Sonoma Raceway results from June 25, 2017 featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Today, NASCAR weaving up and down, left and right. Road course racing for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers at Sonoma Racing in Sonoma, California.
View full Sonoma Raceway results below.
25 laps in stage 1, 25 in stage 2. The final stage will be 60 laps. A total for 110 laps around Sonoma Raceway. When NASCAR stock cars comes to town this ‘road course’ transitions into more of a short track. Bumpin’ and bangin’ will be the norm today.
Aggressive oval drivers in big heavy stock cars on a twisty racing circuit. Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray will lead the field to the green flag. How will the teammates handle turn 1?
Green flag. Kyle Larson gets a huge jump on Jamie McMurray, the #1 wiggles the rear end just before climbing the hill. A big moment for turn 1 but McMurray holds on the 2nd.
Lap 3, Daniel Suarez is on pit road? Suarez jumped on the brakes hard in turn 11. Smoke billows from the back of the #19, flat spot, possibly on all 4 tires. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is already trying 3 wide in turn 11. He wisely backs out, mostly because AJ Allmendinger wasn’t going to give him any room to do that.
Lap 6, Kyle Busch is the next one to lock up. He’s told the crew to be ready. Kyle Busch radio, “No grip at all.”
16 to go in stage 1, new leader. Martin Truex Jr caught the leader in a hurry. He outbreaks Larson in turn 11. Larson didn’t attempt a block and it looked like he let him go. Smart racing on lap 10 or 110.
AJ Allmendinger is next to move around Larson. His tires might be falling off. Kyle Larson told reporters earlier in the weekend “with my dirt racing background, it’s hard for me to save tires.” As Kevin Harvick drives around him to take 3rd.
Trouble! 11 to go in stage 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr was hard on the brakes in turn 11. He was attempting a pass on Danica Patrick. As soon as he downshifted, a quick wheel hop and he went around.
Related: Danica Patrick Confronts Booing Fans (VIDEO)
Dale Earnhardt Jr slid to the right and then backwards through the dragstrip. He came back on the track in the middle of turn 11, backwards.
Watch the video of the crash below.
Junior clips Larson, light damage to both. Then Danica comes into the picture, she T-Bones him as Dale Earnhardt Jr is parked sideways and backwards in the middle of the track. Damage for both but they are probably both ok. Dale Earnhardt Jr radio, “It just come around.”
Related: Dale Jr talks about Danica Patrick Confronting Fans
The top 10 cars stayed out. AJ Allmendinger restarts 11th, the first car that just hit pit road. Chris Buescher leads the field to green.
8 to go, AJ Allmindinger has no chill on road courses. AJ is 3 wide and in the middle through turns 1-2. He’s running 8th at the exit of turn 2. He’s not done, he’s slicing through the entire field. 7 to go, new leader, AJ Allmendinger. Evidently, tires are really important here, it took two laps to go from 11th to the lead.
4 to go, Martin Truex Jr is up to 2nd. Kyle Busch let him go. Martin Truex Jr is the next car on new tires. He now trails Allmendinger by .8 seconds.
3 to go, ten or so cars are on pit road. Buescher, Patrick, Earnhardt Jr, Matt Kenseth, Dillon, Stenhouse and more. Meanwhile, new leader, Martin Truex Jr. An out-brake in turn 1 got it done. McMurray is in the pits.
Clint Boyer is around through the S’s. Brad Keselowski forgot where the brake pedal was. No caution.
Martin Truex Jr wins stage 1 at Sonoma Raceway by 1.2 seconds.
Stage 1 Results: 1. Martin Truex Jr; 2. AJ Allmendinger; 3. Kyle Larson; 4. Ryan Blaney; 5. Denny Hamlin; 6. Joey Logano; 7. Trevor Bayne; 8. Austin Dillon; 9. Kasey Kahne; 10. Clint Bowyer;
Martin Truex Jr doesn’t need tires. He stays out on the racetrack. AJ Allmindinger and Kyle Larson pit from 2nd and 3rd place. Kyle Larson stalls on the exit, he gets it going again and maintains his position.
Martin Truex Jr has picked up 21 playoff points and 11 stages wins. How? Martin Truex Jr, “You just gotta lead the right laps! That’s all there is to it. The strategy is going to be nuts today.”
