Toyota/Save Mart 350 highlights: Truex Jr. wins at Sonoma Raceway
The NASCAR Cup Series' June schedule continued Sunday with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, and we had you covered with all the action from start to finish, exclusively on FOX and the FOX Sports app!
NASCAR's top stars battled it out over 110 laps and 218 miles on the 1.99-mile road course, which feature 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 feet of total elevation change, in Sonoma, California. It's home to one of the just seven Cup races that are run on road courses each year. Hendrick Motorsports is the team with the most Sonoma wins, with seven total.
It's the 16th race of the 2023 Cup Series season.
Denny Hamlin won the pole for Sunday's race — his 38th career pole and his second this season.
Chase Elliott returned to the No. 9 seat after missing last week's race due to suspension, which was just the latest hiccup in what has proven to be a tumultuous season for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Meanwhile, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star Grant Enfinger made his Cup Series debut from 35th starting position, filling in for Noah Gragson, who is recovering from an incident at Gateway last week.
And Martin Truex Jr. came away victorious in the race, collecting his second victory of the season. You can find a full list of winners so far this year, as well as the season's remaining schedule here.
Here are the top moments!
Seeing green
Actor Adam Devine gave the command for drivers to start their engines. Just like that, things got underway!
Follow the leader
Hamlin led the opening lap, followed by a string of Toyotas — Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs — right out of the gate.
Meanwhile, there was big trouble for defending race winner Daniel Suárez, who fell all the way back to 29th early on.
Wear sunglasses!
Pushing ahead
After Denny Hamlin took Stage 1, Martin Truex Jr. plowed forward to capture the lead at the beginning of Stage 2.
And this first-person angle of the action captured the teammates' battle beautifully.
Uh-oh!
This generally doesn't happen during pit stops, and while it was a pitfall for the driver, it was a sight to behold for the audience.
New leader!
Kyle Busch used a nice piece of turn maneuvering to weave his way the front of the pack.
Head on collision
With such a tight raceway, collisions are bound to take place, and that's exactly what happened on this particular turn. But it didn't stop things from pushing forward.
Fresh tires, fresh leader
A tire change was exactly what Truex Jr. needed to climb back in front, as he jetted past Chastain for the No. 1 spot.
Down goes Denny
Hamlin happened across a tough obstacle as he lost control of his car in a wreck, ending his hopes for a first-place finish.
No. 19 = No. 1
After taking a one-and-a-half second lead into the last five laps, Truex Jr. held steadfast to capture the crown at Sonoma. The win marked his second of the season.
And Truex Jr. hit a mean burnout filled with victory smoke to celebrate the hard-earned win.
PRE-RACE
Setting the stage
Ahead of the action, FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass broke down what and who to watch out for in Sunday's race.
Sunday's field is made up of 36 drivers.
23XI Racing: Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace
Front Row Motorsports: Michael McDowell, Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland
Hendrick Motorsports: Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, William Byron
Joe Gibbs Racing: Denny Hamlin (pole-winner), Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr.
JTG Daugherty Racing: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Kaulig Racing: A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Haley
Legacy Motor Club: Erik Jones, Grant Enfinger
Live Fast Motorsports: Josh Bilicki
RFK Racing: Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski
Richard Childress Racing: Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon
Rick Ware Racing: Andy Lally
Spire Motorsports: Corey LaJoie
Stewart-Haas Racing: Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe
Team Penske: Joey Logano, Ty Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric
Trackhouse Racing: Daniel Suárez, Ross Chastain
Wood Brothers Racing: Harrison Burton