Hometown hero Kyle Larson looks to defend his Sonoma title

If you enjoy racing at NASCAR’s snaking road courses, you have come to the right place over the past five races.
For the third time in that quintet, drivers will mix in plenty of right-hand turns to go along with the usual left-handers when the Cup Series travels to its lone stop in California for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, the 110-lap race at Sonoma Raceway.
Kyle Larson is surely thrilled to be back in the Golden State’s wine country — and not just because he hails from Elk Grove, just 90 minutes away from the 12-turn track.
The race’s defending winner beat Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher over the final 51 caution-free laps a year ago. However, the 2021 Cup champ has not had much go his way since his history-making efforts in running at Indianapolis and Charlotte on the same Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend.
The hometown hero at the 1.99-mile track has run poorly since doing the “Double,” wrecking in both the Indy 500 and Coke 600. In the seven races starting in Charlotte, his average finish is 17.6 with his best showing being fifth at Michigan.
But the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver is safely in the playoffs, of course. His three wins tie him with Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell for the most, and he is a two-time winner in Napa Valley’s vineyard region.
However, it was Shane van Gisbergen who sipped sweet success Sunday for the second time in the three Cup races held on the Chicago Street Course.
In the first one there in 2023, the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing driver recorded career win No. 1. He was victorious in last year’s Xfinity race but finished last in the Cup event following a crash.
Last weekend, the New Zealander earned the pole in both races and scored two victories. He became the first driver to win from the pole on both Saturday and Sunday since Kyle Busch did it in 2016 at Indianapolis.
“This joint, it changed my life,” said SVG, whose three wins in 33 races make for a fine start in Cup racing and puts him with the most wins by any foreign-born driver.
With Chicago’s future in real question — the three-race agreement is over — SVG is one of many drivers who would relish a fourth in the Second City, though San Diego may be the next stop on the streets.
In the playoff chase, SVG’s win slots him fourth in the postseason lineup with seven races remaining, but with 12 winners locked into the playoffs, three of the final four positions have tightened up.
The first winless driver, 13th-place Tyler Reddick, holds a vast 104-point lead over Alex Bowman in 14th.
And while a victory might be expected of Reddick in his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, none of his eight wins have come at any of the next seven venues.
Bowman leads Buescher by just four points, while Bubba Wallace, who finished 28th Sunday after being spun twice, holds the final playoff spot in 16th by only two points over Ryan Preece.
It is then a 41-point drop-off to 18th-place AJ Allmendinger with 400 points.
Larson (2024, 2021), Busch (2015, 2008) and lame duck Trackhouse driver Daniel Suarez (2022) will be the only active competitors in Sunday’s field who have taken home Sonoma’s checkered flag.