SONOMA, Calif. - In what was an exciting race in Northern California, it was hometown hero Kyle Larson who took home the honors and earned his second career victory at Sonoma Raceway.
RELATED: See the celebrations from victory lane in California
Early in the race, Larson and the No. 5 Valvoline team were able to steer clear of trouble as the field struggled to put together green flag runs throughout the first stage and the opening portion of the second. However, crew chief Cliff Daniels opted to bring Larson down pit road for the first time during the stage two caution flag and chose to run longer than the competition in stage three. The move paid dividends as the laps clicked off as Larson was able to maneuver around the leaders with his tire advantage to take the point position and earn his second victory of the season.
Following behind the No. 5 entry was Chase Elliott in the fourth position. The No. 9 team employed the same strategy as Larson and found success early in the final stage as he made up ground on the competition. Coming to the white flag, Elliott was scored in the seventh position. On the final lap, Elliott was able to pass a spinning Kyle Busch in Turn 3, get around Ross Chastain in Turn 11 and fly by Martin Truex Jr. (who had run out of fuel) coming to the finish line. All in all, it was a fourth-place finish for the No. 9 team.
RELATED: Larson earns playoff waiver
Alex Bowman ended the 110-lap main event in the 15th position. After earning stage points in the opening segment, the team opted to short pit the end of stage two in the hope other teams would come to pit road at the scheduled caution flag just as Larson and Elliott had done. When the majority of the field stayed on the race track, Bowman struggled to regain his track position during the final stage and settled for a top-15 result.
It was an eventful day for William Byron at Sonoma. Early in stage one, a right rear tire issue forced the team down pit road. In stage two, a pileup in Turn 11 caused a broken toe link. While the team was able to fix the damage, Byron lost a lap in the process. To cap off the day, the team had a right rear tire go flat with 23 laps remaining, resulting in a 30th-place finish.
RELATED: Carolina Panthers visit Hendrick Motorsports
Next weekend, Hendrick Motorsports heads to Iowa Speedway for the tour’s first ever stop at the 1-mile oval. Tune in at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) to catch all the action.