Relive the 2024 Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway that saw Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. battle it out in a NASCAR Cup Series road-course thriller.
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00:00Here they come, and there they go.
00:14We're racing in wine country.
00:23Joey Logano took all the suspense right out of it, right off the bat with a great start.
00:27Didn't have to battle Tyler Reddick at all in the turn one.
00:29Got himself some clear space.
00:31See Blaney holding tight, trying to stay door to door with Reddick.
00:35Lost that battle so far.
00:36Now Elliott looking to his inside.
00:38Going to get under him.
00:39Turn four is a dive bomb corner, an opportunity.
00:42Thought better of it.
00:44Oh, Denny Hamlin's blown up at the start-finish line.
00:48Inside, inside, inside.
00:50You just don't see that very often.
00:53That's a big grenade.
00:55Makes me think maybe a mishift or something.
00:59You never know.
01:02That's where Kenny Schrader would have said one of them important pieces broke.
01:05Yeah, it's the second week in a row we've seen those motor failures from the Toyotas.
01:10We saw Christopher Bell leading the race last week, and now Denny Hamlin.
01:13He's done.
01:14Valve spring issue last week.
01:15I don't know.
01:16This one's catastrophic.
01:21Hamlin had a five-race, top five finishing streak entering today.
01:26That just grenaded right about at the start of the adjacent drag strip.
01:43He's going to try to stay door to door with Blaney on the outside.
01:47He's going to do so.
01:48him up for three down here to be on the right side of it, but if he doesn't get him cleared
01:52right here, now he's in trouble.
01:54Now Blaney's got position on him getting down into four, but he's clear.
01:58Great job of Tyler Reddick getting that back.
02:00I think a lot of that had to do with the speedy drive, Mike.
02:02I think that put him on the inside of the speedy drive, dry into one on the outside
02:05of it into turn two, and it paid off for him.
02:08Truex is off.
02:09Yeah.
02:10Uh-oh.
02:11This is a four-time winner here.
02:18Always extremely fast here, but this reef pave has proved to be a little bit of a challenge
02:22for Truex this weekend.
02:23Well, I think it just takes everything that he had such an advantage on, whether it was
02:27the things that he wanted in the car or how he drove it.
02:31Those things are all gone.
02:32See him down in the bottom.
02:33Oh, he got some help.
02:34Yeah.
02:35That was kind of accordion, but Will Brown got in the back of him and once, twice, three
02:41times, and he finally spit him out.
02:43Excuse me.
02:44He was 18th.
02:45Now we stay green.
02:47He's now in 37th, last car running, but still on the lead lap.
02:51That's important.
02:52Regain your composure.
02:53You know a lot of things are going to change.
02:54Whoa.
02:55Big lockup for Ty Gibbs in the wall.
03:01Turn one and caution is out for Gibbs.
03:04Oh, the right front is destroyed on that number 54.
03:08Yeah.
03:09Bring it to him right away.
03:10He slid into that.
03:11It looked like the right front was turned out.
03:12I'm wondering if he got in the wall in 11th.
03:16I think that's the carcass of the tire hanging out there.
03:20It looks like the whole wheel is turned.
03:21You're right, Clint.
03:22It's rare.
03:23That's twice.
03:24I know.
03:25Got me twice in one day.
03:28He's finally paying attention.
03:32Yeah, he was smoking down the front straightaway, so something happened earlier.
03:36Let's think about this.
03:37And this is just a guess, but we've always talked to see he's already into it.
03:41I'm wondering if he got in that wall in 11th.
03:43Used to be tires.
03:44Can't get away with that now.
03:47Second caution of the day.
03:49Pow.
03:50And here's Ty Gibbs.
03:52We've been searching in-car footage for this.
03:55Oh.
03:56Yeah.
03:57Yeah, he just...
03:58Exactly what I suspected.
03:59And that's easy to do.
04:00We used to do it with the tires all the time, but we kind of purposely move them in, wouldn't
04:06we, Kevin?
04:07Can't do that with that concrete wall.
04:08We're back to green.
04:12In front of Ryan Blaney.
04:18Logano after his pit stop restarts 21st.
04:26Everybody remember at home, this is all going to cycle around.
04:28When these guys get to the end of the stage, all those cars are going to stay out.
04:32These guys have elected to stay out, race for the end of the stage, try to get some
04:36points or pit right before the end of the stage.
04:38You never know what these guys are going to do.
04:40A lot of those cars that just pitted will cycle back to the front of the field.
04:44A lot of dive bombs here.
04:45We're going to be three wide.
04:48Couple rows deep, too.
04:50And now it'll all sort out here in the S's.
04:54And you really have no choice.
04:55You can work your way through here two wide, but it is very difficult to be two wide through
05:01turn 8A right there over the top of that hill and not get wide.
