For the second time this season, the Cup Series goes road course racing with the Save Mart 350 in wine country at Sonoma Raceway.

Grant Enfinger is taking over the driving duties of the number 42 Legacy Motor Club car this week after Noah Gragson began showing signs of concussion like symptoms earlier in the week after a hard crash into the wall at World Wide Technology Raceway last Sunday when a brake rotor blew.

The drivers have been divided into two groups for practice and qualifying.  Each group will have 15 minutes to make a qualifying run.  The top five drivers from each group will move on to make a second round of qualifying to set the pole.

After qualifying for the pole in the Xfinity race, Kyle Larson tops the list in practice with a time even better than in the Xfinity car with a time of 78,099 seconds around the near two mile track.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace are two drivers who are very unhappy with their cars and hoping the crews can make whole sale changes to improve the cars.

The top five drivers from Group A moving on to round two of qualifying are Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr,  Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez.  Kyle Larson ended up in seventh place and will not make a run for the pole.  This is the first time since 2017 that Larson has not led the field in the Cup Series at Sonoma.

Road course driver Andy Lally is behind the wheel of the number 15 car this week.

Out of Group B; Denny Hamlin,  Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and AJ Allmendinger will all be making a run for the pole.

Only six races at Sonoma have been won by the driver from the pole.

Half of the top 10 drivers are Toyotas.

With a time off 77.719 seconds, Denny Hamlin puts his number eleven car on the pole with Tyler Reddick starting alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Save Mart 350:
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Martin Truex Jr
Daneil Suarez
Chase Elliott
Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Alex Bowman
Ross Chastain
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Bubba Wallace
Corey LaJoie
Aric Almirola
Kevin Harvick
Ryan Preece
Justin Haley
Chase Briscoe
Brad Keselowski
William Byron
Ty Dillon
Erik Jones
Josh Bilicki
Zane Smith
Ryan Blaney
Todd Gilliland
Andy Lally
Austin Cindric
Grant Enfinger
Harrison Burton

Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer broadcast for the final time in the 2023 season as the FOX broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series comes to an end.  This week they are joined by Jamie McMurray.

Actor Adam Devine gave a rousing command to start the engines.

Stage one is 25 laps, stage two is 30 laps, and stage three is 55 laps for a total of 110 laps around the near two mile track.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and gets out in front for the lead with Christopher Bell in second.

Drivers get spread out thre and four wide going into turn seven.

Denny Hamlin leads lap one.

The top five are Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, and Ty Gibbs.

Lap three, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Daniel Suarez reports that he might have missed a shift – over revved the engine.  Last year’s winner, he has dropped 20 spots to 29th.

Lap five, Denny Hamlin holds a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, and Ty Gibbs continue to round out the top five.

Curb hopping, Ryan Preece’s car got airborne.

Lap eight, Denny Hamlin is now over a second out in front of Christopher Bell; Martin Truex Jr, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.  There has been little movement among the field since the start of the race.

Lap 10, Denny Hamlin holds on to the lead but Christopher Bell has closed the gap to under a second; Martin Truex Jr, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

Yesterday’s Xfinity race winner Aric Almirola is in 16th place.

Lap 14, Martin Truex Jr passes Christopher Bell for second; Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of nearly three seconds.  AJ Allmendinger has passed Ty Gibbs for fifth.

Lap 16, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over three seconds on Martin Truex Jr; Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Lap 17, Brad Keselowski comes down pit road early to take advantage of fresher tires. 

Lap 18, Ryan Blaney comes down pit road and is caught speeding on pit road.  He will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Lap 19, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race by three and a half seconds.  AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell have passed Tyler Reddick.

Lap 21, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Michael McDowell.

Lap 22, Kyle Busch makes his pit stop.

Lap 22, green flag pti stops continue.

Denny Hamlin wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Denny Hamlin
Martin Truex Jr
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Michael McDowell
Tyler Reddick
Chris Buescher
Ty Gibbs
Alex Bowman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Denny Hamlin maintains the lead after pit stops with Martin Truex Jr in second; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 30, Denny Hamlin leads the race but is less than half a second in front of teammate Martin Truex Jr; Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 32, leaders are approaching slower traffic.

Martin Truex Jr battles with Denny Hamlin for the lead with Truex getting out in front on lap 33.

Lap 36, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of a second and a half on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 38, Denny Hamlin has closed the gap on leader Martin Truex Jr to just over a second; Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 41, Martin Truex Jr again has a lead of over a second on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

An overview of the tracks shows drivers scarttered all through the course.

Lap 43, Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead to stwo seconds on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell is in third over 10 seconds back with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.

Lap 44, Kyle Busch begins the second round of green flag pit stops.

There are 32 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 47, Denny Hamlin has closed the gap on leader Martin Truex Jr to a second; Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Michael McDowell round out the  top five as green flag pit stops continue.

Michael McDowell passes Chase Elliott for fourth.

Lap 49, the first caution flag of the race comes out for an errant tire on pit road when a tire from Zane Smith’s car rolls out into the danger zone and stops.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and fuel.  Martin Truex Jr won the race off of pit road but not all of the cars made a pit stop.  A few drivers also took the wave around to get back on the lead lap.

Denny Hamlin had a slow pit stop when a crew member fell and lost a couple of spots.

Kyle Busch is the new leader with Joey Logano in second.

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 54 with Joey Logano alongside.  Busch gets out in front for the lead.

