Kyle Larson avoids early chaos, surges down the stretch for Sonoma victory

Kyle Larson avoids early chaos, surges down the stretch for Sonoma victory.

Kyle Larson powered to victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, avoiding the early chaos that derailed the days of others and riding fresher tires down the stretch to notch a home-track win at Sonoma Raceway.

Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led 19 of the 110 laps in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, and he claimed his second win on the 1.99-mile road course by 4.258 seconds. His third win of the season also marked the 26th of his Cup Series career.

Michael McDowell drove home as the runner-up in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. Chris Buescher took third, with Chase Elliott fourth and Ross Chastain fifth.

Larson’s tires were 13 laps fresher in the final green-flag stretch, and he slipped by Martin Truex Jr. and Buescher on Lap 102 to take the lead for the last time. Truex, who recovered from an early spin, was in position to finish as the runner-up, but his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota sputtered out of fuel within sight of the checkered flag.

Six caution periods for incidents slowed the first half of the race, with multiple spins and crashes thinning the field of contenders. Tyler Reddick — who led a race-best 35 laps — and Buescher divided the stage wins, but the two drivers were on divergent pit-stop strategies that altered their outcomes in the relatively calmer second half.

Denny Hamlin entered the race as the Cup Series points leader, but he was the first retiree after his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota suffered engine failure as he completed Lap 2. He ended up last in the 38-car field, snapping his streak of five consecutive top-five finishes.

His JGR teammate Ty Gibbs was out just 14 laps later after his No. 54 Toyota crunched the Turn 11 wall, damaging his right front and sending him into the Turn 1 barrier.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Iowa Corn 350, scheduled next Sunday (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Iowa Speedway. The event is the Cup Series’ first at the 0.875-mile oval in the Hawkeye State.