JR Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series Preview: Sonoma Raceway

TRACK – Sonoma Raceway (1.99-mile road course)
NXS RACE – Pit Boss/Food Maxx 250 (79 laps / 156.95 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 4:30 p.m. (ET)

Carson Kvapil will head west to wine country for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Sonoma Raceway.
Kvapil currently has two road-course starts in the NXS where he has led 12 combined laps and captured his first stage win in Mexico City.
The 22-year-old rookie currently ranks third in fastest drivers late in a run according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics.
Justin Allgaier returns to Northern California this weekend for his third start at Sonoma. He has finished in the top-10 in both previous starts.
In addition to his two NXS starts, Allgaier made consecutive NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 1.99-mile road-course in 2014 and 2015.
After 18 NXS starts in the 2025 season, Allgaier currently ranks first in driver rating, laps led, green-flag speed and fastest laps run according to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
Sammy Smith has two NXS career starts at Sonoma and scored a top-10 finish his first time there in 2023.
Smith has 16 road-course starts with the NXS. Of those he has tallied three top-five and six top-10 finishes.
According to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics for the NXS at Sonoma, Smith leads the series with the most quality passes (32).
Pilot will share the TV panel with Cheema Freightlines LLC, a trucking company originating in Lathrop, Calif. which is dedicated to delivering excellence for its customers since 2006.
Shane van Gisbergen will make his second NXS start on the streets of Chicago this weekend, piloting the No. 9 WeatherTech/Red Bull Chevrolet for the first time this season. Van Gisbergen is on a quest for his second Chicago NXS win. He also won the NASCAR Cup Series race there in 2023.
Shane van Gisbergen will make his second NXS start at Sonoma this Saturday piloting the No. 9 Quad Lock Chevrolet for the first time this season. Van Gisbergen is on a quest for his second Sonoma NXS win in back-to-back seasons.
Last year at Sonoma, Van Gisbergen started from the pole position, led 32 laps and secured his second NXS career win.
Last weekend at Chicago, Van Gisbergen secured his fourth career NXS pole position and claimed his first NXS win of the season. It was his second series win on the streets of Chicago.
Van Gisbergen went on to win the Chicago NASCAR Cup Series race from the pole position on Sunday, making him the first driver since Kyle Busch at Indianapolis in 2016 to sweep pole and race wins in both the Xfinity and Cup races at the same track on the same weekend.
Connor Zilisch will be making his first Sonoma start in the NXS on Saturday afternoon. Zilisch finished second last week at the Chicago Street Course, his sixth consecutive top-five. In 17 starts this season, Zilisch has seven top-fives and nine top-10 finishes. He leads all NXS drivers with four pole positions this season – no other driver has more than two.
Zilisch led once for 11 laps at Chicago and has now led 283 laps total this season.
The driver of the Roto-Rooter Chevrolet is the only NXS regular to win on a road/street course entering Sonoma. He has finished in the top-five in all three road/street races this season for an average finish of 2.66. His 120 points scored on road and street courses this season is second-best in the series.
Zilisch enters Sonoma fifth in the NXS driver standings, 10 points behind fourth-place Jesse Love and 60 ahead of sixth-place. He enters Sonoma as the third seed in Xfinity Series Playoffs.

Carson Kvapil: “We’ve had speed at road courses so far this year, so I know this No. 1 team will unload another fast Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet this weekend. Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and I have been working hard in the sim to make sure I am prepared when we hit the track for practice on Friday. Hopefully we can keep our nose clean and be up front when it counts to get this team along with Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies the finish they deserve.”

Justin Allgaier: “This No. 7 team has come home with strong finishes at Sonoma these past two years, so I am confident we will unload another fast BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet this weekend. This is such a unique road course that keeps you on your toes, so hopefully we can stay out of the mess and keep all four tires on the course. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and this whole team have been working hard every week and I am ready to get another great finish for everyone at BRANDT Professional Agriculture.”

Sammy Smith: “We had a fast Allstate Peterbilt Chevrolet last week in Chicago, but that last restart just didn’t do us any favors so I’m looking forward to Sonoma this weekend to redeem ourselves. As a series, we haven’t raced much at Sonoma but JR Motorsports has always brought competitive cars so I know we’ll have another shot at it this weekend with our No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet and Cheema on board.”

Shane Van Gisbergen: “Last weekend was epic! JRM built me a rocket and I’m glad our strategy ended up working out and we were able to get the win. I’m a lucky guy to be able to drive some fast Chevrolets. Looking forward to Sonoma this weekend. It’s an awesome track and I had a blast racing there last season and even brought home the win. Hoping to do it again this weekend for my No. 9 JRM team.”

Connor Zilisch: “Sonoma is one of the most beautiful tracks with a lot of elevation. There’s a lot of opportunity to make up time and the driver can make a difference, which is something I really enjoy. This No. 88 team has been on fire with six top-fives in a row entering this weekend and I’m looking forward to backing up that momentum with Roto-Rooter.”

RM Team Updates

JR Motorsports at Sonoma Raceway: JR Motorsports has competed at Sonoma Raceway a combined 8 times in the NXS since 2023. In those starts at the 1.99-mile road course, the organization has recorded one top-five and four top-10s. The average finish is 18.9.
Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Connor Zilisch will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS-Byron/Bowman souvenir rig on Saturday, July 12 from 11:05 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. PT.