A power-steering problem for points leader Tyler Reddick and a wrist injury that will still shape Christopher Bell’s approach are just two of the Sunday pressures at Sonoma. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 gets the new TNT Sports Cup window—and NASCAR’s $1 million In
When the Toyota/Save Mart 350 turns toward Sonoma Raceway this Sunday, it won’t just feel like another stop on the Cup schedule—it feels like a test.
Ty Gibbs wired the opening stage. holding the lead for every one of the 25 laps as NASCAR got rolling in California’s wine country. But moments like that are only part of the picture. Points leader Tyler Reddick is already dealing with a reported steering issue. and several drivers start this race facing fresh. unfinished repairs after qualifying.
Heading into the 18th race of 36 on the season, Reddick holds an eight-point lead over Denny Hamlin for the top spot in the standings. After Sonoma, there are eight races left before the postseason Chase begins.
Reddick’s day started to unravel early. He finished the first stage in 30th place and has been parked on pit road with his hood up while his team tries to diagnose a problem. Reddick told his team about power steering issues over the radio—describing what it feels like when the system is off. then on again. “When everything was off, no steering assist it felt normal. Back on now, it feels really bad again… I can barely go fast,” he said. “It’s still there. I don’t understand what caused it. Nothing weird happened coming in the pit box there, but it’s been there since I left the pit stall… Try to get it unstuck if that’s what it is.”.
Because of the time he has spent on pit road, Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota is already three laps down.
Ty Gibbs, meanwhile, keeps pushing for momentum. The 23-year-old driver of the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing led all 25 laps of Stage 1 at Sonoma, winning his second stage of the season. Earlier this year, Gibbs won his first Cup Series race at Bristol. He has also posted top-five finishes this season at Circuit of the Americas and Watkins Glen. and he finished seventh at Sonoma last year.
Christopher Bell finished second in the stage. and he did it with a cast on his left wrist for the third straight weekend. Bell is still fractured from a crash at Michigan three weeks ago. He started last weekend’s race at Naval Base Coronado but was relieved by Brent Crews at the first caution flag. At Sonoma. Bell told reporters this weekend he’s “going to try and race it. ” and when asked about the possibility of stepping out. he said. “I’m not getting out of this one.” Crews will still be on standby to relieve him.
One of the biggest swing factors for the race is how quickly problems show up—or how they don’t. Daniel Suarez made an unscheduled green-flag pit stop on Lap 15 after enduring issues with his tires. Suarez entered Sonoma with the pole position, but he faded to 32nd before the pit stop. The driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports has one win this season, taking the checkered flag at a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
On the other side of the track. Shane van Gisbergen is arriving with a record that makes Sunday hard to ignore. Many observers consider him the favorite, and his Sonoma resume is the reason. Van Gisbergen won at Sonoma last season. and he also won Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the same track.
A win on Sunday would tie him with AJ Allmendinger for the most all-time road or street course wins across NASCAR’s top three national touring series, at 14. At the Cup level, van Gisbergen has won six of the past eight road or street course races.
There’s also history in how he’s built that dominance. Despite crashing out at the Naval Base Coronado street course last week, the 37-year-old driver from New Zealand has remained a standout on road courses across his years in NASCAR.
The pressure isn’t limited to front-runners. Three drivers will start at the rear of the field when the green flag drops at Sonoma on Sunday because of unapproved adjustments after qualifying. Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones were moved to the back.
For Gragson, brake issues on Saturday created problems. Wallace crashed during qualifying and needed nose repairs. Jones’ team also had to fix damage from qualifying.
The lineup itself offers the kind of mix NASCAR fans expect at Sonoma, where positioning and comfort can change quickly. Ty Gibbs starts on the front line as the pole sitter for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, driving the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Carson Hocevar. also 23 and a winner earlier this season at Talladega. is second in qualifying for the second straight weekend. and he’ll start the No. 77.
Van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevrolet sits in the mix as well—along with drivers who’ve had their own milestones and setbacks this weekend.
