Kyle Larson Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson obtained a starting position of 11th after qualifying for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. It will be just the second time in his Cup Series career that he will begin a race at Sonoma outside of the top 10. In 10 races at the California road course, Larson […]

Ryan Preece's Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma

Road course races always open up the possibility of alternate strategies for race teams, and that is the case for Ryan Preece and the No. 60 team at Sonoma this weekend. Heading into the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Preece is two points below the cut line for the Playoffs, which means he likely be doing everything […]

Todd Gilliland Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma

Considering he just finished 10th at Sonoma last season, it has been a bit of a surprise to see Todd Gilliland struggle to find any speed this weekend in Wine Country. The Front Row Motorsports driver was just 32nd-fastest (out of 37 cars) in practice on Saturday and then went out and qualified way back […]

Ty Gibbs May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma

Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs will start sixth for this week's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Gibbs's starting position for this week's race matches the best of his Cup career at the California road course. In two previous races at Sonoma, Gibbs's best finish is 18th, and he also has one DNF at the […]

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Should Move Up on Sunday

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified 34th for this weekend's race at Sonoma Raceway, which is pretty much par for the course for the Hyak Motorsports driver this season. So far through 19 races in 2025, Stenhouse has an average starting position of 27.0, but he has an average finish of 19.6, which has made him a […]

Ross Chastain is a Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma

Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain will start fourth for Sunday's race at Sonoma Raceway, the Toyota/Save Mart 350. This will be Chastain's first Cup race at Sonoma, where he will start inside the top five in his Cup career. In five starts at the site, Chastain has four top-10 finishes, which all came in his last […]

Josh Berry Should Be Avoided in Fantasy at Sonoma

There are certain race weekends where Josh Berry easily falls into the sleeper category, but the race weekends at road courses are not one of them. Berry has never finished better than 22nd at a road course in his Cup Series career, and this weekend's Toyota/Save Mart 350 will mark his ninth attempt at this […]

Chris Buescher is A Great DFS Option to Consider for Sonoma Lineups

Chris Buescher of RFK Racing qualified 14th for this week's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Buescher was the top qualifier of the three RFK entries in this week's race. In eight races at Sonoma, Buescher has seven top-20 finishes, including three top-5s in the last three Cup events at the site. After 19 races […]

Riley Herbst a Deep Sleeper at Sonoma

If you're looking for a deep sleeper to roll the dice on in this weekend's Toyota/Save Mart 350, consider 23XI Racing's Riley Herbst. While we don't talk about the rookie too much--considering he hasn't finished better than 14th this season--the road course venues have been a weird bright-ish spot for Herbst in 2025. After coming […]

Joey Logano May be A Sneaky DFS Option Who Can Pay Off for Sonoma Lineups

Team Penske's Joey Logano will start 22nd for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. This is the first time that Logano will start a Cup race outside of the top 20 at the California road course in his career. In 15 races at Sonoma, Logano has 12 top-20 finishes, including two top-10s in the […]

Could Austin Cindric Work for DFS Lineups at Sonoma?

Austin Cindric of Team Penske will start 24th for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Cindric was the slowest qualifier of the three Penske entries in this week's race at Sonoma. In three previous races at the site, Cindric has one top-5 finish, but also collected positive Place Differential in all of his Cup […]

Is Carson Hocevar Worth Rostering For Sonoma DFS Lineups?

Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar is starting in the 23rd position for this week's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Hocevar's starting position is the lowest of his Cup career to date at the California road course. In his only previous Sonoma start last season, Hocevar started 13th and finished 17th, losing a few positions, […]

Is John Hunter Nemechek A Sneaky DFS Play for Sonoma?

John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club will start 18th for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Nemechek's starting position is a new career-best in the Cup Series at Sonoma. In his only Cup start at Sonoma in 2024, Nemechek started 37th, gained positive Place Differential, and finished 29th. After 19 races so far […]

A.J. Allmendinger Probably More Valuable for DFS If He Doesn't Flip the Stage

With two road courses and Daytona left in the seven races before the NASCAR playoffs begin, A.J. Allmendinger has not been totally eliminated from playoff contention as he is only 43 points behind Bubba Wallace for the final playoff transfer spot and he is much better on road courses than the two drivers he is […]

William Byron Hopes to Rebound at Sonoma After Back-to-Back DNFs

After having not won a race since his second straight fluky Daytona 500 win and back-to-back DNFs in the last two races which nearly cost him the points lead, William Byron is going to be a little undervalued for DFS play at Sunday's Sonoma race, particularly since he is starting third and is likely to […]

Chase Briscoe Qualifies Second but Remains Hard to Forecast

The hardest Cup Series driver to evaluate, Chase Briscoe, has had an odd season-long trend of qualifying and finishing well but running worse than it appears on the surface. That can't be sustainable forever, and indeed Briscoe had an atypical race at Chicago where he might have had his best run of the season before […]

