| Race name | Toyota/Save Mart 350 |
|---|---|
| Details ref | [1][2] |
| Fulldate | June 26, 2011 |
| Year | 2011 |
| Race no | 16 |
| Season no | 36 |
| Official name | Toyota/Save Mart 350 |
| Location | Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California |
| Course | 1.99 mi |
| Course | 3.2 km |
| Distance laps | 110 |
| Distance | 220 mi |
| Distance | 350 km |
| Weather | Sunny with a high around 81; wind out of the SW at 13 mph. |
| Avg | 75.432 miles per hour (121.396 km/h) |
| Pole driver | Joey Logano |
| Pole team | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Pole time | 1:16.82 |
| Most driver | Kurt Busch |
| Most team | Penske Racing |
| Most laps | 75 |
| Car | 22 |
| First driver | Kurt Busch |
| First team | Penske Racing |
| Network | Turner Network Television |
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty |
The 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on June 26, 2011, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps, it was the sixteenth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the first of two road course competitions on the schedule. The race was won by Kurt Busch for the Penske Racing team. Jeff Gordon finished second, and Carl Edwards clinched third.
There were five cautions and 13 lead changes among 9 different drivers throughout the course of the race, Kurt Busch's first win of the season. The result moved Kurt Busch to the fourth position in the Drivers' Championship. He remained 34 points behind first place driver Edwards and three ahead of Kyle Busch in seventh. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 108 points, 15 points ahead Ford and 24 ahead of Toyota. Dodge was fourth on 67 points with 20 races remaining in the season.
Report
Background
Prior to the race, Carl Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 532 points, and Kevin Harvick stood in second with 512 points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in the Drivers' Championship with 505 points in a Chevrolet, Kyle Busch was fourth with 503 points, and Jimmie Johnson was in fifth also with 503 points.[3] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 102 points, 13 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 81 points, was 23 ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[4]
Infineon Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[5] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km).[5] The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[6] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[7]
*Driver changed to Michael McDowell.
Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes. The Saturday afternoon session lasted 45 minutes, and the evening session lasted 75 minutes.[8] In the first practice session, Kurt Busch was the quickest, leading Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr., who were in second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.[9] During qualifying, forty-four cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[10] Joey Logano clinched his second career pole position, with a time of 1:16.82.[11] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Jamie McMurray.[11] Paul Menard qualified third, Hamlin took fourth, and Ryan Newman started fifth.[11] The driver that failed to qualify was Tony Ave.[11]
In the second practice session, McMurray was the fastest with a fastest lap time of 1:17.62, less than two-tenths of a second quicker than second-placed Kurt Busch.[12] Clint Bowyer took third place, ahead of fourth-placed Kyle Busch and A. J. Allmendinger.[12] The Saturday evening session was held around the same time of day the race would start.[13] Brad Keselowski was the quickest, posting a time of 1:18.10, narrowly faster than both McMurray in second and Kurt Busch in third.[13] Juan Pablo Montoya and Bowyer, rounded out the top five positions.[13]
Results
Qualifying
Race results
Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 573 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 548 |
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 540 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 539 |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | 536 |
- Manufacturers' Championship standings[4]
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevrolet | 108 |
| 2 | Ford | 93 |
| 3 | Toyota | 84 |
| 4 | Dodge | 67 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.
References
- ^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". Archived 20 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "The Toyota/Save Mart 350". 21 June 2011. Rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "Driver's Championship Classification". Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Sears Point". www.gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Passing is tough in Chute". The Augusta Chronicle. 28 June 1998. Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Sears Point Breaks Ground On Modified Chute". Racingwest.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site - Race Info Page". www.jayski.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23.
- ^ "Practice 1 Results". Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "Qualifying Order". Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "Qualifying Results (Race Lineup)". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Second Practice Session Results". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Third Practice Session Results". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Lineup Statistics". MotorRacingNetwork.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site — Infineon Sprint Cup Qualifying Order/Results, Lineup". Jayski.com. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "2011 Official Race Results : Toyota/Save Mart 350". NASCAR. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ "Toyota/Save Mart 350 Race Results". Motor Racing Network. International Speedway Corporation. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.