Sunday’s broadcast and schedule are already set, but the race itself carries additional meaning. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, June 28 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The race will be broadcast on TNT and truTV, the first of five races to be broadcast by TNT Sports. Pre-race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the booth for the race broadcast. and Marty Smith anchoring pre- and post-race coverage alongside former drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray.
The race can also be streamed on HBO Max, including individual in-car camera views.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is 110 laps around the 1.99-mile track, for a total of 218.9 miles. It is divided into three stages: Stage 1 at 25 laps, Stage 2 at 30 laps, and Stage 3 at 55 laps.
Last year’s winner—van Gisbergen—returns with a storyline that still matters. He won at Sonoma last season as his third of five victories in his first full-time season in the Cup Series. Van Gisbergen led 97 laps, breaking the previous track record of 92 set by Jeff Gordon in 2004. Coming out of a restart with six laps to go. he cleared Chase Briscoe on the third turn and pulled away.
With that backdrop, Sunday also marks the start of NASCAR’s $1 million In-Season Challenge. For the second consecutive year. drivers will face off in a bracket-style competition over the course of five races beginning at Sonoma. The team of the winning driver is awarded a prize of $1 million. Drivers advance by finishing ahead of the opponent they are matched up with. and the winner will be crowned at the Brickyard 400 on July 26. Ty Gibbs won the challenge last season, besting Ty Dillon in the final.
Before the engines fired at Sonoma, Dusty Baker gave the command around 3:38 p.m. ET. Baker—who made two all-star teams with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a player and was a three-time NL Manager of the Year with the San Francisco Giants—sporting a 23XI Racing shirt. His niece Sydnei Fryson is the public relations rep for Bubba Wallace.
Beyond racing performance, Sonoma is also honoring Kyle Busch. NASCAR tracks are continuing to honor the late Kyle Busch, who died on May 21 at age 41. Busch passed away due to complications from severe bacterial pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. leading to hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation. according to his death certificate. Sonoma Raceway has Busch’s black No. 8 printed on the track this weekend. and it also put his stylized number and signature on the wall at the eighth turn. Sonoma has added Busch to the track’s Wall of Fame.
Busch’s legacy at Sonoma is substantial: he was a two-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR’s all-time leader in wins across its top three touring series with 234. He captured three victories at Sonoma in his career—Cup Series races in 2008 and 2015, and a Truck Series race in 2022. Busch also holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win at 19.
What’s clear as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 begins is that Sunday’s outcome won’t hinge on one story alone. Gibbs’ stage dominance sets the pace. but Reddick’s steering problem and Bell’s injured wrist add volatility to the race’s middle and later stretches. With the In-Season Challenge beginning at Sonoma and eight races remaining before the Chase. it’s a day where small mechanical differences can become loud.
And for drivers already moved to the rear—Gragson, Wallace and Jones—the race will be as much about survival as it is about strategy. The green flag doesn’t wait for repairs. Sonoma has a way of turning every problem into a timeline.
NASCAR Sonoma Raceway Toyota/Save Mart 350 Tyler Reddick Denny Hamlin Ty Gibbs Shane van Gisbergen Christopher Bell TNT Sports In-Season Challenge HBO Max
Sonoma always has some drama lol. Power steering and wrecks, what else.
So Tyler Reddick has a steering issue and they’re still calling him points leader?? Like how is that even fair. Also Christopher Bell hurt his wrist? NASCAR just needs to stop these injuries.
Wait, I thought Ty Gibbs already won? The article says he “wired the opening stage” and led every lap of the 25, but then Reddick fell apart. I’m confused like who actually ended up leading at the end. Also the TNT Sports Cup window thing sounds like a TV promo not a race thing.
In when it says $1 million like is that for the winner or for whoever picks the right strategy? Because if Reddick’s steering is messed up, that’s basically the whole race right there. And wrist injuries??? Bell’s gonna be slamming the wheel with one hand? idk, sounds dangerous. Sonoma is brutal every time, they never should’ve changed anything.