Tag: Sonoma Raceway

2024 Sonoma Raceway: Larson makes late charge, wins Toyota/SaveMart 350

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Kyle Larson drinks wine in victory lane to celebrate winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 9. Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

By Tom Zulewski

SONOMA, Calif. – With a new track surface in full effect, the NASCAR Cup drivers had more than enough challenges on their plates as the Toyota/SaveMart 350 began at Sonoma Raceway. When winning time came, Kyle Larson found a way to get the job done and grab another road-course race win.

Driving his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Larson took the lead with nine laps to go and cruised to the victory at Sonoma on June 9, his second in the last four seasons.

The win was made possible when crew chief Cliff Daniels got the creative wheels turning as the laps clicked down. “We were completely off-script with the way we called the race, but that was fun,” Daniels said.

After the waiver to remain eligible to compete for his second Cup championship was granted by NASCAR less than 24 hours earlier, Larson had a pun for the gathered media. “My focus didn’t waiver. I’m trying to win races now.”

Call it superstition, call it fate, call it karma, but Larson gave a small chunk of credit to the sponsor on the hood of his No. 5 Chevy. “Every time we have Valvoline on the car, I feel like we’re really fast,” said Larson, who led twice for 19 laps on the day and had to pass a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr., who was searching for a record-tying fifth win at Sonoma. “When we said we had to go race and pass these guys, I got a bit nervous. …

Thankfully, we had enough grip and that Martin never got clear to where I could get stuck in third, and that really saved the race.” Truex ended up running out of gas less than 500 feet from the finish line, but managed to crawl the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota across and finish 27th, the last car on the lead lap, as the crowd chanted “go, go, go!”

Through Stage 2, there were eight cautions, tied for second-most all time (2005, 2021), one short of the record of nine set in 1990. When the final stage of 55 laps was run caution-free, it set the stage in motion for the chaos of the finish.

Michael McDowell didn’t lead a lap on the day, but had a car good enough to comfortably finish second, 4.258 seconds behind Larson. “Our race came unraveled when we had the accident (at lap 41) and had to come Chris Buescher had the best shot to hold on and grab his first road-course win, but couldn’t hold off Larson, who had 13 more laps on fresher tires, allowing him to take the lead for good with nine laps to go.

“We weren’t too nervous about the fuel,” said Buescher, who finished third. “It was a great strategy (to take tires when we did), and there were a lot of positives that came from it. Just didn’t have enough left to fight for the win. Buescher led 32 laps, all coming within Stage 3.

Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain completed the top five in the running order. Larson reclaimed the points lead by 14 over Elliott, and Denny Hamlin – who finished in last place (38th) at Sonoma for the second year in a row – fell two spots to third.

Tom Zuelweski covers Sonoma Raceway annually for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sonoma Raceway: Truex nails down fourth Sonoma win

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Martin Truex Jr. holds the trophy after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway, Sunday, June 11, 2023, in Sonoma, Calif. (AP News photo)

By Tom Zulewski

SONOMA – As good as Martin Truex Jr. has been at Sonoma Raceway, he didn’t win either of the first two stages on June 11. When it came down to winning the flag that mattered, Truex left no doubt how good he was.

Taking the lead away from Chase Elliott with 14 laps to go, Truex cruised to the checkered flag and won the Toyota/SaveMart 350 for the fourth time in his career. The driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing beat former teammate Kyle Busch by nearly three full seconds.

“We had some issues last year where we would show up at road courses and kind of outsmart ourselves,” said Truex, who led four times for a race-high 51 laps. ‘Reinvent the wheel, come up with some super-crazy trick setup because we knew our cars weren’t as good as the other manufacturers.”

After a 26th-place finish in last year’s Sonoma race, the offseason work on the road courses paid off in an impressive turnaround for Truex on Sunday.

“There’s a lot to this that’s really hard to explain,” he said. “Tons of work in the offseason on everything. Road courses and short tracks were a big focus for Toyota and JGR.”

As for racing and beating his former teammate, Truex gave Busch a full helping of respect.

“In 17 or 18 years, we’ve had maybe two run-ins where it was maybe ‘hey, I was stupid,’” Truex said. “We’ve had great races and finished 1-2 a lot of times. He’s great to race with and I’d race him any day of the week for a win.”

Busch led once for 17 laps and was able to take the lead from Truex after the first caution came out for an uncontrolled tire on pit road at lap 51, four laps before the end of Stage 2 in the 110-lap race. He held on to earn a playoff point ahead of Joey Logano, but In the final stage, Busch couldn’t catch Truex after the last restart.

Logano rallied after qualifying 17th to finish third.

“It’s a comeback from yesterday, for sure. We were awful,” Logano said. “I woke up this morning and thought a top-10 would feel pretty good. We were competitive, not the best car, but had good strategy and a little bit of luck.”

With his second win of the season and 33rd of his career, Truex moved into the points lead by 13 ahead of William Byron. Chris Buescher and Elliott completed the top five finishers.

