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.
MORE: Townley, Gallagher fined for Truck race scuffle
Take a look at the highlights from the weekend at Sonoma, including audio from the drivers and their crew, and the nail-biting finish between Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin
A NASCAR executive stated Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that “there will be repercussions” for the incident between John Wes Townley and Spencer Gallagher during Saturday night’s Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports Park.
“We’ll look at the all the video feeds we have, we certainly talked to both drivers postrace,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “We’ll have our discussions. We’ll kind of have an evaluation and talk to everyone about where we stand from that. Certainly not our best moment, for sure, two passionate drivers. That’s part of things sometimes when emotions run high, but certainly don’t like to see that to occur when they’re especially on the racetrack.”
O’Donnell told “The Morning Drive” that a key issue is what led to the final accident between them.
“We certainly like to see drivers who are going to express their emotions be outside of a race car, that’s where we really, really jump in and react when it’s drivers using their race cars beyond what is normal for a race,” O’Donnell said. “We’re going to react heavily when we have to. There will still be repercussions for sure. We want to make sure drivers, if they’re going to do anything, are outside of their car but certainly don’t encourage what happened at Gateway.”
Tony Stewart, who won Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Sonoma Raceway, said he was looking forward to how NASCAR will react to the Townley-Gallagher incident.
“I can’t wait for (the penalty announcement) because I told Mike Helton I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time to see how much you get fined for a fight,” Stewart said, referring to the NASCAR vice chairman. “He laughed at me. I said, ‘Well, look at it this way, I’ve got a lot of scores to settle with people and I’ve only got six months to do it.’ I’ve just got to figure out if it’s economically feasible to do it, so I’m waiting to see what ‑‑ I’ll be the one by 5 p.m. on Tuesday reading every social media thing out there.
“But I’m going to go to (Townley’s sponsor) Zaxby’s and eat chicken all week just in support of John Wes. Hey, I’m all for it. I’m glad to see somebody had some emotion and actually did something with it. I’m going to live my life through him for this week.”
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.
Here’s all you need to know for the first Sprint Cup road course race of the season.
(All times are Eastern):
START: Ruben Arminana, Sonoma State University President, will give the command to start engines at 3:08 p.m. Green flag is set for 3:20 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 110 laps (218.9 miles) around the 1.99-mile road course.
PRERACE SCHEDULE: Sprint Cup garage opens at 10 a.m. Driver/crew chief meeting is at 1 p.m. Driver introductions begin at 2:30 p.m. The invocation will be given at 3 p.m. by Tim Bove, track minister at Sonoma Raceway.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Q Smith, Transcendence Theatre’s Broadway Under the Stars in Sonoma Valley, will perform the anthem at 3:01 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Fox Sports 1 will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. (RaceDay begins at 1:30 p.m.) Performance Racing Network’s broadcast on radio and at goprn.com begins at 2 p.m. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the PRN broadcast.
FORECAST: wunderground.com forecasts a temperature of 83 degree with 0 percent chance of rain at the start of the race.
LAST TIME: Kyle Busch took the lead with five laps left to win this race a year ago. Kurt Busch finished second with Clint Bowyer third. Jimmie Johnson led a race-high 45 laps and finished sixth.
Carl Edwards won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Sonoma Raceway with AJ Allmendinger, the pole-sitter in this event a year ago, qualifying second Saturday.
Edwards won the pole with a lap of 95.77 mph. Allmendinger qualified at 95.676 mph.
This is the first Sonoma pole for Edwards. He won at this 1.99-mile road course in 2014. Edwards has a series-high three poles this season.
“I can’t say enough about my guys, our car is fast,” Edwards told FS1. “This place is so much fun.”
Allmendinger told FS1: “A big gain from where we were (Friday). Still got work (for the race).”
Martin Truex Jr. qualified third at 95.672 mph and was followed by Kurt Busch (95.654 mph) and Kyle Larson (95.362)
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).
The Sprint Cup Series has a light day with only qualifying at Sonoma Raceway, but the Camping World Truck Series has a full schedule at Gateway Motorsports Park with practice, qualifying and the Drivin’ for Linemen 200.
