In the final road course race of the season, the Cup Series drivers travel to wine country and Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota Save Mart 350.
When the green flag drops on Sunday, AJ Allmendinger will be making career start 500!
This is the first week of the In-Season Challenge; where drivers go head to head according to seeding.
Thirty-six teams brought cars to Sonoma for 40 starting spots.
Christopher Bell is giving it a go again this week with his broken wrist.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for 25 minute practice sessions.
Erik Jones spins out and gets into the wall causing damage to the car.
Not surprising, Shane van Gisbergen has the fastest time on the track but reports that his car feels like the wheels are loose.
Shane van Gisbergen tops the leaderboard in group one practice with a time of 76.037 seconds.
William Byron topped the leaderboard in multiple lap times of 10 and 15 laps. Shane van Gisbergen did not run more than five laps at a time.
Noah Gragson will not run the practice session or make a qualifying run due to a brake issue.
Because they are running Ram Trucks in the Craftsman Truck Series, Kaulig Racing does not get information from Chevrolet for their Cup Series cars; nor do they have access to the simulator. For road course racing, the team relies on AJ Allmendinger.
In group two; Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace have all made lap time faster than Shane van Gisbergen.
AJ Allmendinger spins out but keeps it off the tire barrier.
Ryan Blaney topped the leaderboard in single lap times for group two with a time of 75.808 seconds.
The drivers will also be divided into groups for 20 minute group qualifying with the fastest driver sitting on the pole. The qualifying times for both groups will be combined to build the lineup.
After reports that Noah Gragson would not make a qualifying run, the driver of the number four car is on the track. The crew must have found the issue with the brakes and got them working again.
Christopher Bell gets off the track but gets it moving again during a qualifying lap.
Cody Ware gets off the track but gets it moving again on the final lap of qualifying.
Running a lap faster than his qualifying time, Shane van Gisbergen spins out.
At the end of his qualifying run, Bubba Wallace spins out and gets into the wall with heavy damage.
With the top seven drivers in the 74 lap times, Ty Gibbs posted a time of 74.829 seconds to put his number 54 car on the pole with Carson Hocevar alongside on the front row. This is his first pole on a road course race.
The starting lineup for the Toyota Save Mart 350:
Ty Gibbs
Carson Hocevar
Kyle Larson
Michael McDowell
Ross Chastain
Shane van Gisbergen
Chase Briscoe
AJ Allmendinger
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Austin Hill
Willaim Byron
Christopher Bell
Chris Buescher
Ryan Blaney
Connor Zilisch
Chase Elliott
Ryan Preece
John Hunter Nemechek
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Riley Herbst
Bubba Wallace
Cole Custer
Josh Berry
Todd Gilliland
Austin Dillon
Ty Dillon
Erik Jones
Chris Buescher
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Noah Gragson
Brad Keselowski
Cody Ware
Stage one is just 25 laps, stage two is 30 laps, and stage three is 55 laps for a total of 110 laps around the 1.99 mile road course. The drivers can run 41 to 44 laps on a single load of fuel.
In an interview with Shane van Gisbergen, he said that he doesn’t see himself as the favourite because there are a lot of other drivers who could win the race.
After a win van Gisbergen kicks a rugby ball – the national game of New Zealand. He said that he is good at kicking but not good at playing the game.
Carson Hocevar notes that he doesn’t tell the crew what to do with the car…he just drives it and stays off the radio. Hocevar notes that he just wants to have fun and drive the car the way he wants.
Steve Letarte says that Carson Hocevar is the real deal.
Marty Smith notes that it is hard to deny Hocevar’s talent.
Admitting that he ran into plenty of stuff in his rookie year, Dale Jr isn’t worried about the learning curve.
Two time Sonoma winner Kyle Busch is being inducted into the Sonoma Wall of Fame. On lap eight, the pylon will display his image.
Christopher Bell said that it killed him last week getting out of the car; adding that he felt fine in the car. But this week, he is not getting out of the car except for an emergency. Brent Crews is on standby if needed.
Major League Baseball manager Dusty Baker gave the command to start the engines.
Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, and Noah Gragson will have to start the race from the back of the field after crews made unapproved adjustments to the cars.
Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Carson Hocevar alongside on the front row. Gibbs and Hocevar battle back and forth for the lead before Carson Hocevar takes the lead.
Going through the esses, Ty Gibbs moves up for another side by side battle but this time Gibbs takes the lead.
Lap two, the top five are Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Carson Hodcevar, Kyle Larson, and Shane van Gisbergen.
Drivers are on the move with Ty Gibbs in the lead; Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen battle for third.
Lap four, after starting at the back of the field, Bubba Wallace is in the top 30 in 28th.
Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen are still in a battle for third.
Lap five Ty Gibbs has a lead of over half a second on Michael McDowell; Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen passes Kyle Larson for third.