05:04I hear you saying work your way through, and who is doing that the best?
05:08Will brown.
05:09He's continuing to impress, getting up through the field.
05:11Not a lot of passes.
05:12Oh, no.
05:13I think that's chase briscoe off the track.
05:15You do.
05:16We see chase briscoe around.
05:18We can't really tell.
05:19Barely missed by Truex.
05:21Oh.
05:22Man, I love the Logano strategy, but this is the other side of that, Clint.
05:27The risk of the track position.
05:31He's in big trouble.
05:32There's Logano coming across.
05:33He's already been hit, though, and then hit again by Harrison Burton.
05:36A lot of damage on the front of Harrison Burton as well.
05:39Back to green.
05:40As we're seeing on these restarts, there's no escape on that racetrack.
05:46They spin in front of you.
05:48That's been the case for a lot of people.
05:51In blind corners, you're playing havoc on them.
05:53Saw it yesterday in the XFINITY race at the top of the hill.
05:56Saw that here and then again in 8.
06:00There's that blind exit 3A.
06:05On the hill to four and then the chute.
06:09Chastain to the inside.
06:10Three wide.
06:11Mid-pack.
06:12Now double wide.
06:13Mcdowell moving up in the 34.
06:21He's up to sixth.
06:22If he can complete this pass on Suarez and does.
06:26Speaking of which, here comes chastain on his teammate.
06:29It was so close.
06:35Stage one from Blaney, Larson, and Elliott.
06:44Final stage point is so close.
06:47Give it to Todd Gelliland over Josevar.
06:49Here we come.
06:50Back to the flag.
06:51Blaney got a good run, but reddick is going to yard him into turn three.
07:14Chase Elliott coming for second place.
07:33They got pushed wide.
07:35Slipped up on the exit.
07:36He's...
07:37You see it cost chase Elliott a spot to Kyle Larson.
07:40They kind of got tangled up and banged wheels right there.
07:44Chase had to check up for just a second and Kyle Larson was in the gas going right by.
07:47Didn't take much at all.
07:48That's Bubba Wallace, I believe.
07:49Barry in trouble.
07:50Locks him up.
07:51Catches Truex.
07:52Cam waters.
07:53Austin Dillon.
07:54Brad keselowski.
07:55William Byron.
07:56And everybody else.
07:57Unbelievable.
07:58Boy, you saw him sliding.
07:59He was way off the track and in big trouble.
08:00I think he was in there probably too deep.
08:10And those tires get locked up like that.
08:13See the car way off in the dirt.
08:15Going to come back across.
08:16That's...
08:17Well, that's not going to be a factor, is it?
08:18Well, he made a block on Erik Jones behind him.
08:21Erik Jones was already there.
08:23Pushed him into it.
08:24And one, two, three, four, five, all of them, he wrecked them all.
08:29Finishing up the sixth caution of the day.
08:31And they're ready to come to green once more.
08:3421 green laps, 17 caution.
08:37Here we go again with Reddick and Larson from the front row.
08:40Well, Reddick launched from the beginning of the restart zone that time and cleared
08:43him.
08:44So less games.
08:45Clear track.
08:46Speaking of clear, he launched good enough.
08:48The car behind him, Kyle Larson, got Blaney as well.
08:51And how about this one car, Ross Chastain, continuing to keep them elbows up.
08:55He's coming.
08:57These restarts, he has been so aggressive and it's paid off so far.
09:04Maybe a crossover here if he can.
09:08Setting up for a dive bomb getting into seven.
09:21Blaney holds him off for third.
09:22Oh, boy, there goes Cendric all the way to the tire wall and two more.
09:28Yellow flag fever.
09:33And Mcdowell.
09:34And Noah Gregson.
09:35We're going to run out of cars.
09:36My goodness.
09:37Another one that had just pitted got caught up in some more stuff in this field.
09:50Seventh caution of the day.
09:51This is wild, Kevin.
09:52It's beyond wild.
09:53Now it's getting frustrating.
09:54Michael Mcdowell was, I believe, on the tail end of that.
10:00Was Austin Cendric first around and Noah Gregson, then Michael Mcdowell.
10:07Here it is.
10:22William Byron got the free pass.
10:23Try it again.
10:36Chastain around the outside again.
10:40Flat tire on Austin Dillon.
10:48Chastain to third.
10:50Suarez and bowman here for fifth.
10:56Well, this is where those guys got in trouble last time.
11:07Coming through the s's right here.
11:10Didn't get single file by eight right here.
11:12And they're back at it.
11:14Now this is for 27th place right now.
11:18After making those late pit stops.
11:20Key word right now.
11:21Oh!
11:22That's a big lockup, Kevin.
11:27That was a big lockup.
