On the heels of the only points race in California in 2024, NASCAR is making its annual trip to Sonoma Raceway, June 7-9, and Toyota is looking to make it a big weekend. Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, Sheldon Creed and Brent Crews all took a moment to connect with the media, sharing thoughts and expectations for the races ahead.
Team Toyota has won 3 out of the last 5 NASCAR Cup Series races in wine country and hungry for more – especially Martin Truex Jr., who’s aiming to tie Jeff Gordon for the all-time wins record in Sonoma at five.
Coming off a massive win at the Coca-Cola 600, Joe Gibbs Racing’s C-Bell is ready to take that momentum and channel his winning energy into a victory at Sonoma and a sip of wine out of the famous Champion’s Goblet. “Honestly, I think you just get away with a lot more with the new pavement and the higher grip” says 2-time winner in the Cup Series in 2024 Christopher Bell.
Sonoma Raceway is one of the most unique road courses on the NASCAR circuit given it has the highest elevation change of any track on the schedule. Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club mentions “this is the most elevation change that you have over the course of the year with a lot of blind corners and a couple braking zones ... it’s definitely a different road course than what we have at the other places.”
In addition to the ever-popular NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 race on Sunday, June 9, the weekend also features the second-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 race on Saturday, June 8 and the ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 200 race on Friday, June 7. Sheldon Creed and Brent Crews answered questions from the media in preparation for the tall task of conquering the all-new Sonoma. Sheldon Creed says he’s going to “throw some of the notes out from last year, but with 50 minutes of practice there’s going to be a lot to learn tomorrow.”
The ARCA Menards Series West, along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series will feature up-and-coming drivers aspiring to make their way up the ranks and up to the Cup Series level. Brent Crews of the ARCA Series says “it’s definitely going to be different from last year ... it’s pretty much going to be a guessing game.”
Races will surely be exciting and you won’t want to miss the action on the weekend ahead.
Tickets are still available at SonomaRaceway.com or by calling (800) 870-RACE [7223], and kids receive free admission on Friday and Saturday and are just $10 on Sunday with a ticketed adult. Military discounts are available for single-day tickets, and the college student $25 offer is available for Sunday's race.
