NASCAR Cup Qualifying at Sonoma. Know who will start from where

By Neha Dwivedi, Staff Writer

Heading into the final road course race of the NASCAR Cup Series season at Sonoma Raceway, expectations were sky-high for road racing ace Shane van Gisbergen. Fresh off sweeping both the pole and race win in Saturday’s O’Rielly Series event at Sonoma, many expected him to dominate qualifying for Sunday’s Cup race as well.

However, despite another strong effort, SVG could only secure the sixth starting position. While sixth is still an excellent place to begin on a technical road course, many fans had envisioned the New Zealander either claiming pole or at least locking down a front-row start given his reputation as one of the finest road-course racers in the field.

Instead, it was Ty Gibbs who stole the spotlight. Driving the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Gibbs wasn’t completely satisfied after his first qualifying lap and believed there was still more speed hidden in his car.

And his instincts proved correct. On his final attempt, he pieced together a near-perfect lap around the 1.99-mile, 11-turn Sonoma circuit, stopping the clock at 74.829 seconds with an average speed of 95.738 mph.

That effort earned him the Busch Light Pole Award, his first pole of the 2026 season, his first career road-course pole, and the third pole position of his Cup Series career.

Joining Gibbs on the front row is Carson Hocevar, who missed pole by the slimmest of margins, just 0.025 seconds. It also marks the second consecutive week Hocevar has qualified on the front row after lining up alongside SVG at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado.

Although the race ultimately ended with a 19th-place finish, another strong qualifying effort strengthens the pace set by the No. 77 team.

Lining up third is hometown favorite Kyle Larson, who has always enjoyed racing at Sonoma. The Elk Grove, California native already owns two wins at the circuit and once again displayed impressive speed throughout the weekend.

Larson was among the quickest drivers during practice before backing it up in qualifying with a lap quick enough to secure the third starting position, putting himself firmly in contention for another hometown victory.

Starting alongside Larson on the second row is Michael McDowell, whose road-course record at Sonoma speaks for itself. McDowell has recorded top-five finishes in three of the last four Sonoma races, including a runner-up finish in 2024, making him one of the most dangerous contenders despite not starting on the front row.

Completing the top five is Ross Chastain, giving Chevrolet another strong presence near the front. Just behind him sits SVG in sixth, who remains one of the favorites despite narrowly missing out on the front rows. However, starting sixth still keeps him close enough to the leaders to attack early.

Further back, the opening round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge already presents an intriguing matchup, with Chase Briscoe qualifying seventh and AJ Allmendinger starting eighth.

Two accomplished road racers beginning side by side should make for an immediate battle once the green flag waves. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano rounded out the top ten, ensuring several championship contenders begin the race well inside striking distance.

Among the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, after Larson in third, William Byron qualified 13th despite running in the earlier qualifying group, while Chase Elliott will start from 18th.

Alex Bowman will start 22nd, leaving Hendrick with work to do if the team hopes to place multiple cars near the front by the end of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Here’s a list of the full qualifying order at Sonoma Raceway