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06.26.16

Save Mart 350k Race Report

Date: June 26, 2016
Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile road course)
Start/Finish: 11th/19th (Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
Point Standing: 24th (288 points)
Winner: Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing (Chevrolet)

 

Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) scored a 19th-place finish in Sunday’s Save Mart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway after cautions hindered the team’s pit strategy.

 

Patrick started the race from the 11th spot and dropped to 13th before the caution flag waved for the first time at lap six. Patrick noted she needed help in the braking zones and that the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevy was a little “snug,” but the racecar remained on track until crew chief Billy Scott called her to pit road for a green-flag stop at lap 30 for wedge and air pressure adjustments, tires and fuel. After pitting later than most of the field, Patrick was advancing through the pack when the caution flag waved again at lap 45, thwarting the team’s strategy.

 

Scott called Patrick to pit road under caution at lap 47 for more wedge and air pressure adjustments to improve the loose-handling condition she experienced on the exit of the high-speed right-handers. Patrick also got tires and fuel and restarted the race from the 23rd position at lap 49 after the top-five cars elected not to pit.

 

The team planned to stop just once more during the final half of the race. As the field cycled through green-flag pit stops, Patrick led three laps before Scott called her to pit road again at lap 77. Less than 10 laps later the caution flag waved again once again, foiling the team’s pit strategy. The team pitted for tires and fuel and Patrick restarted in the 20th position when the field went back to green-flag racing at lap 90.

 

In the closing laps Patrick moved up to the 19th position before taking the checkered flag.

 

“The cautions just didn’t play into our favor today,” Patrick said. “We got stuck with bad track position and weren’t able to get back into the top-15. The No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet was great all weekend, and it’s just disappointing we weren’t able to get a better finish.”

 

Tony Stewart in his No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday at Sonoma by winning the Save Mart 350k. It was the 33rd points-paying Sprint Cup victory for SHR since its inception in 2009 and the organization’s third win this season.

 

Stewart took the lead with 22 laps to go around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course en route to his 49th career Sprint Cup victory, his third at Sonoma and his first since winning at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on June 2, 2013.

 

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished sixth. It was his 13th top-10 this season and his seventh top-10 in 16 career Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma.

 

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 10th. It was Busch’s 14th top-10 this season and his eighth top-10 in 16 career Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma.

 

Denny Hamlin finished .625 of a second behind Stewart in the runner-up spot, while Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five. Harvick, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.

 

There were four caution periods for 10 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 110-lap race.

 

With round 16 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR and the series in the championship standings. He is first with 562 points, 35 ahead of teammate Busch. This marks the fifth straight week SHR drivers have been 1-2 in the championship standings.

 

Patrick is 24th with 288 points, 89 ahead of 31st-place Regan Smith. If Patrick can win a race and finish among the top-30 in points following the 26th race of the season, she will earn a Chase berth. Harvick earned a Chase spot via his win March 13 at Phoenix International Raceway, and Busch secured his position via his win June 6 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Like Patrick, Stewart still must finish among the top-30 in points following his victory Sunday to secure a Chase berth.

 

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday, July 2, at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. NBC will broadcast the race starting at 7 p.m. EDT.