Motor car race
The
2017 Toyota/Save Mart 350
was a
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
race
held on June 25, 2017, at
Sonoma Raceway
in
Sonoma, California
. Contested over 110 laps on the 1.99-mile (3.20 km) road course, it was the 16th race of the
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
season.
Report
[
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]
Background
[
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]
Sonoma Raceway,
formerly
Sears Point Raceway
and
Infineon Raceway
is a 2.52-mile (4.06 km) road course and drag strip located on the landform known as
Sears Point
in the southern
Sonoma Mountains
in
Sonoma, California
, USA. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 feet (49 m) of total elevation change. It is host to one of only two
NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series
races each year that are run on road courses (the other being
Watkins Glen International
in
Watkins Glen, New York
). It is also host to the
Verizon IndyCar Series
and several other auto races and
motorcycle races
such as the
American Federation of Motorcyclists
series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events which may or may not be open to the general public. The largest such car club is the
Sports Car Club of America
.
Entry list
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]
Practice
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First practice
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]
Martin Truex Jr.
was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 75.740 seconds and a speed of 94.587 mph (152.223 km/h).
[10]
Final practice
[
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]
Kyle Larson
was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 75.899 seconds and a speed of 94.389 mph (151.904 km/h).
[11]
Qualifying
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]
Kyle Larson
scored the pole for the race with a time of 75.177 and a speed of 95.295 mph (153.362 km/h).
[12]
Qualifying results
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]
Race
[
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]
First stage
[
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]
Kyle Larson
led the field to the green flag at 3:22 p.m. With
Sonoma Raceway
being a more technical (rhythm) road course, brake usage is rather heavy, especially going into the 90° hairpin Turn 11. A few drivers locked up the brakes going into the turn in the early laps, including
Daniel Suarez
, who was making his first ever start at Sonoma. He flat-spotted his tires on the second lap and made an unscheduled stop the following lap to replace them. Two laps later, teammate
Kyle Busch
did the same. By the ninth lap,
Martin Truex Jr.
caught Larson and set him up for a pass heading into Turn 11 to take the race lead. Caution flew for the first time on lap 14 when
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
locked up his brakes and his car spun counter-clockwise, sending him through the hairpin and into the path of cars ahead, causing slight damage to
Danica Patrick
.
[13]
Larson also suffered minor damage when he clipped Earnhardt.
Chris Buescher
took over the race lead because he opted not to pit under the caution.
The race restarted on lap 17 and Buescher led for another lap before teammate
A. J. Allmendinger
, on fresher tires, out-braked him going into Turn 10 to take the lead. Truex worked his way up to him, passed him entering Turn 11 to retake the lead and drove on to win the first stage on lap 25. Caution flew moments later for the completion of the stage.
Second stage
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A lap after the ensuing restart on lap 30, Patrick (outside), Earnhardt (middle) and Larson (inside) tried to round Turn 4a three-wide, sending Earnhardt into the right-rear corner of Patrick and spinning her out into the path of
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
, who t-boned the drivers-side of her car.
[14]
This brought out the third caution.
The race resumed on lap 33. Going into Turn 11 on the same lap, Allmendinger was clipped by Larson and spun in the hairpin. He was clipped by
Clint Bowyer
, but the race remained green. A caution did fly five laps later, however, for a piece of sheet metal in Turn 11.
Returning to green on lap 40, a number of cars ? including race leader Truex ? opted to short-pit the end of the second stage to set them up for the end of the race and because they didn't pit under the first stage break. This handed the race lead to
Jimmie Johnson
, who drove on to win the second stage. Caution flew moments later for the completion of the stage.
Denny Hamlin
assumed the race lead by electing not to pit.
Final stage
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The race restarted with 56 laps to go. With 47 to go, Busch took advantage of Hamlin's slip into Turn 11 to take the lead, only to allow
Kevin Harvick
to pass him unchallenged on the frontstretch two laps later. With 43 to go, Truex caught Harvick and out-braked him entering Turn 11 to retake the lead. On the following lap, cars were hitting pit road to make their final stop of the race. Truex did so with 40 to go, and a slow stop shuffled him behind Harvick in the running order.
