July 13, 2025
Chase Elliott is an elite road course racer, and that is especially the case at Sonoma Raceway. Although the Hendrick Motorsports driver has never won in Wine Country, Chase has the third-best average finish (5.7) at Sonoma in the Next Gen era and ranks fourth-best in driver rating over that same time span. He consistently runs up front at this race track and that should be the case in this weekend's Toyota/Save Mart 350 as well. As far as practice goes, the No. 9 Chevrolet wasn't crazy fast on Saturday (15th-best) but Elliott had consistent speed over the course of a long run during that session. He qualified 13th for this weekend's race, which means there's some Place Differential upside for him in DFS contests as well as the finishing position upside. At $9,800 on DraftKings, Chase Elliott is a premier daily fantasy target on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 13, 2025
After showing race-winning speed before mechanical issues struck at the Chicago Street Course last weekend, many people expected Michael McDowell to roll into Sonoma and look like one of the drivers to beat again. However, that was simply not the case this weekend. The No. 71 team was a little disadvantaged in practice on Saturday since they went out with the first group (and slower track conditions), but McDowell himself mentioned afterward that the speed just wasn't there in the race car this weekend. Now the question becomes, will the Spire Motorsports team be able to make the right adjustments for race day? Sonoma is one of the best tracks on the circuit for Michael McDowell, as he has had the best speed here in the Next Gen era and an average finish of 4.0 over the three races. Starting 15th and being priced at an affordable $9,300 on DraftKings, McDowell should be a solid DFS play on Sunday if he can just do his normal thing in the race.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 13, 2025
Christopher Bell is one of the elite road course racers in the NASCAR Cup Series, but he has struggled to put it all together at Sonoma Raceway. In four career starts in Wine Country, CBell has two top-10 finishes (in each of the last two seasons) but they were both ninth-place results--which is surprising considering he has posted five top-five finishes over the last 10 road course races overall. Eventually, though, Bell will get a great finish at Sonoma. Will that be this weekend? The No. 20 Toyota will roll off the starting grid from 10th-place for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350, but Bell looked to have much better race speed than that in practice. In that session, he was seventh-best in five-lap average, third-best in 10-lap average, and second-fastest in 15-lap average. If those speeds hold true during the race, we should be looking at a career-best Sonoma finish out of Christopher Bell on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 13, 2025
Ryan Blaney typically isn't the first driver that most people think of when it comes to the NASCAR Cup Series, but the Team Penske driver has been solid at Sonoma Raceway. Over the last seven races in Wine Country, Blaney has posted a top-10 finish five times, and in the three Next Gen races, he has two top-10 results and a driver rating over 100 in both of those events as well. This weekend, the No. 12 Ford showed good speed in practice (Blaney was fifth-best in five-lap average during practice) and then went out and qualified seventh for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350. All signs point to this being a strong afternoon race for Blaney. As far as DFS goes, Blaney is strictly a tournament option due to his high starting position, but his strong track history makes him a very intriguing play on DraftKings, especially at his relatively cheap salary of $7,500.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 13, 2025
Bubba Wallace is currently in the thick of the points standings for the final Playoffs spot, as the 23XI Racing driver heads into Sonoma this weekend with a two-point advantage over Ryan Preece for the final postseason position. However, it's going to take a lot of race car improvements for Bubba to maintain that lead. The No. 23 Toyota has struggled to find any speed at Sonoma this race weekend, as Wallace was just 27th-fastest in practice on Saturday and then followed that up with a 30th-place qualifying effort for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350. When it comes to track history, Bubba does have three top-20 finishes at Sonoma over the last four races, but he hasn't started this far back at this track since the 2019 season, and he finished 26th in that race. The No. 23 team will likely need to make a risky strategy call in order for Bubba to get any track position on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 13, 2025
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 has four top-10 finishes, including two victories. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver is the defending race winner of this week's race. After 19 races completed in the 2025 season, Larson has 12 top-10 finishes, which is the most of all drivers, and three victories. In practice, Larson ranked third in overall lap averages and displayed top-5 speeds in the five and 10 consecutive lap average categories. Larson is expensive to utilize in DFS this week, but his practice speeds do point to him being a driver who will compete for a top-5 finish at one of his better tracks in the Cup Series.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July
13,
2025
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
read more...
