2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350

2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350
Race details[1][2]
Race 16 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Track as used by NASCAR
Date June 26, 2011
Location Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California
Course Permanent racing facility
1.99 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 110 laps, 220 mi (350 km)
WeatherSunny with a high around 81; wind out of the SW at 13 mph.
Average speed 75.432 miles per hour (121.396 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 1:16.82
Most laps led
Driver Kurt Busch Penske Racing
Laps 75
Winner
No. 22
Kurt Busch
Penske Racing
Television in the United States
Network Turner Network Television
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty

The 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 26, 2011, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps, it was the sixteenth race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season and the first of two road course competitions on the schedule. The race was won by Kurt Busch for the Penske Racing team. Jeff Gordon finished second, and Carl Edwards clinched third.

There were five cautions and 13 lead changes among 9 different drivers throughout the course of the race, Kurt Busch's first win of the season. The result moved Kurt Busch to the fourth position in the Drivers' Championship. He remained 34 points behind first place driver Edwards and three ahead of Kyle Busch in seventh. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 108 points, 15 points ahead Ford and 24 ahead of Toyota. Dodge was fourth on 67 points with 20 races remaining in the season.

Report

Background

Prior to the race, Carl Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 532 points, and Kevin Harvick stood in second with 512 points. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was third in the Drivers' Championship with 505 points in a Chevrolet, Kyle Busch was fourth with 503 points, and Jimmie Johnson was in fifth also with 503 points.[3] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 102 points, 13 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 81 points, was 23 ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[4]

The course, Infineon Raceway, is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[5] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km).[5] The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[6] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[7]

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes. The Saturday afternoon session lasted 45 minutes, and the evening session lasted 75 minutes.[8] In the first practice session, Kurt Busch was the quickest, leading Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex, Jr., who were in second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.[9] During qualifying, forty-four cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[10] Joey Logano clinched his second career pole position, with a time of 1:16.82.[11] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Jamie McMurray.[11] Paul Menard qualified third, Hamlin took fourth, and Ryan Newman started fifth.[11] The driver that failed to qualify was Tony Ave.[11]

In the second practice session, McMurray was the fastest with a fastest lap time of 1:17.62, less than two-tenths of a second quicker than second-placed Kurt Busch.[12] Clint Bowyer took third place, ahead of fourth-placed Kyle Busch and A. J. Allmendinger.[12] The Saturday evening session was held around the same time of day the race would start.[13] Brad Keselowski was the quickest, posting a time of 1:18.10, narrowly faster than both McMurray in second and Kurt Busch in third.[13] Juan Pablo Montoya and Bowyer, rounded out the top five positions.[13]


Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Speed Time Grid
20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93.256 1:16.82 1
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93.223 1:16.85 2
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 93.176 1:16.89 3
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93.081 1:16.96 4
39 Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 93.062 1:16.98 5
4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 92.936 1:17.09 6
43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 92.935 1:17.09 7
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 92.918 1:17.10 8
33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 92.830 1:17.17 9
83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 92.720 1:17.27 10
22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 92.616 1:17.35 11
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 92.561 1:17.40 12
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 92.553 1:17.40 13
56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 92.545 1:17.41 14
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 92.447 1:17.49 15
5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 92.439 1:17.50 16
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 92.411 1:17.52 17
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 92.372 1:17.56 18
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 92.348 1:17.58 19
14 Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 92.184 1:17.71 20
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 92.157 1:17.74 21
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 92.096 1:17.79 22
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 92.076 1:17.81 23
78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 92.022 1:17.85 24
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 91.987 1:17.88 25
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 91.818 1:18.02 26
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 91.764 1:18.07 27
7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 91.751 1:18.08 28
34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 91.689 1:18.13 29
51 Boris Said Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 91.603 1:18.21 30
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 91.406 1:18.38 31
00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 91.388 1:18.39 32
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 91.315 1:18.45 33
6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 91.255 1:18.51 34
77 P. J. Jones Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 91.223 1:18.53 35
36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 91.214 1:18.54 36
60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota 90.781 1:18.92 37
66 David Mayhew HP Racing Toyota 90.561 1:19.11 38
32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 90.504 1:19.16 39
81 Brian Simo Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 90.346 1:19.30 40
71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford 90.303 1:19.33 41
37 Chris Cook Front Row Motorsports Ford 90.285 1:19.35 42
46 Andy Pilgrim Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 89.885 1:19.70 43
Failed to Qualify
38 Tony Ave Front Row Motorsports Ford 89.717 1:19.85

Race results

Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points
111 22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 110 48
213 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 42
323 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 41
49 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 41
58 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 110 39
61 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 39
712 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 37
814 56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 110 36
926 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 36
1015 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 110 34
1119 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 33
1229 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 110 33
137 43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 110 31
1433 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 30
152 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 29
1624 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 110 29
173 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 27
1828 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 110 26
1916 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 25
206 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 110 24
2125 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 23
2217 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 23
2322 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 21
2432 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 110 20
255 39 Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 19
2643 46 Andy Pilgrim Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 110 18
2742 37 Chris Cook Front Row Motorsports Ford 110 17
2830 51 Boris Said Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 110 16
2934 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 15
3038 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 110 14
3136 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 110 13
3239 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 110 12
3340 81 Brian Simo Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 109 11
3427 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 108 10
3541 71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford 104 9
3610 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 103 8
374 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 99 8
3821 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 91 6
3920 14 Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 88 6
4031 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 66 0
4118 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45 3
4237 60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota 10 0
4335 77 P. J. Jones Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 5 1
Source:[16][17]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Carl Edwards 573
2 Kevin Harvick 548
3 Jimmie Johnson 540
4 Kurt Busch 539
5 Kyle Busch 536

Manufacturers' Championship standings[4]
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Chevrolet 108
2 Ford 93
3 Toyota 84
4 Dodge 67
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.

References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  2. "The Toyota/Save Mart 350". 21 June 2011. Rotoworld.com. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  3. "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jaski.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Sears Point". www.gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  6. "Passing is tough in Chute". The Augusta Chronicle. 28 June 1998. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  7. "Sears Point Breaks Ground On Modified Chute". Racingwest.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  8. http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2011/story?id=6457457#prac
  9. "Practice 1 Results". NASCAR. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. "Qualifying Order". NASCAR. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "Qualifying Results (Race Lineup)". NASCAR. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Second Practice Session Results". NASCAR. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Third Practice Session Results". NASCAR. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  14. "Lineup Statistics". MotorRacingNetwork.com. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  15. "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site — Infineon Sprint Cup Qualifying Order/Results, Lineup". Jayski.com. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  16. "2011 Official Race Results : Toyota/Save Mart 350". NASCAR. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  17. "Toyota/Save Mart 350 Race Results". Motor Racing Network. International Speedway Corporation. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
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