NASCAR Sonoma Race Results: Martin Truex Jr Wins

The last time Martin Truex Jr. went to victory lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, George W. Bush was still President of the United States, the IPhone had just been introduced by Steve Jobs, and Barry Bonds just hit his 756^th home run, surpassing Hank Aaron on the all-time home run list.

Six years, 218 races, and many missed attempts at returning to victory lane later, Truex finally snapped his winless streak on Sunday by pulling away from the field on the final restart to win the Toyota SaveMart 350 at Sonoma.

Jeff Gordon finished second, moving him three spots to 13th in points. Carl Edwards finished third, capturing his sixth top-10 of the season. Kurt Busch came home fourth after recovering from back-to-back pit road speeding penalties and last year’s winner, Clint Bowyer, rounded out the top-five in fifth place.

In victory lane, Truex was in disbelief as he climbed out of number 56 “Napa Know How” Toyota to celebrate with his crew members and friends. “I’m just proud of these guys for sticking behind me and working hard and giving me race cars like this. My pit crew’s really turned it on lately, and today was just our day. We’ve had a lot of days when it wasn’t our day, and today it was just our time.” Truex said of his team’s perseverance this season.

Points leader Jimmie Johnson finished 9^th, notching his 10th top-10 of the season. The top-10 wasn’t enough to stop Carl Edwards from gaining six points in the standings on the five time champion, shrinking his lead to 25 points. With Johnson taking back-to-back hits in points, it is very likely we will see a new points leader after the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

Greg Biffle followed up his win last week with an eighth place finish in Sunday’s race. The top-10 finish jumps Biffle up two positions to sixth in the standings, 65 points behind Jimmie Johnson.  Biffle has his work cut out for him next week at Kentucky if he wants to continue his hunt for Johnsons point lead. So far Biffle’s best finish in the Bluegrass state is 21^st.

Matt Kenseth was never a factor in this week’s race, finishing in 19th place and leading no laps during Sundays race. You would think after joining Joe Gibbs racing at the beginning of the year that Kenseth would be unstoppable on any track he raced on, but with only one top-10 this month, Kenseth seems to be on a steep decline that may not stop anytime soon. Kenseth currently sits fifth In the point standings, 28 points ahead of 10th. Matt Kenseth will be a lock to make the chase, but shouldn’t make too much noise if he isn’t consistently finishing in the top-10.

NASCAR’s favorite son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished  12^th on Sunday, once again failing to capture the elusive top-10 finish that has eluded him since finishing 10th at Watkins Glen in 2005. If Jr. wants to make a legitimate claim for the championship, he needs to finish in the top-10 consecutively week after week. With a blown engine at Michigan and a disappointing finish at Sonoma, Jr looks like a chase contender that will fall behind early and never really have a chance at winning the championship this year.

Defending series champion, Brad Keselowski finished 21^st after falling victim to a bad restart late in the race.  Keselowski currently sits ninth in the standings, nine points away for being shuffled out of the top-10. I have no doubt in my mind that Keselowski could make the chance and even win the title again this year, but not if he remains winless in the regular season.

Kyle Busch had a rough day at Sonoma as well, falling victim to not one, not two , but three separate incidents where he got spun by fault of his own. The first incident happened early on in the race as Busch was running in the eighth position. Juan Pablo Montoya hit the brakes late, gliding by Joey Logano before wheel-hopping the turn and nailing Busch in the quarter panel, causing him to get loose and spin out. Busch watched as a flurry of cars passed by him, dropping him outside the top-25. The second incident occurred as he raced for 15^th with Carl Edwards in the closing laps of the race. The two drivers battled aggressively for the position, Carl Edwards would win the battle by bumping Busch heading into a turn, causing him to fly off the track and smack the tire barrier.

Then finally Busch had a tire go down and again careened off the track but was able to keep the car steady and avoid the oncoming tire barrier. Kyle Busch finished the day in 35^th; dropping him two spots in the standings to eighth place. Busch’s disappointing finishes the last two weeks put him just eight points ahead of 10th place in the standings. If Busch wants to make the chase this season he will need to a win at either Daytona or Kentucky.

Joey Logano finished 11th on Sunday, ending his string of consecutive top-10 finishes. Logano remains 14^th in standings, 14 points out of 10th place.  With only six top-10s this season out of 16 races ran, Logano will miss the chase for the third straight time in his career. Tony Stewart had a disappointing day as well, finishing 28^th after falling victim to a few late race incidents, Dropping him outside the top-10 to 15^th, 20 points out of 10th place. With Stewart notching a win at Dover earlier this year, he should make the final wild card spot in the Chase.

Aric Armirola did little to keep his chase hopes alive Sunday, finishing 20th and dropping one spot in the standings to 16th. Armirola’s top-25 finish puts him 25 points out of 10th place in points, the final non wild-card spot in the chase. If Almirola did make the chase it would be the first time a Richard Petty Motorsports driver made the postseason in the history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Chase hopeful, Kurt Busch, started 7^th on Sunday before charging up to the front and leading 15 laps. Despite a fast car capable of winning the race, Busch fell victim to two consecutive pit road speeding penalties and finished fourth. Although Busch has run into many problems throughout the season, including a wreck at Martinsville and Talladega, Busch will remain a strong contender throughout the summer and win at Daytona. The win at Daytona and multiple top-10 finishes throughout the next 10 races will be enough for a wild-card spot in the Chase.

Ryan Newman quietly finished the race in 15^th place. the top-25 finish was enough to keep Newman 18^th in the point standings, 35 points out of 10th place. Newman has only allotted seven top-10s this season, putting into serious doubt that he can remain consistent enough to make the Chase this season. Rookie of the year candidate, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., had a quiet day as well finishing 27^th. The top-30 finish keeps Stenhouse 19^th in points, and gives him little to no chance of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup in September.

Another driver with no chance of making the postseason this year is Jeff Burton. Burton finished 31^st on Sunday, sliding him down three spots to 20^th place. With only three top-10s this season and a 50 point deficit to overcome, you can safely bet Burton won’t be a contender comes Chase time.

After Sonoma the points race looks very different than what it did coming into Sunday’s race. Many drivers will be spending the next ten races to get every little inch they can to make the Chase this year, while others will be trying desperately to hold on to their spot atop the points standings and have a shot at the championship this season.

The Sprint Cup Series will head to Kentucky Motor Speedway this Saturday for only the third time in Sprint Cup history. Brad Keselowski is your defending winner of the race and could definitely use another win to rebound him back into to Chase contention. The man who all eyes should be on Saturday night is Tony Stewart. After dropping back five spots in the standings, no one needs a win more than smoke to keep his chase hopes alive.

Finishing order

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Carl Edwards
4. Kurt Busch
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Marcos Ambrose
8. Greg Biffle
9. Jimmie Johnson
10. Kevin Harvick
11. Joey Logano
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13. Brian Vickers
14. Paul Menard
15. Ryan Newman
16. Casey Mears
17. Travis Kvapil
18. Boris Said
19. Matt Kenseth
20. Aric Almirola
21. Brad Keselowski
22. Ron Fellows
23. Denny Hamlin
24. David Gilliland
25. Jamie McMurray
26. David Reutimann
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Tony Stewart
29. Danica Patrick
30. Justin Marks
31. Jeff Burton
32. Josh Wise
33. David Regan
34. Juan Pablo Montoya
35. Kyle Busch
36. David Stremme
37. Victor Gonzalez Jr.
38. Tomy Drissi
39. Paulie Harraka
40. Alex Kennedy
41. Jaques Villeneuve
42. J.J Yeley
43. Bobby Labonte