NASCAR Sprint Cup: 5 Good, 5 Bad at Sonoma

The boys of NASCAR took a right turn on their way to California and ended up at the windy road course of Sonoma for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Several drivers put together a fantastic day, including a surprising winner who was in need of a victory as well as a pair of drivers who made statement-type runs at the northern-California race track.

Others, however, did not fair so well. Among those who had bad days were a pair of perennial Chase contenders who can't seem to find their stride, along with another driver who's hanging on to the Top 10 for dear life.

Who was good and who was bad Sunday at Sonoma? We've got you covered!

Good: Clint Bowyer

Some may argue that the driver most in need of a victory Sunday was Carl Edwards or Jeff Gordon.

But Clint Bowyer may have needed one just as bad, and he went out and earned it.

Bowyer dominated on Sunday, leading a race-high 71 of 112 laps en route to his first road course victory.

Prior to Sunday's race, Bowyer sat ninth in the standings with no victory to save him and earn him a wild card slot should he have fallen outside the Top 10 in the standings.

With the win, Bowyer sits seventh in the standings with a victory and looks to be in a solid position to make the Chase in 2012.

Bad: Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. had a great day at Sonoma, but it was all for naught.

After leading 15 laps and at times looking like the fastest car in wine country, Truex was victimized by a late-race spin that relegated him to a 23rd-place finish.

To make matters a little tougher for Truex, he fell to ninth in the standings and, like Bowyer a week ago, now sits on the verge of falling outside the Top 10 with no victory to bail him out and earn him a wild card berth.

Truex still has plenty of time to get it together, but with only one Top 10 in his last five races, he is heading in the wrong direction.

Good: Tony Stewart

Things are starting to go right for Tony Stewart.

After earning two wins in the season's first five races, Stewart went on a mini-slump, finishing in the Top 10 in just three of his next eight races and finishing 24th or worse four times.

But over the last three weeks Stewart has pulled it together, earning three consecutive finishes of third or better, including back-to-back runner-up efforts.

During this recent run, Stewart has moved from ninth to fifth in the standings, and it looks like Smoke is beginning to catch fire.

Bad: Carl Edwards

If one driver in the NASCAR garage area has to be worried right now, it's last year's Sprint Cup points runner-up.

Carl Edwards came into the road course at Sonoma 11th in the standings and still looking for his first victory of the year, but Sunday's result did him no favors.

Edwards struggled all race long and had his day end on a sour note with a late spin, relegating him to a 21st-place finish.

Edwards remains 11th in the standings, but will go to Kentucky looking for his first Top 10 finish since Memorial Day.

Good: Kurt Busch

Enough with the Kurt Busch hate, already.

On Sunday, we saw everything the 33-year-old Las Vegas native is capable of. The defending winner at Sonoma put together the performance of the year, racing for the win with a low-budget team before finally nursing the car home in third with a broken suspension part.

If that wasn't enough, Busch showed to be humbled in his post-race interview, giving a good share of the credit for Sunday's extraordinary run to the team.

Busch's run at Sonoma may not be enough to get him into the Chase, and maybe it won't be enough to salvage his reputation, which has come under attack in recent weeks.

But Busch drove a heck of a race on Sunday and showed a great attitude afterwards despite coming up just short in the end. For that, he deserves a pat on the back.

Bad: Juan Pablo Montoya

Speaking of "bad boys" who are good at road courses...

Juan Pablo Montoya had almost the exact opposite day as Kurt Busch. After starting 12th, Montoya, who was one of the favorites to win, had a myriad of problems.

Among them was a broken tachometer, which caused Montoya difficulties when it came to knowing when to shift as well as measuring pit road speed.

Montoya did manage to put together a respectable run for quite a while, but his troubles finally caught up to him and the 2007 Sonoma winner fell to a 34th-place finish.

Good: Brian Vickers

What a difference a year makes.

This time last year, Brian Vickers was in the midst of controversy after a run-in with Tony Stewart left Smoke's No. 14 car suspended upon the Turn 11 tire barrier and Vickers in a heap of trouble.

Fast-forward to Sunday, where Vickers overcame a pit road speeding penalty and managed to finish fourth, 10 spots better than his previous best Sonoma finish.

The fourth-place effort marked Vickers' second Top 5 of the season despite running in just three races thus far in 2012.

As a side note, Vickers has as many Top 5s in 2012 as Carl Edwards and more than full-timers Paul Menard, Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, Juan Montoya, AJ Allmendinger and Kurt Busch.

Bad: Joe Gibbs Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing is heading in the wrong direction.

After losing three cars a week ago at Michigan, JGR struggled once again at Sonoma as Denny Hamlin was sent to the garage with suspension problems and Kyle Busch spun out.

The two drivers finished 35th and 17th, respectively.

Joey Logano had his share of troubles as well, spinning teammate Hamlin late in the going, though he did manage to finish a respectable 10th.

With two wins, Hamlin has little need to worry at this point. But Busch still sits outside the Top 10 at 12th in the standings with Logano in 15th, and neither is safe as far as making the Chase is concerned.

Good: AJ Allmendinger

They say home is where the heart is.

Such was the case with Los Gatos, CA native AJ Allmendinger Sunday at Sonoma, who temporarily woke up from his nightmarish 2012 season and earned a long-overdue Top 10.

Despite getting off-sequence with the rest of the field on pit stops, Allmendinger managed to bring the double-deuce home in ninth, marking his first Top 10 finish since Martinsville on April Fools Day.

The Dinger has a long way to go before he can even think about making a run at the Chase, but Sunday's effort proves that this team's season is not dead yet.

Bad: Road Course "Ringers"

There was a time when road course "ringers" proved to be relevent.

Back in the day, drivers like Scott Pruitt, Ron Fellows, Boris Said and others would climb behind the wheel of a fully-funded car as a fill-in for a struggling driver and could often challenge for a Top 10, or in some cases even a win.

Such has not been the case in recent races at road courses. Whether it's enhanced skills by Sprint Cup regulars or a lack of quality chances for "ringers", the latter have not performed well at recent road events.

Sunday was no exception. Said was the top dog of the "ringers" but mustered just a 29th-place effort. Tomi Drissi was next at 38th after suffering a crash, while Robby Gordon and Chris Cook had their days cut short as well.

Perhaps the time has come for "ringers" to step out completely, or maybe they're simply in need of better equipment.