Shane van Gisbergen largely dominated Sunday’s Toyota / Save Mart 350, with solely Chase Briscoe offering a last-second problem for him within the closing laps at Sonoma Raceway. Whereas there’s just one winner, there’s loads of evaluation to get into.
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the NASCAR race at present at Sonoma.
Winner: Shane van Gisbergen
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After a shocking DNF at Naval Base Coronado, Shane van Gisbergen discovered himself in must-win territory on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. A victory and stage factors have been the one method he’d nonetheless have a path to creating The Chase. SVG got here via. Regardless of the automotive actually having points on the finish, he was in a position to maintain off Briscoe. The 63-point day now offers him a 36-point cushion heading to Chicagoland.
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Loser: Tyler Reddick
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Tyler Reddick had a possibility at Sonoma Raceway to create a little bit of distance between himself and Denny Hamlin for the regular-season factors title. As a substitute, the No. 45 automotive shortly bumped into points on the NASCAR race at present. Reddick reported on the radio that he may barely go quick and he needed to are available for an prolonged pit cease after Stage 1. The automotive’s energy steering and hydraulics gave the impression to be inflicting points, ensuing within the automotive requiring important work and dropping him a number of laps down. Only a few weeks faraway from being 100-plus factors forward, Reddick has now fallen to second behind Hamlin. A season the place all the things seemingly went proper for the No. 45 workforce early on has now delivered new causes of disappointment in latest weeks.
Winner: Ty Gibbs
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Heading into the NASCAR race at present, sitting on the pole, Ty Gibbs sat simply 1 level again of Kyle Larson in regular-season factors and he was inside 50 of Ryan Blaney. Maybe the No. 54 workforce may’ve rolled the cube and overwhelmed Shane van Gisbergen within the Toyota / Save Mart 350, however they took assured factors as an alternative. Gibbs got here via with wins in Stage 1 and Stage 2 at Sonoma, incomes 20 factors heading into the ultimate stage. Remarkably, he ended the day in third and netted the second-most factors at Sonoma. With how essential top-five positioning might be in The Chase when the common season ends, we imagine there’s an excellent likelihood that Gibbs’ stage factors at present will get him a top-five end come postseason time.
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Loser: Bubba Wallace
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It was an all-around dangerous day for 23XI Racing. Whereas Reddick had points with the automotive itself, Bubba Wallace principally struggled to navigate the No. 23 automotive round Sonoma Raceway. After damaging the automotive on the finish of qualifying on Saturday, Wallace showcased the identical management points on Sunday afternoon. He bought unfastened early on Stage 2 when he was in tenth place, having to go off monitor and stopping to keep away from a pass-through penalty. Minutes later, the No. 23 bought unfastened once more and would’ve wrecked if not for contact with Todd Gilliland. Gilliland bought his revenge moments later, sending the No. 23 into the filth and dropping him even additional again within the pack. Wallace didn’t document any stage factors and falls even nearer to the cutline.
Winner: Christopher Bell
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Heading into this weekend at Sonoma, there have been lingering questions relating to Christopher Bell’s capability to complete the race. Joe Gibbs Racing needed to change the motive force of the No. 20 automotive within the early phases final week at Naval Base Coronado due to the constraints of driving with a fractured wrist, and that proved expensive for him points-wise. Going through related limitations within the NASCAR race at present, Bell and his workforce made up for final week by securing 18 stage factors with a powerful efficiency throughout each phases. Whereas Bell was by no means in peril of lacking The Chase, these 18 stage factors really feel like they will not less than place Bell and his workforce to be extra inventive with their racing methods within the weeks to come back.
Loser: Chris Buescher
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Street programs have sometimes been an excellent spot for Chris Buescher to showcase his wheel expertise. Sadly for the No. 17 workforce, it was solely Stage 1 when the automotive began having points with rear grip and it started plummeting again down the sector. The workforce may simply by no means get well from it, with the automotive seemingly “off” for all the day. The true hassle for Buescher is that the likes of Daniel Suarez, Carson Hocevar and now even Chase Briscoe are circling him in regular-season factors and the hole between him and sixth place is successfully now a two-race hole. What ought to’ve been a possibility to make up some floor at Sonoma as an alternative become a disheartening day for Buescher and the No. 17 crew.
Winner: Connor Zilisch
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Chase Briscoe, who completed second, definitely has a case to be labeled as one of many winners within the NASCAR race at present. Nevertheless, Connor Zilisch and the No. 88 workforce desperately wanted this. Coming into Sonoma, Zilisch had a 34.8 common ending place within the final 5 races and he averaged simply 4 factors per race in that span. Lastly, he averted a serious wreck and his road-course expertise have been placed on show. The seventh place end is his finest in a factors race this season and his 33 factors blows previous his earlier career-high (23 at COTA).
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