real-time interaction through chat features
  • Multiple camera angles show every stage of the game
  • Greater transparency for players who prefer seeing the wheel and ball in action

None of these features changed the rules of roulette itself. European roulette still uses 37 pockets. American roulette still includes the additional double zero. The odds remain the same. What changed was the experience surrounding the game. People often talk about technology making entertainment feel less personal. Live roulette is one of the rare examples where technology did the opposite.

From small studio experiments to a global business

One of the most interesting parts of the story is how quickly the industry professionalized. The first live dealer setups were relatively basic. Today, many live roulette broadcasts are produced in purpose-built studios that look closer to television sets than casino floors.

Major providers operate facilities across Europe, including locations in countries such as Latvia, Malta and Romania. Hundreds of dealers work in shifts around the clock, serving players from different regions and language groups.

A modern live roulette studio typically includes:

FeaturePurpose
HD and 4K camerasHigh-quality video feeds
Optical tracking systemsAccurate result recognition
Dedicated presenters and dealersConsistent player experience
Broadcast control roomsManaging live streams
Multi-language tablesServing international audiences

Many people don’t realize just how much production work goes into a single roulette table. Behind every stream sits a team of technicians, camera operators, supervisors, and support staff. The result is an experience that feels smooth and effortless to viewers, even though significant infrastructure is working behind the scenes.

Why mobile phones helped push live roulette into the mainstream

If live roulette had remained a desktop-only product, its growth would probably have been much slower. The real breakthrough came when smartphones became powerful enough to handle high-quality live video without difficulty.

Suddenly, people could join a live table while traveling, sitting in a café, or relaxing on the sofa at home. That convenience mattered.

Consumer behavior has changed dramatically over the past decade. People increasingly expect entertainment to be available instantly, wherever they happen to be. Live roulette adapts to that expectation surprisingly well.

Streaming technology became more efficient. Mobile internet speeds improved. Devices became faster.

The result was a format that felt just as accessible as watching a football match or a livestream on social media.

Anyone comparing modern live tables with classic online versions will quickly notice how much the format has changed.

Something interesting happened: people started watching as much as playing

One trend that often goes unnoticed is the entertainment value of live roulette itself. Traditionally, casino games were designed around direct participation. Live roulette introduced something slightly different.

Some users enjoy observing the experience almost as much as taking part in it. This mirrors a broader shift happening across digital entertainment. Millions of people watch others play video games on streaming platforms every day. Others follow poker tournaments, esports competitions or live sporting events. The line between participation and observation has become increasingly blurred.

Live roulette sits somewhere in the middle. It combines elements of gaming, live broadcasting and interactive entertainment in a way that simply didn’t exist twenty years ago. That hybrid nature is one reason the format has remained relevant instead of fading after the initial excitement.

Roulette 77 and other industry observers have noted this shift as live dealer content continues to occupy a larger share of discussions surrounding modern online roulette.

What comes next?

Predicting the future of online gaming is rarely straightforward. A decade ago, few people expected live dealer games to become such a dominant part of the industry. Yet here we are.

Virtual reality continues to attract attention, although widespread adoption remains uncertain. Augmented reality is developing steadily. Artificial intelligence is already being used behind the scenes for customer support, analytics, and operational tasks.

Still, the core appeal of live roulette is unlikely to change. People enjoy watching real events unfold in real time. That appeal existed long before online gaming, and it will probably remain relevant long after the next technological trend arrives.

Live roulette succeeded because it added a human layer to a digital environment. In an era where so much entertainment is automated, that feels surprisingly valuable.

And perhaps that’s the simplest explanation for its rise. The technology became better, the streams became sharper, and the studios became more sophisticated. But underneath all of that, the real attraction remained the same: people prefer experiences that feel genuine.

Shane van Gisbergen earns dominant Cup victory at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 28: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 Red Bull Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 28, 2026 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images).

Shane van Gisbergen rallied from a DNF last weekend at San Diego and, being displeased with his race car at the start of this weekend’s festivities at Sonoma, California, to earn a dominant NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 28.

The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led three times for a race-high 74 of 110-scheduled laps in an event where he was fifth-fastest in practice and sixth-fastest in qualifying. Through strategic pit moves by pitting prior to the event’s first two-stage periods for track positions for the ensuing stages, van Gisbergen was untouchable when leading at the start of the final two-stage periods.

After cycling to the lead for the event’s third and final stage period with 51 laps remaining, van Gisbergen executed the final restart with 47 laps remaining to perfection as he motored away from teammate Connor Zilisch, Chase Briscoe, and the field prior to entering the first turn. Despite having Briscoe reeling in as the laps dwindled, van Gisbergen had enough power to fend off the latter, including on the final lap, to motor his way to a second consecutive Cup victory in Sonoma and reignite his road-course dominance.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, June 27, Ty Gibbs secured his first Cup pole position of the 2026 season with a pole-winning lap at 95.738 mph in 74.829 seconds. Carson Hocevar qualified in second place with a lap at 95.706 mph in 74.854 seconds. Prior to the event, a trio of names that included Noah Gragson, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved, and the event commenced, pole-sitter Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar dueled through the first two turns until Hocevar managed to motor his No. 77 Classic Collision Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry ahead entering the third turn. As the field fanned out and jostled for spots from Turns 3a to 7a, Gibbs made a move beneath Hocevar through 7a and reassumed the lead entering the Esses. Soon after, Michael McDowell made a move beneath teammate Hocevar and assumed the runner-up spot through Turn 11. Meanwhile, Gibbs proceeded to lead the first lap.

Throughout the next four laps, Gibbs maintained a steady advantage (seven-tenths of a second) over McDowell while Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, and AJ Allmendinger trailed in the top-five mark, respectively. Meanwhile, Hocevar dropped to eighth place as he trailed Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe in the leaderboard while Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell occupied the remaining top-10 spots over Joey Logano, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Austin Hill, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, and Daniel Suarez, respectively.

Through the Lap 10 mark, Gibbs stretched his early advantage to more than a second over runner-up McDowell while van Gisbergen, Allmendinger, and Larson trailed by as far back as five seconds on the track. Behind, Chastain, Briscoe, Hamlin, Bell and Hocevar were racing in the top-10 mark ahead of Hocevar, Byron, Blaney, Logano and Elliott while Hill, Reddick, Preece, Buescher, Zilisch and Alex Bowman were mired in the top-20 mark ahead of Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, John Hunter Nemechek, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Cole Custer and Todd Gilliland, respectively. Meanwhile, Erik Jones, Josh Berry, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Noah Gragson, and Cody Ware trailed at the tail end of the 36-car field.

On Lap 12, van Gisbergen zipped past McDowell through Turn 12 to assume the runner-up spot. By the next lap, van Gisbergen reduced Gibbs’ advantage to nine-tenths of a second while Suarez made an unscheduled pit stop to have a flat tire addressed. As Briscoe marched his way into fifth place over Allmendinger and Hamlin, McDowell and Larson remained in third and fourth, respectively, while Gibbs stabilized his lead to more than a second over van Gisbergen by Lap 15.

On Lap 21, pit strategies ensued as Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch pitted their respective Chevrolet entries. A multitude of names that included Blaney, Byron, Elliott, Allmendinger, Chastain, Logano, Reddick, Cindric, Nemechek, Buescher, Wallace, Zane Smith, Austin Dillon, Gilliland, Brad Keselowski, and Cole Custer pitted during the next lap while top-five competitors van Gisbergen, Larson, Briscoe and Hamlin pitted for the following lap. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road. With pit road becoming inaccessible to the field on Lap 23 due to the first stage period nearing its conclusion, Gibbs, who has not yet pitted, retained the lead.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 25, Gibbs, who has led every lap thus far, motored his No. 54 SAIA Toyota Camry XSE entry to his second Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Teammate Bell followed suit in second ahead of McDowell, Hocevar, and Preece while Bowman, van Gisbergen, Erik Jones, Larson, and Riley Herbst were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, all 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. Under the event’s first stage break period, a total of 13 competitors led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by van Gisbergen and Larson remained on the track. Not long after, Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota team lifted the hood up on the entry due to a power steering issue. With Reddick making repeated pit stops to have the issue addressed, he dropped out of the lead lap category as he remained in his pit stall prior to the second stage’s start.

The second stage period started on Lap 29 as van Gisbergen and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, van Gisbergen fended off Larson through the first two turns to motor his No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry into the lead. As the field fanned out, bumped and scrambled for spots from Turns 3 to 7a, van Gisbergen retained the top spot from the Esses through Turn 11. Van Gisbergen then led the next lap and he kept Larson trailing from behind just past the Lap 30 mark while Briscoe, Blaney, Byron, Zilisch, Hamlin, Chastain, Elliott and Logano occupied the top-10 spots, respectively.

Just past the Lap 35 mark, van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to more than a second over Larson as Briscoe, Blaney, Byron, Zilisch, Hamlin, Allmendinger, Elliott, and Wallace were racing in the top 10 ahead of Chastain, Logano, Nemechek, Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Bell, Cindric, Zane Smith, Keselowski, and McDowell, respectively. Meanwhile, Reddick, who was able to continue, was strapped at the tail end of the field and six laps behind the leaders while teammate Wallace, who had carved his way into the top-10 mark after starting at the tail end of the field, got loose in the Esses, but came to a brief stop before continuing through the Esses’ shortcut and being mired back within the top-25 mark when he blended back on the racing surface. Wallace’s maneuver occurred on Lap 37.

Between Laps 40 to 45, van Gisbergen maintained a reasonable lead as his lead stood to more than four seconds over Briscoe by the Lap 45 mark, while Blaney, Larson, Zilisch, Byron, Hamlin, Allmendinger, Elliott, and Gibbs were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, a pair of 23XI Racing competitors endured on-track issues. The first was Wallace, who was pushed off the track by Todd Gilliland in the second turn after Wallace had gotten loose and bumped into Gilliland’s No. 34 Love’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, which sent both up the racing groove in Turn 11 while battling for a top-25 spot. Seconds later, Herbst went off the course in Turn 3a after he was rubbed by Gilliland.

On Lap 47, Austin Hill pitted his No. 33 zone Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry under green before Buescher and Gragson pitted during the next lap. As van Gisbergen continued to lead by more than eight seconds at the Lap 50 mark, a trio of competitors that included Keselowski, McDowell and Preece pitted by the following lap while Briscoe, Larson, Hamlin, Byron, Elliott, Nemechek, Hocevar, Alex Bowman, Ty Dillon, Custer, Gilliland, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Josh Berry, Logano, Suarez and Herbst pitted during the next lap. Van Gisbergen then pitted from the lead along with runner-up Blaney and third-place Zilisch before pit road became inaccessible due to the second stage period nearing its conclusion. Meanwhile, Gibbs cycled as the leader ahead of teammate Bell.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 55, Gibbs captured his second consecutive Cup stage victory of the Sonoma event and his third of the 2026 season. Teammate Bell settled in second place for a second consecutive stage period while Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Chastain, Zane Smith, van Gisbergen, Zilisch, Briscoe and Blaney were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, all but one of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. During the event’s second stage break period, 13 competitors led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by van Gisbergen, teammate Zilisch and Briscoe remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Bell had to reverse his entry back into his pit stall to have a loose wheel tightened.

With 51 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates van Gisbergen and Zilisch occupied the front row in front of Briscoe, Blaney, Larson and Hamlin, respectively. At the start, van Gisbergen motored ahead of Zilisch to clear him with the lead prior to entering the first turn. As the field fanned out while jostling for spots and stacking up entering Turn 7a, van Gisbergen retained the lead throughout the Sonoma circuit while Zilisch and Briscoe reeled in from behind. As van Gisbergen led the next lap and maintained the top spot by a steady margin over both Zilisch and Briscoe, the caution then flew due to Cindric and Berry making contact that sent Berry spinning in Turn 2 while Gragson and Wallace stacked up to avoid colliding into Berry.

The next restart with 47 laps remaining featured van Gisbergen rocketing away from the field at the launch while Briscoe challenged Zilisch for the runner-up spot. Briscoe managed to assume the runner-up spot from Zilisch through the second turn as van Gisbergen led a stacked field from Turns 3 to 7a. As Denny Hamlin spun from the top-10 mark in Turn 7a due to getting bumped by Carson Hocevar, the field smoothly navigated through the Esses and Turns 10 and 11, though Gilliland spun in Turn 11, while van Gisbergen led the next lap. With 45 laps remaining, Elliott spun in between Turns 4a to 7a and Nemechek spun in 7a, but the event remained under green as van Gisbergen led by half a second over Briscoe and by seven-tenths of a second over Zilisch with 44 laps remaining.

Down to the final 40 laps of the event, van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to more than a second over both Briscoe and Zilisch while Blaney and Larson trailed in the top-five mark by two and three seconds, respectively. Behind, McDowell, Byron, Preece, Gibbs and Hocevar trailed in the top 10 while Bowman, Ty Dillon, Keselowski, Bell, Stenhouse, Cindric, Chastain, Custer, Logano and Herbst were racing in the top-20 mark ahead of Allmendinger, Berry, Erik Jones, Zane Smith, Austin Hill, Suarez, Wallace, Elliott, Buescher, Gragson, Austin Dillon, Gilliland, Nemechek, Hamlin and Cody Ware, respectively. Meanwhile, Reddick was mired four laps behind the leaders in 36th place.

With 31 laps remaining, a late cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Elliott pitted his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry under green before teammate Bowman, Cindric, Custer, Logano, Erik Jones, Gilliland, Preece, Allmendinger, McDowell, Ty Dillon, Keselowski, Gragson, Herbst, Cody Ware, runner-up Briscoe and third-place Zilisch pitted over the next two laps. The leader van Gisbergen then pitted under green with 27 laps remaining and he managed to blend back on the racing surface in front of Briscoe’s No. 19 Columbia Bank Toyota Camry XSE entry during the next lap.

