NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Come Out on Top at Sonoma?
The second road course of the year marks the next challenge ahead for the stars of NASCAR. Sonoma Raceway will host this week’s race, the 15th of the season. Still one of the first trips to a road course with the Next Gen car, who can rise to the occasion and win in Wine Country? The technical, undulating circuit has the opportunity to deliver great parity, as many road course aces still search for a checkered flag in 2022.
Kyle Busch
One of only two active drivers with multiple Sonoma wins, Kyle Busch will not lack track time this weekend. Running his fifth and final Truck Series race of 2022, Busch is in a great position to pull off a weekend sweep. Perhaps the best road course racer in the sport today, driver 18 talked about the uniqueness of Sonoma and previewed how the Next Gen will handle here.
“Sonoma is a neat place,” said Busch. “It’s a cool area to go to up into Wine Country. I’ve always enjoyed road-course racing. Even when I was in Legends cars, I would enjoy going up there during the days that I raced there. Now that I’m on the Cup tour, it’s cool to go there every June. It’s a fun racetrack. The cars get grouped a lot closer together there than at Watkins Glen, where it’s more wide open, so braking there is a lot tougher getting into turn four, turn seven, and especially turn 10. There are some opportunities in those corners to pass people. Forward bite seems to have become an issue as you get going there during the run with our previous cars. And you need to make sure you keep the rear tires underneath you because it’s really easy to burn them babies off when you try and pass somebody. You go to pass somebody and hit the gas and all your rear tires want to do is spin and you can’t get alongside that guy. So, from that respect, Sonoma can be frustrating at times, as well. Sort of a whole new ballgame this year with this car and it’s possible we might be battling some different things. We just want to get in a position to win and then see how the strategy plays out.”
“This car is faster on the road courses because it has more grip. It is a more central-built racecar, meaning that it’s not just built to go left. I think the race should be competitive. All of the cars are the same, right? So, it should be more competitive. It’s just a matter of who runs over who that will determine whether we look like the local go-kart track or we look like professionals. That will determine the race length. Certainly we’ve had some good runs lately and we hope to keep that going and get us another win this weekend with our M&M’S Crunchy Cookie Camry TRD.”
With two past Sonoma wins, Busch is one of the best on the California circuit. The 18 has been close to multiple wins this year, but still only has the one victory. The chances of that stat changing are high entering the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Kyle Larson
Hometown hero and defending Sonoma winner Kyle Larson looks to go back-to-back. A three-time pole winner here, Larson’s luck on this circuit never transferred over from qualifying until a year ago. 2021 saw the 5 lead 57 of 92 laps, taking his first road course win at Sonoma. The 5 narrowly beat out teammate Chase Elliott 12 months ago, and is optimistic for a similar result this time around.
“I’ve always had some good speed at Sonoma and it’s my home track,” said Larson. “It’s always fun to see my friends and family, and it was cool to get my first win at my home track last year. But that was with last year’s car and on the longer track. Hopefully, we can get another pole there this weekend, lead some laps and challenge for the win again.”
Much like Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson has been seemingly cursed from multiple wins in 2022. Being the class of the field a year ago at Sonoma, the 5 is one of the favorites again. Larson’s lone win of 2022 came at the other California race, as the 2021 champion goes for a home state sweep.
Martin Truex Jr.
Three-time Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr. is in a great position to take a fourth checkered flag. While the 19 has yet to win this year, he has shown better speed in recent weeks, including at Gateway. If not for a poor final pit stop, MTJ could have taken last week’s inaugural win. Now heading to one of his best venues, Truex looks to take no prisoners in California.
“I love going there,” Truex said. “I love the racetrack, but this week is a huge question mark for everyone – new car, new tires, five gears instead of four, different brakes, and different everything. There’s a big question mark of if our old approach will still work there. Not just the way I drive the car, but how is the tire going to be and what will the falloff be? Do you still have to conserve tires or is it just going to be hammer down all day? A lot of things up in the air, but we’re doing everything we can to show up ready to go on Saturday for practice and qualifying and then the race on Sunday.”
Amidst great unknowns regarding his future in the sport, Truex will have a familiar face with him this weekend. Cole Pearn will be MTJ’s engineer Sunday, as their regular crew member is out for a wedding. Truex and Pearn scored a pair of Sonoma wins together; they hope to go for a hat trick this time.
Chase Elliott
Can the road course king find his crown again? Despite seven career wins on road courses, Chase Elliott is still 0-5 at Sonoma. That being said though, the 9 was a very close runner up to teammate Kyle Larson a year ago, so he has had a shot here before. Coming off of that close loss, Elliott feels confident he can end up one spot better on Sunday.
“Sonoma has been a place that has been a pretty big challenge for me in the past,” Elliott said. “Last season, I felt like it was the best I’ve ever been there. We were pretty good late in the race and I was really proud of that effort by our NAPA team. With having one road course race down with this new car and having some learnings from COTA, I’m hopeful that we can put together another strong run like we did last year.”
While Elliott has been among the best at Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, the Daytona Road Course, COTA, and Road America, the 9 still has Sonoma unchecked. After following Larson across the stripe last year, Elliott enters Sonoma confident he can claim the victory. The NAPA 9 also enters Napa Valley as the odds-on favorite, with his wealth of road course prowess.
Christopher Bell
An under-the-radar road course talent, Christopher Bell could upset some at Sonoma. Bell’s one career win to date came on the Daytona Road Course, and a recent run of five top-10s have the 20 knocking on the door of victory lane. With Sonoma being the first of a few road courses coming up in the summer stretch, Bell could take home multiple victories in the near future.
“Sonoma is one of my favorite road courses,” Bell said. “After last year, I’m excited to try the short course. It’s a really slick track which is what I like.”
Bell has done everything short of win in 2022, as he’s considered one of the fastest non-winners. If the 20 can remain up front in the closing laps, the Oklahoma native could be facing his second career victory.
William Byron
After a trying few weeks, William Byron looks to get back on track at Sonoma. Since winning at Martinsville in April, the 24’s best finish has been 13th. Coming to a course where he’s had past success, Byron is expecting to be a winning contender on Sunday.
“I think Sonoma is the most different of the road courses that we race on,” Byron said. “I feel like you have to focus more on your corner entry and exits to really be able to roll through them and get a good run off. There’s not many true braking zones, so it’s more about keeping as much speed as possible and setting yourself up for the next corner constantly. I feel like that changes what you want from the handling of your car as well.”
“We’ve had good runs going there the last couple races, we just haven’t had the finishes to match it. We also have had to approach this race differently in the past strategy-wise and focus more on capturing as many points as possible. Coming into this race with 13 playoff points already, I think we’re in a better position to utilize a different strategy this time around.”
One thing William Byron has been close to multiple times over the past few years is a road course win. Still 0-16 at all road courses, Byron hopes that the fifth time is the right time at Sonoma. The 24 is no stranger to success in Wine Country, as Byron chases his third victory in 2022.
The second road course race with the Next Gen car could be a thriller, based on how COTA ended. Who can take the win in Wine Country? There are many favorites entering Sonoma, but also the great chance for an upset. Catch the Toyota/Save Mart 350 is Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for NASCAR
