#NASCAR / #ARCA Race Recap (Sonoma)
Winners: Shane van Gisbergen
(Cup); Connor Zilisch (Xfinity); plus William Sawalich (ARCA)
NASCAR Cup
Shane van Gisbergen Dominates, Lands Back-to-Back Wins
Shane van Gisbergen powered to his third victory of the NASCAR Cup Series season, surviving a flurry of late caution periods and turning in another dominant road-course performance Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway.
Van Gisbergen’s No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet led 97 of the 110 laps in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and secured a 1.128-second margin of victory at the checkered flag. His first win at the 1.99-mile California circuit was the fourth of his Cup Series career.
Van Gisbergen has now won three of the last five Cup Series races, including back-to-back victories after last weekend’s triumph in the Chicago Street Race. Sunday’s win ties him for the series lead this season with fellow three-time winners Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.
“Awesome job, boys,” the No. 88 crew told SVG on the team radio after the checkers. “Awesome job. What a run we’re on.”
“We had an amazing car,” van Gisbergen said. “Chase Briscoe, what a great racer and gave me respect. Jumped the last (restart) a little bit, and it was pretty tense, but amazing. So stoked for Red Bull, Trackhouse, Chevy. I believe we had a really fun weekend here, some great races, and I hope everyone enjoyed that.”
Pole: Shane van Gisbergen
Click Here for Race Results
Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Xfinity
Connor Zilisch Holds Off van Gisbergen for Epic Xfinity Win
In closing laps of the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway, the pupil schooled the master.
Taking shot after shot from JR Motorsports teammate Shane van Gisbergen over the final two laps, Connor Zilisch held off the more experienced driver to claim his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season and the fourth of his career.
In what was a two-driver show from start to finish, Zilisch and van Gisbergen, the pole winner, combined to lead 70 of the 79 laps, surrendering the top spot only when they short-pitted the first and second stages to recover track position at the stage breaks.
“First, hats off to Shane,” Zilisch said after climbing from his car. “That was awesome. All race long, I felt like we were racing each other with respect. I wheel-hopped a little bit in Turn 7 one time and got into him. Otherwise, it was awesome to get to race against him finally and battle with him the whole race long.”
“It’s always the hardest trying to save fuel while someone’s breathing down your neck,” Zilisch said. “There was a chance that he could have gotten by me when he hit me, but he let me have it and raced me clean. I respect the hell out of him for that, and I’m looking forward to racing against him more.
“We’re going to race each other at Watkins Glen, and that’s one of my favorite tracks, so I hope I can beat him again there.”
Pole: Shane van Gisbergen
Click Here for Race Results
Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, July 19,2025 at 4:30 pm ET for the BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Trucks
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Did Not Race
Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:00 pm ET for the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
ARCA
William Sawalich Wins a Wine Country Thriller at Sonoma Raceway
For most of Friday’s General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway, William Sawalich re-established the dominant form he enjoyed during his time on the ARCA Menards Series platform.
A one-lap shootout forced Sawalich to dig in and fight for a trip to Victory Lane at the 1.990-mile road course. After Alon Day moved him off track in Turn 1, Sawalich regrouped and gave chase as Day battled Christian Eckes for the race lead.
The pursuit lasted until the final corner, when Day attempted to pass Eckes on the outside while Sawalich drove underneath both. Eckes refused to surrender the top spot to Sawalich, with the two exchanging contact multiple times as they hustled towards the checkered flag.
Sawalich prevailed over Eckes by only .066 seconds, earning the hardest wire-to-wire victory of his career.
“That was definitely our race, but it sucks it had to happen that way,” Sawalich said. “We did what we could to get our Starkey Camry in Victory Lane, so I’m glad that we’re here. It took me a while to figure out how to do a burnout. “
Pole: William Sawalich
Click Here for Race Results
Next Race: The ARCA Series / ARCA Menards Series East will return on Friday, July 18, 2025 at 5 p.m. ET for the General Tire 150 at Dover Motor Speedway.
