Sunday (6/11) Martin Truex Jr. got to enjoy the sweet taste of victory in California’s wine country in the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

The race this time was really a test of the cars, drivers and pit crews. There were only two cautions during the race. One for an uncontrolled tire on pit road and one for the #11 car crashing on the front stretch. NASCAR eliminated the cautions at the end of the first two stages of this race to allow for more strategies to be used by the teams.

Denny Hamlin started the race from the pole and lead the first 32 laps of the race. That gave him the win in stage one which ended with lap 25. Kyle Busch was able to get the lead near the end of stage two and hold it for the win in that stage.

However, it was Martin Truex Jr. that had the fastest car on the track all day. He led the race in every stage. He was out front four times for a total of 51 laps in the 110-lap race. That was a race high for laps led. The next closest was Denny Hamlin at 33 laps as the leader.

Chase Elliott was able to get to the lead by not pitting for tires when everybody else did. The race re-started with 15 laps to go. Martin Truex Jr. was able to use his fresh tires to race from fourth to first in the first green flag lap. He held that lead for the final 14 laps to claim the win.

This was Martin’s second win of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was his fourth win at Sonoma Raceway. That puts him just one win behind the all-time leader in wins at Sonoma, Jeff Gordon. Martin now has 33 career wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Kyle Busch claimed the runner-up finish at Sonoma. Joey Logano came across the finish line in third-place. See the complete race results for the Toyota / Save Mart 350 here.

The win propels Martin Truex Jr. to the top of the point standings leaving Sonoma. William Byron holds on in second-place. Ryan Blaney slips from first back to third. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.

The NASCAR drivers and teams get to enjoy a weekend off. They will head to Music City U.S.A. Sunday, June 25th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Speedway next.

(Feature photo credit: YouTube)

By: Buck Stevens