Kyle Larson had to pit for tires with 28 laps remaining in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in California, which dropped him out of the top five and meant he had to push hard to catch up with leaders Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr.
Eight seconds behind the leader, he began his climb from eighth to the lead as he drove the No. 5 car past Michael McDowell and A.J. Allmendinger to find himself behind Buescher and Truex with about 12 laps to go.
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Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag for victory during the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 9, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Truex overtook Buescher for the lead, but the lead didn’t last long.
Larson passed Truex with about 10 laps remaining and held off the others to win his 26th NASCAR Cup Series race, his third victory of the season and also having won at Kansas and Las Vegas.
Truex was expected to finish second, but ran out of gas on the final lap, just missed the start-finish line and finished 27th.
McDowell, Buescher, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, races during the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 9, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
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Larson double-clinched his place in the NASCAR playoffs after there was some doubt about whether he would be granted a playoff exemption. He was aiming for a dual with the Indy 500 on the same day, but his postseason was in jeopardy after he missed the Coca-Cola 600.
Fortunately for Larson, NASCAR granted him an exemption before Sonoma.
“It’s definitely a relief on my side,” he said Saturday. “I’m sure there’s been a lot of discussion on the NASCAR side about this, and I appreciate that and I’m looking forward to hopefully not having to talk about waivers anymore.”
Driver Kyle Larson is introduced before the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway on June 9, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
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“Thankfully, no one will be caught up in this drama going forward.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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