Due to van Gisbergen pitting, Blaney, who was among many who has yet to do so, cycled to the lead and the latter led until Larson overtook him with 26 laps remaining. Larson proceeded to lead by a second over Gibbs while Blaney, Byron and Hocevar were scored in the top five, respectively. By then, Bell pitted under green along with teammate Hamlin and Wallace while van Gisbergen was mired in ninth place. Larson then surrendered the lead to pit under green with 24 laps remaining along with Gibbs, Blaney and Hocevar while Byron, Chastain and van Gisbergen cycled into the top-three spots. Once Byron pitted with 23 laps remaining and Chastain during the following lap, van Gisbergen cycled back as the leader with 22 laps remaining, with the latter leading by more than a second over runner-up Briscoe and by more than four seconds over third-place Zilisch.

As the event reached its final 20-lap mark, van Gisbergen continued to lead by more than a second over Briscoe while Zilisch continued to trail in third place by nearly five seconds. Behind, Larson and Gibbs were racing in fourth and fifth ahead of McDowell, Bell, Preece, Bowman and Blaney while Hill, Byron, Hocevar, Cindric and Keselowski positioned themselves for top-15 spots ahead of Allmendinger, Suarez, Suarez, Ty Dillon and Chastain, respectively.

Five laps later, van Gisbergen stabilized his lead to one-and-a-half seconds over Briscoe while Larson, who assumed third place from Zilisch four laps earlier, retained the spot over the latter. By then, Gibbs only trailed Zilisch by six-tenths of a second in fifth place as McDowell, Preece, Blaney, Bowman and Byron were scored in the top 10, respectively. As both Gibbs and Bell Zilisch overtook Zilisch for top-five spots over the next five laps, Larson retained third place by more than five seconds while van Gisbergen maintained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Briscoe with 10 laps remaining.

Down to the final five laps, van Gisbergen retained the lead by more than a second over Briscoe, with Larson, Gibbs and Bell continuing to race within the top-five mark. Van Gisbergen initially stabilized his lead to within a second over Briscoe as the laps dwindled, but with two laps remaining, Briscoe started to reel in towards van Gisbergen’s rear bumper as van Gisbergen had a handful of lapped traffic in front of him through every turn.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, van Gisbergen remained in the lead by half a second over a hard-charging Briscoe. From the first turn through Turn 10, van Gisbergen remained atop the leaderboard, but Briscoe kept the latter close and within his sights while trying to gain as much ground. Then exiting Turn 10, Briscoe reeled in and tried to bump van Gisbergen through Turn 11 to stall the momentum and gain a run for the lead. Briscoe, however, was not close enough through the 11th turn and missed his mark as van Gisbergen managed to motor away. With the checkered flag flying, van Gisbergen managed to beat Briscoe for the victory by three-tenths of a second.

With the victory, Shane van Gisbergen notched his eighth career win in the NASCAR Cup Series division, all of which have occurred on road course events. As a result, the New Zealander tied himself with Tony Stewart for having the second-most victories on road course events as the former is a single road course victory away from tying Jeff Gordon for the most at nine. Van Gisbergen also achieved his second consecutive Cup victory at Sonoma, his second victory of the 2026 season, and his first since he won at Watkins Glen International in early May. The Sonoma victory was also the fifth of the 2026 season for the Chevrolet manufacturer and the second for Trackhouse Racing.

“What a day,” van Gisbergen, who became the first competitor to win the O’Reilly and Cup events at Sonoma on the same weekend, said on the frontstretch on TNT Sports. “We were really bad yesterday and these [No. 97] guys did an amazing job turning this car into a winner. [Briscoe] was coming. He was really, really good, and I ran out at the end. Pretty special to make up for last week, too. I was back to normal by the weekend [after San Diego], but yeah, I was certainly pissed at the start of the week. This [win] truly makes up for it, sharing it with these guys and they went through it at the start of the week. Pretty special to win.”

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 28: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 Red Bull Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 28, 2026 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images).

Prior to Sonoma, van Gisbergen was ranked in 17th place in the 2026 driver’s standings and he trailed the top-16 cutline to make the Chase by five points. After winning at Sonoma, he jumped up three spots in the standings to 14th place and is 24 points above the cutline. With eight regular-season events remaining until the Chase commences, van Gisbergen sets his sights on maintaining his momentum and improving his racing craft on ovals as he strives to make the Chase and contend for a Cup Series title prior to this season’s conclusion.

“[The win] certainly helps [with our Chase hopes], but yeah, I need to really step it up on the ovals and we all do,” van Gisbergen added. “[The win] certainly helps us, but this [sport] is an oval championship and I need to keep getting better at them.”

Chase Briscoe settled in second place at Sonoma Raceway for a second consecutive year and for his sixth top-five result of the 2026 season. The runner-up result did very little to ease Briscoe’s disappointment as he came within striking distance of notching his first victory of the 2026 campaign and dethroning van Gisbergen’s title in Sonoma, California.

“I was better [than van Gisbergen],” Briscoe said. “I just messed up with three or four [laps] to go getting into [Turn] 1. I don’t know. I didn’t time my downshift right and about wrecked. I lost a ton of ground and was able to run him back down, but if I don’t make that mistake, I, truthfully, probably win the race. That one is going to sting for a while. Trying to beat him would just be a big accomplishment. Proud of our Columbia Bank Toyota group. That one stings. That one is a tough one.”

Ty Gibbs, the pole winner who led 31 laps and won the event’s first two stage periods, finished in third place for his sixth top-five result of the 2026 season. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, the latter of whom completed the entire event without being relieved amid a fractured left wrist, finished in the top five.

Ryan Blaney, who was taken to the infield care center at the event’s conclusion due to his cool suit failing, finished in sixth place ahead of rookie Connor Zilisch, the latter of whom achieved his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit amid a difficult rookie campaign. Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell, and Alex Bowman completed the top 10 in the final running order.

Notably, Denny Hamlin, who never recovered from his late-race spin, ended up in 26th place while Tyler Reddick, who posted the event’s fastest lap on Lap 80, ended up at the tail end of the final running order in 36th place.

There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The event featured three cautions for eight laps. In addition, 32 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap, while all starters finished the event overall.

Following the 18th event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin, with his 26th-place result, leads the standings by a single point over Tyler Reddick, while Ryan Blaney trails by 104 points, Ty Gibbs trails by 130, and Kyle Larson trails by 148.

Shane van Gisbergen, along with Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Todd Gilliland, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney are the 16 competitors who transfer through to the second In-Season Challenge round for next Sunday’s event at Chicagoland Speedway.

