Sonoma Toyota / Save Mart 350 NASCAR Practice Notes

Sonoma Group 1 Driver Practice Notes

Shane van Gisbergen – Shane van Gisbergen has a rocket once again this week. In Group 1, SVG had the best overall speed and the best 5-lap average. Late in practice, SVG reported that it felt like he had a loose wheel. SVG said he wasn’t happy with his car and said it was worse than last year. In an interview following Group 1, he said it was the same as last year. He said they have some work to do to make it better. “It’s not bad, but we definitely need improvement for longer runs, but the short run was OK.”

Erik Jones – Early in Group 1, Erik Jones had an off-roading moment. A few minutes later, he had another and got into a wall and got some damage. “Just really, really free. Hard to make laps. Nothing in the back. Forward drive is okay. Just lateral.”

Christopher Bell – Christopher Bell plans to run the full race on Sunday. In Group 1 Bell had the 8th best 5-lap average. Late in practice, Bell reported something felt strange with a rear tire of his. Following practice, it was reported that he had a loose wheel.

William Byron – William Byron looked good in Group 1. Byron had the 2nd best overall speed, the 2nd best 5-lap average and the best 10-lap average in Group 1. Byron did a 15-lap run in practice so he should have a good feel for his car. He said his car felt good. “Ride quality is phenomenal here for the first time in the Next Gen car.”

Connor Zilisch – In Group 1, Zilisch had the 4th best overall speed and the 3rd best 5-lap average. Zilisch said he didn’t have good rear grip later in practice and his rear tires were chattering. “We definitely have a little bit of work to do. I wasn’t too happy with it, but we’ll go make some changes and we’ll see what we’ve got for Sunday.”