Lap seven, AJ Allmendinger passes Kyle Larson for fourth.
Lap seven, Ty Gibbs continues to lead the race with Michael McDowell in second; Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Carson Hocevar has fallen to ninth place.
Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar make contact. The track stays green.
Lap nine, Ty Gibbs has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Michael McDowell.
Shane van Gisbergen reports that they are “not good”; adding that he is tight.
Lap eleven, Dale Earnhardt reports that at the moment everybody is “playing pretty nice”, but adds that will change as the race goes on.
Ty Gibbs has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Michael McDowell; Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Bubba Wallace has moved up to 24th.
Shane van Gisbergen has passed Michael McDowell for second.
Daniel Suarez makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with a tire issue.
The teams have just four sets of sticker tires in the pits.
Lap 15, Ty Gibbs has led every lap so far and is over a second in front of Shane van Gisbergen; Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap 16, Shane van Gisbergen is slowly closing the gap on leader Ty Gibbs.
Lap 17 Ty Gibbs lead is now under a second on Shane van Gisbergen.
AJ Allmendinger is reporting some issues with his car.
Lap 19, Ty Gibbs has just a half second lead on Shane van Gisbergen; Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
With four laps to go in stage one, Connor Zilisch is the first driver to flip the stage.
Three to go, several drivers come down pit road to flip the stage.
Shane van Gisbergen comes down pit road to flip the stage. Leader Ty Gibbs stays out.
Austin Dillon was caught speeding on pit road.
Ty Gibbs wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ty Gibbs
Christopoher Bell
Michael McDowell
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Alex Bowman
Shane van Gisbergen
Erik Jones
Riley Herbst
Kyle Larson
A total of 23 drivers flipped the stage.
Drivers who had not made a pit stop come down pit road. Shane van Gisbergen is the new leader.
Erik Jones was caught speeding on pit road and will restart from the back of the longest line.
Tyler Reddick is on pit road with the hood up. Reddick reported he can barely go fast.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 30. Van Gisbergen edges out for the lead with Larson on his bumper.
Chase Elliott gets in the dirt but gets back on the track. Bubba Wallace is up to 13th after starting at the back of the field.
The top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron.
Denny Hamlin makes contact on the track but saves the car.
Drivers are getting three wide on the track.
Connor Zilisch noted that today he would be happy running all of the laps.
Ryan Blaney reports that his cool suit is not working.
Lap 34, Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron round out the top five.
After his crash during qualifying and starting from the back of the field, Bubba Wallace has just entered the top 10.
Lap 36, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Kyle Larson; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron round out the top five.
Bubba Wallace got off the course after getting loose in the esses, but gets back on the track. He went from 10th to 22nd.
Tyler Reddick returns to the track six laps down in last place.
Lap 40, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a near two second lead on Kyle Larson; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
Lap 43, leader Shane van Gisbergen has increased his lead to over two seconds on Chase Briscoe; Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
Lap 44, Bubba Wallace gets a bump from Todd Gilliland and gets off the course but gets back on track and the trac stays green.
Riley Hirbst got off in the dirt a bit after some on track contact, but got back on the track.
Lap 46, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a four and a half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Connor Zilisch, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 47, Shane van Gisbergen is leaving the field in the dust with a lead of nearly six seconds on Chase Briscoe.
Lap 49, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney battle for second; over six seconds behind leader Shane van Gisbergen.
Ryan Blaney passes Chase Briscoe for second.
Lap 50, Shane van Gisbergen continues to increase his lead and is now over seven seconds out in front in “driving it like he stole it” territory.
Just four laps remain in stage two, Shane van Gisbergen has a nine plus second lead on Ryan Blaney!
Michael McDowell is the first driver to come down pit road to flip the stage.
Three to go in stage two, several drivers come down pit road to flip the stage.
Teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott battle it out coming off of pit road.
John Hunter Nemechek was caught speeding on pit road.
With a lead of over eleven seconds, Shane van Gisbergen comes down pit road to flip the stage.
Ty Gibbs is the new leader.
Ty Gibbs wins stage two to sweep the stages.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ty Gibbs
Charistopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Ross Chastain
Zane Smith
Shane van Gisbergen
Connor Zilisch
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Blaney
Twenty-two drivers flipped the stage.
Drivers who stayed out come down pit road for service. Shane van Gisbergen is the new leader.
Tyler Reddick is the “lucky dog” and gets one of his laps back; he is now five laps down.
Christopher Bell had a slow stop after having to back up in to his pit box with a loose tire.
With over 50 laps in stage three, the drivers will have to make a pit stop during stage three.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Connor Zilisch alongside on lap 60. Van Gisbergen gets out in front to hold on to the lead.
The top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson.
