The 2016 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 26, 2016 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on the road course, it was the 16th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The race had 12 lead changes among different cautions and 4 cautions for 10 laps. This was three-time series champion Tony Stewart's 49th and final career victory.

Background

Sonoma Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway and Infineon Raceway is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains in Sonoma, California, USA.

Entry list The preliminary entry list for the race included forty-one cars and was released on June 3, 2016, at 12:29 pm ET. Driver Team Manufacturer1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord7Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet10Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21Ryan Blaney (R)Wood Brothers RacingFord22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord23David RaganBK RacingToyota24Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS RacingFord34Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord38Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord41Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord44Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord46Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet55Cody Ware (R)Premium MotorsportsChevrolet78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota83Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Dylan Lupton (R)BK RacingToyota95Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet98Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsToyotaOfficial entry list

Practice

First practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 75.299 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75.299 95.141 2 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75.774 94.544 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 75.811 94.498Official first practice results

Final practice Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 75.175 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.175 95.298 2 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 75.209 95.255 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75.218 95.243Official final practice results

Qualifying

Carl Edwards scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:14.799 and a speed of . He said that his pole lap "was amazing, the car was perfect, and then I wasn’t sure about the second lap. It was good enough, and that tells you how good the car is. I just can’t say enough about Stanley and all the things they’re doing for us. We had dinner last night for us and this will be really exciting for them to have their Stanley Toyota up on the pole for the start of the race, and hopefully we can stay there and get another win.”

A. J. Allmendinger, who qualified second, said when he "saw Carl's first lap, I was like, I don't care what kind of lap I run, I'm never going to catch that. There's no pressure on me. He's won here before (in 2014); my best finish is seventh. We just have to go out and have a solid day." “Definitely a big gain from where we were yesterday,” he added. “We’ve still got to go to work, we’ve still got to figure out race trim, but a good start at least.”

Dylan Lupton qualified 38th in his Sprint Cup Series debut. Cody Ware failed to qualify for the race.

Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 119Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota74.39274.799 247A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet74.99074.878 378Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota74.76374.881 441Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet75.01874.895 542Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet75.12175.124 611Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota75.10375.167 722Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord74.80875.192 818Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota74.77675.226 927Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet74.92275.304 1014Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet74.92175.378 1110Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet75.08375.383 122Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord74.98075.437 1388Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet75.150 1413Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet75.239 1548Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet75.389 1624Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet75.447 1731Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet75.485 1815Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet75.492 195Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet75.501 2095Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet75.556 211Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet75.640 2244Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord75.646 2320Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota75.793 243Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet75.809 254Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet75.854 2621Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers RacingFord75.861 2717Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord75.872 286Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord75.889 2943Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord75.922 3023David RaganBK RacingToyota75.925 317Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet75.994 3216Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord76.045 3383Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota76.088 3432Patrick CarpentierGo FAS RacingFord76.328 3598Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsToyota76.483 3634Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord76.492 3738Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord76.820 3893Dylan Lupton (R)BK RacingToyota76.964 3930Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet77.010 4046Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet77.872Did not qualify 4155Cody Ware (R)Premium MotorsportsChevrolet78.145 Official qualifying results

Race

First half Under clear blue California skies, Carl Edwards led the field to the green flag at 3:22 p.m. The first caution of the race flew on the seventh lap after Clint Bowyer's car came to a halt in the esses after the wiring in the dashboard caught fire. He said afterwards that the issue was probably "the ignition; it was a wiring fire. I've had oil smoke and stuff like that pour into the car ... I've never had an electrical fire. Damn, it choked me out, I couldn't breathe. I bailed out and the damn thing starts rolling so I had to reach in and put it in gear. That's a great start to the day." He would go on to finish 40th.

The race restarted on lap 8. A. J. Allmendinger passed Edwards climbing up turn 2 to take the lead. After 10 laps, his lead had only grown to close to a second over Edwards. A number of cars started hitting pit road on lap 20. Jamie McMurray was tagged for speeding and was forced to serve a pass through penalty. Allmendinger made his stop on lap 25 and handed the lead to Paul Menard. Kevin Harvick out-braked Menard going into turn 4a to take the lead on lap 28. He pitted on lap 31 and the lead cycled to Edwards.

A number of cars began pitting on lap 45. Debris in turn 1 brought out the second caution of the race on lap 46. Kyle Busch opted to stay out when most of the field pitted and assumed the lead.

Second half

The race restarted with 61 laps to go. Denny Hamlin drove to the outside of his teammate in the esses to take the lead with 60 laps to go. A number of cars began pitting with 42 laps to go. Kyle Larson was tagged for speeding on pit road and was forced to serve a pass through penalty. Hamlin pitted with 39 laps to go and handed the lead to Allmendinger. Both drivers pitted the next lap and handed the lead to Danica Patrick. Michael McDowell was tagged for an uncontrolled tire and was forced to serve a pass through penalty. Hamlin took back the lead from Patrick passing to her outside at the top of turn 2.

Debris in turn 7a brought out the third caution of the race with 24 laps to go. Tony Stewart opted to stay out when the leaders pitted and assumed the lead. Allmendinger was tagged for an uncontrolled tire and restarted the race from the tail end of the field, to which he sarcastically told his crew "Good job, guys."

The race restarted with 20 laps to go. The fourth caution of the race flew with 18 laps to go after McDowell's car stalled off the track near turn 9.

The race restarted with 14 laps to go. Martin Truex Jr. attempted to out-brake Stewart going into turn 7a with 12 laps to go, but he carried too much speed and had to stay on the brakes longer. This allowed Hamlin to pass him for second. In the remaining laps, Hamlin attempted to run down and pass Stewart to no avail. On the final lap, however, Hamlin out-braked Stewart going into turn 7a and took the lead. At turn 11, he locked the brakes and left the inside line open. Stewart drove his car into the gap, sent Hamlin and himself into the wall and drove on to score the victory.

Post-race

Driver comments Stewart said after the race that with "eight to go it was the first time I thought, 'hey, we might actually have a shot to hold onto this,' and I actually got a little bit emotional thinking about it while I was driving," Stewart said. "But you stay so focused and you have to. That was when they got racing each other and there was a bit of a gap and I had a little bit of a breather there to kind of think that once Denny (Hamlin) got closing in, it was back to business. You didn't have time to think about wine and flowers and ponies and all that stuff. I had to get back to business. But it was nice."

Hamlin said afterwards that his "car was the worst it was all day. I didn’t have any forward drive (on turn 11). I didn’t run a low enough line. Once I knew he had position, I knew he wasn’t going to leave it to chance and have a drag race."

Race results