Next Race: Toyota / SaveMart 350 The Place: Sonoma Raceway The Date: Sunday, June 24 The Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 218.9 miles (110 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 110) Five For Busch? Only one driver in the last decade has won multiple races at the scenic Sonoma Raceway road course nestled in the hills of California wine country. And Kyle Busch absolutely earned that impressive distinction winning his first race there 10 years ago as a 23-year old and answering that win with an incredible victory three years ago – his first of the 2015 season after missing 11 races with a leg injury suffered at Daytona during the season-opening Speedweeks. The Sonoma win was the first of five Busch would score en route to the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. And Busch’s inaugural Sonoma win in 2008 was the most dominant showing of the last decade. He led 78 of the 112 laps. A victory this Sunday in the Toyota/Save-Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) would give the current championship leader and Joe Gibbs Racing driver five wins on the 2018 season. His biggest competition of the year – five-time winner Kevin Harvick – is the defending winner at Sonoma – capturing his first victory at the track and second road course trophy (he won at Watkins Glen in 2006) of his career. Class of the Field Not only have Harvick, Kyle Busch and two-time race winners Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer established themselves the class of the 2018 season so far, interestingly, they are also the four most recent winners among active drivers at the Sonoma Raceway road course. Harvick won last year, Busch won in 2015, Truex won in 2013 and Bowyer in 2012. Retired drivers Tony Stewart (2016) and Carl Edwards (2014) are the only other winners in that span. Sonoma Lap Leaders Among the last 10 Sonoma Raceway winners, Kurt Busch holds the distinction of leading the most laps over the course of his career. The 2011 race winner has led 197 laps in 17 starts at the road course. Since his victory, he has only one finish outside the top-10, 12th-place in 2014. He has four top fives in the last seven races. Californian Jimmie Johnson, the 2010 Sonoma winner, has led 143 laps at Sonoma and boasted a healthy string of seven top-10s from 2009-2015. Kyle Busch has the next best total of 110 laps led with two victories, followed by 2013 winner Martin Truex Jr. who has 92 laps out front. He led the most laps last year (25) but did not win. He led 51 laps in his 2013 victory. Of the last six race winners, Kevin Harvick has led the fewest number of career total laps at Sonoma (60). Three times since 2008, the race winner has led at least 70 of the 112 scheduled laps. Kyle Busch led 78 in his 2008 win. Kurt Busch led 76 laps in his 2011 win and Bowyer led 71 laps in his 2012 victory. Youthful Enthusiasm One of the primary storylines in Northern California this week will undoubtedly be whether NASCAR’s young talent breaks out to earn a toast in Sonoma’s storied Victory Lane. There is a good cause to believe in the possibility. Both Chevrolet drivers Chase Elliott, 22, and Kyle Larson, 25, have won on the Sonoma course (the 2016 and 2014 K&N Pro Series races, respectively). And Elliott won his first-ever NASCAR national series race on a road course, the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Erik Jones, 22, has already taken a Sonoma ‘tutorial,’ the Joe Gibbs Racing driver revealed last week, spending a full day on the course last month making laps under the guidance of a driving school coach. He was 25th in his Sonoma debut last year, but scored a 10th-place finish at Watkins Glen later in the summer. He won the Bowmanville, Ontario, Camping World Truck Series race in 2015 but did not have a road course top-five in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. Rookies William Byron, 19, and Bubba Wallace, 24, bring some strong reference material as well. Byron, who is ranked 20th in the Monster Energy Series standings, scored a pair of top-10 finishes at the Watkins Glen (10th) and Road America (sixth) road course venues last year in the Xfinity Series and had a 10th-place showing at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the Camping World Truck Series in 2016. Wallace, who is ranked 24th and trails Byron by 30 points in the standings, has four previous road course top-10s as well – three in the Xfinity Series. He was eighth at Mid-Ohio, fifth at Road America in 2015 and ninth in 2016. He also finished fourth in the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park truck race in 2013. ‘Dinger the Ringer For much of his NASCAR career A.J. Allmendinger has been considered the top shelf of road course racing because of his background in IndyCar and sports car racing prior to his fulltime move to stock cars. And although Allmendinger has a win at the Monster Energy Series’ road course, in Watkins Glen, N.Y., he is still looking for one in his native California. An