This week the Cup Series drivers are going road racing when they travel to the newly paved Sonoma Raceway in California’s wine country.
This week 38 drivers – including a couple of “road course ringers” for the Save Mart 350.
And it is the final race of the 2024 Cup season for FOX. Next week NBC takes over the broadcasting duties for the remainder of the year.
Normally the drivers have only 20 minutes of practice with a split group of drivers; but this week, all 38 drivers will be on the track at the same time for a full 50 minutes of practice time before qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday.
The tire barriers in the hairpin have been replaced. Drivers can no longer short the turn; there is now a wall along the outside of the turn. Sonoma Raceway noted the change in Turn eleven (hair pin) was put in place to “protect the integrity of the racing line.” With the tire barriers, drivers would often “bump” them to relocate the barriers and alter the racing course; allowing the drivers to shorten the turn.
Only five minutes into practice and the drivers are approaching track record speeds of nearly 1:15 minutes set by Kyle Larson in 2015.
Martin Truex Jr has won three of the last four races at Sonoma.
Josh Berry spins out on the course and gets into the clay but reports no damage. This is his first attempt at Sonoma in a Cup Series car.
Supercar racer Will Brown comes to Sonoma to race. With field positions for 40 cars, all of the drivers will start the race.
Drivers are running some three seconds faster on the newly paved track.
Australian driver Cam Waters is in the race. He just missed getting into the tire barrier when he spin out and made a run through the grass and clay.
Chase Elliott has been called a “road course ringer” but has yet to win in the Next Gen car or at Sonoma.
Currently at the top of the speed chart, Ross Chastain’s time of 1:14.14 would set a new track record under qualifying conditions.
Halfway through practice, Bubba Wallace has shaved hundredths of a second off of Ross Chastain’s time.
Daniel Hemric gets off the course in turn two but gets the car moving again.
With 20 minutes remaining in practice. Noah Gragson tops the speed chart but one minute later Ryan Blaney runs a 1:14.00. That makes five drivers so far to break the old track record during practice.
The drivers have three sets of tires for this practice session.
Kyle Busch adds his name to the list of drivers who have beat the old track record in practice.
Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have broken the 74 second mark for a practice lap; Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon adds their names to that list as drivers continue to break the old track record. FOX broadcasters predict that the drivers will smash the old record during qualifying on Saturday.
Erik Jones gets loose and makes a run in the grass; he misses the tire barrier and saves the car.
Not only do the Supercar drivers have to worry about learning a new course; they also have to drive the car from the opposite side (in English countries the steering wheel is on the right side of the car) and they have to shift the gears with their opposite hand. Will Brown asked if they were allowed to go in revers because they are not allowed to revers in Australia.
With five minutes of practice remaining; a total of 13 drivers have surpassed the old track record.
Ryan Blaney tops the speed chart with a time of 73.202 seconds. By the end of practice, a total of 23 drivers broke the old track record during practice.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for group, multi-lap qualifying. The drivers have 15 minutes to make their best lap. The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying run of 10 minutes to set the pole.
Less than five minutes into Group A, the track record has been broken.
Josh Berry gets turned around making a qualifying run but gets the car moving again.
Kaz Grala did a bit of agricultural driving in turn three.
Tyler Reddick tops the board in Group A. Reddick, Joey Logano, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Ty Gibbs will all move on to round two of qualifying.
Group B drivers Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, and Chase Elliott will move on to round two.
Kyle Larson swiped the tire barrier in turn four, causing some damage to his left fender. The car got loose, but he saved it and kept going. Larson said that the wheel is straight and heads out to make another lap.
All of the top 10 drivers have broken the old track record.
With a time of 73.27 seconds Joey Logano puts his number 22 car on the pole. Logano has been the king when it comes to sitting on the pole of a new surface. This is Logano’s 31st career pole. Tyler Reddick will start alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Save Mart 350:
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Ross Chastain
Ty Gibbs
AJ Allmendinger
Michael McDowell
Carson Hocevar
Todd Gilliland
Christopher Bell
Austin Dillon
Corey La Joie
Bubba Wallace
Noah Gragson
Zane Smith
Martin Truex Jr
Harrison Burton
Chase Briscoe
Will Brown
Denny Hamlin
Chris Buescher
Justin Haley
Austin Cindric
Kyle Busch
Ryan Preece
Cam Waters
Josh Berry
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Daniel Hemric
Brad Keselowski
Kaz Grala
John Hunter Nemechek
Erik Jones
Chris Buescher will start the race from the back of the field in a backup car after a crash,
Over the course of practice and qualifying 26 of the 38 cars in the race broke the previous track record after the course was repaved and speeds are three and four seconds faster than before.
Stage one of the race is 25 laps long, stage two is 30 laps long, and stage three is 55 laps long for a total of 110 laps around the just short of two mile track. The drivers can run around 40 laps on a single load of fuel. Some of the crews will try to run the race with just two pit stops.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Tyler Reddick alongside. Logano gets out in front for the lead quickly. Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney battle for second.
Drivers have gotten spread out and mostly single file as they complete lap one.
Lap two, Joey Logano has a lead of over half a second on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap one’s sorting out has turned to beating and banging.
Denny Hamlin brings out the first caution flag of the race on lap three when he “blows up”.
Hamlin said that he had no warning of the engine blowing up; adding that the gearing was a little off for the course.
John Hunter Nemechek got into the turn one barrier after sliding through some fluid on the track.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart with teammate Ryan Blaney alongside on lap seven. Logano again jumps out in front for the lead. Tyler Reddick passes Ryan Blaney for second.
Lap eight, the top five are Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson.
Martin Truex Jr gets off the track after some on track contact form Will Brown. He gets the car moving again and the track stays green.
Lap nine, Ross Chastain gets way wide going into a turn and gets off the track looking like a tractor driver plowing a field.
Lap 10, Joey Logano has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Blaney is nearly two seconds back in third; Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap eleven, Tyler Reddick is slowly closing the gap on leader Joey Logano.
Tyler Reddick leads all current drivers in road course wins in the Next Gen car with three.
William Byron makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with a possible tire issue.
Lap 15, Joey Logano holds on to the lead with Tyler Reddick on his bumper.
Lap 16, Ty Gibbs brings out the second caution flag with a blown tire that sends him into the wall.
William Byron had a slow leak.
A few drivers come down pit road for service. The stop should take him to the end of stage two.
The new wall in turn eleven has already had some contact with a couple of drivers.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 19 with Ryan Blaney alongside. Reddick gets out in front for the lead.
Lap 19, Tyler Reddick leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Chase Briscoe brings out the third caution flag after spinning out on the track. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Joey Logano, and Harrison Burton also have damage to their cars after contact with Briscoe.
More drivers come down pit road for service and short pit the end of the stage.
The first 14 drivers have yet to make a pit stop.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ryan Blaney alongside with just three laps remaining in stage one. Reddick edges out Blaney for the lead.
Lap 24, Tyler Reddick has a lead of over half a second on Ryan Blaney; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick wins stage one for his third stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Alex Bowman
Michael McDowell
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
Corey LaJoie
Todd Gilliland
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service with the top 14 staying on the track.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 30 with Ryan Blaney alongside. Reddick edges out in front to hold on to the lead. Chase Elliott battles with Ryan Blaney for second.
Kyle Larson passes Chase Elliott for third.
Ross Chastain passes Alex Bowman for fourth
Lap 31, the top five are Tyler Reddick, Ryan blaney, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain.
Austin Cindric gets off the track but manages to get moving again and the track stays green. He barely avoids flipping the car.
Will Brown brings out the caution flag when he gets blocked in the barrier. He stopped off the track after his electrical issues continued.
AJ Allmendinger is having some issues with shutting down the car to save fuel. A few drivers come down pit road for service.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 35 with Ryan Blaney alongside. Reddick waited to restart and accordioned the field; causing a near wreck at the back of the field.
Reddick holds on to the lead with Kyle Larson in second..
Big wreck on lap 35 brings out the caution flag. Erik Jones makes contact with Josh Berry who makes contact with several drivers. Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, and Cam Waters were all involved.
Prior to the caution flag, bubba Wallace got wide and was running off the track.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 40. Reddick holds on to the lead. Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney battle for third.
Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, and Noah Gragson all get off the track and brings out the seventh caution flag of the day. Cindric slaps the tire barrier. Track and safety workers are reconstructing the tire barrier after Cindric knocked it down.
It’s lap 42 and the first seven drivers have yet to make a pit stop.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 43 with Kyle Larson in second.
Ross Chastain passes Ryan Blaney for third,
Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez battle for fifth.
Austin Dillon makes an unscheduled trip down pit road and takes his car to the garage; and is out of the race.
Lap 44, Tyler Reddick has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Less than 10 laps remain in stage two with Tyler Reddick over a second out in front of Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman round out the top five. They, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott have yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 51, tyler Reddick continues to lead the race. The top seven drivers still have yet to make a pit stop.
Ryan Blaney, who ran out of fuel last week, comes down pit road for service on lap 51.
Lap 52, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a lead of over two and a half seconds on Kyle Larson.
Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott make their pit stops.
Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Larson make their pit stop on lap 53. Only leader Tyler Reddick has yet to come down pit road.
Tyler Reddick finally makes his pit stop on lap 54 just before pit road closes. Chris Buescher is the new leader.
Back in 27th place, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick battle for position. Ross Chastain joins the battle. Reddick locked up the tires after some contact with Larson.
