The weekend at Sonoma Raceway was marked by both triumph and defeat in the world of racing. Among the winners was Kyle Larson, who clinched his third victory of the season and took the points lead after receiving a playoff waiver earlier in the week. Michael McDowell also had a strong performance, finishing second with a top-five result, his first since winning at the Indianapolis road course last year. AJ Allmendinger finished sixth in the Cup race, tying his best result of the season. Chris Buescher continued his success on road courses with a third-place finish, marking his 13th consecutive time he’s placed 11th or better on such tracks. Shane van Gisbergen won the Xfinity race for his second consecutive victory in that series.
On the other hand, there were some notable losers from this weekend’s races. Denny Hamlin suffered an engine failure on lap two and finished last at Sonoma for the second year in a row, dropping from first to third in points. Martin Truex Jr., running second on lap 46 when he ran out of fuel, finished 27th. Kyle Busch was racing Ross Chastain for fifth place on lap 45 when he was hit and spun, losing seven spots and finishing in 12th place. Busch’s winless drought is now longer than any other stretch of his career; however, he moved closer to securing a playoff spot with 10 races remaining in the regular season along with fellow two-time Cup champion Joey Logano.
