Daniel Suarez Claims First Career Victory at Sonoma

The Toyota Save Mart 350 saw the NASCAR Cup Series take on the road course at Sonoma Raceway. This year’s race returned to the 11-turn, 1.99-mile layout that the Cup Series had run previously. This was the 33rd trip to the track for the Cup Series, with the first visit occurring back in 1989.

LAP 1: Hendrick Motorsport teammates, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott started on the front row and led the field to the green flag. The pair pulled away from the rest of the field, with Larson settling into the top spot.

CAUTION – LAP 9: The #23 of Bubba Wallace brought out the yellow flag when the engine in his Toyota expired, resulting in a cloud of smoke as he became the first and only retiree from the race.

STAGE 1 END – LAP 25: Kyle Larson dominated the first stage and won the playoff point. Most of the field opted to pit just prior to the end of the segment, meaning the running order was mixed and Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, and Aric Almirola finished in the Top 5. Chase Elliott cycled through to the top spot and led after the restart.

LAP 53: After leading the entire second stage, Chase Elliott surrendered the lead with 2-laps to go so he could pit before the stage break. Unfortunately for the #9 team, they accidentally serviced the car when it was outside the confinements of the pit box, and were penalized for the infraction. Elliott had to start the final stage from the rear of the field (P34) but was able to race his way back into the Top 10.

STAGE 2 END – LAP 55: Joey Logano once again stayed out at the end of the segment to collect the stage win and the playoff point. Behind him, Aric Almirola, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Top 5. When the field cycled through, Daniel Suarez inherited the lead and pulled away on the restart.

CAUTION – LAP 82: The yellow flag waved for debris on the race track when the right-front wheel come off the #5 of Kyle Larson while heading into Turn 2 right after a pit stop. Not only did this cost Larson positions on the track, but his team now faces a mandatory penalty for the infraction which includes a four-race suspension for the team‘s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, and both the tire changer and jackman.

CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 110: Daniel Suarez took care of his tires to survive the final 25-lap stint to the checkered flag, crossing the line over 5-seconds ahead of Chris Buescher. This was Suarez’s first victory in the Cup Series, despite coming close numerous times over his 195 starts. He became only the 5th foreign-born driver to win a race, the first from Mexico.

RESULTS:

1. Daniel Suarez
2. Chris Buescher
3. Michael McDowell
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Austin Cindric
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Ross Chastain
8. Chase Elliott
9. William Byron
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Austin Dillon
12. Justin Haley
13. Chase Briscoe
14. Aric Almirola
15. Kyle Larson
16. Alex Bowman
17. Joey Logano
18. Kurt Busch
19. AJ Allmendinger
20. Joey Hand
21. Cole Custer
22. Erik Jones
23. Ty Dillon
24. Todd Gilliland
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
26. Martin Truex Jr
27. Christopher Bell
28. Harrison Burton
29. Josh Bilicki
30. Kyle Busch
31. Denny Hamlin
32. Cody Ware
33. Scott Heckert
34. Corey Lajoie
35. Tyler Reddick
36. Bubba Wallace