Shane van Gisbergen proved once again why he is the man to beat on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series.
On Sunday at the Sonoma Raceway, SVG fended off Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe to claim the victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. It was SVG’s second win of 2026, second at Sonoma, and eighth career win overall.
The New Zealand native has now won seven of the last nine road course races. Briscoe finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs in third, Kyle Larson in fourth, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five.
SVG fended off Briscoe at Sonoma
In the waning laps at Sonoma, Briscoe was putting the pressure on SVG.
The driver of the No. 19 closed the gap to as little as under a second as SVG took the white flag. As the two leaders dove into the final corner, Briscoe attempted to get to the back bumper of the race leader.
Unfortunately for Briscoe, the late-race charge was not enough, as SVG cleared the final corner and went on to take the checkered flag.
The win was a bounce back for SVG after crashing out last week at San Diego, ending his chances of another road course triumph in heartbreaking fashion.
Josh Berry spun out during the final stage, the only caution for cause. The race saw three cautions, two being for stages.
Ty Gibbs sweeps stages at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs started on the pole and led the field to the green flag. The driver of the No. 54 paced the field for all 25 laps of the first stage en route to victory, fending off challenges from Michael McDowell and Shane van Gisbergen.
SVG cycled to the front after pitting prior to the end of stage one. The Trackhouse Racing driver was in command for much of the second stage, leading 25 laps and gaining an advantage of over 10 seconds.
However, SVG elected to pit prior to the end of stage two. This gave way for Gibbs to regain control and win the second stage. Christopher Bell placed second, followed by A.J. Allmendinger in third, Austin Cindric in fourth, and Ross Chastain in fifth.
Denny Hamlin takes points lead heading into Chicagoland
At the halfway point of the 2026 Cup Series season, there is a new points leader.
Tyler Reddick was in command of the points lead through the first 17 races of 2026. Now, it is Denny Hamlin who took over the points lead after Sonoma, holding a scant one-point advantage over Reddick.
Ryan Blaney sits third in the standings, 104 behind the points leader. Fourth is Ty Gibbs (-130) and fifth is Kyle Larson (-148).
With his Sonoma victory, SVG leapt three spots in the standings from 17th to 14th. He is now 36 points above the cut line.
Ryan Preece sits 15th in the points standings, moving up a spot after his eighth-place result at Sonoma. Preece is 13 points above the cut line.
Austin Cindric is the final driver in The Chase with a 12-point advantage over Erik Jones, who is the first driver outside the 16-driver field.
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