Jamie McMurray
assumed the lead with 39 to go before pitting the next time around, handing the lead to
Brad Keselowski
, who was hoping for a caution.
Shortly after his slow stop, Truex reported he was losing a cylinder (engine was failing).
[15]
He was fading at first, but then reported the problem had subsided. He worked his way up to third before making an unscheduled stop with 24 to go and subsequently to the garage for an engine failure.
[16]
With 24 to go, Harvick had closed the gap to Keselowski to 1.3 seconds. Two laps later, Harvick made the race-winning pass on Keselowski rounding Turn 7a and set sail. On the final lap,
Kasey Kahne
slammed the barriers on the frontstretch as Harvick was coming to the line.
[17]
This ended the race under caution and Harvick, who had a nine-second lead over second-place Bowyer, drove on to victory.
[18]
Race results
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Stage results
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]
Stage 1
Laps:
25
Pos
|
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Manufacturer
|
Points
|
1
|
78
|
Martin Truex Jr.
|
Furniture Row Racing
|
Toyota
|
10
|
2
|
47
|
A. J. Allmendinger
|
JTG Daugherty Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
9
|
3
|
42
|
Kyle Larson
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
8
|
4
|
21
|
Ryan Blaney
|
Wood Brothers Racing
|
Ford
|
7
|
5
|
11
|
Denny Hamlin
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
6
|
6
|
22
|
Joey Logano
|
Team Penske
|
Ford
|
5
|
7
|
6
|
Trevor Bayne
|
Roush Fenway Racing
|
Ford
|
4
|
8
|
3
|
Austin Dillon
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
3
|
9
|
5
|
Kasey Kahne
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
2
|
10
|
14
|
Clint Bowyer
|
Stewart-Haas Racing
|
Ford
|
1
|
Official stage one results
|
Stage 2
Laps:
25
Pos
|
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Manufacturer
|
Points
|
1
|
48
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
10
|
2
|
2
|
Brad Keselowski
|
Team Penske
|
Ford
|
9
|
3
|
20
|
Matt Kenseth
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
8
|
4
|
11
|
Denny Hamlin
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
7
|
5
|
22
|
Joey Logano
|
Team Penske
|
Ford
|
6
|
6
|
88
|
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
5
|
7
|
21
|
Ryan Blaney
|
Wood Brothers Racing
|
Ford
|
4
|
8
|
3
|
Austin Dillon
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
3
|
9
|
24
|
Chase Elliott
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
2
|
10
|
31
|
Ryan Newman
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
1
|
Official stage two results
|
Final stage results
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Stage 3
Laps:
60
Pos
|
Grid
|
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Manufacturer
|
Laps
|
Points
|
1
|
12
|
4
|
Kevin Harvick
|
Stewart-Haas Racing
|
Ford
|
110
|
40
|
2
|
13
|
14
|
Clint Bowyer
|
Stewart-Haas Racing
|
Ford
|
110
|
36
|
3
|
23
|
2
|
Brad Keselowski
|
Team Penske
|
Ford
|
110
|
43
|
4
|
14
|
11
|
Denny Hamlin
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
110
|
46
|
5
|
4
|
18
|
Kyle Busch
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
110
|
32
|
6
|
10
|
88
|
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
36
|
7
|
17
|
41
|
Kurt Busch
|
Stewart-Haas Racing
|
Ford
|
110
|
30
|
8
|
8
|
24
|
Chase Elliott
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
31
|
9
|
7
|
21
|
Ryan Blaney
|
Wood Brothers Racing
|
Ford
|
110
|
39
|
10
|
2
|
1
|
Jamie McMurray
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
27
|
11
|
15
|
27
|
Paul Menard
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
26
|
12
|
18
|
22
|
Joey Logano
|
Team Penske
|
Ford
|
110
|
36
|
13
|
24
|
48
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
34
|
14
|
16
|
95
|