Green flag on stage 2, Martin Truex Jr beats Ryan Blaney to turn 1. But he can’t shake him. Blaney is glued to the bumper of the #78 through the S’s.
31 of 110, Alon Day is around and off into the sand. He’s from Israel, making his first NASCAR Cup Series start. Alon rejoins the race track. No caution.
Related: Alon Day – First Israeli NASCAR Driver
More trouble! Same lap, Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Larson are 3 wide into turn 4 at the bottom of the hill. Danica Patrick, on the outside, had no idea she was 3 wide. She turns in, Larson is on the inside curb, Dale Earnhardt Jr is pinched in the middle with nowhere to go.
Danica goes around. She does a 360 over the curb on the exit of turn 4. As her car whips around her rear end catches Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s front end. Her boyfriend’s #17 is totaled. Stenhouse will exit this race. This is the 2nd time those 3 cars were involved in an incident today. Larson, Earnhardt and Danica will all continue. They were racing for 19th.
Green flag, Martin Truex Jr continues to lead. The body panels on these cars were straight 45 laps ago. Not now, everyone has at least 1 dent, short track cars. AJ Allmendinger is around! They stacked up under braking on the inside of turn 11, Allmendinger went to the outside to avoid it all, he wheel hopped in the dirty area of the track. That sent him around. As he loops, Larson catches him on the way by.
Larson has run out of luck, the #42 has minor damage but he heads to pit road. Allmendinger is next to pit road, his rear bumper is flapping in the wind, spoiler looks intact.
12 to go, caution for debris. Jimmie Johnson just moved around Denny Hamlin for 2nd. Martin Truex Jr pits, Johnson stays on track. 17 cars didn’t pit.
Green, Johnson leads. Kevin Harvick and McMurray race for 2nd. 9 to go in stage 2, Johnson leads by 2.5 seconds.
5 to go, Billy Johnson, the IMSA driver making his first start, is hard on the brakes in turn 7. However, not hard enough, he plows into Daniel Suarez. Suarez is around, he grabs a gear, smokes the tires, a 360 and he continues.
3 to go, McMurray, Patrick, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones and more head to pit road. Martin Truex Jr hits pit road on the following lap. The crew had trouble getting the old tires off the #78, the tires were hung up in the wheel well.
Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson wins stage 2 at Sonoma Raceway!
Stage 2 Results: 1. Jimmie Johnson; 2. Brad Keselowski; 3. Matt Kenseth; 4. Denny Hamlin; 5. Joey Logano; 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr; 7. Ryan Blaney; 8. Austin Dillon; 9. Chase Elliott; 10. Ryan Newman;
Jammie Johnson radio, “We got a green flag for once, so that’s cool. I don’t know how it’s going to play out at the end.”
Green flag on the final stage. Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr lead the field out of turn 2. Jimmie Johnson restarted 22nd after the pit stop. Larson and Kyle Busch band fenders for 5th.
52 to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr is chasing down Denny Hamlin for the lead. Two accidents, it doesn’t matter, Jr wants the lead in his final race at Sonoma Raceway. I spoke too soon, Kyle Busch is coming. Move Kyle Busch to 2nd. 48 to go, new leader, Kyle Busch. Harvick is also around Hamlin.
Martin Truex Jr is coming fast. He picks off two under braking in turn 11. Move Truex Jr passed Hamlin and Kurt Busch, up to 3rd.
46 to go, Kevin Harvick to the lead. Kyle Busch ran extra slow in the previous stage, tire conservation mode. He hasn’t been to pit road in a long time. Harvick has 9 laps fresher tires.
Martin Truex Jr wants the lead back! He’s all over Harvick’s bumper through the S’s. He outbrakes Harvick into turn 11. He’s around, a wiggle at the apex, a tap to his rear bumper from Harvick helps him get going off the corner. New leader, Martin Truex Jr. 44 to go.
43 to go, Larson, Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Allmendinger and more are on pit road. Jimmie Johnson comes in on the following lap. 39 to go, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Blaney and more are on pit road. New leader, Jamie McMurray. 38 to go, McMurray is in. The lead is handed to Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano is right on the leaders bumper.
Keselowski last pitted on lap 52. Martin Truex Jr is up 6th. However, concerns for the #78. They have a problem. Crew Chief Cole Pearn thinks they are blowing up. But they are incorrect because he’s currently the 2nd fastest car on track?