Daniel Suarez's Sonoma Win Seems Like an Outlier in Retrospect

After winning his first race at Sonoma three years ago, Daniel Suárez returns to the site of his triumph as a lame-duck driver as he has been released from Trackhouse Racing to presumably make room for Saturday's winner Connor Zilisch, who has not yet been formally announced. Although Suárez was a quite consistent qualifier here […]

Kyle Busch Should Contend at Sonoma

Although Kyle Busch no longer seems to have the oval speed he once did, he remains a strong contender on road courses and seemingly nowhere else of late. At Austin, he led the most laps and earned 42 of his 62 laps led this season and finished fifth. At Chicago last week, he recovered from […]

Should Fantasy Players Roster Zane Smith at Sonoma?

Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports will start 12th for this week's Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Smith outqualified his two other teammates at FRM, as he is the only driver from the team to score a top-15 starting position this week. Smith has two prior Cup starts at Sonoma […]

Alex Bowman Looks to Advance in In-Season Tournament

After coming out on top in his latest iteration of his feud with Bubba Wallace last week at Chicago, Alex Bowman advanced to Round 3 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, where he should be easily favored to advance since he has earned top-10 finishes in all three of his road/street-course starts this year while Dillon […]

Denny Hamlin Probably Undervalued at Sonoma Due to Recent Unlucky Finishes

Although Denny Hamlin doesn't have as strong a record at Sonoma as he does at many other tracks, he is probably going to be a little undervalued for DFS play because he has finished 31st, 36th, and 38th in his three races with the Next Gen car. However, that record is somewhat misleading with regard […]

Brad Keselowski's Head Likely Isn't in the Game This Week

Brad Keselowski got himself in some hot water when he publicly lambasted NASCAR for suddenly embracing more road course races in the Jim France era, which helped precipitate a decline for a champion who was typically mediocre on road courses apart from a few years at Watkins Glen. At Sonoma, Keselowski tended to be much […]

Richard Childress Racing's Road-Course Speed May Help Austin Dillon at Sonoma

Although Austin Dillon crashed last week in Chicago, he's well worth considering for DFS play this week at Sonoma, mainly because the Richard Childress Racing cars have been faster on road courses than they have on any other track type lately. Not only did Kyle Busch lead the most laps at Austin, he also recovered […]

Noah Gragson Looks Hopeless at Sonoma

Although Noah Gragson earned his first top-10 finish on a road course earlier this year at Austin, that is starting to look more and more like a fluke, as he is tending to run consistently mediocre everywhere. Case in point: His 32nd-place qualifying run at Sonoma on Saturday was far slower than his Front Row […]

Justin Haley Hopes to Repeat Corey LaJoie's Strong Sonoma Run From Last Year

Justin Haley's season has been somewhat disastrous thus far, but if he has any hope of turning around, it could happen at Sonoma. Last year, Corey LaJoie had one of his best runs of the year in the No. 7 car at Sonoma, where he finished 11th and had an average running position of 15th. […]

Ty Dillon Likely to Be Eliminated From In-Season Challenge

After backing into the Round of 16 in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge because he finished both of the first two races while his heavily-favored opponents Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski both crashed, Ty Dillon's run will likely end on Sunday now that he is facing Alex Bowman, a driver who has earned top-10 finishes in […]

Cole Custer is A Value Option Worth Consideration for Sonoma DFS Lineups

Haas Factory Team driver Cole Custer will start 27th for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 after qualifying. Custer has never qualified lower than this position in his entire Cup career at Sonoma Raceway. In two Cup starts at Sonoma, Custer has two finishes of 21st or better, but has only scored positive Place Differential once. With […]

Could Erik Jones Be A Decent Value Option for Sonoma DFS Lineups?

Erik Jones of Legacy Motor Club obtained a starting position of 31st after qualifying for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Jones is the lowest-qualifying Toyota driver of the week for Sunday's race and is matched up against his teammate, John Hunter Nemechek, in the In-Season Tournament. In seven prior starts at Sonoma in […]

Cody Ware is Not A Top Recommendation for Sonoma Lineups

Cody Ware of Rick Ware Racing will start 36th after qualifying for this week's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Ware is the lowest-qualifying Ford driver in the field for this week's race. In four previous Cup races at Sonoma, Ware has never finished better than 32nd, but he also scored positive Place Differential in […]

Sonoma DraftKings NASCAR Lineup Picks and Projections (Premium Content)

We have another road course race this weekend, as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 is set to take place on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. Sonoma is one of the "OG" road courses on the schedule, back when there were just two stops per season (this place and Watkins Glen). Sonoma is 1.99-miles in length and, […]