Last month, when NASCAR’s premier series made its debut in Mexico City, Shane Van Gisbergen (SVG) secured victory with the largest winning margin witnessed in the first Cup race there in over 15 years. He followed that up with another win on the Chicago Street Course last week, where both Xfinity and Cup races were held. The upcoming race at Sonoma sees SVG starting from pole position, but the question remains if anyone can rival his pace based on recent practice and qualifying performances.
In single-lap speed tests, General AJ and Your Cast were the only drivers faster than Van Gisbergen, qualifying fifth and sixth respectively. However, Sonoma is known for long green flag runs, making sustained speed throughout fuel stints critical for a race win. Austin Allmendinger posted the fastest average over five laps, while SVG led averages for both 10 and 15 laps. Although less than half the field ran many laps, these averages offered insights into who might contend for victory.
Over a 10-lap stint, SVG’s teammate Ross Chastain showed strong pace, averaging at two and a half tenths slower than Van Gisbergen and qualifying fourth on the grid. Chastain’s gap extended to nearly half a second over 15 laps. Christopher Bell demonstrated impressive endurance, ranking third on 10-lap averages and second on 15 laps, with a solid 10th place qualifying position.
Notably, Gibbs ranked among the top five drivers on both 10 and 15 laps, showing competitive speed close to SVG’s in recent races at Mexico City and Chicago. Despite his strong runs, Gibbs has yet to claim a Cup Series victory in his 106 starts. Kyle Larson, a defending Sonoma winner for Hendrick Motorsports, showed promise with a fifth-best 10-lap average and strong single-lap speed, though his qualifying was less competitive, finishing 11th overall.
Some drivers with less visible qualifying performance remain threats. Chris Buescher, with the highest average finish among the newer generation drivers at Sonoma, finished 14th despite placing 16th in qualifying and running few laps in practice. Chase Elliott, though never a winner at Sonoma, boasts four top-five and six top-ten finishes in eight starts and showed good speed, qualifying 13th. Michael McDowell, who almost dominated the Chicago race before a mechanical issue ended his day, has also posted top finishes at Sonoma, ending practice quietly and qualifying 15th.
[Embedded Video: SVG ‘shaken’ to capture back-to-back Cup Series pole awards]
Fan Take: Shane Van Gisbergen’s dominant speed and recent victories are shaking up the NASCAR Cup Series, bringing fresh excitement and highlighting the arrival of new talent. This shift could intensify competition and expand NASCAR’s appeal, particularly with more thrilling road course battles on the horizon.
