2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350

2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 16 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Date June 22, 2014
Location Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California
Course Permanent racing facility
1.99 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 110 laps, 218.9 mi (352.3 km)
WeatherSunny with a high temperature around 79 °F (26 °C); wind out of the SW at 11 miles per hour (18 km/h).
Average speed 76.583 mph (123.248 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing
Time 74.354
Most laps led
Driver A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing
Laps 47
Winner
No. 99
 Carl Edwards
 Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network TNT & PRN
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty (Television)
Doug Rice and Mark Garrow (Booth)
Rob Albright (2, 3, 3a), Wendy Venturini (4a, 7, 7a), Brad Gillie (8, 8a, 9, 10) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings 2.8/7
4.676 Million viewers[10][11]

The 2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on June 22, 2014, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on the 1.99-mile (3.20 km) road course, it was the 16th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the first of two road course competitions on the schedule. Carl Edwards won the race, his second win of the season and first on a road course in Sprint Cup competition. Jeff Gordon finished second, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jamie McMurray, and Paul Menard rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon (17th), Cole Whitt (27th), and Kyle Larson (28th).

Previous week's race

Jimmie Johnson took the lead with nine laps to go to win the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. This was his first career win at Michigan. "We had figured out every way to lose this race," Johnson said after winning at Michigan for the first time in 25 tries. "And today we were able to get it done. "We really were in a win-win situation," he added. "Those guys still had to come to pit road to make it to the end. Once I got an idea of how the race was unfolding, I knew we were in the catbird seat and were able to take advantage of it. When it came down to strategy in the end, which we all knew it would at Michigan, Chad nailed the strategy."[12]

Report

Background

Sonoma Raceway, the road course where the race was held.

The course, Sonoma Raceway, is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International.[13] The standard road course at Sonoma Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[14] 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).[14] The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[15] 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).[16] Martin Truex, Jr. was the defending race winner from 2013.

Two teams elected to replace their standard drivers with road course ringers.[17] Boris Said took over the Go FAS Racing No. 32 Ford,[18] while Tomy Drissi drove the No. 66 Toyota for Identity Ventures Racing.[19]

Entry list

The entry list for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 was released on Monday, June 15, 2014 at 1:03 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-three drivers were entered for the race.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski (PC2) Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Ford
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Tony Stewart (PC3) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth (PC5) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota
24 Jeff Gordon (PC6) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Boris Said Go FAS Racing Ford
33 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
40 Landon Cassill (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet
41 Kurt Busch (PC4) Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
44 J. J. Yeley (i) Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson (PC1) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
66 Tomy Drissi Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet
99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford
Official entry list
Key Meaning
(R) Rookie
(i) Ineligible for points
(PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

First practice

Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 75.039 and a speed of 95.470 mph (153.644 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75.039 95.470
2 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 75.078 95.421
3 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 75.347 95.080
Official first practice results

Final practice

Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 74.634 and a speed of 95.988 mph (154.478 km/h).

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 74.634 95.988
2 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74.981 95.544
3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75.043 95.465
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Jamie McMurray won the pole with a new track record time of 74.354 and a speed of 96.350 mph (155.060 km/h). "This race is about having good strategy and having a little bit of luck," McMurray said. "It's about not getting run into in Turn 4 or Turn 7 on a restart. I've run enough races here that I've had every issue you could have with running out of gas ... to getting wrecked in Turn 7 on a restart because someone from 15th dive-bombed me into the corner with no chance of making it." "Well that wasn't what we expected," Bowyer said. "We were fast all day (Friday), just didn't have enough grip and missed Turn 4. We will just have to pass a few more cars (Sunday)."[20]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 74.657 74.354
2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 74.539 74.557
3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 74.802 74.670
4 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 74.917 74.736
5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 74.554 74.856
6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 74.813 74.894
7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74.652 74.925
8 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 74.751 74.958
9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74.851 74.994
10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 74.472 75.081
11 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 74.711 75.083
12 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 74.791 75.152
13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 74.924 —
14 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 74.933 —
15 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 74.975 —
16 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75.032 —
17 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.046 —
18 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 75.054 —
19 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75.069 —
20 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75.112 —
21 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75.167 —
22 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.176 —
23 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75.215 —
24 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75.303 —
25 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 75.376 —
26 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 75.388 —
27 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 75.417 —
28 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 75.433 —
29 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75.492 —
30 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.518 —
31 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 75.575 —
32 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 75.622 —
33 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 75.755 —
34 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 75.760 —
35 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 75.817 —
36 33 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet 76.094 —
37 40 Landon Cassill[N 1] Circle Sport Chevrolet 76.203 —
38 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 76.321 —
39 44 J. J. Yeley[N 1] Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 76.423 —
40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 76.622 —
41 32 Boris Said Go FAS Racing Ford 76.721 —
42 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 77.632 —
43 66 Tomy Drissi Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 78.626 —
Official qualifying results

