A couple former Cup champions are looking for their first win of the season
This Sunday’s Toyota | Save Mart 350 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Sonoma Raceway marks the second road course event of the year and several of NASCAR’s best at that brand of racing arrive in Northern California’s scenic wine country still looking for their first victory of the 2024 season.
Last week Team Penske’s Austin Cindric scored a huge win at World Wide Technology Raceway, driving to victory when his teammate, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney ran out of gas with a lap remaining, surrendering the race lead and ultimately the trophy and a Playoff position to Cindric.
Two of Penske’s champion drivers, Blaney and two-time series champ Joey Logano are among a legitimate A-List still racing for their first trophies, 15 races into the 2024 season. Both have road course wins on their resume – Logano at Watkins Glen, N.Y. and Blaney on the Charlotte ROVAL – so Sonoma presents a legitimate opportunity.
The defending Sonoma race winner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, three of the best road course drivers in the field are also among those still competing for their first victory of the season. Add second-year JGR driver Ty Gibbs – who earned four road course wins in the Xfinity Series – to that list and it sets up a rather intense Sunday afternoon in wine country.
Among that group of favorites, Truex certainly holds the most Sonoma cred. Not only is he the defending winner but he’s earned three trophies in the last five years and has four overall there. In 2018-19, he became the first driver since NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (1998-2000) to win consecutive races at the 1.99-mile, 12-turn course.
“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,” said Truex, who sits its fourth in points heading to Sonoma. “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 how we have a new challenge with the repaved surface as well.”
There are 15 drivers with at least one NASCAR Cup Series road-course victory on the grid Sunday – and five of them, who compete full-time in the series, are still looking for their first win of the season.
In 2024, the NASCAR Cup Series races at only four traditional road courses – plus the Chicago Street Race – so for those who particularly excel turning right and left, Sonoma presents a huge opportunity to secure one of the 16 Playoff positions.
Last year there were six different winners in the six road course events. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron – who collected his first road course trophy at Watkins Glen, N.Y. last summer, won this season’s first road course race at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas in March.
Heading into Sonoma, only nine drivers have secured a Playoff spot with a win, leaving seven positions to be determined in these final 11 regular season events.
There will be a 50-minute NASCAR Cup Series practice session Friday afternoon at 5:05 p.m. ET (televised on FS1 at 8:30 p.m. ET) with two rounds of Busch Light Pole Qualifying (FS2) scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Qualifying has been a strong indicator of race performance. Only twice in 34 Sonoma races has the winner started outside the top-15. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson has won four pole positions and would tie Hendrick executive and former driver Jeff Gordon for most all-time should he win a fifth this weekend.
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
