2018 Sonoma Raceway qualifying results from June 23, 2018 featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is ready to set the starting grid for Sunday’s road course race. Only two rounds in knockout qualifying. Here’s the qualifying report from Sonoma Raceway.
View the full Sonona Raceway starting lineup below.
Sonoma Menu: MENCS
TV | Prac 1 | Prac 2 | Qual | Race
This is an impound race. That means that teams aren’t allowed to change a bunch of things on the cars for qualifying then switch it back to normal for the race. They’ll qualify in race form.
Turns 8-10 have been hit with speedy dry just ahead of qualifying. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series field dropped oil on the track a bit earlier in the day.
Round 1
25 minutes in round 1. The top 12 cars will advance.
5 plus cars all hit the track early in the session. All 5 return to the pit road. There’s too much debris and sand on the race track. They all gave up on the warm up lap.
15 minutes remain, two cars have turned a lap. Bubba Wallace heads out to be the third. Wallace is completely sideways into turn 10. Kahne follows him out as well. Both of these cars spun in practice yesterday.
5 minutes remain in session 1, 12 cars have set a time. 10+ cars were parked up in turn 7 and waiting to turn a lap. Waiting up there cuts the warmup lap in half in the case drivers wait too long. A bulk of those cars have all just launched at once.
2 minutes remain, AJ Allmendinger to the top of the board.
AJ Allmendinger wins round 1. Denny Hamlin is knocked out in 21st. Three Hendrick Motorsports race cars have transferred into the top 12. Hendrick has speed today on the California round course.
Round 1 Results: 1. AJ Allmendinger (75.828); 2. Martin Truex Jr (76.019); 3. William Byron (76.226); 4. Chase Elliott; 5. Joey Logano; 6. Brad Keselowski; 7. Kevin Harvick; 8. Jimmie Johnson; 9. Jamie McMurray; 10. Kyle Larson; 11. Ryan Blaney; 12. Kyle Busch;
Round 2
Only two rounds today at Somona. This 10 minute session is the run for the pole position on Sunday.
William Byron is the first car on the track in round 1. 76.411 is the time for Byron, that’s two tenths slower than his 3rd place run in round 1. Howver, he locked up the brakes a bit.
4 minutes remain, 5 cars have turned a time. Jimmie Johnson just knocked Byron off the pole. Johnson picked up a tenth of a second from his round 1 time.
Two minutes remain, Jamie McMurray leads the board. Just behind him, Larson slots into P1. Larson picked up 6 tenths of a second.
1 minute 30 seconds left, AJ Allmendinger is on the track. He’s pushing into every corner. He crosses the line with a big shake of his helmet.
Kyle Larson will take the pole position at Sonoma Raceway! This is the second year in a row for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver.
View the full Sonoma Raceway starting lineup below.
Sonoma: Starting Lineup
NASCAR Cup Series
Driver | Pos | Time
1. Kyle Larson
75.732
2. Martin Truex Jr
75.822
3. Chase Elliott
75.841
4. Jamie McMurray
76.029
5. AJ Allmendinger
76.274
6. Kevin Harvick
76.330
7. Jimmie Johnson
76.356
8. William Byron
76.411
9. Kyle Busch
76.474
10. Brad Keselowski
76.695
11. Ryan Blaney
76.740
12. Joey Logano
77.609
13. Trevor Bayne
76.657
14. Ryan Newman
76.658
15. Paul Menard
76.671
16. Daniel Suarez
76.725
17. Alex Bowman
76.812
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
76.813
19. Clint Bowyer
76.824
20. Erik Jones
76.833
21. Denny Hamlin
76.875
22. Michael McDowell
76.928
23. Kurt Busch
76.938
24. Aric Almirola
76.978
25. Chris Buescher
77.012
26. Kasey Kahne
77.018
27. Austin Dillon
77.090
28. David Ragan
77.457
29. Gray Gaulding
77.536
30. Matt DiBenedetto
77.625
31. Ty Dillon
77.664
32. Cole Whitt
77.747
33. Justin Marks
77.903
34. Parker Kliggerman
78.276
35. Bubba Wallace
78.571
36. Chris Cook
79.129
37. Tomy Drissi
79.726
38. Cody Ware
80.296
