Ryan Blaney set the pace during Friday’s practice session at Sonoma Raceway. Cup teams had 50 minutes to practice on the newly paved road course, resulting in significantly faster speeds. Blaney’s lap of 97.866 mph was over 6 mph quicker than last year’s best lap. Following Blaney was Ty Gibbs in second place with a top lap of 97.829 mph, and Will Brown in third with a lap of 97.617 mph, making his Cup debut in the No. 33 car for Richard Childress Racing.
Cup qualifying is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the race taking place on Sunday afternoon. A NASCAR Cup rookie is looking to showcase his skills and earn a ride for the 2025 season. In the Xfinity Series, Shane van Gisbergen led the way in practice with a top speed of 95.152 mph, followed by Parker Kligerman at 94.763 mph. Unfortunately, Boris Said crashed in the No. 17 car for Hendrick Motorsports during the session.
Xfinity qualifying is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the race set for 8 p.m. ET on the same day.