NASCAR at Sonoma 2016 Qualifying Results: Race Order, Final Times and Reaction
Carl Edwards grabbed the pole position in qualifying Saturday and will start first Sunday in the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
The race will start at 3 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. Kyle Busch won last year's event; he'll go for his third victory in this race Sunday. Busch and Tony Stewart are the only active Sprint Cup drivers who have won multiple times in this event.
Here is a look at the results, courtesy of NASCAR.com:
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| Top 12 | ||
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 74.799 |
| 2 | A.J. Allmendinger | 74.878 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 74.881 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 74.895 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | 75.124 |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 75.167 |
| 7 | Joey Logano | 75.192 |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | 75.226 |
| 9 | Paul Menard | 75.304 |
| 10 | Tony Stewart | 75.378 |
| 11 | Danica Patrick | 75.383 |
| 12 | Brad Keselowski | 75.437 |
| First Cut | ||
| 13 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 75.150 |
| 14 | Casey Mears | 75.239 |
| 15 | Jimmie Johnson | 75.389 |
| 16 | Chase Elliott | 75.447 |
| 17 | Ryan Newman | 75.485 |
| 18 | Clint Bowyer | 75.492 |
| 19 | Kasey Kahne | 75.501 |
| 20 | Michael McDowell | 75.556 |
| 21 | Jamie McMurray | 75.640 |
| 22 | Brian Scott | 75.646 |
| 23 | Matt Kenseth | 75.793 |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | 75.809 |
| 25 | Kevin Harvick | 75.854 |
| 26 | Ryan Blaney | 75.861 |
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 75.872 |
| 28 | Trevor Bayne | 75.889 |
| 29 | Aric Almirola | 75.922 |
| 30 | David Ragan | 75.925 |
| 31 | Regan Smith | 75.994 |
| 32 | Greg Biffle | 76.045 |
| 33 | Matt DiBenedetto | 76.088 |
| 34 | Patrick Carpentier | 76.328 |
| 35 | Cole Whitt | 76.483 |
| 36 | Chris Buescher | 76.492 |
| 37 | Landon Cassill | 76.820 |
| 38 | Dylan Lupton | 76.964 |
| 39 | Josh Wise | 77.010 |
| 40 | Michael Annett | 77.872 |
Edwards has had success at Sonoma, having won there in 2014. He looked strong again Saturday, as he led after the first round of qualifying and never looked back. Fox Sports posted his decisive lap:
The pole also tied a career high for Edwards, per Xfinity Racing:
Busch and Stewart had solid days, too, but they were unable to catch Edwards.
Busch qualified eighth, while Stewart experienced some trouble in the final round and will start 10th. His car spun out of control, and he ended up on the grass. The session was briefly delayed, and NASCAR's Twitter account gave a look at the incident:
Of the drivers not to reach the final qualifying round, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood out. He had the fastest car in the second practice Friday, but he fell just short of the top 12. He tweeted his thoughts on the matter after the race:
Edwards has been phenomenal this season, with two victories, five top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. Given that he's already won at Sonoma, he will certainly be a key factor from the pole position.
Busch will have a say as well, since he's landed in Victory Lane three times in 2016.
Joey Logano is another driver to look out for. He has consistently been near the top of leaderboard this season, posting one win, five top-five finishes and nine top-10 results. He always seems to be a contender, and there is no reason to think that will change Sunday.
Still, Edwards is the favorite thanks to his past success at Sonoma and his consistent excellence this season.
Statistics are courtesy of Racing-Reference.com.
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