Here’s today’s schedule:
All times are Eastern
Sprint Cup Series
(Sonoma Raceway)
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
2:15 p.m. – Sprint Cup qualifying; multi-car/two rounds (FS1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Camping World Truck Series
(Gateway Motorsports Park)
8 a.m. – Truck garage opens
9:30 – 10:25 p.m. – Truck practice (No TV)
11: 30 a.m. – 12:55 p.m. – Final Truck practice (FS1)
NASCAR and IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi prides himself in running a clean and professional racing operation.
That extends to language on his race team’s radio communications. With conversations between drivers, crew chiefs, spotters and others on the team freely available to fans with scanner radios, the onus is on everyone in the team to keep their language clean and above board.
“I have always found that the drivers I respect the most are the guys that win races and win championships,” Ganassi said Friday at Sonoma Raceway. “If you look at the guys that win races and win championships, nine times out of 10 those are the calmer, succinct communicators on the radio.
“They don’t get into a lot of poor language or obscenities. The guys that win on a regular basis or the guys that win championships don’t feel the need to do that. I think that probably should tell you something.”
When asked if he has ever had to take a driver aside and discuss their language with them, Ganassi concurred and then added a laugh for emphasis.
“Sure,” he said. “Let’s just say that now that the scanner traffic is more in the public domain I’m glad that certain driver’s aren’t with us anymore. I’ll say that much.”
The Sprint Cup Series will be using a new tire code this weekend for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. The code will be used on all four tires.
Compared to the tires used at Sonoma last year, this tire features a decrease in tread gauge (thickness). With all NASCAR road courses, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Sonoma.
Team will be given five sets of tires for practice/qualifying and five for the race.
Tire Code: D-4678 (same on all four tire positions)
Tire Circumference: 88.66 in. (2,252 mm)
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 22 psi; Right Front — 20 psi; Left Rear — 17 psi; Right Rear — 17 psi
Goodyear will have its wet weather radials (D-4215) present at the track in case NASCAR determines it necessary to use them. The rain tires have not been used since the Xfinity Series ran them at Road America in 2014.
Teams are allowed up to three sets of “wets” for practice/qualifying and up to three sets for the race.
After a week off the Sprint Cup Series returns this weekend with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Meanwhile, the Camping World Truck Series is still in the Midwest as it visits Gateway Motorsports Park for its Drivin’ for Linemen 200.
Here is the full weekend schedule for both series, including TV and radio times.
All times are Eastern.
Sonoma Raceway
Friday, June 24
11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
3 – 4:55 p.m – Sprint Cup practice (Fox Sports 1)
6:30 – 7:55 p.m. – Final Sprint Cup practice (Fox Sports 1)
Saturday, June 25
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
2:15 p.m. – Sprint Cup qualifying; multi-car/two rounds (FS1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, June 26
10 a.m. – Sprint Cup garage opens
1 p.m. – Driver-crew chief meeting
2:30 p.m. – Driver introductions
3 p.m. – Toyota/Save Mart 350; 110 laps, 218.9 miles (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Camping World Truck Series
Saturday, June 25
8 a.m. – Truck garage opens
9:30 – 10:25 p.m. – Truck practice (No TV)
11: 30 a.m. – 12:55 p.m. – Final Truck practice (FS1)
Chase Elliott will do double duty this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, competing in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race and Saturday’s K&N Pro Series West race.
This weekend marks Elliott’s first time at Sonoma Raceway, a 1.99-mile road course. It’s not uncommon for drivers competing there for the first time to run the companion K&N West race to gain more track time.
Trevor Bayne competed in the K&N West race last year, finishing 10th, a day before his first Cup start at Sonoma. Austin Dillonplaced sixth in last year’s K&N West race to gain extra experience on the road course a day before his second Cup start there. Kyle Larson won the 2014 K&N West race a day before his first Cup start at that track. Elliott is the only Sprint Cup driver on the preliminary entry list for this weekend’s K&N West race.