Race

First half

Start

The race was scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, but started seven minutes later, with Jamie McMurray leading the field to the green. A. J. Allmendinger put pressure on him for the first few laps but was unable to take the lead. Defending race winner Martin Truex, Jr. made an unscheduled stop on lap seven for a vibration, while Allmendinger wrested the lead from McMurray on lap ten. Kyle Busch nicked Brad Keselowski in turn 11, which forced Keselowski down the order by 8 spots. While describing his car as "bad", Keselowski reckoned he "deserved to get spun out". Kevin Harvick took the lead from Allmendinger on lap 23, before the first caution of the race came out on lap 31 after Landon Cassill blew an engine. During pit stops under the caution, Allmendinger retook the lead. Allmendinger led the field to the green on the restart on lap 35. Casey Mears got boxed in at turn 7a and sustained heavy damage that forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop the next lap, while Kasey Kahne also sustained damage.

Second half

McMurray retook the lead from Allmendinger at the halfway lap, before he pulled off to pit and handed the lead to Jeff Gordon. Harvick was able to take the lead from Gordon, when Gordon pitted on lap 59. The second caution of the race occurred the following lap, as Ryan Truex stalled in the esses. Most of the cars on the lead lap stayed out, with Harvick leading the field to the restart on lap 65. Jimmie Johnson took the lead from Harvick exiting turn 4, before the third caution of the race came out on lap 71 for debris. Joey Logano stayed out during the cycle of pit stops under caution to take the lead. The race restarted on lap 75 with Clint Bowyer taking the lead from Logano, going into turn 7a. The caution flew for a hard wreck in the esses. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s car hopped over a curb, and collided with Matt Kenseth and sent him head on into the tire barriers. He was able to extricate himself from his wrecked car.

Closing stage

The race restarted on lap 80 with Bowyer leading the field but he surrendered the lead to Marcos Ambrose in turn 1. Johnson also passed Bowyer for second, going into turn 11. Bowyer was then turned around by McMurray and was then hit by Harvick. Harvick's stranded car forced the race to go under caution for the fifth time. The race restarted with 25 lap to go with Ambrose leading the way but lost the lead to Carl Edwards. Earnhardt, Jr. pinned Allmendinger into the wall coming to the line, causing substantial damage to Allmendinger's car. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was hit by Brian Vickers to bring out the sixth caution, with 20 laps to go.

