Samwise NASCAR Cup Series Newsletter
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Van Gisbergen Sweeps Sonoma Weekend, Earns Eighth Cup Series Victory
Shane van Gisbergen completed a dominant Sonoma Raceway weekend sweep on Sunday, holding off Chase Briscoe by 0.357 seconds to claim the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The Trackhouse Racing No. 97 Chevrolet driver led 74 of the 110 laps, winning his second consecutive Sonoma Cup race and second victory of the 2026 season. Ty Gibbs finished third after sweeping both stage wins. SVG scored 63 points on the day, not winning either stage but earning four stage points in each. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five in what was the final road course race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season.
Sources: NASCAR.com Jayski Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Hamlin Seizes Championship Lead by Single Point Despite 26th-Place Sonoma Finish
Denny Hamlin claimed the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series points lead for the first time Sunday, moving one point ahead of Tyler Reddick despite finishing 26th at Sonoma. Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was spun by Carson Hocevar on Lap 64 and sustained splitter damage that hurt his finishing position. He collected 11 points on the day — enough to erase the deficit and move atop the standings at 719 points to Reddick’s 718. It marked the first time in 18 races that someone other than Reddick led the championship, ending Reddick’s streak that once stretched to a 129-point advantage.
Sources: RACER Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Power Steering Failure Ends Reddick’s 18-Race Points Lead Streak at Sonoma
Tyler Reddick’s grip on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series points lead slipped away Sunday when power steering failure sidelined his No. 45 Toyota at Sonoma. Reddick finished last among all 36 starters after being eliminated on Lap 106, collecting only two points — one for the fastest lap bonus. The misfortune dropped him from first to second in the championship standings. Reddick had held the series lead since early in the 2026 campaign and built an advantage as large as 129 points over rival Denny Hamlin. He now trails Hamlin by one point heading to Chicagoland, where he said his team plans to fight back for the No. 1 seed.
Sources: NASCAR.com Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Van Gisbergen Ties Tony Stewart, Becomes NASCAR’s Winningest Active Road Course Driver
Shane van Gisbergen’s Sonoma victory gave him eight NASCAR Cup Series wins in just 68 career starts, tying Tony Stewart for second-most all-time road course victories — one behind Jeff Gordon’s nine. NBC Sports reported that van Gisbergen is now the winningest active driver on road and street courses in the Cup Series. His eight wins span Chicago Street Course, Watkins Glen, and Sonoma — where he has now won in back-to-back years. SVG’s win also completed a full Sonoma weekend sweep, having won Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race as well. The New Zealand driver joined Chevrolet’s Trackhouse Racing operation ahead of the 2024 season.
Sources: NBC Sports NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Larson vs. Byron Headlines In-Season Challenge Round 2 at Chicagoland
NASCAR released Round 2 matchups for the 2026 In-Season Challenge on Monday, headlined by a Hendrick Motorsports intra-team battle between Kyle Larson and William Byron at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5. Joe Gibbs Racing also faces an internal showdown, with Ty Gibbs meeting Chase Briscoe. Alex Bowman advanced after upsetting No. 1 seed Tyler Reddick in Round 1 at Sonoma. The 16 remaining drivers compete for the $1 million prize at Chicagoland, returning to the Cup schedule for the first time since 2019. The race airs at 6 p.m. ET on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
Sources: NASCAR.com Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Erik Jones Falls Outside NASCAR Playoff Cut Line After Sonoma Struggles
Erik Jones suffered the biggest standings drop of any driver at Sonoma, tumbling three positions to 17th — outside the current NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture. Jones finished 23rd and collected just 17 points, pushing him below the Chase cut line. Austin Cindric now holds the 16th and final playoff position with a 12-point advantage over Jones. Shane van Gisbergen, who entered Sonoma outside the top 16, climbed to 14th and sits 36 points above the cut line. With eight regular-season races remaining, bubble drivers including Jones, Brad Keselowski, and AJ Allmendinger face mounting pressure to reclaim positions before the Chase field locks.
Sources: Motorsport.com FOX Sports Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Rookie Zilisch Earns Career-Best Seventh at Sonoma in Trackhouse’s Double Top-10
Connor Zilisch earned the best finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career Sunday, placing seventh at Sonoma Raceway in the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing. The performance came on the same weekend his teammate Shane van Gisbergen swept the Sonoma program. Zilisch, a 19-year-old rookie from Mooresville, North Carolina, matched the high standard set by SVG and added to a promising debut Cup campaign for Trackhouse’s second entry. The seventh-place run earned Zilisch 41 championship points on the day, helping stabilize his position in the standings. Trackhouse Racing became the first team in 2026 to place both Cup entries in the top 10 at the same event.
Sources: NASCAR.com Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
NASCAR Cup Series Returns to Chicagoland Speedway for First Time Since 2019
NASCAR released the entry list Monday for the July 5 Chicagoland Speedway Cup race, the first Cup Series event at the 1.5-mile Joliet, Illinois oval since 2019. The track returns after a seven-year absence, with the full race weekend running July 3–5. The ARCA Menards Series runs Friday, followed by the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Cup race. All 40 Cup Series entries are expected to compete. Chicagoland also serves as the venue for Round 2 of the 2026 In-Season Challenge bracket, adding extra stakes to the regular-season oval race ahead of the playoff cutoff.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Cup Series Standings (Top 16)
1. Denny Hamlin — 719 pts
2. Tyler Reddick — 718 pts
3. Ryan Blaney — 615 pts
4. Ty Gibbs — 589 pts
5. Kyle Larson — 571 pts
6. Chase Elliott — 554 pts
7. Chris Buescher — 518 pts
8. Carson Hocevar — 509 pts
9. Daniel Suárez — 484 pts
10. Christopher Bell — 472 pts
11. Chase Briscoe — ~460 pts
12. William Byron — ~455 pts
13. Bubba Wallace — ~445 pts
14. Shane van Gisbergen — ~438 pts
15. Ryan Preece — ~425 pts
16. Austin Cindric — ~410 pts (cut line)
Manufacturer Standings
1. Toyota — Leads championship
2. Chevrolet — Second
3. Ford — Third
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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