Michael McDowell
|
Leavine Family Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
23
|
15
|
20
|
31
|
Ryan Newman
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
23
|
16
|
11
|
19
|
Daniel Suarez
(R)
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
110
|
21
|
17
|
6
|
10
|
Danica Patrick
|
Stewart-Haas Racing
|
Ford
|
110
|
20
|
18
|
19
|
3
|
Austin Dillon
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
25
|
19
|
9
|
37
|
Chris Buescher
|
JTG Daugherty Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
18
|
20
|
38
|
20
|
Matt Kenseth
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Toyota
|
110
|
25
|
21
|
29
|
72
|
Cole Whitt
|
TriStar Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
110
|
16
|
22
|
26
|
43
|
Billy Johnson
|
Richard Petty Motorsports
|
Ford
|
110
|
15
|
23
|
27
|
32
|
Matt DiBenedetto
|
Go Fas Racing
|
Ford
|
110
|
14
|
24
|
21
|
5
|
Kasey Kahne
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
109
|
15
|
25
|
30
|
77
|
Erik Jones
(R)
|
Furniture Row Racing
|
Toyota
|
109
|
12
|
26
|
1
|
42
|
Kyle Larson
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
109
|
19
|
27
|
25
|
6
|
Trevor Bayne
|
Roush Fenway Racing
|
Ford
|
109
|
14
|
28
|
35
|
13
|
Ty Dillon
(R)
|
Germain Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
109
|
9
|
29
|
34
|
33
|
Boris Said
|
Circle Sport ? The Motorsports Group
|
Chevrolet
|
109
|
8
|
30
|
31
|
34
|
Landon Cassill
|
Front Row Motorsports
|
Ford
|
109
|
7
|
31
|
28
|
38
|
David Ragan
|
Front Row Motorsports
|
Ford
|
109
|
6
|
32
|
32
|
23
|
Alon Day
|
BK Racing
|
Toyota
|
108
|
5
|
33
|
36
|
15
|
Kevin O'Connell
|
Premium Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
108
|
4
|
34
|
37
|
55
|
Tommy Regan
|
Premium Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
107
|
3
|
35
|
5
|
47
|
A. J. Allmendinger
|
JTG Daugherty Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
104
|
11
|
36
|
33
|
51
|
Josh Bilicki
(i)
|
Rick Ware Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
100
|
0
|
37
|
3
|
78
|
Martin Truex Jr.
|
Furniture Row Racing
|
Toyota
|
86
|
11
|
38
|
22
|
17
|
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
|
Roush Fenway Racing
|
Ford
|
30
|
1
|
Official race results
|
Race statistics
[
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]
- Lead changes: 10 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 12
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 46 minutes and 52 seconds
- Average speed: 78.710 miles per hour (126.671 km/h)
Media
[
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]
Television
[
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]
Fox NASCAR
televised the race in the United States on
FS1
for the third consecutive year.
Mike Joy
was the lap-by-lap announcer, while six-time Sonoma winner
Jeff Gordon
and
Darrell Waltrip
were the color commentators.
Jamie Little
,
Chris Neville
and
Matt Yocum
reported from pit lane during the race.
Radio
[
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]
Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by
Performance Racing Network
. PRN's broadcast of the race was simulcasted on
Sirius XM
NASCAR Radio
. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow announced the race in the booth while the field was racing on the pit straight. Pat Patterson called the race from a stand outside of turn 2 when the field was racing up turns 2, 3 and 3a. Brad Gillie called the race from a stand outside of turn 7a when the field was racing through turns 4a and 7a. The field came back into the view of the booth in turns 8 and 9. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard outside turn 11 when the field was racing through turns 10 and 11.
Jeff Hammond
, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and
Wendy Venturini
reported from pit lane during the race.
