NASCAR: AJ Allmendinger takes Toyota/Save Mart 350 pole at Sonoma

Everything you need to know about Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sonoma, in three minutes:

Three things to watch

1. Jeff Gordon has won more road courses (nine) than any other driver, including five at Sonoma Raceway. This will be Gordon’s final visit to the track as a driver.

2. The last 10 races at the road course have produced 10 different winners at Sonoma. Two of those drivers - Tony Stewart in 2005 and Jimmie Johnson in 2010 - went on to win the Cup series championship.

3. Stewart has just one top-10 finish this season but starts seventh in Sunday’s race at Sonoma, where he was won twice in his career.

Observations

▪  There has been no absence of opinion regarding NASCAR’s decision to support the efforts to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds. There is on important thing to remember, however. NASCAR did not make any policy change - the policies in place now have been in place for several years. NASCAR simply stated its position on an issue. The concern by some fans seems to be more about what may happen next instead of what actually has taken place.

▪  While Jeff Gordon has made stops at other tracks this season for the final time as a NASCAR driver, you can certainly see a difference with his final visit this weekend at Sonoma. There seems to be a genuine excitement building around the race and Gordon, himself, seems to be savoring his final stop in wine country.

▪  A report out earlier this week by the Monterey (Calif.) Herald said International Speedway Corp. is negotiating a potential deal to operate Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. In these times, there can see little value for ISC in adding such a property unless it was to provide a future home for a NASCAR race. The 2.238-mile road course could be just what is needed to spice up the Cup series schedule.

Best bets

Three picks for your fantasy team:

A.J. Allmendinger: Last season’s winner at Watkins Glen - his first win in the Cup series - starts from the pole in Sunday’s race.

Jeff Gordon: Gordon has five career wins at Sonoma - the most of any driver - and has finished second in three of the last four races.

Clint Bowyer: Both Michael Waltrip Racing teams will start in the top-10. Bowyer picked up his first win for MWR in 2012 at Sonoma.

He said it

“This is as good as it gets. If we could make all of the races such that you had to drive the cars like this, it would be a blast.” – Carl Edwards

Note

Allmendinger wins the pole: A.J. Allmendinger, who used a road course victory last season to make the Chase, is in good position to do so again after qualifying on the pole for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

Allmendinger was second fastest in the first round of group qualifying on Saturday and then fastest in the final round, holding off Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth to earn his first pole of the season and third of his career.

“I haven’t grown up very well on not putting a lot of pressure on myself. So, it is what it is,” Allmendinger said. “We knew that if we go do our job and if I do my job (Sunday), and we have solid pit stops, and we just take care of business, at the end we should give ourselves a chance.

“And that’s all we can ask for. It’s a solid start, but the prize is (Sunday).”

Busch will start second, Kenseth third, Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon, a five-time winner at Sonoma, will line up fifth.

N@SCAR

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 4:21 PM with the headline "NASCAR: AJ Allmendinger takes Toyota/Save Mart 350 pole at Sonoma."