This weekend at Sonoma Raceway produced both winners and losers in the world of racing.
Among the winners was Kyle Larson, who scored his third win of the season and took the points lead after getting a playoff waiver earlier in the week. Michael McDowell also had a strong performance with a runner-up finish, his first top-five result since winning at the Indianapolis road course last year. AJ Allmendinger finished in sixth place in the Cup race, tying his best result in the series this year. Chris Buescher continued his success at road courses with a third-place finish, marking the 13th consecutive time he’s placed 11th or better at such tracks. Shane van Gisbergen won the Xfinity race at Sonoma for his second consecutive victory in the series.
On the other hand, there were some notable losers from the weekend’s races. Denny Hamlin suffered an engine failure on the second lap and finished last at Sonoma for the second year in a row, dropping from first to third in the points. Martin Truex Jr. was running second on the last lap when he ran out of fuel and finished 27th. Kyle Busch, racing Ross Chastain for fifth place on the last lap, was hit and spun, losing seven spots and finishing in 12th place. Busch’s winless drought is now the longest of his career, though he moved closer to a playoff spot with 10 races left in the regular season along with fellow two-time Cup champion Joey Logano.