NASCAR at Sonoma 2026: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Toyota/Save Mart 350

NASCAR returns to the rolling hills of California’s wine country this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

Aside from 2020, NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series has raced annually at the 1.99-mile road course since 1989. This year’s race marks the start of TNT Sports’ broadcast window for Cup Series races and it is also the start of NASCAR’s $1 million In-Season Challenge.

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“I love kicking the in-season tournament off at Sonoma because I think we’ll have some upsets,” TNT broadcaster and former NASCAR crew chief Steve Letarte told USA TODAY Sports last week. “I know Sonoma is going to be electric. It always is. It has a very different feel, but it’ll be full of fans.”

Ty Gibbs is the pole sitter for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The 23-year-old driver of the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing won his first Cup Series race earlier this season, winning at Bristol. He has historically been a strong competitor on road courses. Gibbs has top-five finishes at Circuit of the Americas and Watkins Glen this season and was seventh at Sonoma last year.

Carson Hocevar — a fellow 23-year-old who also won his first Cup Series race this season at Talladega — was second in qualifying on Saturday for the second straight weekend.

Most observers of NASCAR though would consider Shane van Gisbergen to be the favorite on Sunday. The driver of the No. 97 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing won at Sonoma last season, and he also took the checkered flag in Saturday’s second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race.

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Despite crashing out at the Naval Base Coronado street course last week, the 37-year-old from New Zealand has been dominant on road courses in his handful of years in NASCAR. A win on Sunday would tie him with AJ Allmendinger for the most all-time road or street course wins across NASCAR’s top three national touring series at 14. At the Cup level, van Gisbergen has won six of the past eight road or street courses races.

Heading into Sunday at Sonoma — the 18th race of 36 on the schedule this season — Tyler Reddick holds a narrow eight-point lead over Denny Hamlin for the top spot in the standings. After Sonoma, just eight races remain until the postseason Chase begins.

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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners

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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners

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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners

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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners

Here’s everything you need to know about the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday:

What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma start?

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, June 28 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.

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What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma on?

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be broadcast on TNT and truTV. It’s the first of five races to be broadcast by TNT Sports. Pre-race coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in the booth for the race broadcast, while Marty Smith will anchor pre- and post-race coverage alongside former drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray.

Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?

Yes, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 can be streamed on HBO Max. Individual in-car cameras for drivers can also be viewed on HBO Max.

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How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma?

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is 110 laps around the 1.99-mile track for a total of 218.9 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 25 laps; Stage 2: 30 laps; Stage 3: 55 laps.

Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma last year?

Shane van Gisbergen won at Sonoma last season, his third of five victories last year in his first full-time season in the Cup Series. van Gisbergen led 97 laps at Sonoma, breaking the previous track record of 92 set by Jeff Gordon in 2004. Coming out of a restart with six laps to go, van Gisbergen cleared Chase Briscoe on the third turn and pulled away for the win. On Sunday, van Gisbergen has the chance to become the ninth driver in Cup Series history to win multiple races at Sonoma.

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What is the lineup for the Toyota/Save Mart 350?

(Car number in parentheses)

20. John Hunter Nemechek (42)

What is the NASCAR In-Season Challenge?

For the second consecutive year, drivers will face off in a bracket-style competition over the course of five races beginning at Sonoma. The team of the winning driver will be awarded a prize of $1 million. Drivers advance by simply finishing ahead of the opponent they are matched up with. The winner will be crowned at the Brickyard 400 on July 26. Ty Gibbs won the challenge last season, besting Ty Dillon in the final.

NASCAR news and notes for Sonoma

• AJ Allmendinger is making his 500th career start in the Cup Series on Sunday. The driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing is the 48th driver in Cup Series history to reach the 500-start milestone.

• Aside from Shane van Gisbergen, the only other active Cup Series drivers to win at Sonoma are Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez. Connor Zilisch, a rookie in the Cup Series this year, won the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts race at Sonoma last season.

• Christopher Bell is still wearing a cast on his left wrist after fracturing it during a high-speed crash at Michigan three weeks ago. Brent Crews will be standing by to relieve the driver of the No. 20 Toyota as he did last weekend at the Naval Base Coronado street course.

Kyle Busch tribute at 2026 Sonoma NASCAR race

NASCAR tracks are continuing to honor the late Kyle Busch, whose death on May 21 at the age of 41 shocked the racing community. Busch passed away due to complications from severe bacterial pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, leading to hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation, according to his death certificate.