NASCAR’s visit to Sonoma Raceway last weekend stemmed from one of the best races the venue has put on in the sport’s history. The 2024 Toyota/Save Mart 350 quickly became a fan favorite as far as road course races in wine country go due to the nature of the 110-lap-long event.
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Drivers were seen running the race on the brand-new pavement as the track was repaved recently. On the one hand, it caused issues during the initial stages of the race but rewarded drivers who could keep their focus intact. The race saw a flurry of cautions during the first two stages with multiple drivers going off-track and piling up into each other.
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However, as the track rubbered in and temperatures increased, drivers started to get the hang of how the tarmac reacted with their tires and started pumping in lap times. The new surface proved to be faster than before as drivers went quicker during qualifying than in previous years’ sessions.
Denny Hamlin also spoke about why there were numerous cautions as drivers headed out to a green track and elaborated on his popular podcast, Actions Detrimental. “We haven’t seen cautions like this on a road course in quite some time. Just cold tires, cold track and people just trying to get after it. In practice, we give each other space. New repaves are always treacherous because the tires usually are so hard that it takes time to build heat in them.”
Denny Hamlin on a driver’s outlook of numerous cautions and pace laps during a NASCAR race
The JGR driver also elaborated on the implications of running behind the pace car under extended caution periods. He touched on how drivers’ positions dictate their mindset during the restart and added,“It’s frustrating inside a car when you’re trying to get a rhythm.”
Hamlin further spoke about how drivers with less-than-ideal machinery looked at cautions and restarts in a different light and added: “For some it’s an opportunity to ‘Hey I’m not very good but I’m good on these restarts let me get some spots here and there.'”
Despite the first two stages of the race being riddled with cautions, the third stage of the event saw an extended green flag running. It remains to be seen how the surface at Sonoma Raceway ages going further with the tarmac deteriorating and affecting the tires and grip levels differently.