Chris Buescher wins stage two for his second stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Busch
AJ Allmendinger
Brad Keselowski
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Joey Logano
Harrison Burton
There have been eight caution flags so far in today’s race with just 36 of the 56 laps run under green.
Tyler Reddick is concerned about a tire after some contact with Kyle Larson.
Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Ryan Preece alongside on lap 60. Buescher takes the lead with Ryan Preece and Martin Truex Jr in a battle for second.
Lap 61, the top five are Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Preece, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch.
Ryan Preece gets off the track but gets moving again and the track stays green. He drops from third to 14th.
Lap 63, Chris Buescher has a lead of over two second on Mart Truex Jr; AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones round out the top five. After leading 35 laps, Tyler Reddick is mired back in traffic and finding it difficult to get through traffic.
Lap 65, Brad Keselowski is the first driver to come downp pit road for a green flag pit stop.
Lap 68, Chris Buescher has a lead of over two seconds on Martin Truex Jr; AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones round out, the top five.
Noah Gragson gets off the track but gets going again and the track stays green.
Leaders Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr make their pit stops. AJ Allmendinger is the new leader.
Lap 69, green flag stops continue with AJ Allmendinger leading the race.
Drivers are slowly making their pit stops.
Lap 72, leader AJ Allmendinger makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.
Lap 72, the top five are Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chase Elliott, Corey LaJoie, and Ryan Blaney.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr makes his pit stop.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr was caught speeding on pit road and will have to make a pass through penalty down a long pit road.
Lap 74, Kyle Larson has a four second lad on Chase Elliott; Corey LaJoie, Ryan Blaney, and Kaz Grala round out the top five. The top five drivers have yet to make their final pit stop.
Lap 76, Kyle Larson has increased his lead on teammate Chae Elliott to over five seconds; Corey LaJoie, Ryan Blaney, and Kaz Grala round out the top five.
With 33 laps to go, the top four drivers have yet to make a pit stop. Kyle Larson has increased his lead on Chase Elliott to over six seconds.
With 32 laps to go, Tyler Reddick continues to work his way through the field and is now in 13th – over 37 seconds back.
Lap 81, Kyle Larson comes down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Chase Elliott.
With 28 to go, Ryan Blaney makes his pit stop. Only Chase Elliot and Corey LaJoie have yet to come down pit road.
Chase Elliott comes down pit road with 27 laps to go.
Chris Buescher is the new leader after Corey LaJoie makes his pit stop; Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Just 24 laps remain in the race with Chris Buescher in the lead; Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Larson round out the top five. Tyler Reddick is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.
Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, and AJ Allmendinger are in a three way battle for fourth.
Twenty to go, Martin Truex Jr has closed the gap on leader Chris Buescher to just over a second; Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
With 17 laps to go, Chris Buescher holds on to the lead with Martin Truex Jr less than a second behind; Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.
Fifteen to go, Chris Buescher’s lead is down to under half a second on Martin Truex Jr; Kyle Larson is three seconds back in third with Kyle Busch and Michael McDowell rounding out the top five.
Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch battle for fourth.
Thirteen to go, Kyle Larson is just two second behind leaders Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr has caught leader Chris Buescher with 12 laps to go. Kyle Larson is a second and a half back in third.
Michael McDowell has passed Kyle Busch for fourth.
Tyler Reddick has entered the top 10.
Ten to go, there is less than one second between the top three drivers – Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Larson.
Martin Truex Jr and Chris Buescher battle for the lead with Kyle Larson on their bumper.
Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Larson pass Chris Buescher with nine to go.
Kyle Larson passes Martin Truex Jr for the lead.
Six to go, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on Martin Truex Jr with Chris Buescher in third with Michael McDowell on his bumper. Kyle Busch is in fifth place.
Five to gi, Michael McDowell passes Chris Buescher for third.
Austin Cindric spins out but the track stays green after Cindric gets moving again.
Three to go, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Martin Truex Jr; Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Kyle Larson takes the white flag!
Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch make contact, spinning Busch out.
With a waiver for the playoffs in hand, Kyle Larson earns his third race of the season. Martin Truex Jr is out of fuel.
Kyle Busch also runs out of fuel.
The unofficial results of the Save Mart 350:
Kyle Larson
Michael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
AJ Allmendinger
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Todd Gilliland
Corey LaJoie
Brad Keselowski
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Zane Smith
Carson Hocevar
Kyle Busch
Ryan Preece
Erik Jones
Bubba Wallace
Joey Logano
Austin Cindric
Kaz Grala
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Harrison Burton
Noah Gragson
Martin Truex Jr
Daniel Hemric
John Hunter Nemechek
William Byron
Will Brown
Josh Berry
Justin Haley
Chase Briscoe
Cam Waters
Austin Dillon
Ty Gibbs
Denny Hamlin