BACK
06.29.15
Save Mart 350 Race-Report
Date: June 28, 2015
Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile road course)
Start/Finish: 21st/24th (Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
Point Standing: 19th (377 points, 239 out of first)
Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Danica Patrick and the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished 24th in Sunday’s Save Mart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway after late-race contact forced her off course.
Patrick started the race from the 21st position and was scored in 19th when the team pitted for the first time at lap 23. Crew chief Daniel Knost called for a four-tire stop with air pressure adjustments in an effort to improve the No. 10’s tight-handling condition Patrick experienced on right-hand turns. She restarted in the 25th position at lap 26, as several teams opted not to pit under the caution.
A few laps later, the caution flag waved and Knost called Patrick to pit road for a fuel-only stop in an effort to make it the rest of the way on one more pit stop. Patrick restarted 33rd and was scored in the 13th position when Knost called her down pit road for the team’s next stop at lap 69 for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and wedge adjustments.
When the caution flag waved four laps later, the GoDaddy team elected to stay out and gain track position, which put Patrick in 12th for the lap-78 restart. She lost several spots to teams with newer tires and was 16th when the caution flag waved again at lap 99. Knost called Patrick to pit road on the following lap for four tires and fuel. The car’s right-front fender was caved in, which slowed the stop as the team worked to change the right-front tire. As a result, Patrick lined up 23rd for the lap-103 restart.
After the field went back to green-flag conditions, the No. 16 car got off course and came back onto the track in front of Patrick. She lifted off of the throttle to avoid a collision, but the car behind her did not and made contact with the GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, which sent Patrick spinning into the grass. NASCAR did not throw the caution flag, so Patrick lost significant ground and dropped to 27th. In the closing laps she was able to regain three positions to take the checkered flag in 24th.
“We had a solid race going there for most of the day,” Patrick said. “We lost ground on that final pit stop, restarted further back and just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time when the No. 16 car came back on track. I’m really disappointed with where the GoDaddy team ended up today.”
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday at Sonoma by finishing second in the Save Mart 350k.
Busch started on the outside of row one and led three times for 43 laps around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course to bring his laps-led total at Sonoma to 197. The runner-up effort was Busch’s sixth top-five finish this season and his seventh top-five in 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Folds of Honor/Outback Steakhouse/Budweiser Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished fourth to earn his 11th top-five this season and his fourth top-five in 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 12th to score his third top-15 this year.
Kyle Busch won the Save Mart 350k to score his 30th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the year and his second at Sonoma.
Kurt Busch finished .532 of a second behind Kyle Busch, marking the first time the brothers have finished 1-2 in a Sprint Cup race.
Clint Bowyer, Harvick and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five, while Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were five caution periods for 21 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 110-lap race.
With round 16 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is first with 616 points, 53 ahead of second-place Martin Truex Jr. Kurt Busch is 10th with 469 points, 147 out of first. Patrick is 19th with 377 points, 239 out of first. Stewart is 26th with 301 points, 315 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola on Sunday, July 5 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The race starts at 7:45 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.