NASCAR at Sonoma 2016: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns Sunday, a few weeks removed from watching Joey Logano punch his ticket to the Chase, where he'll lead all drivers into the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Logano got some serious competition last week from Chase Elliott and others, but notable names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson couldn't find much in the way of momentum.
Sonoma offers another chance for a driver to strike it big, as it did last year when Kyle Busch shocked the globe with a major win.
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Whether it's a newly punched bid to the Chase or a star returning to form, Sunday's event promises plenty of must-see action, so here's everything to know.
Viewing Details
Where: Sonoma Raceway
When: Sunday, June 26, at 3 p.m. ET
Watch: FS1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 417 | 3 |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | 480 | 2 |
| 3 | Carl Edwards | 472 | 2 |
| 4 | Jimmie Johnson | 441 | 2 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 526 | 1 |
| 6 | Kurt Busch | 496 | 1 |
| 7 | Joey Logano | 455 | 1 |
| 8 | Martin Truex Jr. | 433 | 1 |
| 9 | Matt Kenseth | 409 | 1 |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 380 | 1 |
| 11 | Chase Elliott | 453 | 0 |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 383 | 0 |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | 381 | 0 |
| 14 | Jamie McMurray | 374 | 0 |
| 15 | Ryan Newman | 369 | 0 |
| 16 | Ryan Blaney | 364 | 0 |
NASCAR at Sonoma Lineup
| Car No. | Driver |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski |
| 3 | Austin Dillon |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne |
| 7 | Regan Smith |
| 10 | Danica Patrick |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 13 | Casey Mears |
| 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer |
| 16 | Greg Biffle |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 18 | Kyle Busch |
| 19 | Carl Edwards |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 21 | Ryan Blaney |
| 22 | Joey Logano |
| 23 | David Ragan |
| 24 | Chase Elliott |
| 27 | Paul Menard |
| 30 | Josh Wise |
| 31 | Ryan Newman |
| 32 | Patrick Carpentier |
| 34 | Chris Buescher |
| 38 | Landon Cassill |
| 41 | Kurt Busch |
| 42 | Kyle Larson |
| 43 | Aric Almirola |
| 44 | Brian Scott |
| 46 | Michael Annett |
| 47 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 55 | Cody Ware |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 83 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 93 | Dylan Lupton |
| 95 | Michael McDowell |
Drivers to Watch
Kyle Busch
What in the world has happened to Busch as of late?
Busch sits atop the leaderboard when one sorts the standings by wins thanks to checkered flags in Martinsville, Texas and Kansas City, the last one capping off a three-race stretch of top-two finishes.
But Busch's last three outings in simple number form? Try 33rd, 31st and 40th.
As if his last time out wasn't bad enough, Busch had an unfortunate run-in with Mother Nature this week at Sonoma, as captured by FS1:
""It came out of nowhere ... we looked eye-to-eye."- Kyle Busch after hitting a jackrabbit at @RaceSonoma. https://t.co/uI4qNxcLrg
— FS1 (@FS1) June 24, 2016"
Other than winning this event last year, there isn't much positive happening for Busch right now, at least at face value.
Still, if any driver can break out of a severe slump and get right back to contention it's Busch, whose epic return-from-injury run began at this very event one year ago. If he can turn things around, Sunday might be the beginning of something similar.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
There must be another NASCAR event this weekend because here's the weekly examination of Earnhardt's struggled-filled season.
It looked like Earnhardt was finally back to form a few weeks ago when he started eighth in Pocono and finished second, which was just his seventh top-10 finish of the year.
Then last week happened. Meaning, Earnhardt finished 39th in Michigan thanks to a wreck, his second-worst finish of the season.
Now Earnhardt has to head into one of his weak points—a road course. He spoke with Daniel McFadin of NBCSports.com about the issues this weekend's event may present:
"The road courses are basically… you know you’re just kind of swinging at whatever comes at you at those race tracks and doing the best you can to complete the weekend without any major mistakes. I don’t go to the road courses with any confidence that I can win the race. I go in there really just thinking survive just let’s try not to screw it up.
"
It's tough to say now is panic time for Earnhardt, especially with an event at Daytona around the corner. But he's an oval guy, not a winding-road-course guru, making this a bad time for him to hit another slump.
If Earnhardt plays his cards right, he can grab plenty of momentum at an unorthodox course and translate it to one of his favorites soon. His season might depend on it.
Joey Logano
The only race Logano had been able to win entering last weekend was the funky All-Star race.
It was easy to think even the driver able to snatch a checkered flag at the odd-format event wouldn't build much in the way of momentum, but Logano did, finishing ninth in Charlotte and fifth in Pocono.
Last time out, Logano hit Michigan in full stride, claimed the pole and eventually hit Victory Lane after leading 138 of the 200 laps.
For him, it was nothing short of relief, according to USA Today's Brant James:
"It was just perfect execution. We've been knocking on the door for a win all season. It's nice to get this win and lock ourselves into the Chase. ... Having a perfect weekend like this, starting on the pole, being able to have good pit stops and staying in the top two the whole race, it says a lot about this whole team.
"
Logano won't stop there, though.
There's no reason for the owner of the No. 22 car to slow, especially not after he rode to a fifth-place finish at this event last year. The desperation for an automatic bid might be a factor of the past, but keeping strong form going into the Chase is an ever-present battle for Logano.
Given the way Logano has unexpectedly rode momentum right to the peak of his game, it will be interesting to see how he takes it into Sonoma's tricky curves.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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