Results:

  1. Shane van Gisbergen, 74 laps led
  2. Chase Briscoe
  3. Ty Gibbs, 31 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
  4. Kyle Larson, two laps led
  5. Christopher Bell
  6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led
  7. Connor Zilisch
  8. Ryan Preece
  9. Michael McDowell
  10. Alex Bowman
  11. Carson Hocevar
  12. William Byron, one lap led
  13. Austin Cindric
  14. Ross Chastain, one lap led
  15. Brad Keselowski
  16. AJ Allmendinger
  17. Chase Elliott
  18. Zane Smith
  19. Chris Buescher
  20. Cole Custer
  21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  22. Bubba Wallace
  23. Erik Jones
  24. Joey Logano
  25. John Hunter Nemechek
  26. Denny Hamlin
  27. Austin Dillon
  28. Josh Berry
  29. Todd Gilliland
  30. Riley Herbst
  31. Daniel Suarez
  32. Noah Gragson
  33. Cody Ware, one lap down
  34. Austin Hill, one lap down
  35. Ty Dillon, one lap down
  36. Tyler Reddick, four laps down

Next on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, for the eero 400. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 5, and air at 6 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.

RIVENBARK OPENS JBS EQUIPMENT NHRA PRO MOD SERIES ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP STARTS WITH WIN IN NORWALK

By
Official Release
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NORWALK, Ohio (June 28, 2026) – Kevin Rivenbark opened the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports Road to the Championship with a victory on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park, knocking off Billy Banaka in the final round as part of this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

This weekend’s event was the seventh of 11 races in the category during the 2026 campaign and this weekend’s race is powered by Polaris and presented by Jan-Cen Motorsports.

It is also the first of five playoff races and Rivenbark started strong, going 5.714-seconds at 251.53 mph in the final round to hold off Banaka’s 5.716 at 252.33. Rivenbark’s first victory this season and second in his NHRA Pro Mod career couldn’t have come at a better time, as he moved to ninth in points.

“We haven’t won this (Wally) since Phoenix of 2024, but we never stop,” Rivenbark said.. The guys are restless. They just keep going and going. We’ve had some bad times and some tough times, but hopefully we’re on the right road. We knew we had a better car than what we showed in qualifying.

“This weekend was really a shakeup. We’re hoping to get going for the Road to the Championship and hopefully both of us (with teammate Stan Shelton) will come out on top or at least one and two.”

Rivenbark, who qualified 13th, knocked off past world champion Mike Castellana, Derek Menholt, who came into the race with the points lead, and Lyle Barnett to reach the final round.

Banaka advanced to the final round with wins against Alex Laughlin, Justin Bond and Mike Thielen.

Menholt stayed in the points lead, but has just a 13-point advantage over Mike Stavrinos. Banaka is third, just 15 points out of first.

The JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by Elite Motorsports returns to action on Sept. 2-7 as part of the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

NORWALK, Ohio — Final finish order (1-16) at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the seventh of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

PRO MODIFIED:

  1. Kevin Rivenbark; 2. Billy Banaka; 3. Lyle Barnett; 4. Mike Thielen; 5. Mike Stavrinos; 6.

Derek Menholt; 7. Aaron Stanfield; 8. Justin Bond; 9. Chip King; 10. JR Gray; 11. Mike

Castellana; 12. Stan Shelton; 13. Alex Laughlin; 14. Jason Collins; 15. Nick Januik; 16. Tony Wilson.

NORWALK, Ohio — Sunday’s final results from the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the seventh of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

Pro Modified — Kevin Rivenbark, Ford Mustang, 5.714, 251.53 def. Billy Banaka, Chevy Camaro, 5.716, 252.33.

NORWALK, Ohio — Final round-by-round results from the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the seventh of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE — Justin Bond, Chevy Camaro, 5.708, 248.29 def. Jason Collins, Camaro, 5.813, 218.90; Aaron Stanfield, Chavy Camaro, 5.705, 250.37 def. JR Gray, Camaro, 5.730, 251.34; Derek Menholt, Chevy Corvette, 5.700, 250.32 def. Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, 5.769, 242.98; Kevin Rivenbark, Mustang, 5.749, 250.23 def. Mike Castellana, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Billy Banaka, Camaro, 5.694, 252.52 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 5.791, 246.03; Mike Thielen, Mustang, 5.746, 246.39 def. Chip

King, Dodge Charger, 5.717, 250.46; Lyle Barnett, Camaro, 6.257, 241.37 def. Tony Wilson, Chevy Willys, 10.050, 87.54; Mike Stavrinos, Camaro, 5.702, 252.85 def. Nick Januik, Corvette, Foul – Red Light;

QUARTERFINALS — Thielen, 5.745, 246.08 def. Stanfield, 5.798, 245.27; Banaka, 5.892, 249.44 def. Bond, 12.067, 75.49; Rivenbark, 5.730, 250.78 def. Menholt, Foul – Red Light; Barnett, 5.732, 250.74 def. Stavrinos, 5.708, 253.33;

SEMIFINALS — Banaka, 5.749, 252.47 def. Thielen, 10.178, 84.87; Rivenbark, 5.732, 250.64 def. Barnett, 5.761, 250.04;

FINAL — Rivenbark, 5.714, 251.53 def. Banaka, 5.716, 252.33.

NORWALK, Ohio — Point standings (top 10) following the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the seventh of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

Pro Modified

  1. Derek Menholt, 854; 2. Mike Stavrinos, 841; 3. Billy Banaka, 839; 4. Justin Bond, 822; 5. (tie) Lyle Barnett, 793; Jason Collins, 793; 7. Stan Shelton, 782; 8. Mike Thielen, 781; 9. Kevin Rivenbark, 771; 10. JR Gray, 765.

A Perfect Pairing: Shane van Gisbergen Sweeps the Weekend in Wine Country with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series Race Win

By
Official Release
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Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, accepts a chalice of Napa Valley’s Ones by Sabonis Pinot Noir from Sonoma Raceway Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Flynn in victory lane after winning Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race. Photo Credit: Sonoma Raceway/Asa Johnson
  • Shane van Gisbergen earned his eighth NASCAR Cup Series road-course win at Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway tying him with Tony Stewart on the all-time road course wins list, just one win shy of Jeff Gordon’s nine.
  • Second-place Chase Briscoe blamed a late-race mistake for costing him the win despite having the better car.
  • Fans who renew their NASCAR weekend tickets and camping for Sonoma Raceway’s 2027 NASCAR weekend will get a free renewal gift (while supplies last) along with the best available pricing.

SONOMA, Calif. (June 28, 2026) – Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, was first to the checkered at Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race at Sonoma Raceway (SR) completing the weekend sweep in wine country.

“What a day,” said van Gisbergen. “We were really bad yesterday, and these guys did an amazing job turning this car into a winner. The 19 was coming. He was really, really good, and I ran out in the end.”

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, managed to shrink the gap to less than half of a second after van Gisbergen encountered lapped traffic with two laps to go, but ultimately failed to completely close it before the checkered flag.