33 to go, Brad Keselowski now leads Joey Logano by 5.3 seconds. Chase Elliott is in 3rd. Truex runs 5th, Johnson up to 10th.
30 to go, Joey Logano pits from 2nd. Brad Keselowski remains on track, he leads by 12 seconds. However, he can’t make to to the end. He will run out of fuel with about 13 laps to go. 29 to go, Chase Elliott is in. Joey Logano will have to serve a drive through penalty, too fast on pit road. Truex up to 3rd.
Trouble! 24 to go, Martin Truex Jr is on pit road. The hood is up. They drop it back down, he pulls to the end of pit road. He’s looking for a way off the track. Truex is done.
Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick is catching Brad Keselowski. He’s within a second. 22 to go, Harick looks to the inside in turn 7. Keselowski takes a wide entry, basically handing the lead to the much faster #4 car.
18 to go, Harvick leads Keselowski by 4 seconds. Hamlin 3rd, Johnson 6th. Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski are on pit road. Kyle Busch is on pit road the following lap. 15 to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr pits from 6th.
Trouble, 12 to go, Matt Kenseth and Billy Johnson made contact. Matt Kenseth was at his door but Kenseth forced it in on turn 8. A bump put Billy Johnson at an awkward entry to the next corner, 8a. They connected again. Both cars went off track, re-entered. No caution. They’ve been green for over an hour, in NASCAR terms thats a decade.
8 to go, Kevin Harvick leads Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer by 8.5 seconds. Bowyer is coming as Harvick saves fuel. Bowyer is up to 2nd, move Hamlin back to 3rd as Bowyer sets sail for Harvick.
2 to go, Harvick has picked up the pace. He leads Clint Bowyer by 9 seconds but does Harvick have enough to male it back to the line?
Big crash! Kasey Kahne is in the wall hard. He hit the concrete wall, not a safer barrier. It happened at the fastest section of the track, just before turn 1. Kahne was on the outside of another car through turn 1. They might have made contact, maybe not. Either way, Kahne was off in the marbles. They car didn’t turn at all. He drove straight into the concrete wall, pushing it back 4 feet. Kahne climbs from the car and walks to the ambulance.
Kevin Harvick is going to win at Sonoma Raceway!
Kevin Harvick won the K&N race yesterday. Today, he picks up his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win while driving a ford.
Kevin Harvick from victory lane, Busch beer in hand, “It’s been a lot of work. You know, a lot of the guys have put in a lot of hours and it’s paying off. I feel like we have a lot of room to grow.”
He continued, “For us, it’s been ok. We’ve been competitive, we have haven’t gotten to victory lane. I felt like we’ve had a couple opportunities to get there. Just came up a little bit short. This is worth the wait.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr finished 6th today. He’s asked what he’ll remember most over the last 17 years? “Woah! Ah. The wins and everything are great. I enjoyed celebrating those. But long after your career guys come along and win races. Some of your accomplishments on the track sorta get forgotten.”
He continues, “But who you are as a person never gets forgotten. People never forget who you were. I hope people just thought I was good and honest and represented the sport well.”
He concluded, “I hope people that worked with me, enjoyed working with me. Whether it was in the late model ranks, or whatever. And I hope the guys I raced against, enjoyed racing with me. That’s really all that’ll matter and what people will remember as long as you’re alive and beyond.”
View full Sonoma Raceway results below.
Author: Shane Walters
Sonoma Raceway Video Highlights
June 25, 2017
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Sonoma NASCAR Results
June 25, 2017
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Related: 2017 Sonoma Starting Lineup
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kyle Busch
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr
7. Kurt Busch
8. Chase Elliott
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Jamie McMurray
11. Paul Menard
12. Joey Logano
13. Jimmie Johnson
14. Michael McDowell
15. Ryan Newman
16. Daniel Suarez
17. Danica Patrick
18. Austin Dillon
19. Chris Buescher
20. Matt Kenseth
21. Cole Whitt
22. Billy Johnson
23. Matt DiBenedetto
24. Kasey Kahne
25. Erik Jones
26. Kyle Larson
27. Trevor Bayne
28. Ty Dillon
29. Boris Said
30. Landon Cassill
31. David Ragan
32. Alon Day
33. Kevin O’Connell
34. Tommy Regan
35. AJ Allmendinger
36. Josh Bilicki
37. Martin Truex Jr
38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
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