NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Be King of the Road Course in Sonoma?
A new look Sonoma Raceway makes its NASCAR debut this weekend. Following offseason repaving of the 1.99-mile Northern California circuit, the field of potential winners is stacked. High speeds and even higher unknowns lie ahead for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Here are a few drivers who could end this week with a big wine country win.
Martin Truex Jr
If anyone can lay claim to the title king of Sonoma its Martin Truex Jr. The four-time California winner has three of the last five checkered flags here, including a year ago. Truex’s Toyota was one of three cars invited out for a March tire test on the new pavement as well. Truex expects the new surface to change drastically over the weekend.
“With the new pavement, the track was getting better and better,” Truex said. “I know they’ve had to do a little bit of work there since, so I’m sure the same will go throughout the race weekend. With the more use it gets and rubber laid down, it will get better. The track was pretty slick but, as we ran laps and cleaned the track off and laid rubber down, things got a lot better. Our car was pretty good back then. But we also know it’s going to be a lot warmer there this weekend than it was back in March at the test. It was nice to get an early jump and feel some things out a few months ago, well before this weekend.”
“It’s a lot different with the repave, but I’m hoping it’s our normal deal out there and we have a chance to win again. I think this would be the first time I would have five wins at a track if we can get it done. This will be a new challenge. We’ve been able to win on the normal course we’ve used, been able to win on the carousel configuration, and now we have a new challenge with the repaved surface, as well. I just love going out there, and the area. We have a lot of fans there who I know will be cheering us on with our Bass Pro Shops Camry XSE this weekend.”
Like mentioned above, Truex has the chance to make Sonoma his all-time winningest track in Cup. MTJ boasts victories here with Michael Waltrip Racing, Furniture Row, and most recently Joe Gibbs Racing. The odds-on favorite for Sonoma hopes to remain undefeated this weekend.
Kyle Larson
Can the hometown kid retake the Sonoma winner’s goblet? 2021 winner Kyle Larson grew up two hours away in Elk Grove, and has a stout Sonoma record. Last year ended a run of five-straight poles for Larson at this track. Larson relishes in every opportunity he gets to perform in front of his local grassroots fans.
“It’s always a fun race weekend since I grew up pretty close to there,” Larson said. “I was pretty good there – at least in qualifying – before I joined Hendrick, and then we put a whole weekend together in 2021 to get the win. We’ll see what the repave is like during practice on Friday and hopefully adjust and stay on top of those conditions throughout the weekend.”
The Playoff waiver debate is now firmly behind him. Kyle Larson can fully shift his focus onto regaining the points lead and chasing the regular season championship. Entering Sonoma 21 points behind Denny Hamlin, Larson can make up lost ground in the title fight. A max points weekend like he scored here in 2021 would go a long way to putting the No. 5 back on top.
Chris Buescher
Few have been more consistent across all road courses over the past two years than Chris Buescher. Dating back to a Sonoma runner-up in 2022, the No. 17 has 11 road course top-10s. This includes back-to-back Sonoma top-fives, finishing fourth here a year ago.
Team 17 is currently on a precarious position on the cut line, only 10 points to the good. RFK Racing has a chance to earn a second Playoff berth this weekend, with Buescher’s impressive road course prowess. The Ford powerhouse eyes making the longest trip home with a trophy in hand.
Chase Elliott
Crowned the road course king in the Gen 6 car, Chase Elliott still seeks his first circuit win in the Next Gen. Elliott’s status may have slipped a bit, but he is still near the top in average finish. Driver 9 leads this stat overall (9.9) through 15 races in 2024. He looks to earn a maiden sip of Sonoma’s winning wine.
“I would like to think we can go out there and have a shot to win,” Elliott said. “It’s basically a new track for all of us except for the three drivers that got to test. It’s going to take a little time. We do get extra practice on Friday, which is nice, especially for a repave. I think that it (the practice) is warranted, and it’ll give us a few extra laps. We’ll go to work and see where we stack up.”
Sonoma would be the sixth road course where Elliott has won, an all-time Cup Series record. Elliott’s last two years at Sonoma have seen him finish eighth and fifth. He is slowing trending back to his dominant road course acumen.
Michael McDowell
Gunning for a second-straight year with a road course win is Michael McDowell. Across 11 Sonoma starts, McDowell’s best outings have been his last two. He’s seen a third and a seventh in the Next Gen car. Gearing up for one last Sonoma showing with this No. 34 team, McDowell heads west with high confidence.
“I can’t wait for Sonoma,” McDowell said. “We want to get back into the top-five and get a good result. Travis (Peterson, crew chief) and the team are working hard to prepare the car. Sonoma is going to be tough, especially with the repave, but I think last year we really hit on it. I really like racing this new car on road courses. I’m really comfortable in it and it has helped us.”
If McDowell qualifies up front again, then it could be a long Sunday ahead for the competition. The No. 34 Ford started fourth and led nearly the entire race at Indianapolis last summer, in a road course masterclass. Sonoma can easily be a repeat of this, and a second-straight Playoff upset finding victory lane.
Ross Chastain
Two years ago Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez earned his maiden Cup triumph at Sonoma. Fast-forwarding to 2024, and his teammate Ross Chastain is in need of a victory. Finding himself 59 points above the cut line, Chastain is not at imminent risk of falling out, but still yearns for a checkered flag. Another driver from Sonoma’s tire test, Chastain expects a whole different track this weekend.
“We were around three seconds faster than the track record,” Chastain said. “Now, they have patched and repaved several spots since I’ve been there. SVG went recently with the wheel force car. He had different feedback in some corners from different things they had patched and repaved. When we were there it was all one coat and then right after we left they started changing it. It’s really fast and the asphalt is very fresh and dark.”
“Daniel (Suarez) and I train closer than I ever have with a teammate. Part of that was because early on I didn’t do any of that. I’ve found that Daniel and I really line up well. So we talk about it almost daily about different tracks, philosophies and things like that. Especially on road courses there’s so much to gain from him.”
Chastain can never truly be counted out at any road course, but he’s been sneakily consistent at Sonoma. Between Ganassi in 2021 and two years with Trackhouse, Chastain has not finished worse than 10th. Should the No. 1 Chevrolet be up front late, Chastain may be very tough to pass for any other competitor.
Sonoma has the chance to be one driver’s turning point in their season, and shorten their road to the Playoffs. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 goes green Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Many past wine country masters are still winless in 2024. Odds are high for a 10th driver locking up a postseason spot.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter/X
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter/X
Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
