NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

 

Wow! The racing at Naval Base Coronado did not disappoint. The two-year buildup was well-deserved. 

It was amazing to watch Corey Heim get his first Cup Series win. He certainly proved that he is Cup-worthy. This week, we're road racing at Sonoma Raceway. SVG has the pole for today's O'Reilly race, but will he start in the front row for Cup? What can we expect from Connor Zilisch this week? 

 

Check the Skirts and Scuffs Facebook page this weekend for our photo album of last weekend's live coverage from Coronado.

 

This Week's Pick Strategy: Sonoma is unique compared to other road-race tracks and has a lot of short-track characteristics. In comparison to the street-course race at Coronado last week, it will be warmer this week which will make the track slick. The elevation changes and passing zones will play into the hands of wheelmen who know how to adjust their lines to run toward the front.

My roster will feature veteran drivers who excel at road course racing, my Sonoma go-tos, and one or two short-track elites. Oh, and yes, SVG should be on your roster as well. I will watch practice to see which drivers rise to the top and weigh heavily on the top five drivers in the lineup for my final picks.

Active Cup Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race and Track
Chase Elliott- 5  

Both with 4 - Michael McDowell and Ross Chastain
All with 3 - Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney

Active Cup Drivers with Most Top 3s (Last 5 Years):
All with 2 - Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, and Michael McDowell

 

Top 5 Sonoma Active Cup Driver Ratings

Shane van Gisbergen	149.3
Chase Elliott	109.8
Kyle Larson	106.9
Chris Buescher	103.6
Michael McDowell	97.0

Driver Ratings compiled from 2021-2025 races (5 total)  

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

 

Last Year's Pole Winner and Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen 

The Likely Suspects: My Sonoma elite drivers include Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick.

My 2 Cents: This week's no-brainer pick is Shane van Gisbergen. My next picks are Chase Elliott,  Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain. I will round out my team with AJ Allmendiner and Connor Zilisch.

My Final Four: Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Ryan Preece. He finished 11th last week at Coronado, tying Allmendinger for the most points earned. (Since Corey Heim is racing part-time as a 23XI developmental driver this year, he did not earn points for his win.) Preece's best finish in Sonoma is 12th, but his 18.6 average finish here ranks as his best among active road courses with multiple starts. In his last three starts at Sonoma, Preece's average finish is 14.3, which is 0.4 better than Kyle Larson's. Could Sunday be another back-to-back solid weekend for Preece? Or can he take the checkered flag? Stay tuned.  

 

Points to Ponder:

• Kyle Larson leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Sonoma Raceway with four (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).
• William Byron leads all active drivers in road course poles in the NASCAR Cup Series with five (Charlotte ROVAL 2019, Road America 2021, Indianapolis R.C. 2021, COTA 2023 and 2024). 
• Kyle Larson (2021, 2024) leads all active drivers in wins at Sonoma Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series with two victories.  
• The pole or first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more wins (seven) than any other starting position at Sonoma Raceway. 
• Six different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway, led by Chevrolet with 15 victories, followed by Ford with eight, and Toyota with seven. 
• Five drivers are tied for the lead among active drivers in the Cup Series in runner-up finishes at Sonoma Raceway: Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell. 
• Chase Elliott leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Top 5 finishes at Sonoma with five, and he leads in average finishes at Sonoma with a 12.143 in seven starts.
• Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Top 10s at Sonoma with seven each. 
• Denny Hamlin leads all active Cup Series drivers in laps led at Sonoma Raceway (eighth-most all-time) with 135 laps led out of 1,791 laps completed (8%) in 19 Sonoma Raceway starts. 
• Shane Van Gisbergen led the most laps at Sonoma Raceway in a single NASCAR Cup Series race and won with 97 laps led of the scheduled 110 laps (88.1%) on June 13, 2025.

If you are playing Driver Group Game, remember to make your partial picks by 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 27th and your final picks by 3:30 p.m. ET on race day, Sunday, June 28th.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 19 years. She launched NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.