This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Kyle Larson started from pole and held off the two strongest road-course drivers in NASCAR Cup Series racing to win his second race in a row and third of the season. The win was Larson's first at Sonoma Raceway despite him starting in the top five at the track in all seven starts. The dominant performance was also the second race in a row in which Larson swept stage victories and won the race. Road-course masters Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top three and could only look at Larson's rear bumper as he drove away in each of the final restarts. Larson is at the top of his game and heads to this week's All-Star Race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway as the hottest driver on the circuit.
This week, will be the first time Texas has hosted the All-Star event and will feature a six-round format with the winner taking home the million-dollar prize. Only green-flag laps will count, and several of the six segments will feature field inversion. The annual exhibition race will take in a Wild West type of atmosphere for NASCAR's third visit to a track other than Charlotte Motor Speedway.
UPGRADE
Kyle Larson – Larson won the opening stage of Sunday's race at Sonoma in the best opening to a race at the track in his seven tries. He then went on to dominate the rest of the race, sweeping stage victories and winning the race for the second week in
Kyle Larson started from pole and held off the two strongest road-course drivers in NASCAR Cup Series racing to win his second race in a row and third of the season. The win was Larson's first at Sonoma Raceway despite him starting in the top five at the track in all seven starts. The dominant performance was also the second race in a row in which Larson swept stage victories and won the race. Road-course masters Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top three and could only look at Larson's rear bumper as he drove away in each of the final restarts. Larson is at the top of his game and heads to this week's All-Star Race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway as the hottest driver on the circuit.
This week, will be the first time Texas has hosted the All-Star event and will feature a six-round format with the winner taking home the million-dollar prize. Only green-flag laps will count, and several of the six segments will feature field inversion. The annual exhibition race will take in a Wild West type of atmosphere for NASCAR's third visit to a track other than Charlotte Motor Speedway.
UPGRADE
Kyle Larson – Larson won the opening stage of Sunday's race at Sonoma in the best opening to a race at the track in his seven tries. He then went on to dominate the rest of the race, sweeping stage victories and winning the race for the second week in a row. It was the first time Larson converted his usual top starting spot into a win at the California circuit, and it was also his third victory of the season, which ties him with Truex atop the winner's board. He and his Hendrick Motorsports team have hit their stride and should cruise into the All-Star weekend at Texas brimming with confidence. Larson has never won at Texas. He was the runner-up in 2017 and has two other top-fives at the circuit.
Kurt Busch – After a 12-race run with no top-10 finishes, Busch and his Chip Ganassi Racing team finally had a race to be happy with. The former Sonoma winner started the day deep in the field in 30th position but quickly worked his way forward to grab stage points in both opening segments. Busch and company kept that run together and went on to finish the race sixth. The top-10 is just the third of the season and moves the team back to 18th in the playoff standings. A 63-point gap to the 16th and final playoff position is going to be difficult to overcome, but Busch and this team are capable of winning races. They may have to do just that to earn a playoff spot with regular-season races winding down. Busch won the All-Star Race in 2010.
Martin Truex Jr. – While Truex wasn't able to win his third consecutive race at Sonoma, he was one of the quickest cars all afternoon and ended his three-race slump with a third-place finish behind Larson and Elliott. The top-five finish was the sixth of the season for the No. 19 team and came after they started 19th. Truex quickly drove through the field and finished fourth in the opening stage. A decision to do the opposite of whatever Larson did at the end of the season stage meant missed points there, but the team had the pace to contend for the win. The team now has the All-Star weekend to solidify its gains and continue improving for a run in the playoffs. Truex has never won at Texas but does have 17 top-10s from 31 starts.
Chase Elliott – Elliott was the favorite to win Sunday's trip to the Toyota/Save Mart 350, but even he admitted the track wasn't the best for him. The road-course dominator started on the front row and led 13 laps, but didn't have the pace necessary to mount a serious challenge against his teammate for the win. Elliott's second-place finish and laps led made for his best outing at the technical circuit, however. Perhaps more importantly, the runner-up finish was his fourth finish of third or better in as many races. Elliott and Larson are hitting on all cylinders right now and will be working to maintain that momentum right into and through the championship playoffs. The defending series champion has two top-fives and five top-10s from 10 Texas visits.
DOWNGRADE
Austin Dillon – Dillon's day in Northern California started with alternator issues that ruined his chances of having a good day before the first stage was even completed. The Richard Childress Racing driver has not had a great career at the track, and electric gremlins were his nemesis again Sunday. By sheer perseverance, he remained on the lead lap but remained off the pace of the leaders. Dillon won at Texas last season despite starting 21st, which should give him some confidence at he heads to the All-Star weekend. He will automatically be in the big show by virtue of his 2020 victory. The 1.5-mile quad-ovals like Texas are where Richard Childress Racing has had more competitive outings, and Dillon will need one to regain his footing.
William Byron – Byron's impressive streak of top finishes came to an end in Sonoma. The young driver was racing in the pack when contact from cars ahead caused a chain-reaction accident that left Byron with insurmountable damage. The Hendrick driver was an innocent bystander in the crash that took him out, and now he must focus on navigating the All- Star weekend at Texas without losing too much momentum before the points race picks up again in two weeks. Byron has two top-10 finishes from six Texas starts with a best finish of sixth. He crashed out of the first race at the track last season and then finished 13th in the return visit during the playoffs.
Michael McDowell – Road courses are usually locations McDowell can outperform normal expectations. He was on course to do that again Sunday afternoon at Sonoma. However, late contact in turn 11 turned him around and left him scrambling to get pointed the right direction as the field streamed by. That small incident dropped him to the back of the field with no opportunity to make up the ground he lost. He ended the race in 28th position, which was not at all representative of the top-15 he should have had. Still, he has his Dayton 500 victory, which remains enough to keep him in the playoffs. He has the All-Star Race to look forward to and will learn from this weekend as he prepares for the remainder of the season.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stenhouse suffered a cut tire and heavy contact with the outside wall Sunday at Sonoma. With the right side of his car pancaked, he ultimately ended up retiring from the race. His last-place finish was his second outside of the top 20 in the last five races. He has now had just one top-15 finish since Martinsville and is losing ground in the championship standings, now 82 points behind the 16th and final playoff spot. He and the team will need to use the All-Star weekend to stop their slide and focus on getting as much out of the regular-season races remaining as possible. This could be a good week for them to try something different, too. Stenhouse only has a best finish of 11th at the track from 16 starts.
Kevin Harvick – What should have been a decent venue for Harvick to extend his run of top-10 finishes rapidly devolved into a struggle. The former Sonoma winner started the day battling an ill-handling machine and asked for significant changes in the first stops. He rapidly dropped down the running order and missed scoring stage points in both opening segments. Things only got worse when aggressive driving ahead of him caused a chain-reaction accident that left him with heavy front-end damage. The former champion limped to a 22nd-place finish and continues his quest to find consistency and speed. Harvick has yet to visit Victory Lane this season but does have a comfortable 92-point cushion ahead of the 16th and final playoff position.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Ross Chastain – Chastain's seventh-place finish Sunday was his second top-10 in the last three races. Fantasy players paying attention should have noticed him scoring consistent top-15 finishes since April and starting to find traction after a difficult start to the season. With three top-10s so far this season, things are certainly on an upward trend for Chastain. Both Chip Ganassi Racing teammates having a good outing at Sonoma is a good omen, as the All-Star weekend approaches and the team try to use this week to consolidate its gains and improve even more. Chastain has four Cup Series starts at Texas with a best finish of 29th, but this will be his first trip to the track in Ganassi equipment.