July 13, 2025
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 in 35th-place for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350. Now NASCAR Fantasy players are left wondering, can Gilliland move up, or is he really that slow? Todd finished 10th at COTA earlier this year and followed that up with a 22nd-place finish at Mexico City before wrecking out at the Chicago Street Course last weekend. And in five of the last seven road course races in the Cup Series, Gilliland has posted a finish of 18th or better. Considering his 35th-place starting spot at Sonoma this weekend and his relatively cheap salary on DraftKings ($6,400), Gilliland could be a sneaky DFS Place Differential play on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jaysk
July 13, 2025
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 site. With 19 races completed this season, Gibbs has four top-10 finishes, while going on a streak of five top-15 finishes in the last five Cup events. Gibbs also scored his best finish of the season last week at Chicago. In practice, Gibbs ranked fifth in overall lap averages and ranked among the top five fastest in all eligible categories on speed. Gibbs has typically been fast on the road courses, and this week is no exception based on his practice speeds. Despite never having a top-10 finish at Sonoma in the Cup Series, Gibbs is a driver to watch for the win this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 13, 2025
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 DFS option most weeks due to the place-differential upside. The same is the case this weekend at Sonoma. Stenhouse is no road-course master by any means, but he's a servicable option in some NASCAR fantasy formats. Earlier this season at COTA, for example, he ended up finishing 18th, and here at Sonoma he has ended up finishing 25th, 12th, and 24th in the three Next Gen era races. At just $5,200 on DraftKings, Stenhouse is a cheap place-differential play that could save you some very valuable cap space in your DFS lineup.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 13, 2025
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 four appearances at the California road course. Through 19 races so far this season, Chastain has nine top-10 finishes and an average finish of 14.2. Chastain has placed between 10th and 16th in all three road course events this season, only scoring positive Place Differential in last week's race at Chicago. In practice for this week's race, Chastain ranked eighth in overall lap averages but ranked among the top five fastest in all other eligible categories. Chastain has little upside from his starting position, but his practice speeds and Sonoma history do point to another strong top-5 run, making him worth consideration in DFS formats, but especially in tournaments.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 13, 2025
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 style of track. The No. 21 Ford will roll off the starting grid from 25th place when the race goes green, but it would be surprising to see Berry move up at all from that spot. In fact, it's much more likely he will fall back. In practice on Saturday, Berry ranked 29th-fastest out of 37 cars. He should be avoided in all NASCAR fantasy formats, even in DFS, where he is a very cheap option ($5,100 on DraftKings).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 13, 2025
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 completed this season, Buescher has 14 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 13.9. Buescher has two top-10s at road courses this season and finished 18th in the only other road racing event at the Chicago Street Course. In practice for Sunday's race, Buescher ranked fourth in overall lap averages and 11th in five consecutive lap averages. Buescher is one of the best overall drivers at road courses in the field, and with his salary being around $8,600 on DraftKings at one of his better tracks of the past few years, makes him easy to recommend for all formats, especially with his favorable practice speeds.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 13, 2025
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 home with a 17th-place finish at COTA back in March, Herbst also finished 17th at Chicago Street Course last weekend. Additionally, when it comes to Sonoma, Riley has never ran here in the Cup Series, but he did just finish fifth in this weekend's Xfinity race. At $4,900 on DraftKings, Herbst is one of the cheapest drivers on the slate, and is by no means a slam dunk DFS pick this weekend. But if you need to save some cap space, and he fits in the lineup, why not roll the dice?
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
July 13, 2025
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 last four Cup races at the site. Through 19 races so far this season, Logano has one win, 12 top-20 finishes, and an average finish of 17.6. Logano has one top-20 finish at road courses this season, coming at last week's race at the Chicago Street Course, but he has never finished worse than 24th at the track type in 2025. In practice for Sunday's race, Logano ranked 27th in overall lap averages and ninth in five consecutive lap averages. Considering his overall track history at Sonoma and his practice speeds, Logano is a sneaky and great overall DFS option for all formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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