NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma: Highlights, stage results and more

Keep up with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers as they tackle the tricky turns of Sonoma Raceway.

If you’ve tired of oval racing, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has some different twists for you this week at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway — 11 of them, in fact.

The first road course race of the 2018 NASCAR season has arrived, and with it comes a chance for many different drivers to grab a victory. Nine different drivers have won this race in the last nine years, so the opportunity is there.

All four of the 2018 multi-time winners — Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer — headed into Sunday in that group of recent winners, so there’s no guarantee that someone different will win. That said, if there was ever a place that someone like AJ Allmendinger could sneak up and emerge with a surprise victory, Sonoma is certainly right up there.

At just 110 laps, there isn’t a ton of time to make your move, and only certain stretches of this road course are suitable for passing. Expect to see all of those used this time out as the weeks are winding down in the 2018 NASCAR regular season.

Pole-sitter Kyle Larson led the first three laps, but Truex was able to pass him on lap 4, and Allmendinger followed him shortly thereafter, ascending to P2.

While there were no more green flag passes for the lead, there was still intrigue at the end of Stage 1 as nearly all the leaders pitted before lap 25, meaning that they would be staying out during the end of stage caution. Allmendinger wasn’t one of them, allowing him to pick up a much needed stage win.

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Stage 1 results

1. AJ Allmendinger – 10 points plus 1 bonus playoff points
2. Brad Keselowski – 9 points
3. Jimmie Johnson – 8 points
4. Chase Elliott – 7 points
5. Kyle Larson – 6 points
6. Ryan Newman – 5 points
7. Aric Almirola – 4 points
8. Daniel Suarez – 3 points
9. Chris Buescher – 2 points
10. Kasey Kahne – 1 point

Unfortunately, Allmendinger’s good day didn’t even last until the halfway point of the race. He brought out the first incident-related caution of the day for a blown engine, and replays made it sound like he missed a shift, making it self-inflicted.

Truex showed the way for the first few laps of Stage 2, but Kevin Harvick was not to be denied.

With laps winding down in Stage 2, the question would be whether drivers would short-pit this stage as well. The answer? Yes, yes they would, including some who were well off the lead. But Harvick, Truex and Bowyer, the top three cars at the time, were among those who stopped with three laps to go.

This time, the beneficiary was Denny Hamlin, who earned his first stage win of 2018. Drivers like Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher also earned some much-needed extra points.

Stage 2 results

1. Denny Hamlin – 10 points plus one bonus playoff point
2. Chase Elliott – 9 points
3. Jimmie Johnson – 8 points
4. Brad Keselowski – 7 points
5. Ryan Blaney – 6 points
6. Aric Almirola – 5 points
7. Alex Bowman – 4 points
8. Michael McDowell – 3 points
9. Chris Buescher – 2 points
10. Ryan Newman – 1 point

Harvick was one of the first cars to pit under green for the final stage, but he was duped by Truex, who decided to stay out and try to split the last run in half. It appeared that some of the end of race drama might come down to who made the better pit stop decision.

It looked like Truex and crew chief Cole Pearn made the right call. Despite coming out of their pit stop more than 10 seconds down, Truex quickly ate up the distance between them and passed Harvick with 20 laps to go. That eventually sent Harvick and teammate Clint Bowyer back to the pits with 18 to go, hoping for another caution.

With everyone but Truex hoping for a yellow flag that refused to fly, no one even got close to the defending Cup Series champ down the stretch. His victory was the third of the season for the 78 team, firmly establishing him as the third true contender for the 2018 title.