Sonoma Raceway 2025 NASCAR Track Profile

[Editor’s note: The following article is from Athlon Sports’ 2025 Racing Annual magazine. Order your copy online today, or buy one at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

Once a year for the past 35 years, the NASCAR Cup Series tour has gone west to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Sonoma, Calif. And in addition to enjoying Wine Country, the Cup drivers take to Sonoma Raceway, one of the most technical road courses on the schedule. For years, the 1.99-mile layout was one of only two times a year that Cup cars took right and left turns. Now, road courses are just as important as any other track type.

In 2024, Kyle Larson gapped the field late, beating Michael McDowell by 4.258 seconds to earn the victory. Larson is now tied with Kyle Busch for the most Sonoma wins among active drivers with two. Daniel Suarez is the only other active driver who has one after Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement from full-time competition.

Busch has the most top 5s (7) and top 10s (9) at Sonoma, but he has not won here since 2015. Still, Busch has finished in the top 5 in six of the last nine Sonoma races. He has the second-most laps led among active drivers with 133, trailing only Denny Hamlin’s 135.

Despite all of Hamlin’s laps led, Sonoma is a track where he has not won in his Cup career. In fact, Hamlin has finished outside the top 30 in all three Sonoma races in the Next Gen car.

Chase Elliott has the best average finish at Sonoma with 11.1, finishing top 5 in half of his eight starts. Elliott has also never won here.

Another winless driver, one who is usually up front, is Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing pilot has finished in the top 5 in all three Next Gen races here, posting an average finish of 3.0.

Sonoma Raceway track info

Site: Sonoma, California

Laps: 1.99-mile, 12-turn road course

Elevation change: 160 feet

2025 Date: July 13

Distance: 110 laps, 218.9 miles

2024 winner

Kyle Larson

Scouting report

Everyone enjoys racing at Sonoma and experiencing the sights around the greater San Francisco area. From a racing standpoint, everyone knows exactly what to expect and how to make speed. NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports have tried to make adjustments to the course here and there to prevent course-cutting – even once running the chute instead of the carousel just to try something different. The one experience every driver says they want is to run the race in the spring when the vegetation is green.