“It was odd,” said Briscoe. “Not very many people get that close to him at the end of one of these road course races.”

Briscoe was frustrated following his second consecutive second-place finish to van Gisbergen at SR, feeling like he had the win if he didn’t make a mistake in the final laps.

“Just frustrated with myself,” said Briscoe. “I felt like I definitely had the better car. I didn’t do as good of a job as he [van Gisbergen] did driving. I just made a mistake with, like, three or four to go getting into one. I was having to push so hard, and that was where I would make up my ground. It was just such a razor’s edge, and I about crashed. Gave up a call to second, and then I was able to obviously run him back down at the end. If I don’t make that mistake, I’m probably ahead of him, I feel like, at the end.”

Sunday’s win marked van Gisbergen’s second win of the weekend following his dominant NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) win on Saturday in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, where he started on the pole, led the most laps (66 of 79) and captured the checkered flag.

California natives Kyle Larson (Elk Grove), AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos), Zane Smith (Huntington Beach), Cole Custer (Ladera Ranch) and Tyler Reddick (Corning) finished fourth, 16th, 18th, 20th and 36th respectively.

Reddick, the points leader coming in to today’s race, suffered power steering issues, which caused him to DNF, allowing his 23XI Racing team owner Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, to take over the points lead by one point after Reddick claimed the extra point for having the Xfinity Fastest Lap.

Following today’s race, round two of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge includes the following matchups for next week’s race at Chicagoland:

Alex Bowman vs. Austin Cindric
Todd Gilliland vs. Carson Hocevar
Chase Briscoe vs. Ty Gibbs
Michael McDowell vs. Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin vs. Erik Jones
Chris Buescher vs. Christopher Bell
William Byron vs. Kyle Larson
Shane van Gisbergen vs. Ryan Blaney

Fans who renew their NASCAR weekend tickets and camping for SR’s 2027 NASCAR weekend will get a free renewal gift (while supplies last) along with the best available pricing.

Follow Us:

Keep track of all of Sonoma Raceway’s events by following on Facebook, X and Instagram (@RACESONOMA). Keep up with all the latest information on the speedway website (SonomaRaceway.com) and mobile app.

Sonoma Raceway is a 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course and quarter-mile drag strip located at Sears Point in Sonoma County, Calif. Built in 1968, the track is carved into rolling hills with 160 feet of total elevation change. It is host to one of the few NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses. It is one of the world’s busiest racing facilities, with track activity scheduled an average of 340 days a year. A complete and versatile motorsports complex, it is home to one of the nation’s only high-performance automotive industrial parks with approximately 70 tenants.

Connor Zilisch earns first top-10 Cup result at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Connor Zilisch persevered through a difficult rookie campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series division by notching his first-ever top-10 result in the series with a seventh-place result in the 2026 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 28.

The 19-year-old Zilisch from Charlotte, North Carolina, took the green flag from 17th place and spent the early portions of the event racing within the top-20 mark before he pitted prior to the conclusion of the first stage period and settled in 21st place on Lap 25. By being among several competitors who pitted prior to the stage’s conclusion and with the remainder of the field pitting during the first stage’s conclusion, Zilisch cycled his way into the top-10 mark when the second stage period commenced on Lap 29.

Restarting in eighth place, Zilisch worked his way up as high as third place in the running order before he elected to strategically pit his No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry prior to the second stage’s conclusion. Amid the pit stops, Zilisch managed to remain within the top-10 mark when he cycled back on the track and collected three critical stage points by settling in eighth place when the second stage concluded on Lap 55.

When the third and final stage period commenced with 51 laps remaining, Zilisch restarted on the front row alongside his teammate Shane van Gisbergen. At the stage’s launch, Zilisch fended off Chase Briscoe to maintain the runner-up spot as both competitors spent the next lap reeling in van Gisbergen for the lead. Their charge for the lead stalled during the next lap when a caution for a three-car incident in Turn 2 occurred.

During the next restart with 47 laps remaining, Zilisch did not gain a strong launch alongside van Gisbergen on the front row as he both lost ground on the latter for the lead and the runner-up spot from Briscoe through the first two turns. Zilisch retained third place over the next 20 laps before he made his final pit stop under green flag with 28 laps remaining. Despite briefly stalling his entry while trying to exit his pit stall, Zilisch remained within striking distance of Briscoe and maintained race pace to cycle his way back into the top-three mark.

For the event’s remainder, Zilisch not only lost ground of the top-two competitors (van Gisbergen and Briscoe), but the race pace started to drop as he was overtaken by Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell as the laps dwindled. He then lost sixth place to Ryan Blaney with three laps remaining before he took the checkered flag in seventh place while finishing two seconds ahead of eighth-place Michael McDowell, but more than 19 seconds behind teammate and race winner Shane van Gisbergen.

Despite losing grasp of a top-five result, Zilisch, whose previous best result was 11th at EchoPark Speedway in June 2025, notched his first-ever top-10 result in his 21st career start in the NASCAR Cup Series division. The Charlotte native also bested his previous best result of the 2026 season of 14th place, the latter of which occurred at Circuit of the Americas in early March.

The seventh-place result generated a bittersweet feeling for Zilisch as he was in contention for a top-five spot and potentially a victory in the closing laps. Nevertheless, he was also content with the result in what has been a difficult campaign as a first-time competitor in NASCAR’s premier series.

“Seventh, I felt like, is a disappointment, but in the past few months we’ve had, I’ll take it,” Zilisch said. “It’s something to build off of. I felt like we could’ve been a lot better. That last run, we really tanked hard. I didn’t have any speed at all. I’ll have to go back and see what happened, but still really proud of the effort from the No. 88 team and our WeatherTech Chevrolet.”

Prior to Sonoma, Zilisch’s average-finishing result through 17 Cup events in 2026 was 28.2, all of which were marred by 13 results outside of the top-20 marks and six DNFs, including four over the previous five events. After Sonoma, he boosted it to 27.1, but he remains in 34th place in the 2026 driver’s standings. In addition, he trails the top-16 cutline to make the Chase by 203 points with eight regular-season events remaining until the Chase commences in early September.

As Zilisch looks ahead to the remaining events of the 2026 Cup Series season, he highlights Sonoma as a stepping stone to regaining his competitive form.

“It’s just a building block to get things moving back in the right direction,” Zilisch added. “It’s been an incredibly tough season, so days like this are important.”

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season for Connor Zilisch and his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team continues with the series’ return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, for the eero 400. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 5, and air at 6 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.