Finish

The race was restarted 16 laps to go and Edwards held off a last lap charge by Gordon to win for the first time on a road course, in NASCAR. He later described his race as "real tough", and his victory as "very special".[21] Gordon stated that he had been "overdriving" his car, and he wished he "had just stayed smooth and stuck with it", while chasing Gordon towards the end.[22]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 4 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 47
2 15 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 43
3 17 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 41
4 1 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 41
5 9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 39
6 30 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 38
7 22 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 38
8 23 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 110 37
9 19 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 35
10 25 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 110 35
11 7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 33
12 5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 32
13 12 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 110 31
14 8 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 110 30
15 18 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 110 29
16 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 110 29
17 26 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 27
18 11 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 26
19 21 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 25
20 6 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 25
21 27 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 110 23
22 13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 110 22
23 29 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 110 21
24 28 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 110 20
25 20 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 19
26 16 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 18
27 32 26 Cole Whitt (R) BK Racing Toyota 110 17
28 3 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 16
29 38 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 110 15
30 42 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 110 14
31 24 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 109 13
32 40 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 109 12
33 35 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 109 11
34 39 44 J. J. Yeley Xxxtreme Motorsports Chevrolet 109 0
35 41 32 Boris Said Go FAS Racing Ford 109 9
36 31 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 109 8
37 2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 108 9
38 43 66 Tomy Drissi Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 108 6
39 36 33 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet 104 5
40 33 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 95 4
41 34 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 91 3
42 14 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 74 2
43 37 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 29 0

Media

Television

TNT Sports
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander
Color-commentator: Wally Dallenbach, Jr.
Color commentator: Kyle Petty 		Matt Yocum
Marty Snider
Chris Neville
Ralph Sheheen

Radio

PRN Radio
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow 		Turns 2, 3 & 3a: Rob Albright
Turns 4a, 7 & 7a: Wendy Venturini
Turns 8, 8a, 9 & 10: Brad Gillie 		Brett McMillan
Steve Richards
Jim Noble
Pat Patterson

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Jeff Gordon 580
2 Jimmie Johnson 560 (−20)
3 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 555 (−25)
4 Matt Kenseth 515 (−65)
5 Brad Keselowski 512 (−68)
6 Carl Edwards 509 (−71)
7 Joey Logano 483 (−97)
3 8 Ryan Newman 473 (−107)
9 Kevin Harvick 472 (−108)
2 10 Kyle Larson (R) 470 (−110)
1 11 Kyle Busch 465 (−115)
1 12 Paul Menard 459 (−121)
1 13 Denny Hamlin 453 (−127)
14 Clint Bowyer 452 (−128)
15 Greg Biffle 444 (−136)
3 16 Kasey Kahne 429 (−151)
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Chevrolet 722
2 Ford 691 (−31)
3 Toyota 638 (−84)
  • Note: Only the first sixteen positions are included for the driver standings.

Note

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Landon Cassill and J. J. Yeley started from the rear, as both drivers were replaced by a substitute driver to qualify their cars. Both drivers had been competing at Road America in a Nationwide Series event.

References

  1. ↑ "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  2. ↑ "Sonoma Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Entry List". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Points Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ Report, Staff (June 22, 2014). "Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  10. ↑ Golum, Rob (June 24, 2014). "U.S. Cable Television Ratings for the Week Ended June 22". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ Bibel, Sara (June 24, 2014). "Cable Top 25: World Cup Soccer Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending June 22, 2014". tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Tribune Digital Ventures. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ Oreovicz, John (June 15, 2014). "Johnson, Knaus hit right strategy". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  13. ↑ White, Rea (18 June 2010). "Road course races challenge the specialsts". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Sears Point". gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  15. ↑ "Passing is tough in Chute". The Augusta Chronicle. 28 June 1998. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  16. ↑ "Sears Point Breaks Ground On Modified Chute". Racingwest.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  17. ↑ Jensen, Tom (2014-06-19). "Where have all of the NASCAR 'road-course ringers' gone?". Foxsports.com. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  18. ↑ Bonkowski, Joe (2014-06-18). "Boris Said looking for return to success at Sonoma". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  19. ↑ Bonkowski, Jerry (2014-06-19). "Hercules' next battle will be against 42 NASCAR drivers". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  20. ↑ Long, Dustin (June 21, 2014). "McMurray Wins Sonoma Pole (Again)". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  21. ↑ Pistone, Pete (June 22, 2014). "Edwards Sonoma Road Warrior". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  22. ↑ Spencer, Reid (June 22, 2014). "Edwards gets first road race win at Sonoma". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
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2014 Quicken Loans 400		 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
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