Martin Truex Jr. won Sunday’s Cup race at Sonoma Raceway to earn his fourth victory of the year and his second consecutive victory on the road course.
Truex led the final 24 laps and held off a charging Kyle Busch, with Busch having tires that were three laps fresher than Truex’s.
With the win, Truex ties Busch for most wins on the season and for the most road course wins among active drivers (four). Truex also tied Tony Stewart for the second most wins at Sonoma with three.
“Just dug down deep and tried to be smooth,” Truex told FS1. “Luckily I was able to have a big enough gap I could settle in and not feel too much pressure. It was definitely difficult. That was the longest run of the race there at the end for us on tires. It felt terrible the last 20 laps. Last 10 it was just like on ice, no grip anywhere.
The top five was completed by Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto and Denny Hamlin.
DiBenedetto earned the best result of his Cup career and his first top five in 156 starts. His previous best result was sixth at Bristol in April 2016.
The 90-lap race saw no cautions outside the two for stage breaks. It’s the fewest cautions in a Sonoma race since there were two in 2012.
Pole-sitter Kyle Larson did not lead a lap and finished 10th.
With the win by Truex, Joe Gibbs Racing has 10 wins through 16 races and has combined with Team Penske to win 15 races.
STAGE 1 WINNER: William Byron
STAGE 2 WINNER: Denny Hamlin
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Clint Bowyer placed 11th after he had to pit from fifth place for a loose tire in the middle of Stage 2 ... Ryan Blaney earned his first top five in seven races and his second straight on a road course ... Ryan Newman placed seventh for his fifth top 10 of the year. He needs four more to tie his total from 2018.
WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Paul Menard finished 22nd after he spun from contact with Michael McDowell in Turn 11 with seven laps left in Stage 2 … Chase Elliott finished 37th after suffering an oil pressure issue with about 30 laps left in the race.
NOTABLE: Martin Truex Jr. earned Joe Gibbs Racing its 326th win across all three national NASCAR series, the most all-time. It breaks a tie with Roush Fenway Racing ... JGR earned its 12th Cup road course win, second most behind Hendrick Motorsports (16)
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I just don’t like wine. I’m sorry, I just don’t. It’s the best damn wine I’ve ever had, but I still don’t like it.” - Martin Truex Jr. on the wine Sonoma winners drink in victory lane.
WHAT’S NEXT: Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway at 3 p.m. ET on June 30 on NBCSN
