The teams of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth each received written warnings last weekend at Sonoma Raceway, with Kenseth receiving his fourth and losing pit selections for the race.
Earnhardt, whose car failed pre-qualifying template inspection twice, received his second written warning. A fourth warning results in loss of pit selection for the following race
Kenseth’s fourth written warning was issued after failing pre-qualifying laser inspection.
Earnhardt’s team has already gone through the cycle of earning four warnings and losing pit selection. The No. 88 team lost pit selection for the Coca-Cola 600.
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Denny Hamlin did everything he could to hold off a last-lap charge by Tony Stewart, but he just couldn’t hang on.
Stewart got by Hamlin on the final turn of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway to earn his first win since 2013 – and left Hamlin to ponder how this one got away.
“I shouldn’t have given him that opportunity (on the last lap),” Hamlin said over his team radio.
In a postrace interview on Fox Sports 1, he expanded on that.
“I got in there, didn’t wheel-hop or anything, just slid up a little bit in the middle and allowed him to get a real good run on me,” Hamlin said. “Once (Stewart) had inside position; we weren’t going to drag-race at that point.
“I knew he was going to put me in the wall. He’s doing what he has to do, and we’re trying to do what we have to do. All’s fair in love and war.”
Hamlin finished 0.625 seconds behind Stewart.
“We had a really good car,” Hamlin said in a postrace media session. “Obviously the best road course car I’ve had.”
Hamlin leaves Sonoma still looking for his first career Sprint Cup road course win. His career best at Watkins Glen International also is a second (in 2007).
Hamlin took the lead on the last lap, passing Stewart in Turn 7 after the latter made a mistake by overdriving the turn.
“I thought with two or three (laps) to go, he pretty much had it, but he made a couple mistakes and allowed us to get pretty close,” Hamlin said. “We just both wheel-hopped into 7, and I just let off my wheel-hop a little bit so I could get to his rear bumper and get him out of the groove just a touch.
“It was perfectly executed, but … I didn’t run a low enough line in Turn 11 from wheel-hopping in Turn 7. I got the rears hot, wheel hopped it a little bit again, got out of line, and obviously gave him the inside line. … We definitely had a car that should have won, but we were on the bad end of the deal.”
Hamlin admitted he was worried that if Stewart could get to his back bumper heading into the 11th and final turn of the last lap, that his rival might try to turn him.
“I didn’t know if he would physically spin us out,” Hamlin said. “I thought there was a very good chance of it because that’s his opportunity to get in the Chase ultimately.”
Hamlin then said with a laugh, “I mean, how many more chances is he going to have? I think this is by far the best he’s run all year, and he’s in his final season, so his give a (expletive) factor is probably really low to be honest with you.”
Still, though disappointed at his runner-up finish, Hamlin was philosophical about it, coupled with the relationship he’s had with Stewart – a former teammate, as well – over the years.
“Tony has been ultra fair to me quite a bit,” Hamlin said. “He’s treated me really well my entire career. It’s not like I gave him one by any means. He gave us an opportunity to move him, we did, and then we got it back. It’s just part of the deal.”
Mike Bugarewicz has a hard enough job as a NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief.
But that job just got a little easier – at least for one race – after his driver, Tony Stewart, won Sunday at Sonoma.
Not only was it Stewart’s first win since 2013 – and the 49th of his Sprint Cup career – it was also Bugarewicz’s first win atop a Cup pit box.
“I’ve only worked at Stewart-Haas (Racing), this is my third year, (the first) two years with Kevin (Harvick) as his engineer,” Bugarewicz said. “Every win is sweet whether I’m a race engineer or crew chief or whatever, it’s all great.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet that it was my first, but our goal from the beginning of the year was to get Tony back in victory lane, and I’m just so glad that we could get him there.”
Stewart made headlines Friday when he said during his weekly media availability that “driving a Sprint Cup car does not make me happy right now” ,and that is why he’s looking so forward to retiring at season’s end.
But after Sunday’s win, Bugarewicz said his driver’s mindset might have changed a bit more to the positive side of things – and that he certainly had some fun in Sunday’s win.
“I did not remember to ask him that,” Bugarewicz said about failing to ask Stewart if he was having fun before Sunday’s race. “I just assumed by the look of his face that he was enjoying it.
“One thing I will say, no matter what, every week it’s the last thing I say to him before I leave the car and he actually reminded me of that today.
“He said, ‘If I get angry and start yelling at you today, just remind me to have fun.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know how that’ll work out for me.’ But no, we always talk about that. What’s most important for all of us is just enjoy it, take it in. You have to do that.”
While Bugarewicz and his team did everything they could to help Stewart to victory lane, in the end it was Stewart who did what he needed to do.
That included being mum on the team radio on the final lap.
“I stayed pretty quiet,” Bugarewicz said. “The spotter was keeping in touch with him. He didn’t say much, either.
“In those situations I just like to let (Stewart) concentrate and let him do his thing. He’s got a lot going on, especially at a place like this, so we just let him focus.”
But Bugarewicz also had something that only one other Sprint Cup team (six-time champ Jimmie Johnson) has — a driver with multiple Cup titles.
“Having a three-time champion who knew he had an opportunity today is a big thing,” Bugarewicz said. “At the end of the day, we only won because of his desire and his drive and his want.
“I truly believe that with these competitors and how good all the cars are and these top-tier drivers, that’s all it is. It’s a matter of who wants it more at the end of the day in most cases. Today, Tony wanted it more.”
Tony Stewart has had some wild finishes in his career, but Sunday’s last lap victory — passing Denny Hamlin (and punting him slightly into the wall) on the last turn of the race — will likely rank among one of the wildest of Stewart’s career.
While Carl Edwards will start Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 from the pole at Sonoma Raceway, he’ll be in pit stall No. 11 and have an opening in front.
California native AJ Allmendinger has the first pit stall (stall No. 2) with Chase Elliott behind him.
By contrast, Aric Almirola and Tony Stewart have the last stalls on pit road.
Matt Kenseth lost his selection of pit stalls because his team received a fourth warning for an inspection issue that came before qualifying Saturday at Sonoma. Kenseth will have Brian Scott in front of him and Josh Wise behind.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (95.298 mph) and Casey Mears (95.255 mph) paced the field in Friday’s second and final practice session for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Denny Hamlin was third fastest (95.243 mph), followed by former Sonoma winner Carl Edwards (95.157 mph) and defending race winner Kyle Busch (95.145 mph).
Sonoma Raceway has announced that actor Luke Wilson (Old School, Legally Blonde) will be the honorary pace car driver for next weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Sonoma Raceway.
Wilson, who stars in Showtime’s new TV series Roadies that premieres June 26, will drive the pace car prior to the green flag of the race.
“I feel incredibly honored to be asked to lead the field of cars to the green,” said Wilson in a press release. “I have never done anything like this before and I’m really excited to start off the race at the Toyota/Save Mart 350.”
Last year, the honorary pace car driver was actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
