The Cup Series returns to Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon for a road course race as drivers battle for points and playoff spots.
This is the 36th Cup Series race at the California road course since Ricky Rudd won the inaugural event in 1989. It is the first time in NASCAR history the event has taken place in the month of July.
Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway information
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies early and then sunny skies in the afternoon. A high of 74 degrees and no chance of rain at the start of the Cup Series race.
Green flag time: Celebrity chef Tyler Florence will give the command to fire engines at 3:38 p.m. ET. The starter will wave the green flag at 3:50 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Practice and qualifying will take place on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Max and truTV will provide coverage of the sessions.
Pre-race: The garage opens at 12:30 p.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 3 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins on TNT, truTV, and Max at 3 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on TNT, truTV, and Max at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The invocation will be at 3:30 p.m. ET. The national anthem will be performed at 3:31 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 25. The second stage ends at Lap 55. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 110.
Past winners: Only three active Cup Series drivers have celebrated wins at Sonoma Raceway. Kyle Larson is the defending winner at the road course. He has two wins at Sonoma since 2021.
Daniel Suarez scored his first career win at the road course in 2022. Kyle Busch has two trips to victory lane to sip wine after wins.
Playoff picture: The Cup Series drivers have completed 19 points-paying races. Points leader William Byron has one win, the Daytona 500. Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell lead the series with three wins each. Shane van Gisbergen is second with two wins.
The rest of the race winners are Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Blaney. This leaves only four spots in the playoffs based on points.
Tyler Reddick is in the best situation heading to Sonoma. He has a 143-point advantage over the playoff cutline. He leads Alex Bowman (+39), Chris Buescher (+35), and Bubba Wallace (+3). Ryan Preece is the first driver out of a playoff spot. He is three points behind Wallace. The other drivers close to the cutline are AJ Allmendinger (-44), Busch (-47), and Erik Jones (-51).