MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

Toyota/Save Mart 350

Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, California

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Age: 38

Team: No. 19 – Bass Pro Shops Toyota

Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing

Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “Luckily, we were able to just make the right tweaks.  I had confidence that when the track got hot and slick on the long runs, we’ve had what we needed.  Just a matter if we had enough speed to get there, and we did today.”

– Martin Truex Jr.

• Martin Truex Jr. won the 31^st annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. For Truex, it was his 23^rd win in 493 career MENCS starts and his second consecutive victory at Sonoma.

• The victory was Truex’s fourth of the season, tying him with Kyle Busch for the series lead. It was his third career victory at Sonoma, tying Tony Stewart for second-most wins at the California road course.

• Busch finished second and Ryan Blaney came in third. It was Busch’s series-best 10^th top-5 and 15^th top-10 finish this year. For Blaney, it was his first career top-5 finish at Sonoma Raceway.

• Joes Gibbs Racing has now won 10 of the first 16 races this season. They are the first team to achieve this feat since Hendrick Motorsports went to Victory Lane in 10-of-14 races to start the 2007 season.

• With wins to their credit this season Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Truex Jr. have clinched a spot in the 2019 MENCS playoffs, which culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship race on Sunday, November 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

• The NASCAR Xfinity Series was off this week and will return to action at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, June 29.

• With wins to their credit this season, Annett, Bell, Custer and Reddick are the only drivers to have clinched a spot in the NXS playoffs, which concludes with the Ford EcoBoost 300 championship race on Saturday, November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES

• Ross Chastain, a native of Alva on Florida’s west coast, won the sixth annual CarShield 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Saturday night. It was his second career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) victory in 70 starts, both of which have come this season.

• Todd Gilliland and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-3. It was Gilliland’s second consecutive runner-up finish at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. For Friesen, it was his third top-5 in the last four races.

• With victories to their credit this season, Austin Hill, Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffitt are the only drivers to have secured a spot in the NGOTS playoffs, which concludes with the Ford EcoBoost 200 championship race on Friday, November 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.