After two thrilling races on Friday and Saturday, the time has finally come for the conclusion to an epic weekend: the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
For NASCAR’s skilled road course masters, Sonoma Raceway provides a golden opportunity to win a race. Northern California drivers like AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick have extensive road racing experience, and they could easily find themselves in the mix this afternoon. They will have a big task ahead of them, however, as they will try to beat Denny Hamlin, who will be leading them all to the drop of the green flag.
There are plenty of exciting storylines heading into the race, headlined by Bakersfield’s own Kevin Harvick. This afternoon will mark Harvick’s last race in California, as he plans to hang up the helmet following the conclusion of the season and head into the broadcast booth next year.
After last year’s historic victory, Daniel Suarez will look to go two-for-two and repeat today. Despite a slow start to the 2023 season, Suarez has found his mojo at the right time, finishing 7th last weekend at the Enjoy Illinois 300 and qualifying 9th yesterday for today’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Northern California-born Tyler Reddick is the bettors favorite, along with Kyle Larson, at 5-1 odds, as both drivers will look to continue their hot streaks when the flag goes green.
Reddick has won three of the last five road races on the NASCAR calendar, including Circuit of the Americas in March. Kyle Larson is no stranger to road course wins either, having won four since 2021.
Sunday’s entertainment will kick off bright and early as the gates open at 7 a.m. Pre-race activities will commence with the Patriots Jet Team, who will wow the crowd at 10:45 a.m. The excitement continues with DJ Diesel, AKA Shaquille O’Neal, who will rev up the crowd with his set beginning at 11:15 a.m.
Pre-race will conclude with the Driver Red Carpet Walk at 11:55 a.m., followed by the Driver Introductions at 12 p.m.
The racing will officially get underway at 12:30 p.m., where the best drivers in NASCAR will look to conquer the iconic raceway.
