2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350
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).
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 36 in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
| 2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350 program cover | |||
| 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) | ||
| Weather | Sunny 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 | 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] | ||
Previous week's race edit
Jimmie Johnson took the lead with ten 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 edit
Background edit
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 edit
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.
Practice edit
First practice edit
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 |
Final practice edit
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 |
Qualifying edit
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 edit
| 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 | — |
Race edit
First half edit
Start edit
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 nine. 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 22, 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 edit
McMurray retook the lead from Allmendinger on lap 54, 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 58. The second caution of the race occurred on lap 61, 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 fourth 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 edit
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 laps to go with Ambrose leading the way, but he 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 edit
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 Edwards towards the end.[22] The victory would be the one and only road course victory Edwards would win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Race results edit
| 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 |
Race summary edit
- Lead changes: 11 among different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 19
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 51 minutes and 30 seconds
- Average speed: 76.583 miles per hour (123.248 km/h)
Media edit
Television edit
| TNT Sports | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander Color-commentator: Wally Dallenbach Jr. Color commentator: Kyle Petty | Matt Yocum Marty Snider Chris Neville Ralph Sheheen |
Radio edit
| PRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit 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 edit
|
|
Note edit
- ^ a b 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 edit
- ^ "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
- ^ "Sonoma Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Entry List". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ . MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 20, 2014. Archived from the original on June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ^ . MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 20, 2014. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ^ . MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 21, 2014. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
- ^ "Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- ^ "Points Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- ^ Staff Report (June 22, 2014). "Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (June 24, 2014). . tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
- ^ Oreovicz, John (June 15, 2014). "Johnson, Knaus hit right strategy". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ White, Rea (18 June 2010). "Road course races challenge the specialists". Fox Sports. from the original on 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^ a b "Sears Point". gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^ "Passing is tough in Chute". The Augusta Chronicle. 28 June 1998. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^ . Racingwest.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^ Jensen, Tom (2014-06-19). . Foxsports.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-24. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
- ^ Bonkowski, Joe (2014-06-18). "Boris Said looking for return to success at Sonoma". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2014-06-19). "Hercules' next battle will be against 42 NASCAR drivers". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
- ^ Long, Dustin (June 21, 2014). . MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
- ^ Pistone, Pete (June 22, 2014). . MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- ^ Spencer, Reid (June 22, 2014). "Edwards gets first road race win at Sonoma". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2014.