The Sonoma Raceway Cup Series starting lineup will feature a pair of young drivers on the front row on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET on TNT).
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Ty Gibbs, 23, won the pole for the first time this season. He posted a lap of 74.829 seconds at the Northern California road course. This marked his first pole win since 2024 and the third of his career. He has started inside the top 10 in all four Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway.
Carson Hocevar, also 23, qualified second at Sonoma Raceway with a lap of 74.854 seconds. Hocevar also started second last weekend at Naval Base Coronado.
MORE: Sonoma Cup Series starting lineup
"Tomorrow is a whole different program," Gibbs said after qualifying. "You're going to be a lot easier on the car instead of hammering it, like in qualifying. So, it's just completely different.
"You could be on the pole today and suck tomorrow. You just have to be really focused on the race and that's the most important part. We'll stick to that."
The rest of the top 10 included Kyle Larson (74.870), Michael McDowell (74.877), Ross Chastain (74.913), Shane van Gisbergen (74.914), Chase Briscoe (74.984), AJ Allmendinger (75.045), Denny Hamlin (75.052), and Joey Logano (75.085).
Christopher Bell, who continues to recover from a fractured left wrist, qualified 14th with a lap of 75.366 seconds. He told media members that he will plan to complete the entire race instead of letting reserve driver Brent Crews take over the No. 20 Toyota.
Bubba Wallace had a fast lap going during the qualifying session. He posted one lap at 75.887 seconds and then he went to start another and improve upon him time. However, he lost control between Turns 10 and 11 at Sonoma Raceway. He slammed the nose of the No. 23 Toyota into the wall.
Bubba Wallace crashes into the wall during the Sonoma qualifying session 😳 pic.twitter.com/Nk9N21HTI3
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) June 27, 2026
The car bounced into the air and then took heavy front end damage. This ended Wallace's session and created questions about how the team would approach Sunday.
According to The Athletic, the team worked on making repairs to the car instead of pulling out the backup.
The Cup Series race at Sonoma will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. TNT will provide coverage for the first time this season with Adam Alexander, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the booth.