absolute favorite every time he shows up in Sonoma, Allmendinger has won a pole position (2015) but struggled come race time. He has only two top-10 finishes in nine starts with a best of finish of seventh in 2009. He has finished 35th or worse in three of the last four Sonoma races in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet but led laps in all those outings. Compare that to the Watkins Glen road course, where Allmendinger has a win (2015), a pole position (2015) and three top-10 finishes in the last four races there. California Dreamin’ There are five California natives competing this weekend, including Kevin Harvick (of Bakersfield), Jimmie Johnson (of El Cajon), AJ Allmendinger (of Los Gatos), Kyle Larson (of Elk Grove) and Matt DiBenedetto (of Grass Valley). Of those, only Harvick and Johnson have a win at Sonoma in the Monster Energy Series. Larson won the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West there, leading every one of the 66 laps. He won the pole position in last year’s Cup race and led nine laps, but is still looking for his first top-10 finish in four career starts. His Time Denny Hamlin may be winless at Sonoma, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver provided one of the most memorable finishes in history at the track. His closing laps duel with eventual winner Tony Stewart in 2016 produced one of the sport’s most dramatic checkered flags. But Hamlin, who has led an impressive 92 laps in his career at Sonoma, is still looking for that maiden win. He is 0-for-12 despite his time out front, but has back-to-back top-five finishes in the last two races with a fourth-place last year to follow-up his career-best runner-up finish to Stewart in 2016. He answered that 2016 Sonoma near-miss with a victory at the series’ other road course, Watkins Glen, later that summer and was fourth at The Glen last year – his two best showings at the track. Movement in the Standings Five positions changed among the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ top-10 points standings following the Michigan race. Four-time race winner Kyle Busch still remains on top – his fourth-place finish at Michigan helping him hold a steady and hefty 75-point edge over five-time race winner Kevin Harvick. But Michigan winner Clint Bowyer moved up a position into fifth place in the standings and trails another “mover” Brad Keselowski in fourth place, by only four points. Martin Truex Jr., who won at Pocono two weeks ago, finished a frustrating 18th-place at Michigan. It dropped him from fourth to sixth place in the championship points standings, but he trails Bowyer by only four points. Ryan Blaney’s eighth-place run in the Irish Hills, coupled with Larson’s 28th-place finish, meant the two young drivers swapped positions in the standings. Blaney is now in ninth with a 14-point edge over Larson in 10th. Next Race: Overton’s 300 The Place: Chicagoland Speedway The Date: Saturday, June 30 The Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200) Next Race: Villa Lighting delivers the Eaton 200 presented by CK Power The Place: Gateway Motorsports Park The Date: Saturday, June 23 The Time: 8:30 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 200 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160) Iowa Native Becomes an Iowa Winner It was hot and humid on Saturday at Iowa Speedway but that didn’t stop Brett Moffitt, an Iowa native, from fighting for his spot in Victory Lane at the M&M’s 200 sponsored by Casey’s General Store. Moffitt, who led the final 76 laps, had to fight to hold off Noah Gragson after a competitive last-lap attempt to pass him failed and sent him into the wall. Moffitt flew under the checkered flag and claimed his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of his career. Harrison Burton, who started at the pole for the first time in his career in only his 10th career start in the series, finished with a career-best third-place result. The race was completely up for grabs when a crash on Lap 135 took out four top contenders. Matt Crafton’s left front tire went flat and caused him to slide up the track into John Hunter Nemechek. Nemechek won at Iowa last year and had just claimed Stage 1 of the race. Ben Rhodes had big damage to his truck in the wreck as well. Stewart Friesen got caught up in the mess but came out of it with only a few minor issues. That incident allowed Moffitt, who started 16th, to take over and win his second race of the 2018 season. Moffitt, third in the standings, also gained points and shortened the gap between him and second-place Gragson to only 14 points. Johnny Sauter remains the points leader with 419 points followed by Gragson and Moffitt. Friesen and Grant Enfinger close out the top five. Off To Gateway They Go This weekend, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing returns to Gateway Motorsports Park on Saturday, June 23 (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio) for the Villa Lighting delivers the Eaton 200 presented by CK Power. Last year, John Hunter Nemechek won at Gateway, making it his fourth career win. The track has seen a lot of young rising stars in their Victory Lane. Before Nemechek, Christopher Bell was the winner in 2016, Cole Custer in 2015 and Bubba Wallace in 2014. Nemechek already has one win under his belt so far this year, could Gateway be where he gets his second? Ted Musgrave is the only driver in history to win two times at Gateway Motorsports Park and 2006 and 2007 are the only years that a manufacturer won back-to-back. First Timers At Gateway Motorsports Park As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to the 10th race of the season, there have been a lot of firsts for drivers along the way. This weekend is no different. Of the 34 drivers entered, so far, 11 of them have never raced at Gateway before. They are – Myatt Snider, Bobby Reuse, Brett Moffitt, Dalton Sargeant, Justin Fontaine, Christian Eckes, Riley Herbst, Chad Finley, Stewart Friesen, Zane Smith and Jesse Little. Snider, Sargeant and Fontaine are all rookies – Todd Gilliland, another NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver in his rookie year, is the only one who has raced at Gateway before. It was his second career race in 2017 where he started fourth and finished 21st because of a transmission issue. This weekend will be his second visit to Gateway Motorsports Park. Harrison Burton Posts Career Bests At Iowa Harrison Burton started from the pole position for the first time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career and ended the race with his career-best third-place finish in the series. The pole position was the first in 10 series starts for Burton, who led the first 30 laps of the race. Those 30 laps were his first out front in the series. However, he finished Stage 1 in third-place. Burton experienced a throttle issue under a caution after Lap 60 brought him down pit road while it was closed. This resulted in a penalty for Burton and forced him to start at the tail end of the field. By the end of Stage 2, Burton made his way up to sixth-place, which put him in the front with eventual race winner Brett Moffitt and teammate Noah Gragson, who finished second. This third-place finish was Burton’s second top five of the year and third top 10 in as many starts. We won’t see Burton behind the wheel of a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck again until the series heads to Bristol on August 16. NASCAR Next Driver To Make Truck Series Debut Huntington Beach, Calif. native Zane Smith, a member of NASCAR Next, will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park. He will pilot the No. 54 Crosley Brands/LaPaz Margarita Mix Toyota Tundra. The 19-year-old is currently competing full-time in the ARCA Racing Series where he’s had a career-best season. He gathered his first win this year at Nashville followed by two more wins at Talladega and Toledo. So far in his ARCA career, Smith has three wins under his belt along with 14 top fives, 19 top 10s and two poles. He has led 500 laps in his career. Can Crafton Get a Win at Gateway? Matt Crafton has visited Gateway Motorsports Park 14 times in his career, the most of any driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Although he has not won at Gateway before, he has posted two top fives and eight top 10s. Last year, Crafton tallied his best finish at the track in fourth. The three years prior to 2017, Crafton crashed in each race and was unable to finish. In 2015, he crashed with nine laps to go after leading 49 laps at Gateway. The veteran is still looking for his first win this season. Tyler Young Enters Second 2018 Race Tyler Young is entered in the Villa Lighting delivers the Eaton 200 presented by CK Power; his second race of the season. He competed at Texas Motor Speedway, where he made a good run starting 20th and finishing seventh. The 27-year-old has yet to post a win or a top-five in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series but is making progress toward one. He has six career top 10s under his belt. Chad Finley Is Back Chad Finley has raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series twice and both times were in 2015. This weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park, Finley will race for the first time since then and for the first time at the track. In his career, he has been to Michigan International Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. He finished 21st at both tracks. He’s entered to drive the No. 42 Auto Value Certified Service Center Chevrolet with crew chief Bruce Cook. Riley Herbst Making Two Debuts In Two Weeks Riley Herbst will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut this weekend at Gateway in the No. 51 Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet of Kyle Busch Motorsports. Herbst has had a very important two weeks, as he raced in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway, where he clinched a top-10 finish. source – NASCAR communications
