Darlington Raceway announced today that it has named Kerry Tharp as President of the track Too Tough To Tame, effective July 18. Tharp accepts the role from his most recent position as Senior Director of Racing Communications for NASCAR.
Stewart has always been strong on the road courses, leading all active drivers with eight wins at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, so his win there isn't exactly a surprise, especially on the heels of a strong seventh-place run at Michigan.
After about losing the race running wide in turn 7a on the final lap, Tony Stewart capitalized on Denny Hamlin locking up in Turn 11, made contact with him, hit the wall and scored the victory at Sonoma. The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet snapped an 84-race winless streak as he won the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
On a night of wrecks, angry drivers, more wrecks and a DDT, Christopher Bell endured it all to score the victory at Gateway. The driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota led 38 laps and took advantage of the misfortunes of other drivers in the closing stages to win the Drivin' 4 Lineman 200.
Carl Edwards will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow afternoon after claiming pole position in wine country. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scored the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 after posting a time of 1:14.799 and a speed of 95.777 mph. It's his 19th career pole in 425 Sprint Cup Series starts, third pole of 2016 and first at Sonoma Raceway.
In the middle of what should have been an amazing weekend for Tony Stewart, Smoke has shown that he is had enough and Homestead can't get here soon enough for him. Coming off his solid run in Michigan, Stewart was running in the top-five in practice at Sonoma when he came up on slower cars heading into turn 11 and it set off the fireworks.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the final Sprint Cup Series practice on Friday at Sonoma Raceway with a high-speed of 95.298 mph. The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was fourth-fastest in the opening session at the Northern California road course.
Speaking before the media earlier today, Jimmie Johnson says the Driver's Council has discussed changes desired for the upcoming trip to the "World Center of Racing" next week.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Sonoma Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series will compete at Gateway Motorsports Park. The XFINITY Series is off. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.
It's too early to doubt Bell or to count him out of contention. He's a rookie, and he's doing what rookies normally do; learn. He's learning and posting strong results when possible. He'll gain momentum, he'll gain consistency, and he'll gain confidence. Those top-10s will pile up, but he just needs time.
