Here we go again. Shane van Gisbergen, the heavy pre-race favorite, has won the pole for Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, the 1.99-mile, 12-turn road course north of San Francisco.
He toured the course in just over 74 seconds, averaging just over 96 mph, both were a blink faster than Chase Briscoe, who was looking for his fifth pole of the year.
Sounding familiar?
SVG swept the entire Xfinity-Cup weekend last week in Chicago, winning both poles and both races.
Yet again Saturday, he opened the day by winning the pole for the Xfinity Series race later this afternoon.
The last pole sitter to win at Sonoma was Kyle Larson in 2021, when the lineup was set by statistical data.
Sonoma is the second straight road-course race, following the Chicago Street Race last week, and the fourth of the season. Two more remain: Watkins Glen in August and the Charlotte Roval in October during the playoffs’ Round of 12.
Sonoma has been part of the NASCAR schedule since 1989, when it replaced a fellow California road course — Riverside Raceway. Nearly every Sonoma NASCAR record is held by Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, including most wins (five), top-10s (18) and poles (five).
Larson is the only current racer with multiple Sonoma wins. He has two, including last year.
Watch NASCAR live on Sling TV
NASCAR lineup for Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma
How to watch NASCAR race at Sonoma
Saturday: Xfinity Series, Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250, 4:30 p.m. (CW).
Sunday: Cup Series, Toyota/Save Mart 350 (TNT).
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR qualifying results: Starting lineup set for Sunday race in Sonoma on TNT
Reporting by Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