Denny Hamlin qualified on the pole, led all of the first 32 laps and easily won Stage 1, but ran into trouble on lap 93 after a wreck near the starting line. He finished 36th.

The race had only two cautions for six laps, and the winner’s average speed was 81.989 mph around the 12-turn road course. The NASCAR Cup Series will be idle this week and return June 25 at Nashville Superspeedway.

NASCAR Sonoma 2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350 series: Suarez finds his groove, wins at Sonoma

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Nothing fine but the wine and a win at the NASCAR Sonoma Toyota/Save Mart 350 series as race car driver Daniel Suarez enjoys a post race beverage at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma on Sun Jun 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

Suarez finds his groove, wins at Sonoma

By Tom Zulewski

SONOMA – After 194 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series – including just two top-5 finishes in 2022 – Daniel Suarez was a driver in search of any good break he could find. When the third stage of the second road course race of the season was finished, Suarez earned his own slice of history.

Leading for 47 of the final 55 laps, Suarez won the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 12. The driver of the No. 99 Chievrolet for Trackhouse Racing earned hi s first Cup victory, became the second driver (Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007) to win his first race on a road course, and became just the fifth foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup race.

Suarez beat runner-up Chris Buescher – who returned to the No. 17 car after missing last week’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway due to COVID protocols – by nearly four full seconds.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Suarez said of his initial reaction to the moment after taking the checkered flag. “I’ve been working very hard for this moment not only for myself, but for my whole team. I’m very lucky to have great people around me.”

One of Suarez’ biggest supporters is his owner at Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks. Marks had the utmost confidence that a breakthrough and celebration in Victory Lane would happen.

“Daniel checked a lot of boxes for us right away,” Marks said. “He’s an experienced Cup driver and he’s won when he’s been in position to win with his XFINITY championship (2016) and his truck wins. He’s had a chip on his shoulder and wanted to prove he belonged in the Cup series.”

When he took the lead from Buescher as Stage 3 began, Suarez was finally able to crush the chip and leave no doubt he belongs in NASCAR’s top series. The only time Suarez wasn’t at the front of the 36-car field came when Brad Keselowski led for a three-lap stretch from Lap 82 through 84.

A debris caution allowed Suarez to move back in front, and he stayed there over the final 26 laps to secure the win as his red-shirt supporters cheered loudly from the grandstands.

With teammate Ross Chastain already in the win column from the EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in March, the confidence had more than enough carryover for Suarez, who qualified 8th for the Toyota/SaveMart 350.

“We came here with a lot of road-course confidence,” Suarez said. “We didn’t have the best car today, but I felt like we made the right calls and the results showed that.”

Suarez gave additional credit to team engineer Jose Velasco, who wasn’t able to be at Sonoma due to illness.

“He called me crying,” Suarez said of Velasco, who was at home in Mexico City. “He’s a big part of this team.”

In the final stretch that gave Suarez the win, no words were necessary.

“”I just tried to stay calm,” he said. “I wanted to do my thing and didn’t want too much noise on the radio. I was controlling what I could control, and fi the caution came out, I was going to fight again.”

After Buescher, Michael McDowell finished third, while Kevin Harvick and Austin Cindric completed the top five. The race had four cautions for 14 laps, and the winning average speed was 78.008 mph.

The NASCAR Cup Series is off for Father’s Day and will return to racing June 26 at Nashville SuperSpeedway.

NASCAR Sonoma Raceway: Larson survives chaos, wins at Sonoma

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The wine is just fine at the Sonoma Raceway where Kyle Larson celebrates the NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Sonoma Sun Jun 6, 2021 (AP News photo)

Larson survives chaos, wins at Sonoma

By Tom Zulewski

SONOMA, Calif. — Kyle Larson had a car that was untouchable as it zoomed around the Sonoma Raceway road course June 6. Several late restarts gave his challengers slivers of hope they could catch and pass him for the win.

With additional energy from his hometown crowd, Larson pulled through and continued to build on an increasingly successful 2021 season.

Larson survived a two-lap shootout, swept all three stages and took the checkered flag to win the Toyota/SaveMart 350. The Hendrick Motorsports driver won for the second straight week, earned his third win of the season, and gave team owner Rick Hendrick the company’s 270th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series since 1984.

A native of nearby Elk Grove, Larson had his toughest competition from Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott, who led for 13 laps and finished second.

“Stretching out from Chase and slowing down helped me learn the track,” said Larson, who tied Martin Truex Jr. for most wins on the 2021 season. “The car was unbelievable, and now we have some wins to show for it.”

Cycling through pit stops pushed Larson back at times during the race, but it didn’t take long for the No. 5 car to make up the deficit, no matter who was up front among seven different drivers. Crew chief Cliff Daniels was surprised at how good the car was, especially during the three late-race restarts.

“I didn’t expect to see us make up ground that quick,” Daniels said. “Kyle nailed all three restarts perfectly.”

Larson’s win pulled him within 47 points of leader Denny Hamlin, who finished eighth at Sonoma.