RFK Racing – Sonoma Executive Summary

By
Official Release
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RFK RACING
SONOMA RACEWAY – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Date: June 28th, 2026
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma Raceway (1.99-mile road course) – Sonoma, CA
Format: 218.9 miles / 110 laps with three stages. Stage 1: Ends at lap 25, Stage 2: Ends at lap 55, Stage 3: Ends at Lap 110

RFK RACING RACE SUMMARY: RFK Racing put on a show of determination at Sonoma Raceway, led by Ryan Preece’s eighth-place finish in the No. 60 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Preece used strong strategy, fast pit stops and excellent long-run speed to record the team’s best finish of the day, while Brad Keselowski rallied from 35th to 15th in the No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse after charging through the field. Chris Buescher overcame handling challenges in the No. 17 Liverpool FC/Trimble Ford Mustang Dark Horse, with steady adjustments helping him recover for a 19th-place finish. Together, the three teams maximized their day with resilience and execution on the demanding Sonoma road course.

DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS

Brad Keselowski – No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Finish: 15th

Start: 35th

Laps Led: —

Stage Results: Stage 1: 31st; Stage 2: 21st

Headline takeaway: Everyone loves a comeback story; Brad Keselowski bounced back from his P35th starting position, ran inside the top 10 for a chunk of Stage 2 after the first pit cycle and finished the day capitalizing on long run speed with a resilient top 15 finish.

Keselowski Quote: “That’s our best road course finish of the year for a while it looked like it might be better on that restart there, that second to last restart, we missed it there and lost a few spots on that one otherwise I think we would’ve ended up 10thor 11th so still a reasonable day. Just got to fight for your spot nothing is given.”

Chris Buescher – No. 17 Liverpool FC/ Trimble Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Finish: 19th

Start: `5th

Laps Led: —

Stage Results: Stage 1: 28th; Stage 2: 23rd

Headline takeaway: Perseverance and a no quit attitude was the theme of the day for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team. The team battled rear balance for a majority of the race, however after numerous air pressure adjustments “Road Course Chris” bounced back running the second fastest lap time of the field and a top 20 finish.

Buescher Quote: “Just not really a good day, started off on the free side and then tried to get the back underneath it, got better by the end, just was still very behind at that point, just not the best day.”

Ryan Preece – No. 60 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Finish: 8th

Start: `19th

Laps Led:–

Stage Results: Stage 1: 5th ; Stage 2: 24th

Headline takeaway: Road ringer Ryan Preece has a nice sound to it, another good points day for the No. 60 and the top finishing RFK car of the day. The top 10 finish was truly earned byn the 60 teams’ strategy and fast stops consistently throughoutthe day.

Preece Quote: “We needed some momentum, so it was great to have a good run for the Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse, lot of good stage points, passed a lot of cars, really had just really good long run speed, felt like we probably had a 5thplace, 6th place car in the long runs, proud of the race car, that race car was really good and think we just need to keep getting a little better and we’ll be there.”

Point Standings:

Buescher: 7th

Preece: 15th

Keselowski: 18th

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is July 5th at Chicagoland Speedway (Lebanon, TN). The race begins at 6:00 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT Sports and Motor Racing Network (MRN).

GORDON, CAPPS, STANFIELD & GADSON SCOOP UP WINS AT SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS

By
Official Release
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  • Gordon rolls to first career TF triumph
  • Capps gets third FC win of 2026
  • Stanfield uses holeshot for PS victory
  • Gadson tops teammate in PSM final

NORWALK, Ohio (June 28, 2026) – Top Fuel rookie sensation Maddi Gordon won her first career race on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park, defeating Antron Brown in the final round to hand Ron Capps Motorsports its first Top Fuel and Funny Car sweep with Ron Capps at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 10th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

In just her 10th professional start, Top Fuel’s Maddi Gordon picked up a Diamond Wally in her 12,000-horsepower Carlyle Tools/Monster Energy dragster, driving past Antron Brown with a run of 3.786-seconds at 333.16 mph.

Gordon’s day was nearly over before it began, as the team had to scramble to get the car started on the starting line due to a parts issue. It finally started just in time – thanks to Spencer Massey graciously waiting as well – and she went 3.854 at 325.14 to get the win. Gordon followed with victories against Tony Stewart and points leader Shawn Langdon to advance to the final.

Brown left first, but Gordon quickly tracked him down to get the victory, finishing off a Ron Capps Motorsports sweep. To add to the moment, Gordon’s father, Doug, also won in Top Alcohol Funny Car on Sunday.

“It literally doesn’t get any better than this,” Gordon said. “We brought three race cars here, we came home with three trophies and three ice cream scoopers, and y’all know me, you know I love ice cream, so that is like the cherry on top. I remember backing up from the burnout, and I wanted that win so bad, so bad. For my dad to win, and then Ron to win, it’s like the pressure is on, right? I’m just so grateful for this opportunity. This is the best day of my life.

“They say people usually stick out an arm or a leg for you; well, Ron catapulted out of a cannon for me. He believed in me even before I won a Top Alcohol Funny Car trophy. He signed my license in 2023, and I never imagined I would be sitting next to him in the media center. He could have thrown any driver in there, but he chose me, and I’m forever grateful for this opportunity. He changed my life in every way except for where I live.”

Brown reached his second straight final round by defeating Leah Pruett, Tony Schumacher and Clay Millican. Langdon maintains a healthy points lead in the category, with it now standing at 150 points over teammate Doug Kalitta.

In Funny Car, Capps did his part for the first-ever nitro sweep for his team, finishing off a consistent day with a run of 3.969 at 328.54 in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra to power past runner-up Jack Beckman.

It gave the three-time world champion and the current points leader his milestone 80th career victory and his third this season, becoming the first driver in Funny Car to reach three wins in 2026.

Capps, who qualified third, defeated Bobby Bode, J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria to reach the final round, which presented a pressure-packed situation for both Capps and Gordon. But Capps came through in the clutch, posting a terrific .048 reaction time that led to a thrilling wire-to-wire victory.

It’s a win Capps will always remember for a variety of reasons, including getting to share in the moment with Gordon as Capps and his entire organization wrapped up another milestone moment.

“I went over to her car before the final round, and I go, “Well, you got your head on straight, right?’ and she’s just smiling at me, that Maddi Gordon smile, and I actually asked her for advice,” Capps said.

“You lie in bed, and you dream about stuff like this. I don’t know how many final rounds I’ve been in, but it was fun, and I was just hoping we got the win. Once we got the win, I thought the odds were definitely going down with her dad and me getting a win, but this is crazy. We’re just lucky.”

Knowing he needed to be nearly perfect on the starting line, Pro Stock’s Aaron Stanfield delivered in the final round, using a brilliant .002 reaction time in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling/Janac Brothers Racing car to defeat Matt Hartford on a holeshot with a run of 6.626 at 208.75.

It is Stanfield’s second win this season and the 16th in his career and the young standout earned every part of his second victory in three seasons at Summit Motorsports Park. He scored a holeshot win to start the day against Erica Enders and then knocked off Cody Anderson and Kenny Delco to reach the final round.

He held off Hartford by a mere .006 at the finish line to get the victory and give his team momentum heading into the second half of the season.