Elliott has competed in seven road course races in his NASCAR career, six in Xfinity and once in the Camping World Truck Series. He won the 2013 Camping World Truck race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after contact with leader Ty Dillon on the final corner of the last lap.
Elliott enters this Cup weekend having scored six consecutive top-10 finishes. Kurt Buschhas the series’ longest active streak of top-10 finishes with nine.
Beginning with this weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway, the No. 78 of Furniture Row Racing will honor the military with special logos placed on its car.
The recognition begins with the patch of the California National Guard.
According to a press release, the California National Guard is “among the nation’s largest and most frequently deployed National Guard force. Cal Guard soldiers and airmen have deployed across the world more than 44,000 times since 9/11, and 29 of its soldiers have sacrificed their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
In 2013, the California National Guard reportedly had 21,000 troops, including 16,565 soldiers and 4,572 airmen. FRR racing features nine military veterans. Among them is owner Barney Visser.
“The longer I live and the more things I experience the more I appreciate the sacrifice and dedication that our military men and women have made, and will continue to make to preserve our freedom,” said Visser in a press release. Visser is a Vietnam veteran, having served in the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade in the late 1960s. “We are proud to showcase the California National Guard, which not only responds and takes action in state emergencies but also in combat deployment throughout the world.”
Martin Truex Jr. will make his 11th start at Sonoma Raceway. Truex won the 2013 race at the road course for the second win of his career.
Before Dale Earnhardt Jr. can return to one of his best tracks, he must go to one he probably could do without.
The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway is peeking around the corner for Earnhardt. But he and the rest of the Sprint Cup Series are on the opposite coast this weekend at Sonoma Raceway in California.
If you saw Earnhardt and his No. 88 team celebrating like crazy after his third-place finish at Sonoma in 2014, there’s a reason. He and the road courses of Sonoma and Watkins Glen are not on the best of terms.
“The road courses are basically… you know you’re just kind of swinging at whatever comes at you at those race tracks and doing the best you can to complete the weekend without any major mistakes,” Earnhardt told NBC Sports in May. “I don’t go to the road courses with any confidence that I can win the race. I go in there really just thinking survive just let’s try not to screw it up.”
If anyone needs a confidence boost this weekend in the Toyota/ Save Mart 350, it’s Earnhardt. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has yet to win this season to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and is currently 11th in the points. That’s after he peaked at sixth in the standings following a runner-up result at Bristol. In the seven races since, Earnhardt has finished in the top 10 just once, another runner-up finish at Pocono Raceway.
But Sonoma could be a surprising wild card for Earnhardt. Prior to 2014, Earnhardt has never finished better than 11th on the road-course. But in the last two visits to wine country, the No. 88 has finished in the top 10. Earnhardt earned a result of seventh last year.
“I go into every other race, I mean if it’s an oval I go in there knowing that there is potential we can win the race,” Earnhardt said. “But we go to Watkins Glen and Sonoma basically if we get in the top 10 in qualifying and we finish in the top five that’s a win. We celebrated harder when we finished third at Sonoma than we did during any of the wins in 2014 and when we won the Daytona 500. Those road courses are a real challenge.”
Not all would be lost if Earnhardt falters on the West Coast. Of the 10 tracks before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Earnhardt has won at five of them (Daytona, Michigan, Pocono, Bristol and Richmond).
But the key point could be Daytona, a track he’s won at four times in his Sprint Cup career. But his restrictor-plate abilities haven’t been helpful in his last two visits to Daytona and Talladega. Earnhardt recorded a DNF in each race after his car crashed following spinning out on its own.
Since Kyle Busch swept the road course races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen in 2008, parity has reigned among the winners of those NASCAR Sprint Cup events.
There have been 12 different winners in the last 14 races at those tracks. The only repeat winners are Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen in 2011 and ’12) and Busch (Watkins Glen in 2013 and Sonoma in 2015).
Will there be a another different winner this weekend when the series races at Sonoma Raceway or will a driver who has won a road course event since 2009 win again?
Here’s a list of the winners in the last 14 races at those tracks:
