Carl Edwards cruises to Sonoma pole

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)

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., Casey Mears fastest in 2nd Cup practice at Sonoma

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).

Qualifying will take place at 2 p.m. ET Saturday.

Here’s how the final practice session played out:

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Saturday schedule for Sprint Cup, Camping World Truck Series

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)

4 p.m. – Driver-crew chief meeting

5:45 p.m. – Qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (Fox Sports 2)

8 p.m. – Driver introductions

8:30 p.m. – Drivin’ for Linemen 200; 160 laps, 200 miles (Fox Sports 1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

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What’s the word for Chip Ganassi? Clean language on team radios

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.”

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Sprint Cup using new Goodyear tire at Sonoma

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.

FedEx reveals fan chosen paint scheme for Denny Hamlin at Sonoma

The people have spoken.

Last month, FedEx announced an online vote to determine Denny Hamlin‘s paint scheme for Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway. Fans were given three choices and the winning look was shown off today in San Francisco.

The vote was part of the sponsor’s “FedEx Cares” initiative. For each vote, FedEx would donate $1 – up to $55,000 — to the five charitable organizations that will be on Hamlin’s car: the USO, Safe Kids Worldwide, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, JA Worldwide and Urban League.

The winning car was “#FedExCares3” and was revealed in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

FedExVerified account‏@FedEx

Revealed! Fans voted & we're excited to unveil the #FedExCares @RaceSonoma paint scheme today in San Francisco!

 

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Kansas will perform prior to Southern 500

Just like last year, Darlington Raceway is making sure the throwback weekend surrounding the Southern 500 has the proper soundtrack.

As a follow-up to Grand Funk Railroad’s pre-race concert last year, Darlington has announced that Kansas, the band responsible for the songs “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind,” will perform before the Sept. 4 race.

Among Kansas’ achievements are eight gold albums and three sextuple-Platinum albums. Their first album, the self-titled “Kansas,” was released in 1974. That year, the Southern 500 was won by Cale Yarborough as he lapped the entire field.

“Kansas was an iconic band in that era whose hit songs you can still hear on classic rock stations to this day,” said track president Chip Wile in a press release. “We’re excited for them to perform for our fans and give the Bojangles’ Southern 500 pre-race ceremonies a nostalgic feel as we celebrate the history and heritage of NASCAR on Labor Day weekend.”

The band will perform on a stage on the frontstretch. In addition to a general race ticket, a pre-race access pass may be purchased for an additional $45. This pass will not only give fans stage front access for the concert, but will also include an up close view of the Sprint Cup Series stars as they are introduced to the crowd. Supplies are limited.

The Southern 500 can be seen on Sept. 4 on NBC.