Briscoe finishes – Chase Briscoe fought Shane van Gisbergen in the closing laps of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, pushing late for the win before settling for second. Ty Gibbs finished third after winning the pole and the first two stages, while Christopher Bell pla
Sonoma’s final moments didn’t come quietly.
Chase Briscoe chased Shane van Gisbergen down late in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. battling for the lead as the field tightened and the track’s turns demanded perfect timing. When it was over. van Gisbergen took the win. and Briscoe crossed the line second—his season-best result at this stage of the year.
Briscoe didn’t blame the speed so much as a small mistake that grew into a bigger cost. In the post-race moment. he pointed to the closing run—“three or four to go”—when he got into Turn 1 without timing his downshift correctly. He said it nearly ended in wrecking. that the error cost him “a ton of ground. ” and that he still managed to run van Gisbergen back down. But he also made the regret clear: if he didn’t make that mistake, he “truthfully, probably win the race.”.
Behind him, the Joe Gibbs Racing group kept proving they could pressure from start to finish. Ty Gibbs finished third after winning the pole and the first two stages. Christopher Bell finished fifth, after finishing second to Gibbs in both stages. Gibbs described the day as a “great run” for the SAIA Toyota team. saying the speed was there and that the difference came down to strategy. Bell’s satisfaction landed on resilience—he said the Rheem team has dealt with a lot of adversity this year and kept battling back. and that the result delivered “a good finish” and “a lot of points” that they needed.
The race also carried heavy weight for the championship picture. Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin—both championship points leaders—ran into issues throughout the day. Hamlin was still able to pass Reddick by a single point, holding the points lead for the first time this season.
The In-Season Tournament picture didn’t change the fact that Team Toyota kept its presence strong. Briscoe, Gibbs, Bell, Hamlin, and Erik Jones advanced to the second round to represent Team Toyota.
In the finishing order. Shane van Gisbergen won the Toyota/Save Mart 350. followed by Chase Briscoe in second and Ty Gibbs in third. Kyle Larson finished fourth. Christopher Bell was fifth. Bubba Wallace finished 22nd. Erik Jones 23rd. John Hunter Nemechek 25th. Denny Hamlin 26th. Riley Herbst 30th. and Tyler Reddick 36th.
Briscoe’s night ended with pride—and that sting he couldn’t shake. He stood by his team, called it “proud” work from the Columbia Bank Toyota group, and then admitted what everyone watching felt when the checkered flag finally came: the win was right there, and the mistake was close enough to taste.
He said it best himself—“That one stings. That one is a tough one.”
Briscoe Shane van Gisbergen Sonoma Raceway Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series Ty Gibbs Christopher Bell Denny Hamlin Tyler Reddick In-Season Tournament
So Briscoe almost won because of a downshift thing? NASCAR is basically just cars yelling at each other.
I’m confused… didn’t Gibbs already win? Like the article says he won the pole and stages, but then Bell still got 5th, so what was the whole point. Also “three or four to go” sounds like a typo lol.
He pointed to Turn 1 and the downshift timing, but isn’t that just the driver? I feel like the team should’ve adjusted setup earlier. If he fixes that one little mistake he probably wins, sure, but drivers say that every week.
Van Gisbergen taking Sonoma again like it’s his backyard… meanwhile they’re all talking about strategy and points like that makes it less embarrassing. I heard somewhere Briscoe got unlucky with cautions too, so maybe it’s not even the downshift? NASCAR fans will argue forever.