TC Daily Pit Stop: Mayer Wins ARCA West Event at Sonoma; Blaney, Van Gisbergen Lead Cup and Xfinity Practices; Boris Said Crashes Hard
TC Daily Pit Stop: Mayer Wins ARCA West Event at Sonoma; Blaney, Van Gisbergen Lead Cup and Xfinity Practices; Boris Said Crashes Hard
TC Daily Pit Stop: Saturday, June 8, 2024
Sam Mayer Keeps It Cool And Collected, Wins General Tire 200
In a day full of ups and downs on the twists and turns of Sonoma Raceway, it was NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Sam Mayer hopping behind the wheel of the No. 23 SIGMA Performance Chevy and taking the win in the General Tire 200 from winning the pole.
“Car felt really good. We fought some balance issues early, but we made really good adjustments and fired off really good in that second half,” he said post-race. “Saving fuel there in ARCA, I never thought I’d do that. That was a lot of fun. Definitely put my skills to the test.”
Henderson, Las Vegas native Tyler Reif was able to make the most of his day and came home second and was able to hold the points lead over third-place finisher Sean Hingorani in the Jerry Pitts No. 5.
William Sawalich and Jack Wood rounded out the top-five.
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Ryan Blaney Posts Blistering Lap Time to Pace Cup Practice from Repaved Sonoma
After the heartbreak of last weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway, Ryan Blaney is rebounding with some serious pace in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Sonoma Raceway.
The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion posted a blistering lap in Friday’s 50-minute practice session at the 1.99-mile road course, clocking in at 73.202 seconds (97.866mph) to pace the session.
Ty Gibbs, who has found recent success on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series, was second quickest in the session, 0.028 seconds off the session-leading time set by Blaney.
Will Brown, making his NASCAR Cup Series debut for Richard Childress Racing was third, with Hendrick teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott rounding out the top-five.
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PRACTICE RESULTS
Shane Van Gisbergen Paces Xfinity Series Practice from Sonoma
Less than one week after picking up his maiden NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Portland International Raceway, Shane van Gisbergen appears to have this road course thing figured out.
Piloting the No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing, the three-time Supercars champion clocked in the fastest of the 39 drivers in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Sonoma.
Laying down a fast time of 75.290 seconds (95.152mph), Van Gisbergen led the Xfinity Series field by more than three-tenths of a second, with his closest competitor, Parker Kligerman, posting a lap of 75.599s / 94.763mph.
Ty Gibbs, a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup Series, ranked third in the session, driving the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love, both Xfinity Series regulars, completed the top five in the extended session.
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PRACTICE RESULTS
Video: Boris Said Crashes Hard in Xfinity Practice at Sonoma
It was a rough end of the day for veteran road racer Boris Said, who is piloting the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Said clipped a concrete barrier in Turn 1 on his 12th lap in the session.
The contact with the barrier obliterated his No. 17 machine.
Fortunately, the 61-year-old Said was able to walk away from the crash, and after being checked and released from the infield care center, he called the incident embarrassing.
“I mean, it’s just embarrassing to be honest with you,” Said explained in an interview on the FOX Sports App broadcast.