Martin Truex Jr becomes sommelier of Sonoma for fourth time
SONOMA, CALI. — For the fourth time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Martin Truex Jr. won at Sonoma Raceway as he brought home the checkered flag Sunday.
Truex led 51 of 110 laps, including 27 of the final 31 laps. He beat Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain.
RACE RUNDOWN
The Toyotas dominated the first 49 caution-free laps. Denny Hamlin won the pole and led every lap in the 25-lap stage.
STAGE 1 TOP-10: Hamlin, Truex, Bell, Allmendinger, McDowell, Tyler Reddick, Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Then, Truex led the next 17 before the first caution flew for a loose tire on pit road.
That virtually handed Kyle Busch the stage two win on lap 55 and put him in position for a solid finish.
STAGE 2 TOP-10: Busch, Logano, Chastain, William Byron, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, Truex, McDowell, Bell, Kevin Harvick
Truex was on a different strategy and older tires, meaning he had to drive through the top-10 to get the lead back. He did that on lap 68 and pulled ahead by over a second.
After Martin Truex Jr. pit one lap sooner than Michael McDowell, who was on the same strategy as him, Truex locked up a solid 3-second lead for 13 laps.
Then, the race’s second and final caution flew on lap 93. Denny Hamlin wrecked out of the race on the frontstretch and took a surefire win from Truex’s grasp.
However, Truex’s crew had a good pit stop, compared to McDowell whose crew had an issue. Then, Truex took those new tires to the lead over Chase Elliott on lap 97, two laps after the restart.
Truex took home his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series win and fourth win at Sonoma Raceway.
The 2017 Cup Series champion tied Fireball Roberts on the all-time Cup Series wins list. Truex is also one win behind Jeff Gordon’s all-time-best five wins at Sonoma.
With ten races to go until the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin, here’s who is on the bubble:
IN (13th-16th): Chris Buescher (+102 points), Brad Keselowski (+96), Bubba Wallace (+26), Alex Bowman 331 points (+3)
OUT (17th-28th): Daniel Suarez 328 points (-3), Ty Gibbs (-11), Michael McDowell (-14), A.J. Allmendinger (-33), Austin Cindric (-39), Corey LaJoie (-40), Justin Haley (-47), Todd Gilliland (-52), Ryan Preece (-62), Aric Almirola (-71), Chase Elliott (-84), Austin Dillon (-108)
NEXT RACE
The NASCAR Cup Series is off next week. Then, they head to Nashville Superspeedway for the June 25 Ally 400 (Broadcast: NBC, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, PRN; 7 p.m. ET).
FULL RACE RESULTS
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
This is awsome.❤️❤️❤️
THE BEST! SO PROUD OF YOU. MARTIN!!