The 2019 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 23, 2019 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 90 laps on the road course, it was the 16th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
The race was won by its defending champion Martin Truex Jr., marking his third overall victory at Sonoma. Truex also set the event's fastest average speed.
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 NTT 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
(i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points. (R) denotes rookie driver.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch 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 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 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 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 J. J. Yeley Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Cody Ware (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 95.168 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 95.168 95.326 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 95.299 95.195 3 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 95.454 95.041Official first practice results
Final practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 95.026 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 95.026 95.469 2 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 95.509 94.986 3 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 96.080 94.421Official final practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 94.784 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 142 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 94.598 94.784 224 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 94.809 94.827 322 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 94.812 94.878 49 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95.247 94.898 541 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 94.716 95.260 611 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 95.209 95.287 718 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 95.202 95.367 819 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 95.350 95.399 912 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 95.173 95.507 1037 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 95.189 95.668 1148 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95.256 96.156 1288 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95.208 96.374 1334 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 95.449 — 1414 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 95.485 — 1510 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 95.624 — 161 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 95.746 — 1717 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 95.749 — 1838 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 95.821 — 1995 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 95.926 — 2047 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 96.070 — 216 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 96.106 — 222 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 96.118 — 234 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 96.130 — 2421 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 96.281 — 258 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 96.294 — 263 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 96.457 — 2732 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 96.484 — 2836 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 96.781 — 2996 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 97.006 — 3043 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 97.020 — 3113 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 97.040 — 3220 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 97.530 — 3377 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 97.911 — 3452 Cody Ware (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 98.432 — 3500 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 98.719 — 3651 J. J. Yeley Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 99.161 — 3715 Kyle Weatherman (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 102.283 — 3827 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000 —Official qualifying results
Kyle Weatherman practiced and qualified the No. 15 for Ross Chastain, who was in Gateway for the Truck Series race.
Race
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 57 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 39 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 210 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 93 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 66 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 57 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 50
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 8 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 442 7 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 373 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 90 344 19 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 90 335 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 516 23 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 347 21 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 90 308 32 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 299 15 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 3410 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 90 3911 14 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 2612 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 2613 16 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 90 2414 12 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 2715 25 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 90 2216 10 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 90 2617 5 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 2018 22 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 90 2819 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 3620 18 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 90 1721 17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 90 2222 24 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 90 1723 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 90 2924 26 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 90 1325 13 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 89 1226 30 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 89 1227 31 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 89 1028 28 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 89 929 20 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 89 830 29 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 89 031 35 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 89 032 27 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 89 533 37 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 89 034 33 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 035 38 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 88 236 34 52 Cody Ware (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 64 037 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 438 36 51 J. J. Yeley Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 53 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 7 among 5 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 2 for 6 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 42 minutes and 9 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television The race was televised by FS1, as Fox's final Cup Series event of the season. It also marked Darrell Waltrip's final race as a full-time broadcaster, retiring after a 19-year career spent exclusively at Fox (although he has since made spot appearances, with the April 2022 Bristol round being one). Several drivers (particularly those who share numbers that Waltrip had used during his racing career) ran commemorative paint schemes paying tribute to Waltrip, with Matt DiBenedetto using a design inspired by Waltrip's Terminal Transport #95 from the 1970s, David Ragan using a design inspired by Waltrip's "chrome car" from 1997 (which Waltrip employed as part of his 25th anniversary season), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. using a design inspired by Waltrip's Western Auto #17 from the 1990s.
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 the 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 straightaway. 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. Doug Turnbull called the race when the field raced thru 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, Wendy Venturini 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 8 & 9: Doug Turnbull Turns 10 & 11: Rob Albright Heather DeBeauxBrett McMillanWendy VenturiniJim Noble
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings