The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be staying in the road course groove as it heads to Sonoma Raceway for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 on Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, after coming off a wild one at Portland International Raceway road course last weekend.
This will be the second time the Xfinity Series has competed on the Sonoma, California 1.99-mile course. The first was last season in a race that saw Aric Almirola take the checkered flag over road course ringer A.J. Allmendinger by a mere 1.868 seconds.
Although Almirola was the first to land himself in Victory Lane at the 12-turn Sonoma circuit, it was Kyle Larson who won the pole with a speed of 91.393 mph.
Neither driver is entered in this weekend’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 so we will see a new pole sitter and race winner at Sonoma Raceway.
Xfinity Series drivers will kick off their weekend with practice at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday, June 7, which will air on FS1 at 5 p.m. ET. Qualifying will be the following day at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS2.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250
The Place: Sonoma Raceway
Track Length: 1.99 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Saturday, June 8
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,747,861
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 156.95 miles (79 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 45), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 79)
Different Winners Streak: Can Van Gisbergen go back-to-back?
To no one’s surprise, New Zealander and former V8 Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen, now driving for Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, showed his road course prowess last weekend at Portland International Raceway and secured his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win, locking himself into the Playoffs. Van Gisbergen is the 11th different driver to win in the Xfinity Series this season and the seventh consecutive different winner in as many races. Now, the 35-year-old is looking to ride the wave of momentum from his victory to Sonoma Raceway and keep the winning ways going this weekend.
If van Gisbergen were to win this weekend, he would not only end the streak of different winners, but also join Austin Hill as just the second driver this season to win consecutive Xfinity Series races this year.
And for those that don’t know, van Gisbergen’s win last weekend made him the seventh different foreign-born driver to win a race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series all-time (1982-2024), joining Daniel Suarez (Mexico), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil), Juan Pablo Montoya (Columbia), Ron Fellows (Canada) and Larry Pollard (Canada).
Masters of Xfinity Series road racing
The all-time NASCAR Xfinity Series road course winners list was extended to 41 drivers last weekend after Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen grabbed his first career win at Portland International Raceway. Now, the Xfinity Series teams have turned their focus on this week’s Sonoma Raceway, the second of six road courses on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule this season. Of the 41 all-time Xfinity road course winners, eight are entered this weekend in the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 on June 8.
| Active Xfinity Road Course Winners | Xfinity Road & Street Course Wins |
| AJ Allmendinger | 11 |
| Ty Gibbs | 4 |
| Justin Allgaier | 3 |
| Sam Mayer | 3 |
| Cole Custer | 2 |
| Boris Said | 1 |
| Shane Van Gisbergen | 1 |
| Jeremy Clements | 1 |
| Tracks | Active Road Course Winners This Weekend by Track |
| Watkins Glen International | Sam Mayer (1), Ty Gibbs (1) |
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway RC | AJ Allmendinger (1), Ty Gibbs (1) |
| Charlotte ROVAL | AJ Allmendinger (4), Sam Mayer (1) |
| Road America | AJ Allmendinger (1), Sam Mayer (1), Jeremy Clements (1), Justin Allgaier (1), Ty Gibbs (1) |
| Circuit of The Americas | AJ Allmendinger (2) |
| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Montreal) | Boris Said (1), Justin Allgaier (1) |
| Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | AJ Allmendinger (2), Justin Allgaier (1) |
| Portland International Raceway | AJ Allmendinger (1), Cole Custer (1), Shane van Gisbergen (1) |
| Daytona Road Course | Ty Gibbs (1) |
| Chicago Street Race | Cole Custer (1) |
| Sonoma Raceway | None |
Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger heads to Sonoma looking to avenge his runner-up finish in last year’s race. They don’t call him the king of road courses for nothing as he currently leads the Xfinity Series record with 11 victories on road courses. This year, in the first two road course races at COTA and Portland, he’s finished 10th and fourth, respectively.
In search of his second win of the season, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer looks to continue to show how he has become one of the premier road course ringers in the series. Last season he posted wins on three out of the eight road courses on the schedule (Road America, Watkins Glen, Charlotte ROVAL). On this season’s road courses, he posted a ninth-place finish at COTA and won the pole at Portland.
While still searching for his first career win on a road course, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill could finally get over the hump this weekend. Last season, he posted top-five finishes on four out of the eight road courses on the schedule (Portland, Chicago, Road America, Indianapolis Road Course) and top-10 finishes on two others (Sonoma, Charlotte Road Course). Hill came close to posting his first road course victory at COTA earlier this season, taking home a runner-up finish.
Playoff picture tightens up after Portland
With a win by Shane van Gisbergen last weekend at Portland, another spot in the Playoffs has been filled. So far, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer and Shane van Gisbergen have clinched their way into the postseason by virtue of their wins, leaving just six spots up for grabs.
Let’s take a look at how the field is shaping up as it heads into week 14 of the 2024 season:
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Projection Following Portland International Raceway – 6/1/2024 | |||||||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | +/- Cutoff |
| 1 | Austin Hill | 457 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 12 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Chandler Smith | 457 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 13 | |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | 452 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 15 | |
| 4 | Jesse Love # | 402 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |
| 5 | Sam Mayer | 305 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6 | Shane van Gisbergen # | 303 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 7 | Cole Custer | 475 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 167 |
| 8 | AJ Allmendinger | 380 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| 9 | Riley Herbst | 378 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 70 |
| 10 | Sheldon Creed | 354 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| 11 | Parker Kligerman | 342 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 |
| 12 | Sammy Smith | 328 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 13 | Ryan Sieg | 308 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -20 |
| 14 | Brandon Jones | 305 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -23 |
| 15 | Anthony Alfredo | 296 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -32 |
| 16 | Parker Retzlaff | 242 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -86 |
| 17 | Brennan Poole | 240 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -88 |
| 18 | Josh Williams | 219 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -109 |
| 19 | Jeremy Clements | 197 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -131 |
| 20 | Leland Honeyman # | 195 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -133 |
| 21 | Kyle Weatherman | 188 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -140 |
| 22 | Jeb Burton | 176 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -152 |
| 23 | Ryan Ellis | 171 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -157 |
| 24 | Blaine Perkins | 146 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -182 |
| 25 | Hailie Deegan # | 143 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -185 |
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Double duty drivers at Sonoma – A couple drivers will be looking to get some extra seat time this weekend at Sonoma Raceway – Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek.
Gibbs will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for his third Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season. He ran at Sonoma last season in the series, posting a fourth-place finish.
Nemechek will be joining Joe Gibbs Racing behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota for his seventh Xfinity Series start of the season. He ran in the inaugural Xfinity Series Sonoma race last season, posting a 16th-place finish.
Said Heads Unite! Boris Said returns to NASCAR with Hendrick Motorsports – Veteran road racing ace Boris Said will be making his triumphant return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend at Sonoma Raceway driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Said, from Carlsbad, California, will be making his first series start since driving the No. 13 for Carl Long at COTA in 2021.
Though, Said has not competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Sonoma, he has made 17 NASCAR Cup Series start at the road course posting five top-10 finishes.
