SONOMA, CA: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visits two road courses a year, starting with the Sonoma Raceway at Sonoma California. There are 11 turns both left and right that challenges different teams each way.
Martin Truex Jr has won the Toyota SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in the 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker ATVs/Boats Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex Jr would lead a race high 59 of 90 laps. This is his fourth win of the season, his third win at Sonoma, and his 23rd Cup series win.
Truex other Joe Gibbs Racing teammates finished in the top ten as well. Kyle Busch in the 18 Hazelnut Spread M&M’s Toyota was determined to make a pass on teammate Truex for the win, but came up short finishing second. Denny Hamlin would win Stage two and lead four laps in the 11 FedEx Ground Toyota and would finish fifth. Finally, Erik Jones in the 20 Craftsman Toyota would finish eighth to secure four top Joe Gibbs Racing cars in the top 10.
Hendrick Motorsports has a great start to the race with William Byron in the 24 Hertz Chevrolet Camaro would win stage one and lead 21 laps, but would fall back later on finishing 19th. Chase Elliott in the 9 NAPA Chevy looked like a contender and would lead three laps, but would finish 37th due to an engine/oil failure. The last two cars were Alex Bowman in the 88 Axalta Chevy who finished 14th and Jimmie Johnson in the 48 Ally Chevy who was in the top ten late, but would fall back to 12th.
Small team Leavine Family Racing has their best performance of the year so far with new driver Matt DiBenedetto as the 95 Procore Construction Software Toyota Camry who would finish a best career finish of fourth. The team keeps on making progress every week. DiBenedetto passed drivers like Jimmie Johnson and finished better than other stars in the sport. Great week for them.
That does it for the Fox Sports Portion and the great broadcasting career of Darrell Waltrip. Now, it’s time for NBC to take over the second half of the season. The next race will be the Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on NBCSN where Kyle Busch looks to defend his Chicagoland victory from last year.
Results
- Martin Truex Jr. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker ATVs/Boats Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kyle Busch 18 Hazelnut Spread M&M’s Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Ryan Blaney 12 PPG Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Matt DiBenedetto 95 Procore Construction Software Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
- Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kevin Harvick 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Ryan Newman 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Erik Jones 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Aric Almirola 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Kyle Larson 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Clint Bowyer 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Jimmie Johnson 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Kurt Busch 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Alex Bowman 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Daniel Hemric (R) 8 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Chris Buescher 37 Hellmann’s/Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Daniel Suárez 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Brad Keselowski 2 America’s Tire/Discount Tire Ford Mustang Team Penske
- William Byron 24 Hertz Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- David Ragan 38 #ThanksDW Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Roush Performance/Fastenal Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Paul Menard 21 Richmond Water Heaters/Menards Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
- Joey Logano 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Austin Dillon 3 Dow/KILZ Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Michael McDowell 34 Love’s/Speedco Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Bubba Wallace 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
- Ty Dillon 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
- Matt Tifft (R) 36 Aquire Investments Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Ryan Preece (R) 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Parker Kligerman 96 Toyota Parts & Service Toyota Camry Gaunt Brothers Racing
- Landon Cassill 00 Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support Chevrolet Camaro StarCom Racing
- Corey LaJoie 32 Motor Group Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
- Ross Chastain 15 Low-T Center Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Justin Haley (R) 77 Formula One Imports Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
- Reed Sorenson 27 Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Cody Ware 52 SBC Contractors Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
- Chase Elliott 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- J.J. Yeley 51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
Ian O’Brien is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network website. Follow him @Ianthekicker41 on Twitter.