PRN
|
Booth announcers
|
Turn announcers
|
Pit reporters
|
Lead announcer:
Doug Rice
Announcer:
Mark Garrow
|
Turns 2, 3 & 3a:
Pat Patterson
Turns 4a & 7a:
Brad Gillie
Turns 10 & 11:
Rob Albright
|
Jeff Hammond
Brett McMillan
Jim Noble
Wendy Venturini
|
Standings after the race
[
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]
- Drivers' Championship standings
|
- Manufacturers' Championship standings
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"2017 schedule"
.
Jayski.com
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. May 5, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 4, 2017
. Retrieved
May 27,
2017
.
- ^
"Sonoma Raceway"
.
NASCAR.com
. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from
the original
on April 28, 2017
. Retrieved
May 27,
2017
.
- ^
"Entry List"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. June 19, 2017. Archived from
the original
on June 23, 2017
. Retrieved
June 19,
2017
.
- ^
"First Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. June 23, 2017. Archived from
the original
on June 28, 2017
. Retrieved
June 23,
2017
.
- ^
"Final Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. June 23, 2017. Archived from
the original
on June 27, 2017
. Retrieved
June 23,
2017
.
- ^
"Qualifying Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. June 24, 2017. Archived from
the original
on June 30, 2017
. Retrieved
June 24,
2017
.
- ^
"Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. June 25, 2017
. Retrieved
June 25,
2017
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Points standings"
(PDF)
.
Jayski.com
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. June 26, 2017. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on January 29, 2019
. Retrieved
June 26,
2017
.
- ^
"Manufacturer standings"
(PDF)
.
Jayski.com
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. June 26, 2017. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on January 29, 2019
. Retrieved
June 26,
2017
.
- ^
Spencer, Lee (June 23, 2017).
"Truex leads eventful Cup practice at Sonoma"
.
Motorsport.com
.
Sonoma, California
:
Motorsport Network
. Retrieved
June 23,
2017
.
- ^
Spencer, Lee (June 23, 2017).
"Larson tops final Sonoma practice; Elliott and Jones crash"
.
Motorsport.com
.
Sonoma, California
:
Motorsport Network
. Retrieved
June 23,
2017
.
- ^
Fryer, Jenna (June 24, 2017).
"Larson and McMurray make it 1-2 for Chip Ganassi at Sonoma"
.
Associated Press
.
Sonoma, California
: AP Sports.
Associated Press
. Archived from
the original
on June 29, 2017
. Retrieved
June 24,
2017
.
- ^
Segal, Davey (June 25, 2017).
"Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earns 3rd Sonoma Top 10 in 4 Years"
.
Frontstretch.com
.
Sonoma, California
: Fronststretch
. Retrieved
June 27,
2017
.
- ^
Pockrass, Bob (June 25, 2017).
"Danica Patrick twice collected in crashes involving Dale Earnhardt Jr"
.
ESPN.com
.
Sonoma, California
:
ESPN Inc.
Retrieved
June 27,
2017
.
- ^
Carter, Lori (June 25, 2017).
"Kevin Harvick wins Toyota/Save Mart race at Sonoma Raceway"
.
The Press Democrat
.
Sonoma, California
: Sonoma Media Investments
. Retrieved
June 27,
2017
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
James, Brant (June 25, 2017).
"Kevin Harvick scores first win of the season at Sonoma"
.
USA Today
.
Sonoma, California
:
Gannett Company
. Retrieved
June 27,
2017
.
- ^
Bruce, Kenny (June 25, 2017).
"Kasey Kahne sustains hard hit on final Sonoma lap"
.
NASCAR.com
.
Sonoma, California
: NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
June 27,
2017
.
- ^
Fryer, Jenna (June 25, 2017).
"Kevin Harvick wins at Sonoma for 1st victory of season"
.
Associated Press
.
Sonoma, California
: AP Sports.
Associated Press
. Archived from
the original
on June 29, 2017
. Retrieved
June 25,
2017
.