Sonoma Raceway announces Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence as the Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Cup race

NASCAR is headed to the 20th start of the season at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. Following that, the track official announced the name of the grand marshal for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race for July 13, 2025.

Sonoma Raceway officials named celebrity chef Tyler Florence as the grand marshal for the race. He will be delivering the iconic command "Drivers, start your engines" at the track. Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sonoma Raceway, Brian Flynn, also showcased his excitement over Florence becoming the grand marshal.

Reflecting on the news for the upcoming NASCAR race, Flynn stated (via JaySki.com):

“Tyler’s infectious energy and deep-rooted connection to Sonoma County makes him a perfect fit to be a part of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and celebrate NASCAR’s return to wine country."

Tyler Florence has deep ties with the Bay Area and Sonoma County. He was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and then spent two decades in Wine Country, becoming a well-recognized icon with his creative culinary skills.

The 54-year-old operates several restaurants in the Bay Area and is best known for Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco and Miller & Lux at Chase Center, where he showcases his fine American cuisine with a modern take. Florence has also hosted several television shows for over 25 years in his career.

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Qualifying order for the 2025 NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway

NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports Bob Pockrass recently shared the qualifying order for Sunday's race at Sonoma Raceway. The session will begin with Front Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland in Group A. On the other hand, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe will lead Group B.

Group A drivers:

1. No. 34 Todd Gilliland
2. No. 6 Brad Keselowski
3. No. 41 Cole Custer
4. No. 3 Austin Dillon
5. No. 4 Noah Gragson
6. No. 77 Carson Hocevar
7. No. 21 Josh Berry
8. No. 71 Michael McDowell
9. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
10. No. 51 Cody Ware
11. No. 99 Daniel Suarez
12. No. 24 William Byron
13. No. 7 Justin Haley
14. No. 78 Katherine Legge
15. No. 10 Ty Dillon
16. No. 23 Bubba Wallace
17. No. 2 Austin Cindric
18. No. 43 Erik Jones
19. No. 35 Riley Herbst

Group B drivers

1. No. 19 Chase Briscoe
2. No. 20 Christopher Bell
3. No. 38 Zane Smith
4. No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
5. No. 17 Chris Buescher
6. No. 9 Chase Elliott
7. No. 22 Joey Logano
8. No. 12 Ryan Blaney
9. No. 5 Kyle Larson
10. No. 1 Ross Chastain
11. No. 60 Ryan Preece
12. No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
13. No. 88 Shane van Gisbergen
14. No. 8 Kyle Busch
15. No. 48 Alex Bowman
16. No. 54 Ty Gibbs
17. No. 11 Denny Hamlin
18. No. 45 Tyler Reddick

TNT Sports, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 will broadcast the 110-lap Cup Series event live at 3:30 pm ET. Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson won last year's event at the track, leading 19 laps, and will aim to repeat the history this year too.