The top five are Kyle Busch, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Ross Chastain.

Lap 55, Kyle Busch has a second and a half lead on Joey Logano; Ross Chastain, William Byron, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five.

Kyle Busch wins stage two for his second stage win of the season and his first at Sonoma.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Ross Chastain
William Byron
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Dillon
Martin Truex Jr
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell
Kevin Harvick

Lap 59, Kyle Busch has a lead of over a second and a half on Joey Logano; Ross Chastain, William Byron, and Matin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Zane Smith and Andy Lally are the only drivers not on the lead lap.

Lap 61 Ross Chastain and Joey Logano battle for  second place.  Martin Truex Jr makes it a three way battle.  Kyle Busch has a lead of over two seconds.

Martin Truex Jr passes Ross Chastain for third with Joey Logano in second.

Lap 63 Kyle Busch has a lead of nearly three seconds on Joey Logano; Martin Truex Jr, Ross Chastain, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr passes Joey Logano for second and begins to cut into Kyle Busch’s lead.

Lap 65, Austin Dillon is turned around in the area at turn eleven but gets the car moving again before the caution flag comes out.  Ty Gibbs hit Dillon as he was coming around the corner.  Dillon hit some of the tires on his way around.

Lap 66, Kyle Busch still holds on to the lead but is now less than two seconds in front of Martin Truex Jr; Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Kyle Busch gets a little loose and the left side tires get off the track; Busch gets it straightened out but is now less than one second in front of Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 68, Martin Truex Jr is just half a second behind leader Kyle Busch.

Martin Truex Jr passes Kyle Busch for the lead.

Lap 71, Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Kyle Busch.  Michael McDowell finally gets around Joey Logano for third and a multi lap battle.

Christopher Bell comes down pit road to begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.

Lap 74, as green flag pit stops continue, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly three seconds on Kyle Busch; Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Lap 75, leader Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch make their green flag pit stops.  Michael McDowell is the new leader and Chris Buescher in second; both drivers have yet to make a pit stop.

Lap 76, Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher make their green flag pit stops; Chase Elliott is the new leader.

Lap 79, Chase Elliott in his first road race of the season has a lead of over a second on Kevin Harvick; Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick come down pit road giving the lead over to Martin Truex Jr with Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.

23XI drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace have yet to make their pit stops.

Lap 81, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Busch; Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 83, Michael McDowell passes Joey Logano for third; Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly four seconds on Kyle Busch.

With 26 laps remaining in the race, all 36 drivers are still on the track with 34 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 85, Martin Truex Jr now has a four second lead on Kyle Busch; Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 88, Chris Buescher passes Joey Logano for fourth.

Twenty to go, Martin Truex Jr has a near four and a half second lead on Kyle Busch; Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin spins out and hets into the wall at the start finish line and brings out the first caution flag of the race for an on track incident.  There is a lot of damage to rear of Hamlin’s car including a broken toe link.

Drivers come down pit road for that last set of fresh tires and some final adjustments.  Martin Truex Jr wins the race off of pit road.  Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick stayed out on the track.  Zane Smith and Andy Lally took the wave around.

Michael McDowell has a slow pit stop when the tire changer dropped the lug nut and had to get another one.

Chase Elliott beings the field down for the green flag with Tyler Reddick alongside with just 15 laps remaining in the race.  Elliott gets out in front for the lead.

The top five are Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano.

Lap 96, Martin Truex Jr passes Chase Elliott for the lead.

Kyle Busch passes Chase Elliott for second.

Tyler Reddick has a flat tire and is smoking.  Instead of trying to go around the whole track, he turned around and went down pit road backwards.

Aric Almirola gets turned around but gets it straightened out and the track stays green.

Lap 98, Kyle Busch has but the lead on Martin Truex Jr to half a second.

Denny Hamlin is out of the race after not being able to make repairs under the “crash clock” before it runs out.

Josh Bilicki gets turned around but gets it moving again.

Just eleven laps remain in the race; Erik Jones gets turned around and is stopped on the track.

The top five are Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney.

Ten to go, Martin Truex Jr holds on to the lead by less than a second on Kyle Busch.

Eight to go and Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over a second on Kyle Busch; Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

With seven to go, Christopher Bell passes Ryan Blaney for sixth.

Tyler Reddick was charged with a pass through penalty for going down pit road the wrong way.

Ryan Blaney gets turned around after sone on track contact but gets it going again and the track stays green.

Six to go, Ryan Blaney spins out again after contact with Chase Briscoe who also got off the track.  Both cars get moving again again and the track stays green.

Five to go, Martin Truex Jr has a second and a half lead on Kyle Busch; Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Three to go, Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead to over two seconds on Kyle Busch.

Martin Truex Jr takes the white flag and a three second lead on Kyle Busch.

Martin Truex Jr wins his second race of the season and his fourth career Sonoma win.  Truex is the fourth multi win driver this season.

The unofficial results of the Save Mart 350:
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
AJ Allmendinger
Michael McDowell
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Kevin Harvick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Alex Bowman
Brad Keselowski
Bubba Wallace
Ty Gibbs
Austin Dillon
Corey LaJoie
Justin Haley
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
Todd Gilliland
Austin Cindric
Grant Enfinger
Harrison Burton
Aric Almirola
Chase Briscoe
Josh Bilicki
Ryan Blaney
Erik Jones
Tyler Reddick
Zane Smith
Andy Lally
Denny Hamlin