Denny Hamlin on Saturday captured his 38th career NASCAR Cup Series pole for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
The pilot of the No. 11 Toyota turned a hot lap of 92.178 mph for his first pole at the hilly, 12-turn, 1.99-mile road course. Tyler Reddick will start on the outside of the front row after placing second at 92.068 mph.
Michael McDowell, on the inside, and Christopher Bell will start from the second row. The race’s defending champion, Daniel Suarez earned a ninth-place starting position.
Kyle Larson, who earned the pole for the Xfinity Series event Saturday night, paced the field in practice (91.730 mph), but stubbled in qualifying. He will start 16th. Cup points leader Ryan Blaney struggled and begins P31.
It was all @dennyhamlin. #BuschLightPole pic.twitter.com/0ZlVN3nMxM
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 10, 2023
Aric Almirola Earns ‘Special’ Xfinity Series Win
Aric Almirola scored an upset win during Saturday’s DoorDash, leaving Kyle Larson “bummed … mad at myself” following the Xfinity Series’ first-ever race at Sonoma.
After Larson dominated the first two stages, racing out to a near 14-second advantage at one point, Almirola claimed the lead during the final restart on Lap 65.
Almirola clinched his fourth series win in 104 starts by holding off second-place finisher AJ Allmendinger, one of the national series’ top road course pilots, and Larson over the final 14 rotations.
“This is so special, it’s hard to explain,” Almirola, a Cup Series regular, told Fox Sports before visiting Victory Lane with his family. “I’m so thankful for everybody on this race team. I get to celebrate with my kids.
“Man, this is awesome.”
Not for Larson.
Starting from the pole, Larson led the opening 20 laps to capture Stage 1 and dominated the next 25 laps to win Stage 2. With only one yellow flag, Larson’s long-run pace enabled him to lead for 41 of the opening 49 laps.
By Lap 59, Larson paced Allmendinger by nearly 14 seconds but lost the advantage when driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, running in 31st place, hit the wall off Turn 10 the next time around.
Larson placed third, but failed to contend after clipping a tire bundle, which popped the wheel out of his hands.
“I hate it,” Larson said. “I’m really mad at myself right now.”
Issues for Larson!
Almirola keeps the lead! pic.twitter.com/4E460nHe1C
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) June 11, 2023
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, Denny Hamlin, 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 2, Tyler Reddick, 45, 23XI Racing
- 3, Michael McDowell, 34, Front Row Motorsports
- 4, Christopher Bell, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 5, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 6, Ty Gibbs, 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 7, Chris Buescher, 17, RFK Racing
- 8, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 9, Daniel Suarez, 99, Trackhouse Racing
- 10, Chase Elliott, 9, Hendrick Motorsports
- 11, Austin Dillon, 3, Richard Childress Racing
- 12, Kyle Busch, 8, Richard Childress Racing
- 13, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, JTG Daugherty Racing
- 14, Alex Bowman, 48, Hendrick Motorsports
- 15, Ross Chastain, 1, Trackhouse Racing
- 16, Kyle Larson, 5, Hendrick Motorsports
- 17, Joey Logano, 22, Team Penske
- 18, Bubba Wallace, 23, 23XI Racing
- 19, Corey LaJoie, 7, Spire Motorsports
- 20, Aric Almirola, 10, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 21, Kevin Harvick, 4, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 22, Ryan Preece, 41, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 23, Justin Haley, 31, Kaulig Racing
- 24, Chase Briscoe, 14, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 25, Brad Keselowski, 6, RFK Racing
- 26, William Byron, 24, Hendrick Motorsports
- 27, Ty Dillon, 77, Spire Motorsports
- 28, Erik Jones, 43, Legacy Motor Club
- 29, Josh Bilicki, 78, Live Fast Motorsports
- 30, Zane Smith, 38, Front Row Motorsports
- 31, Ryan Blaney, 12, Team Penske
- 32, Todd Gilliland, 51, Rick Ware Racing
- 33, Andy Lally, 15, Rick Ware Racing
- 34, Austin Cindric, 2, Team Penske
- 35, Grant Enfinger, 42, Legacy Motor Club
- 36, Harrison Burton, 21, Wood Brothers Racing
Kyle Larson said he was happy that NASCAR moved quickly to investigate and address concerns over his wreck with Ryan Preece at Talladega. NASCAR is instituting several changes to the car effective July 9 at Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/NAMPsxUr3k
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 10, 2023
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