“I’ve had a few good weeks, won stages, and took some huge chunks off the deficit,” Larson said. “Just keep gaining stage points, run up front and be smooth.”

Facing his teammate in Elliott, it clearly wasn’t easy for Larson to finish the job, especially with the race extended to two overtime laps.

“I was hoping to get a better launch so I was clear into Turn 2, but lost a bit of front grip,” Larson said. “I couldn’t get to the gas as soon as I needed to, so Chase was able to stay close. I got better outbraking him into the corners, so I could pass pretty easily.”

With the sweep at Sonoma, Larson extended his Cup-best stage win total to 11, well out in front in the series. Martin Truex Jr., who was looking for a third straight win at Sonoma, finished third, Joey Logano finished fourth and Kyle Busch completed the top five.

The race was slowed by cautions eight times for 18 laps, and the winning average speed was 71.445 mph.

Sonoma Raceway: Truex keeps ahead of Busch for his fourth checkered flag

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photo from mercurynews.com: Martin Truex Jr celebrates winning the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday

By Tom Zulewski

SONOMA — As the laps wound down at the Toyota/SaveMart 350 on Sunday, Martin Truex Jr. didn’t have too much to worry about — until he found a mirror full of Kyle Busch, who was closing in fast. When the checkered flag fell, Truex had just enough to keep his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate at bay and win on the newly-expanded road course for the second year in a row.

The driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota took his fourth checkered flag of the 2019 season. “I was just trying to get all I could out of the car and not burn the tires up too much,” said Truex, who became the first repeat winner at Sonoma Raceway since Jeff Gordon won three straight from 1998-2000. “I knew Kyle pitted later than I did and had fresher tires. He was beating us pretty good for a while and I had to try and manage my car the best I could. If I could maintain a decent gap, we’d start to equal (lap times) out. “From there, it was run 10 perfect laps and don’t screw up.”

Truex Jr. stayed good enough to beat Busch by 1.861 seconds. Ryan Blaney came in third and Matt DiBenedetto had a career-best finish of fourth place. “It’s a little bit harder when you’re the leader,” Truex crew chief Cole Pearn said. “There are spots where you have to follow for a couple of corners, and you can lose three, four, five-tenths a lap. That’s enough to close and get a dive-bomb, so that’s all we were really worried about.”

Busch thought his chances of catching and passing Truex were limited. “I didn’t think there was gonna be a lot of a chance when I got there considering he was gonna be riding around and saving his tires,” Busch said. “It was gonna be a tall order to keep my momentum and speed going for the entire run.” Busch got his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota within a second of Truex, but couldn’t get any closer over the final five laps around the 2.52-mile layout that featured the return of the Carousel, a blind corner that returned as part of the track after a two-decade absence.

DiBenedetto, who hails from nearby Grass Valley, said he was looking forward to joining friends and family to watch the race on tape. “I’m going to text A.J. (Allmendinger) when I get back (home),” DiBenedetto said. “I’ve always been confident in my ability to wheel a race car, but I’m going against guys that are so good and so experienced, we had to make sure we got the car right.”

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – 31st Annual Toyota/Save Mart 350

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, California

Sunday, June 23, 2019

1. (8) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 90.

2. (7) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 90.

3. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 90.

4. (19) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 90.

5. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 90.

6. (23) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 90.

7. (21) Ryan Newman, Ford, 90.

8. (32) Erik Jones, Toyota, 90.

9. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 90.

10. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 90.

11. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 90.

12. (11) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 90.

13. (16) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 90.

14. (12) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 90.

15. (25) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 90.

16. (10) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 90.

17. (5) Daniel Suarez, Ford, 90.

18. (22) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 90.

19. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, 90.

20. (18) David Ragan, Ford, 90.

21. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 90.

22. (24) Paul Menard, Ford, 90.

23. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 90.

24. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.

25. (13) Michael McDowell, Ford, 89.

26. (30) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 89.

27. (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 89.

28. (28) Matt Tifft #, Ford, 89.

29. (20) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 89.

30. (29) Parker Kligerman(i), Toyota, 89.

31. (35) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 89.

32. (27) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 89.

33. (37) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 89.

34. (33) Justin Haley(i), Chevrolet, 88.

35. (38) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 88.

36. (34) Cody Ware(i), Chevrolet, Fatigue, 64.

37. (4) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Engine, 60.

38. (36) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 53.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 83.922 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 42 Mins, 9 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.861 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 2 for 6 laps.

Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Larson 0;W. Byron 1-21;C. Elliott 22-24;M. Truex Jr. 25-37;D. Hamlin 38-41;M. Truex Jr. 42-63;K. Busch 64-66;M. Truex Jr. 67-90.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Martin Truex Jr. 3 times for 59 laps; William Byron 1 time for 21 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 4 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 3 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 3 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 10,11,21,22,24,37,4,42,48,88

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,17,18,19,2,22,24,42,43,9

Tom Zulewski covers the NASCAR Somona Raceway each year at http://www.sportsradioservice.com