The 2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 24, 2018 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on the road course, it was the 16th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
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. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with of total elevation change. It is host to one of only three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses (the others being Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York and the road course layout for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway). It is also host to the Verizon IndyCar Series and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events which may or may not be open to the general public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Tomy Drissi StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Chris Cook Rick Ware Racing Ford 52 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 76.547 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 76.547 93.590 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 76.583 93.546 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 76.890 93.172Official first practice results
Final practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 76.163 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 76.163 94.061 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 76.203 94.012 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 76.442 93.718Official final practice results
Qualifying
Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 75.732 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 142 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 76.447 75.732 278 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 76.019 75.822 39 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 76.237 75.841 41 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 76.434 76.029 547 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 75.828 76.274 64 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 76.416 76.330 748 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 76.433 76.356 824 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 76.226 76.411 918 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 76.507 76.474 102 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 76.354 76.695 1112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 76.469 76.740 1222 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 76.337 77.609 136 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 76.657 — 1431 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 76.658 — 1521 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 76.671 — 1619 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 76.725 — 1788 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 76.812 — 1817 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 76.813 — 1914 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 76.824 — 2020 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 76.833 — 2111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 76.875 — 2234 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 76.928 — 2341 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 76.938 — 2410 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 76.978 — 2537 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 77.012 — 2695 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 77.018 — 273 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 77.090 — 2838 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 77.457 — 2923 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 77.536 — 3032 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 77.625 — 3113 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 77.664 — 3272 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 77.747 — 3315 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 77.903 — 3496 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 78.276 — 3543 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 78.571 — 3651 Chris Cook Rick Ware Racing Ford 79.129 — 3700 Tomy Drissi StarCom Racing Chevrolet 79.726 — 3852 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 80.296 — Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 25
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 102 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 93 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 66 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 57 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 210 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 25
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 75 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 66 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 39 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 210 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 60
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 110 402 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 110 353 19 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 110 344 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 495 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 326 23 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 110 317 20 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 308 24 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 110 389 17 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 3210 21 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 3711 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 4212 25 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 110 2913 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 110 4014 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 2915 16 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 2516 27 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 2117 30 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 110 2018 18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 1919 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 110 1820 26 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 110 1821 22 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 110 1922 28 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 109 1523 28 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 109 024 14 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 109 1925 8 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 109 1226 15 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 109 1127 13 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 109 1028 33 15 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 109 029 35 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 109 830 29 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 109 731 36 51 Chris Cook Rick Ware Racing Ford 109 632 37 00 Tomy Drissi StarCom Racing Chevrolet 108 533 31 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 106 434 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 104 935 32 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 57 236 38 52 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 42 137 4 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 33 138 5 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 33 11Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 7 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 3 for 8 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 38 minutes and 28 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox NASCAR televised the race in the United States on FS1 for the fourth consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while six-time Sonoma winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race. This is also Fox Sports' last Cup race for their portion of the season as NBC Sports takes over NASCAR broadcasts for the rest of the season.
FS1 TelevisionBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip Jamie LittleRegan SmithMatt Yocum
Radio Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Performance Racing Network. PRN's broadcast of the race was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow announced the race in the booth while the field was racing on the pit straight. Pat Patterson called the race from a stand outside of turn 2 when the field was racing up turns 2, 3 and 3a. Brad Gillie called the race from a stand outside of turn 7a when the field was racing through turns 4a and 7a. The field came back into the view of the booth in turns 8 and 9. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard outside turn 11 when the field was racing through turns 10 and 11. Heather DeBeaux, Brett McMillan and Jim Noble reported from pit lane during the race.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Turns 2, 3 & 3a: Pat PattersonTurns 4a & 7a: Brad GillieTurns 10 & 11: Rob Albright Heather DeBeauxBrett McMillanJim Noble
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 696 2 Kevin Harvick 624 (–72) 3 Joey Logano 584 (–112) 4 Brad Keselowski 554 (–142) 1 5 Martin Truex Jr. 546 (–150) 1 6 Clint Bowyer 544 (–152) 7 Kurt Busch 524 (–172) 8 Denny Hamlin 505 (–191) 1 9 Kyle Larson 472 (–224) 1 10 Aric Almirola 471 (–225) 2 11 Ryan Blaney 466 (–230) 12 Jimmie Johnson 419 (–277) 13 Chase Elliott 411 (–285) 14 Erik Jones 376 (–320) 15 Alex Bowman 363 (–333) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 346 (–350)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 580 2 Toyota 580 (–0) 3 Chevrolet 512 (–68)Official manufacturers' standings
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References