“I definitely knew I was going to have to be pretty good on the tree and the old hot rod did just enough to pull one off,” Stanfield said. “Matt’s been driving really good here lately and he’s had a fast race car. Every time Matt and I race, it’s a good and tight race. I think the world of Matt. He does a great job driving the car and they do a great job tuning their own car. It feels great as a driver whenever you’re able to do your job and pull off a holeshot win like that.”

Hartford advanced to his third straight final round and the fifth this season thanks to wins against Eric Latino, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and points leader Dallas Glenn. Reigning world champ Glenn moved back into the lead and now has a 23-point advantage over Greg Anderson.

For the second straight day, Richard Gadson got the best of his Pro Stock Motorcycle teammate Gaige Herrera in the final round, as Herrera went red for a second consecutive time, giving the points leader and reigning world champion his second victory this season on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

Gadson was stout in the final round, going 6.849 at 197.36 en route to his sixth career victory and first at Summit Motorsports Park. A day earlier, Gadson won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge over Herrera when his teammate left too early and he took advantage again on Sunday.

The dynamic duo has now met in back-to-back final rounds, with Herrera in Bristol and Gadson Sunday in Norwalk, which they hope is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“Obviously, I didn’t lie yesterday when I told you it’s pretty much ‘are you willing to red light situation’ and you know he’s a tough competitor, he’ll rebound, and it’ll probably be hell for us all for the next couple races,” Gadson said. “I’m really happy and I don’t know if you believe in energies, but I feel like Norwalk owed me one. I got the ice cream scoop that I always hoped for, a double up with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty win, and the overall win. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this.

“I don’t think I’ve given Norwalk its due just how good it’s been to me. This is the first overall win, but I’ve had a lot of success here now – two #2Fast2Tasty wins and a final round last year. I love Norwalk. Mr. Bader is amazing – this facility is amazing, the ice cream, the whole deal, the whole experience of being here. This is a special place.”

Herrera reached his second straight final and third of the season by taking down Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith. Gadson’s points lead now stands at 83 over Herrera.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action July 17-19 with the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.

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NORWALK, Ohio — Final finish order (1-16) at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the 10th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

  1. Maddi Gordon; 2. Antron Brown; 3. Shawn Langdon; 4. Clay Millican; 5. Tony Schumacher; 6. Doug Kalitta; 7. Josh Hart; 8. Tony Stewart; 9. Leah Pruett; 10. Billy Torrence; 11. Will Smith; 12. Scott Farley; 13. Justin Ashley; 14. Spencer Massey; 15. Shawn Reed.

FUNNY CAR:

  1. Ron Capps; 2. Jack Beckman; 3. Austin Prock; 4. Alexis DeJoria; 5. J.R. Todd; 6. Daniel

Wilkerson; 7. Chad Green; 8. Del Worsham; 9. Spencer Hyde; 10. Jordan Vandergriff; 11. Cruz Pedregon; 12. Jeff Arend; 13. Dave Richards; 14. Matt Hagan; 15. Bobby Bode; 16. Blake Alexander.

PRO STOCK:

  1. Aaron Stanfield; 2. Matt Hartford; 3. Kenny Delco; 4. Dallas Glenn; 5. Jeg Coughlin; 6. Cody Anderson; 7. Matt Latino; 8. Erica Enders; 9. Greg Anderson; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 11. Stephen Bell; 12. Greg Stanfield; 13. Eric Latino; 14. Deric Kramer.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

  1. Richard Gadson; 2. Gaige Herrera; 3. Joey Gladstone; 4. Angie Smith; 5. Jianna Evaristo; 6. Brayden Davis; 7. John Hall; 8. Chase Van Sant; 9. Steve Johnson; 10. Geno Scali; 11. Marc Ingwersen; 12. Ryan Oehler; 13. Wesley Wells; 14. Bud Yoder II; 15. Odolph Daniels.

NORWALK, Ohio — Sunday’s final results from the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the 10th of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel — Maddi Gordon, 3.786 seconds, 333.16 mph def. Antron Brown, 3.840 seconds, 328.14 mph.

Funny Car — Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.969, 328.54 def. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 4.011, 323.43.

Pro Stock — Aaron Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.626, 208.75 def. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.597, 207.98.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.849, 197.36 def. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light.

Top Alcohol Dragster — Matthew Cummings, 5.283, 273.39 def. Jamie Noonan, 5.337, 268.81.

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Doug Gordon, Chevy Camaro, 5.510, 266.06 def. Sean Bellemeur, Camaro, 6.589, 218.83.

Competition Eliminator — Peter D`Agnolo, Chevy Cobalt, 8.485, 142.39 def. Al Ackerman, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.

Super Stock — Brenda Grubbs, Chevy Camaro, 9.385, 140.17 def. Ron Richards, Chevy Cobalt, Foul – Red Light.

Stock Eliminator — Matt Antrobius, Chevy Camaro, 11.288, 113.43 def. Timothy Fletcher, Camaro, 11.139, 114.10.

Super Comp — Phil Unruh, Dragster, 8.888, 183.49 def. Howie Smith, Dragster, 8.887, 181.64.

Super Gas — Phil Unruh, Chevy Camaro, 9.936, 161.40 def. Raymond Miller, Chevy 210, 10.017, 119.46.

Super Street — Victor Marqua, Plymouth Duster, 10.907, 128.24 def. Phil Smida, Cheevy Cavalier, 10.957, 138.86.

Top Sportsman — Alex Miller, Olds Cutlass, 7.957, 141.76 def. Glenn Butcher, Chevy Camaro, Broke – No Show.

Top Dragster — Sadie Glenn, Dragster, 9.470, 87.70 def. Kenny Carson, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.

Pro Modified — Kevin Rivenbark, Ford Mustang, 5.714, 251.53 def. Billy Banaka, Chevy Camaro, 5.716, 252.33.

Factory Stock Showdown — Taylor Dietsch, Ford Mustang, 7.711, 178.10 def. Jonathan Allegrucci, Mustang, 10.836, 85.11.

Junior Dragster Shootout — Brandon Dupont, Halfscale, 8.028, 78.52 def. Samuel Wilson, Halfscale, 12.322, 53.87.

