NASCAR at Sonoma 2015: Start Time, Drivers, TV Schedule and More
One of NASCAR's trickiest tracks takes center stage this weekend at the Toyota-Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
The rolling hills and road course seem to create a love-hate relationship for most drivers. Some love the change of pace, where drivers get down and dirty, and few cars cross the finish line with a perfect paint job. Others hate it, being one of two road courses, and they consequently go through the motions to get back to the usual speedways.
Sonoma also has a habit of producing new winners, with Carl Edwards seizing the checkered flag last year. This time around, a couple weeks removed from Kurt Busch's triumph in Michigan, picking the eventual winner is a difficult task.
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It makes for one of the best events on the calendar. Here's how to catch the action.
Viewing Details
Where: Sonoma Raceway
When: Sunday, June 28, at 3 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox Sports 1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
NASCAR at Sonoma Lineup
| 18 | Kyle Busch |
| 19 | Carl Edwards |
| 41 | Kurt Busch |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne |
| 9 | Sam Hornish Jr |
| 95 | Michael McDowell |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 13 | Casey Mears |
| 31 | Ryan Newman |
| 27 | Paul Menard |
| 16 | Greg Biffle |
| 42 | Kyle Larson |
| 38 | David Gilliland |
| 35 | Cole Whitt |
| 23 | J.J. Yeley |
| 43 | Aric Almirola |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 47 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 3 | Austin Dillon |
| 22 | Joey Logano |
| 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski |
| 83 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 10 | Danica Patrick |
| 55 | David Ragan |
| 32 | Boris Said |
| 51 | Justin Allgaier |
| 98 | Josh Wise |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr |
| 34 | Justin Marks |
| 26 | Jeb Burton |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne |
| 33 | Alex Kennedy |
| 7 | Alex Bowman |
| 46 | Michael Annett |
| 40 | Landon Cassill |
| 62 | Brendan Gaughan |
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 506 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 576 |
| 3 | Kurt Busch | 426 |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 561 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | 520 |
| 6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 508 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 480 |
| 8 | Matt Kenseth | 456 |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 412 |
| 10 | Carl Edwards | 401 |
Drivers to Watch
Kevin Harvick
When it comes to a new driver taking care of business for the first time at Sonoma, it's easy to think about Kevin Harvick, perhaps even before most others.
Harvick sits pretty in the standings thanks to a ridiculous 10 top-five finishes since the start of the Series in March, including back-to-back wins in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Even last time out in Michigan, Harvick looked like the driver to be beat and wound up finishing with the most laps led. It sounds great, but things fell apart in a hurry in the rainy conditions once he suffered a flat tire down the stretch, helping to plant him 29th.
Now returning to his home state, it's easy to wonder if Harvick can combine his spectacular form with his ever-increasing skill on road courses to inch closer to Jimmie Johnson in the standings when it comes to wins.
If he does, nobody should say it's very surprising.
Jeff Gordon's final race at Sonoma isn't one to miss.
Perhaps the best road-course driver in the Series, the veteran has five wins at Sonoma Raceway and the sheer talent to make it six in what is his final season.
Still, after a 21st-place finish in rainy Michigan, Gordon admits this weekend is important for a number of reasons.
"This has been a very special place for me and always will be," Gordon said, per USA Today's Jeff Gluck. "To know that this is the final time that I will be driving here…just built a lot of emotion into what is occurring this weekend."
Whatever "it" is when it comes to road courses, Gordon has it in abundance. With just a single top-10 finish over his last four outings, a return to familiar stomping grounds might be just what Gordon needs to catch fire and move up the leaderboard.
Kurt Busch
A strong third in the leaderboard, it seems Busch has the most momentum of all after gambling and winning a rain-shortened spectacle in Michigan.
Busch remains one of the better road-course drivers on the circuit, thanks to a win in 2011 and top-five finishes in three of the last four at Sonoma.
Taking it all into account, it's not hard to see why many peg Busch as the favorite this weekend. Larry McReynolds of FoxSports.com is one, writing, "If you said I have to pick one driver today to put some money on, I probably would go with Kurt Busch. He is an excellent road racer."
Now the owner of two top-five finishes over his last two races, Busch seems to be rounding into form when it matters most. It doesn't hurt, of course, when great form hits stride going into a course he excels at.
Like Gordon, there's no question Busch features the talent to ruin the track's habit of creating new winners, adding yet another layer of intrigue to one of the sport's top events.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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