Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Recap
Track: Sonoma Raceway
Race: Toyota / Save Mart 350
Date: June 12, 2022
No. 2 America’s Tire Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 25th
Race Finish: 5th
Stage 1 Finish: 28th
Stage 2 Finish: 16th
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings: 18th (-174)
Race Rundown: Austin Cindric started the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in the 25th position and finished fifth on Sunday afternoon. The driver of the America’s Tire Ford Mustang fought slight handling conditions and made his first scheduled pit stop before the lap 25 stage caution. With a mix of pit strategy, Cindric finished the first stage in 28th. He restarted 16th and raced his way to 10th before crew chief Jeremy Bullins once again called to flip the stage and come to pit road. The No. 2 crew made minor adjustments to the America’s Tire Ford and Cindric finished the second stage in 16th. He restarted the race eighth on lap 60 and was scored sixth before making his final pit stop on lap 80. He was able to gain one more position to finish fifth. The result was Cindric’s second top-five finish of the season.
Cindric’s Thoughts: “I would say this weekend was a real team effort. I appreciate Jeremy (Bullins) and the Discount Tire team for believing in me with flipping the stages like we did when we probably could have taken a stage win and a bunch of stage points. We made a lot of adjustments and some bold decisions honestly, overnight. I am really happy for Daniel Suarez. To see a first-time winner, that isn’t great to have another first-time winner on the season and stacking up on those but otherwise, it was a really solid day and to do it in front of Discount Tire and America’s Tire folks who had a bunch of people out here today. It was good to come out of here with a top-five.”
No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 14th
Race Finish: 6th
Stage 1 Finish: 24th
Stage 2 Finish: 11th
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings: 4th (-25)
Race Rundown: Ryan Blaney started 14th and finished sixth in the No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. The team elected to pit prior to the end of Stage 1 for four tires and fuel. Blaney and the Menards crew elected to pit again prior to the stage end, finishing the stage in the 11th position but cycling into the top-five as the other leaders pitted. As the final stage progressed, Blaney found himself inside the top-five within striking distance of the leaders. As the tires began to wear, Blaney slipped out of the top-five, bringing home a sixth-place finish.
Blaney’s Thoughts: “We had decent speed but needed a little bit more. Struggled being tight early in the race and track position was tough to come by. At the end when the sun came out the track took a big swing which hurt our Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang. We’ll take a top 10 day and go into the off weekend and get ready for Nashville.”
No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 9th
Race Finish: 17th
Stage 1 Finish: 2nd
Stage 2 Finish: 1st (Second stage win of 2022)
Laps Led: 4
Point Standings: 5th (-30)
Race Rundown: Joey Logano started ninth and finished 17th in the No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. Logano and the Autotrader team were one of the few cars that made forward progress in the opening stage with track position proving to be at a premium. The team elected to remain on the track until the conclusion of the first stage and collect second place points. The team would again elect to run long, scoring the Stage 2 win as most of the field elected to pit during the stage. After playing for the stage points, Logano was forced into offensive mode trying to regain track position. The Autotrader Ford would soldier on and finish the race in the 17th position.
Logano’s Thoughts: “We had a good day in terms of stage points and getting a stage win. That was on our list of objectives going into the race. We just got trapped by that last caution which made it really tough to get that track position back. We didn’t have the fastest car this weekend, but we had a decent Autotrader Ford Mustang and got a playoff point.”