There is a lot of contact between drivers back on the field.
The first caution flag for an on track incident comes out on lap 61 for a crash involving Josh Berry and Austin Cindric.
Tyler Reddick is the “lucky dog” and gets another one of his laps back. He is now four laps down.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag restart with Connor Zilisch alongside on lap 64. Van Gisbergen jumps out in front for the lead with Chase Briscoe in second.
Denny Hamlin spins out and gets off the course after some contact with Carson Hocevar. He gets back on the track in front of Tyler Reddick.
The top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe, Connor Zilisch, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson.
Todd Gilliand spins out but get going again; the track stays green.
Adam Alexander said that Shane van Gisbergen looks in his mirror and winks at the competition.
Chase Elliott spins out but gets going again.
John Hunter Nemechek spins out but gets the car moving again.
Connor Zilisch begins to challenge Chase Brisoce for second; Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of over a second.
Lap 67, the pit window to make it to the end of the race is now open.
Lap 71, Shane van Gisbergen has a one second lead on Chase Briscoe; Connor Zilisch, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson Round out the top five.
Adam Alexander reports that Shane van Gisbergen is only running at about 80%. He has a near second and a half lead on Chase Briscoe.
Lap 73, Ryan Preece passes William Byron for seventh.
Lap 77, Shane van Gisbergen has a near two second lead on Chase Briscoe; Connor Zilisch, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin has some splitter damage from his contact on the track.
Lap 80, Chase Elliott is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop.
Lap 81, more drivers come down pit road for service.
Lap 81, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Chase Briscoe.
Lap 83, leader Shane van Gisbergen gives up a lead of over six seconds and the lead to make his green flag pit stop.
Ryan Blaney is the new leader.
Kyle Larson passes Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Shane van Gisbergen returns to the track in eleventh.
Ty Gibbs passes Ryan Blaney for second. Leaders still need to make their pit stops.
Shane van Gisbergen is in the top 10.
Lap 86, Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs make their pits stops; William Byron is the new leader with Shane van Gisbergen in side the top five.
William Byron and Ross Chastain need to make their pit stops. When they do, Shane van Gisbergen will retake the lead.
William Byron makes his pit stop and give the lead over to Ross Chastain.
Lap 88, Ross Chastain comes down pit road; Shane van Gisbergen is the leader.
Lap 89, the top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe, Connor Zilisch, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs.
Just 20 laps remain in the race; Shane van Gisbergen has a near second and a half lead on Chase Briscoe; Connor Zilisch, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Less than 20 laps remaining in the race and all 36 cars are still on the track; Tyler Reddick is the only driver not on the lead lap.
Just 17 laps to go, Shane van Gisbergen has a near second and a half lead on Chase Briscoe; Kyle Larson, Connor Zilisch, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Fifteen to go, Shane van Gisbergen’s lead is now nearly two seconds.
Twelve to go, Ty Gibbs passes Connor Zilisch for fourth.
Ty Dillon reports that he has lost power steering with just 12 laps remaining in the race.
Just 10 laps remaining in the race; Shane van Gisbergen has a lead less than a second on Chase Briscoe.
With nine laps to go, Shane van Gisbergen’s lead is back over one second on Chase Briscoe.
Six to go, Shane van Gisbergen encounters slower traffic for the first time today. Van Gisbergen has a one second lead on Chase Briscoe.
Five to go, Shane van Gisbergen holds a one second lead on Chase Briscoe. Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs battle for third. Christopher Bell rounds out the top five.
Chase Briscoe gets loose in the first corner and drops to two seconds back.
Two to go, Chase Briscoe is now less than a second behind Shane van Gisbergen.
Through the esses, Chase Briscoe has cut the distance to just half a second on Shane van Gisbergen.
Shane van Gisbergen takes the white flag with a half second lead on Chase Briscoe.
Shane van Gisbergen wins road course race number eight to tie with Tony Stewart on the all time wins list.
After a big burnout and a round of congratulations, Shane signs and kicks the rugby ball. Shane said this was pretty special after last week (he was crashed out early at Coronado). He noted that Chase (Briscoe) was beginning to be a problem.
The unofficial results of the Toyota Save Mart 350:
Shane van Gisbergen
Chase Briscoe
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Connor Zilisch
Ryan Preece
Michael McDowell
Alex bowman
Carson Hocevar
William Byron
Austin Cindric
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
AJ Allmendinger
Chase Elliott
Zane Smith
Chris Buescher
Cole Custer
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Bubba Wallace
Erik Jones
Joey Logano
John Hunter Nemechek
Denny Hamlin
Austin Dillon
Josh Berry
Todd Gilliland
Riley Herbst
Daniel Suarez
Noah Gragson
Cody Ware
Austin Hill
Ty Dillon
Tyler Reddick