NORWALK, Ohio — Final round-by-round results from the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the 10th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE — Doug Kalitta, 3.745, 333.00 def. Billy Torrence, 3.804, 333.58; Tony Stewart, 3.758, 328.86 def. Justin Ashley, 5.435, 130.10; Josh Hart, 3.962, 275.39 def. Scott Farley, 5.396, 135.54; Shawn Langdon, 3.736, 337.07 was unopposed; Antron Brown, 3.763, 333.16 def. Leah Pruett, 3.781, 332.26; Maddi Gordon, 3.854, 325.14 def. Spencer Massey, 5.592, 119.15; Tony Schumacher, 4.350, 208.81 def. Will Smith, 4.648, 208.88; Clay Millican, 3.842, 324.75 def. Shawn Reed, Foul – Centerline;

QUARTERFINALS — Millican, 4.290, 213.67 def. Hart, 5.290, 144.72; Brown, 3.806, 329.34 def. Schumacher, 3.891, 268.92; Gordon, 3.788, 334.40 def. Stewart, 10.253, 71.85; Langdon, 3.772, 335.40 def. Kalitta, 3.939, 279.21;

SEMIFINALS — Brown, 4.587, 287.11 def. Millican, 8.340, 81.64; Gordon, 4.250, 251.25 def. Langdon, 5.871, 156.17;

FINAL — Gordon, 3.786, 333.16 def. Brown, 3.840, 328.14.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.951, 329.42 def. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.946, 329.83; Daniel Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.935, 327.59 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.308, 213.40; Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.917, 330.23 def. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.936, 327.19; Austin Prock, Mustang, 4.031, 318.84 def. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.071, 308.43; Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.918, 333.41 def. Blake Alexander, Charger, 6.726, 105.09; Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.927, 333.00 def. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 5.125, 146.80; Chad Green, Mustang, 3.938, 326.32 def. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.993, 320.28; Del Worsham, Toyota Supra, 3.963, 331.53 def. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.207, 243.33;

QUARTERFINALS — Capps, 3.943, 329.91 def. Todd, 5.560, 133.61; Beckman, 3.981, 323.19 def. Wilkerson, 11.550, 76.39; DeJoria, 3.958, 329.18 def. Green, 14.588, 62.04; Prock, 3.948, 326.95 def. Worsham, Foul – Centerline;

SEMIFINALS — Beckman, 3.982, 322.73 def. Prock, 4.698, 243.46; Capps, 4.051, 310.13 def. DeJoria, 4.905, 160.81;

FINAL — Capps, 3.969, 328.54 def. Beckman, 4.011, 323.43.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE — Matt Latino, Chevy Camaro, 6.620, 206.45 def. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.691, 205.47; Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.616, 207.59 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.614, 207.82; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.600, 208.04 def. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.591, 208.97; Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.590, 207.02 def. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.678, 201.67 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.638, 206.04; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.599, 205.98 def. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.606, 207.02;

Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.632, 206.32 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.591, 206.95;

QUARTERFINALS — Delco, 11.845, 96.49 was unopposed; Hartford, 6.608, 207.66 def. Coughlin, 6.649, 207.27; Glenn, 6.627, 205.94 def. M. Latino, 6.732, 206.76; A. Stanfield, 6.630, 207.53 def. C. Anderson, Foul – Red Light;

SEMIFINALS — A. Stanfield, 7.017, 206.39 def. Delco, 8.510, 117.02; Hartford, 6.618, 207.75 def. Glenn, Broke;

FINAL — A. Stanfield, 6.626, 208.75 def. Hartford, 6.597, 207.98.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE — Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.890, 195.45 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.927, 176.07; Angie Smith, Buell, 6.853, 198.32 def. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.065, 188.46; John Hall, 6.878, 198.00 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.950, 194.63; Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 7.007, 192.49 def. Ryan Oehler, 6.970, 191.97; Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.859, 197.31 def. Marc Ingwersen, 6.969, 191.57; Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.888, 195.05 def. Bud Yoder II, Buell, Broke – No Show; Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.811, 198.15 def. Odolph Daniels, Suzuki, Broke; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.795, 198.82 was unopposed;

QUARTERFINALS — Gladstone, 6.893, 194.10 def. Hall, 6.934, 195.59; Smith, 6.865, 197.48 def. Davis, Foul – Red Light; Gadson, 6.836, 197.54 def. Van Sant, 7.030, 191.21; Herrera, 6.816, 198.35 def. Evaristo, 6.906, 196.42;

SEMIFINALS — Gadson, 6.857, 196.82 def. Gladstone, Foul – Red Light; Herrera, 6.843, 197.68 def. Smith, 6.875, 197.10;

FINAL — Gadson, 6.849, 197.36 def. Herrera, Foul – Red Light.

NORWALK, Ohio — Point standings (top 10) following the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the 10th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series –

Top Fuel

  1. Shawn Langdon, 1,010; 2. Doug Kalitta, 860; 3. Leah Pruett, 731; 4. Maddi Gordon, 614; 5. Antron Brown, 608; 6. Tony Stewart, 592; 7. Josh Hart, 559; 8. Billy Torrence, 498; 9. Justin Ashley, 450; 10. Clay Millican, 439.

Funny Car

  1. Ron Capps, 812; 2. Matt Hagan, 691; 3. J.R. Todd, 689; 4. Jack Beckman, 684; 5. Jordan Vandergriff, 651; 6. Chad Green, 633; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 608; 8. Austin Prock, 526; 9. Spencer Hyde, 490; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, 443.

Pro Stock

  1. Dallas Glenn, 888; 2. Greg Anderson, 865; 3. Matt Hartford, 727; 4. Greg Stanfield, 648; 5. Aaron Stanfield, 617; 6. Matt Latino, 571; 7. Erica Enders, 526; 8. Jeg Coughlin, 476; 9. Troy Coughlin Jr., 419; 10. Eric Latino, 412.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

  1. Richard Gadson, 677; 2. Gaige Herrera, 594; 3. Angie Smith, 566; 4. Matt Smith, 541; 5. John Hall, 406; 6. Chase Van Sant, 366; 7. Ryan Oehler, 344; 8. Jianna Evaristo, 328; 9. Brayden Davis, 322; 10. Clayton Howey, 310.

Rick Ware Racing: Toyota/Save Mart 350k from Sonoma

By
Official Release
-

RICK WARE RACING
Toyota/Save Mart 350k
Date: June 28, 2026
Event: Toyota/Save Mart 350k (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format: 110 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/30 laps/55 laps)

Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 36th, Finished 33rd / Running, completed 109 of 110 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (35th with 156 points)

Race Notes:

● Shane van Gisbergen won the Toyota/Save Mart 350k to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Sonoma. His margin over second-place Chase Briscoe was .357 of a second.

● This was Chevrolet’s 887th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its sixth of the season. Chase Elliott won for the Bowtie Brigade March 29 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Carson Hocevar won April 26 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Elliott won again May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, van Gisbergen won May 10 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and Daniel Suárez won May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

● This was Chevrolet’s series-leading 16th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Sonoma and its third straight at the 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course. Kyle Larson and van Gisbergen won in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Chevrolet won its first race at Sonoma on June 7, 1992, with Ernie Irvan.

● There were three caution periods for a total of eight laps.

● All but four of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Denny Hamlin leaves Sonoma as the new championship leader with a single-point advantage over second-place Tyler Reddick.

Sound Bites:

“We had a fast Super.com Chevrolet and put up some pretty good lap times, but got taken out and didn’t have enough time to make up the ground we lost. Still really proud of the team for all their hard work. Frustrated with the result, but we’ll just turn our attention to Chicagoland next week.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Super.com Chevrolet

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the eero 400 on Sunday, July 5 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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