11:28And that is not what Tyler Reddick wanted.
11:29It looked like they hit right front to right rear or left rear right there.
11:33I don't think he meant to get in the back of Larson, but he did and tried to stay away
11:37from him and lock the wheel up.
11:38That big of a lockup will definitely put a flat spot on that tire.
11:41That was a huge lockup.
11:44Definitely won't help anything.
11:50Here's another look at it.
11:52Yeah, you see, as soon as they hit wheels like that, the right front tire kind of came
12:00up in the air and took the load off that tire and as soon as it sat back down, it locked
12:03it up.
12:04Here comes Chris Buescher, the pride of Prosper, Texas, to take stage two from Ryan Preece,
12:11Martin Truex, Kyle Busch and A.J.
12:15Allmendinger.
12:16There's the babbling cam from Kyle Larson way deep in the field.
12:22He will take this restart from 22nd.
12:38Larson and Preece for second.
12:49Here we go.
12:50Allmendinger pitting.
12:59Here's Josh.
13:00A.J.
13:01Allmendinger much happier with that car.
13:02He's got a good forward drive, good on lateral grip, just rolling over just a little bit.
13:07They told him to wait on fuel.
13:12Larson at the stripe now.
13:14He takes over the lead.
13:17Two and a half seconds ahead of Ricky stenhouse.
13:20Race leader Kyle Larson comes into his pit.
13:22Jamie?
13:23He pits from the lead.
13:2410 laps there.
13:25Daniels called him in.
13:27It's going to be fuel and four tires for Larson.
13:38Chase Elliott becomes the new race leader from Corey LaJoy and Ryan Blaney.
13:44Those are the three cars that still have to pit.
13:47Larson was 20 seconds ahead of Chris Buescher when he came to pit road, but he will cycle
13:53through to about eighth place.
13:56Larson will after exiting the pits.
14:00Six seconds behind Buescher right now.
14:03That's exactly what he's doing.
14:04He's inside of him.
14:05There.
14:06Larson on the outside.
14:09Side-by-side for the lead.
14:12Trade in paint.
14:13It's not over yet.
14:15Still on the inside.
14:16He's going to have to get, what do you call it, dirty right here.
14:19He's going to have to push him up.
14:27You can see them both slipping and sliding around.
14:29Buescher's tires are just worn out.
14:31Truex to the lead.
14:34Larson to second.
14:35But it's not over.
14:37It's far from over.
14:39Nine to go.
14:43Larson at a significant advantage on tires.
14:46He missed the corner.
14:51Everything that you've been talking about, Clint, just don't make a mistake.
14:53Keep that car on line.
14:54They both did.
14:55In which corners?
14:56Four and ten.
14:58He took advantage of both corners.
15:02Kyle Larson to the lead.
15:03He's had the advantage of these three diving into the corners.
15:07This time here we get to say one lap to go sponsored by credit one bank.
15:15And Kyle Larson drove through the field and back to the front after that final pit stop
15:22at lap 81.
15:23Keep an eye on martin Truex.
15:25He's giving up another second there.
15:27I don't know what's going on there, if he's getting tight on fuel or what, but I think
15:31he's giving up on the race for the lead.
15:34Now we're just managing second place.
15:36Michael Mcdowell two and a half behind Truex.
15:40Jamie?
15:42Truex's crew chief, James small, right when they came across the finish line said hit
15:48that fuel switch now.
15:49So it's certainly a concern.
15:50Uh-oh.
15:51Chastain and Busch got together.
15:52Imagine that.
15:53Oh, my gosh.
15:54For fifth.
15:55He's going to fall all the way back to at least 11th.
16:09The hits just keep coming for Kyle Busch and everybody on that 8 car.
16:13That's going to be unfortunate.
16:14Had a top five going.
16:16That's a tough one.
16:17Last lap.
16:18That is a tough one.
16:19Last corner for Elk Grove, California's Kyle Larson, the 31-year-old, is going to power
16:24off turn 11, take this little kink here to the checkered flag, and Kyle Larson scores
16:30his 26th career win, third of the season.
16:36Truex is out of gas.
16:45Truex is out of gas, guys.
16:46He didn't make it back around.
16:47Mcdowell is going to be second.
16:48Busch, he's still not around.
16:49He's right there at the start finish line.
16:51100 yards before it, out of gas.
16:54He's not going to finish.
16:57Wow.
17:01I thought something happened.
17:03When Jamie said they told him with the new rules and that flipped the switch, that doesn't
17:07get you a lap like it used to.
17:09Caution flag now waves.
17:11He is on the starter motor trying to crank it across, I believe.
17:16It gets worse for Kyle Busch.
17:17He's run out of gas and just now crossed the finish line.
17:20He fell all the way back to 17th place.