Tony Stewart out battled Denny Hamlin to regain the lead in the final few turns at Sonoma Raceway and won in dramatic fashion. The future Hall of Famer put his #14 Code 3 Assoc/Mobil 1 Chevrolet in position to hold off the field via a well-timed caution with 20 laps to go. From there it was all “Smoke” and his racing experience that kept him there till the final pass.
On the race’s last lap, Tony Stewart over-braked and allowed the trailing Hamlin to pass on the inside. Stewart kept his cool and returned to the bumper of the #11 Fed Ex Toyota for the closing turns. Hamlin himself made a crucial error by entering Turn 11 to fast. He slid to the outside and Stewart pounced at the opportunity to get back on his inside. With a little good old fashioned rubbing, the savvy veteran squeezed him into the outside barrier, and drove off to victory.
It was tony Stewart’s first win since 2013 and couldn’t have come at a better time. The Haas Automation owner needed to win a race and finish below 30th in the point standings to reach the playoffs. He crossed the big one of his list at Sonoma on Sunday afternoon.
To add to the building drama of the last few laps, Stewart did it all in front of his father in his swan song season. Stewart elaborated on the events final moments and on his effort capturing the win.
“I made mistakes the last two laps. I had a little too much rear break in Turn 7 and wheel-hopped it two laps in a row,” Tony Stewart said while toweling off. “I felt a nudge when I got down there, and (Hamlin) knew where it was. He did the right thing doing it there, but if I could get to him, he knew what was coming. Denny just told me he was proud of me. He knows what it means. We were teammates for a long time, and we respect each other a lot.”
“To get a win, especially at a place you’re going to for the last time, it means a bunch. It’s special, trust me,” Tony Stewart said after climbing from his car and celebrating by jabbing the air repeatedly with his fists.
Denny Hamlin came to the 28th Annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 to win his first road race of his career. The determined competitor fell two turns short and finished second fiddle to Tony Stewart. Hamlin led a contest high 33 laps and was the fastest car in the closing moments.
After his bump on Stewart’s fender put him in the lead he knew he had no room for error. He entered the second to last corner to fast and watched Stewart pass and dash his hopes for glory. Hamlin commented on the critical error that lost him the race.
“(I was) looking in the rear view more than looking up front. I just slid up just a little in the middle (coming into Turn 11) and that allowed him to get a really good run. I knew he was going to drag race in that position and knew he was going to put me in the wall. But all’s fair in love and war.”
Joey Logano took his #22 Pennzoil Ford to a third place finish on Sunday. The Penske driver failed to lead a lap at Sonoma but his car improved as the day continued. After the re-start with 20 revolutions to go he found himself too wide in one of the track’s daunting corners. He abruptly swerved to the inside forcing Carl Edwards into Dale Earnhardt Jr. and squeezed pass them both into third. The finish placed Logano inside the top five in the Sprint Cup Series points standings.
Fourth place racer Carl Edwards, began the race out front and held off road racing specialist A.J. Allmendinger to take an early lead. This was the Joe Gibbs Racing stand-out’s first career pole position at Sonoma Raceway. Edwards led 24 of the race’s first 46 laps. His Stanley Tool sponsored team had a small delay on a late pit stop that cost him the lead for good. It’s quite possible Edwards had the fastest car in the fight but track position is at a premium on this 1.990 mile road course.
The disappointment didn’t stop there. A.J. Allmendinger led 20 laps and had a car that could’ve won. The road courses are this team’s best opportunity to drive their way into the playoffs. Allmendinger watched his chances go up in smoke when his crew was given a late race penalty. The error was for an uncontrolled tire during a pit stop with 22 laps to go. The penalty put him back into the middle of the field, and ruined his chances. “Good job, guys,” he said sarcastically. The frustrated driver settled for 20th.
Final Results for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway:
1. (10) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 110.
2. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 110.
3. (7) Joey Logano, Ford, 110.
4. (1) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 110.
5. (3) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 110.
6. (25) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 110.
7. (8) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 110.
8. (17) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 110.
9. (19) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 110.
10. (4) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 110.
11. (13) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 110.
12. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 110.
13. (15) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 110.
14. (2) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 110.
15. (12) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 110.
16. (9) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 110.
17. (21) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 110.
18. (32) Greg Biffle, Ford, 110.
19. (11) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 110.
20. (23) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 110.
21. (16) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 110.
22. (24) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 110.
23. (26) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 110.
24. (14) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 110.
25. (28) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 110.
26. (27) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 110.
27. (29) Aric Almirola, Ford, 110.
28. (31) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 110.
29. (37) Landon Cassill, Ford, 110.
30. (36) Chris Buescher, Ford, 110.
31. (33) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 110.
32. (30) David Ragan, Toyota, 110.
33. (22) Brian Scott, Ford, 110.
34. (35) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 110.
35. (38) Dylan Lupton(i), Toyota, 110.
36. (40) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 109.
37. (34) Patrick Carpentier, Ford, 108.
38. (39) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Engine, 97.
39. (20) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 91.
40. (18) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, Electrical, 5.
Race Statistics:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 80.966 mph.
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 42 Mins, 13 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.625 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 10 laps.
Lead Changes: 12 among 8 drivers.
