Samwise NASCAR Cup Series Newsletter
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Van Gisbergen Captures Sonoma Cup Pole for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350
Shane van Gisbergen earned his third consecutive road-course pole of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season Saturday, posting a lap of 96.040 mph at Sonoma Raceway's 1.99-mile circuit to lead Cup Series qualifying. Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe will share the front row after clocking 95.719 mph, with Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron qualifying third at 95.488 mph. Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain starts fourth at 95.409 mph and Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger fifth at 95.367 mph. Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs goes sixth. Van Gisbergen, the defending Toyota/Save Mart 350 champion, leads Sunday's field as the 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge enters Round 1.
Sources: NBC Sports Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Van Gisbergen Tops O'Reilly Series Qualifying Ahead of Saturday Night Sonoma Race
Shane van Gisbergen put his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet on pole position for Saturday evening's Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series at Sonoma Raceway, posting a lap of 95.483 mph to beat teenager Brent Crews by 0.189 seconds. Taylor Gray claimed third at 94.947 mph, followed by Anthony Alfredo in fourth and Parker Retzlaff in fifth. Jesse Love, series leader Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer rounded out the top nine, with Austin Hill — winner of last Saturday's Naval Base Coronado race — starting tenth. Van Gisbergen, Sonoma's 2024 O'Reilly Series winner, races Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET on The CW.
Sources: NASCAR.com RACER Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Five Points Between Van Gisbergen and Chase Safety as Sonoma Race Becomes Season-Defining
Shane van Gisbergen heads into Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway five points outside the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cutline, with RFK Racing's Ryan Preece holding the 16th and final Chase position. Van Gisbergen dropped three spots to 17th in the standings after crashing out at Naval Base Coronado on June 21. Sonoma is the final road course of the 2026 regular season, a circuit where the Trackhouse Racing driver has won twice previously and where he has consistently been the class of the field. Saturday's Cup Series pole gives him the strongest possible starting position to reclaim a Chase spot before the postseason field locks.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
NASCAR's $1 Million In-Season Challenge Opens Round 1 at Sonoma Sunday
NASCAR's 2026 In-Season Challenge, a 32-driver single-elimination bracket tournament carrying a $1 million prize, opens its first round during Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on TNT Sports. The head-to-head format pairs drivers against each other; the higher finisher in each matchup advances to Round 2. Notable pairings include points leader Tyler Reddick against Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin versus Ty Dillon, and Shane van Gisbergen against Ryan Preece — a matchup with direct Chase cutline implications. Kyle Larson faces Riley Herbst and Chris Buescher takes on John Hunter Nemechek. Sunday's race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET, with pre-race coverage from 2:30 p.m.
Sources: Jayski NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Cup Series Standings (Top 16)
1. Tyler Reddick — 716 pts
2. Denny Hamlin — 708 pts
3. Ryan Blaney — 583 pts
4. Kyle Larson — 536 pts
5. Ty Gibbs — 535 pts
6. Chase Elliott — 534 pts
7. Chris Buescher — 500 pts
8. Daniel Suarez — 478 pts
9. Carson Hocevar — 476 pts
10. Chase Briscoe — 431 pts
11. Bubba Wallace — 429 pts
12. Christopher Bell — 422 pts
13. William Byron — 421 pts
14. Erik Jones — 372 pts
15. Austin Cindric — 370 pts
16. Ryan Preece — 367 pts
— CHASE CUTLINE —
17. Shane van Gisbergen — 362 pts
Driver standings: motorsport.com, after Race 17 (Naval Base Coronado, June 21)
Manufacturer Standings
Current points not confirmed from sources this run
1. Toyota
2. Chevrolet
3. Ford
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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