Shane Van Gisbergen won the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday. He led 66 of 79 laps. He does not score points in this series.
Connor Zilisch finished second. He started 30th. He also does not score points.
The best eligible finisher was Brent Crews, who came third and will quietly collect his points and continue being 11th in the championship. Anthony Alfredo was fourth. Parker Retzlaff fifth. These are the people the race was actually for.
Van Gisbergen and Zilisch have now won 12 of the last 15 O'Reilly Series road course races between them. JR Motorsports cannot enter either of them in the standings. The trophies are real. The consequences, for the championship, are not.
Justin Allgaier finished 26th. He started eighth, ran all 79 laps, and finished 26th. He is still 207 points ahead of Jesse Love in the championship standings. Jesse Love closed 17 points on him at Sonoma. Love is now 207 back.
Allgaier has six wins. His average finish is 8.9. He has 12 top-5 finishes in 19 races. The championship is his to lose and he does not appear to be in the process of losing it, including on the days he finishes 26th.
Jeremy Clements made his 548th NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series start on Saturday. The all-time record. He has been doing this since 2004 with his own team. He finished 20th and received a footnote.
Ross Chastain's rear end failed on lap 29. Brad Perez withdrew pre-race with a fuel pump issue. The penalty report was routine.
The next race is July 4 at Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval, where Van Gisbergen's road course advantage will not apply. The championship contenders will race each other for points that count.
Allgaier will probably win that one too.