2016 Toyota/Save Mart 350

The 2016 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 26, 2016 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on the 1.99-mile (3.20 km) road course, it was the 16th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

2016 Toyota/Save Mart 350
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 16 of 36 in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Date June 26, 2016 (2016-06-26)
Location Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California
Course Permanent racing facility
1.99 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 110 laps, 218.9 mi (352 km)
Average speed 80.966 miles per hour (130.302 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 74.799 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 33
Winner
No. 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network FS1
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 2.22 (Overnight)
2.2 (Final)
3.9 million viewers
Radio in the United States
Radio PRN
Booth Announcers Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini
Turn Announcers Pat Patterson (2, 3 & 3a), Brad Gillie (4a & 7a) and Rob Albright (10 & 11)

The race had 12 lead changes among different cautions and 4 cautions for 10 laps. This was three-time series champion Tony Stewart's 49th and final career victory.

Background

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Layout of Sonoma Raceway, the track where the race was held.

Sonoma Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway and Infineon Raceway is a 2.52-mile (4.06 km) road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains in Sonoma, California, USA. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 feet (49 m) of total elevation change. It is host to one of only two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses (the other being Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York). It is also host to the Verizon IndyCar Series and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events which may or may not be open to the public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America.

Entry list

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The preliminary entry list for the race included forty-one cars and was released on June 3, 2016, at 12:29 pm ET.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota
24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS Racing Ford
34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford
38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
55 Cody Ware (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota
83 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
93 Dylan Lupton (R) BK Racing Toyota
95 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet
98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 75.299 and a speed of 95.141 mph (153.115 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75.299 95.141
2 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75.774 94.544
3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 75.811 94.498
Official first practice results

Final practice

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 75.175 and a speed of 95.298 mph (153.367 km/h).[12]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.175 95.298
2 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 75.209 95.255
3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75.218 95.243
Official final practice results

Qualifying

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Carl Edwards scored the pole position.

Carl Edwards scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:14.799 and a speed of 95.777 mph (154.138 km/h).[13] He said that his pole lap "was amazing, the car was perfect, and then I wasn’t sure about the second lap. It was good enough, and that tells you how good the car is. I just can’t say enough about Stanley and all the things they’re doing for us. We had dinner last night for us and this will be really exciting for them to have their Stanley Toyota up on the pole for the start of the race, and hopefully we can stay there and get another win.”[14]

A. J. Allmendinger, who qualified second, said when he "saw Carl's first lap, I was like, I don't care what kind of lap I run, I'm never going to catch that. There's no pressure on me. He's won here before (in 2014); my best finish is seventh. We just have to go out and have a solid day."[15] “Definitely a big gain from where we were yesterday,” he added. “We’ve still got to go to work, we’ve still got to figure out race trim, but a good start at least.”[16]

Dylan Lupton qualified 38th in his Sprint Cup Series debut.[17] Cody Ware failed to qualify for the race.[18]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 74.392 74.799
2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 74.990 74.878
3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 74.763 74.881
4 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75.018 74.895
5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75.121 75.124
6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75.103 75.167
7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 74.808 75.192
8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 74.776 75.226
9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74.922 75.304
10 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 74.921 75.378
11 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75.083 75.383
12 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 74.980 75.437
13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.150
14 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 75.239
15 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.389
16 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.447
17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 75.485
18 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 75.492
19 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75.501
20 95 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 75.556
21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 75.640
22 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75.646
23 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75.793
24 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 75.809
25 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 75.854
26 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 75.861
27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75.872
28 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75.889
29 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 75.922
30 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 75.925
31 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 75.994
32 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 76.045
33 83 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 76.088
34 32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS Racing Ford 76.328
35 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota 76.483
36 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 76.492
37 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 76.820
38 93 Dylan Lupton (R) BK Racing Toyota 76.964
39 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 77.010
40 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 77.872
Did not qualify
41 55 Cody Ware (R) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78.145
Official qualifying results

Race

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First half

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Under clear blue California skies, Carl Edwards led the field to the green flag at 3:22 p.m. The first caution of the race flew on the seventh lap after Clint Bowyer's car came to a halt in the esses after the wiring in the dashboard caught fire.[19] He said afterwards that the issue was probably "the ignition; it was a wiring fire. I've had oil smoke and stuff like that pour into the car … I've never had an electrical fire. Damn, it choked me out, I couldn't breathe. I bailed out and the damn thing starts rolling so I had to reach in and put it in gear. That's a great start to the day."[19] He would go on to finish 40th.[20]

The race restarted on lap 8. A. J. Allmendinger passed Edwards climbing up turn 2 to take the lead. After 10 laps, his lead had only grown to close to a second over Edwards. A number of cars started hitting pit road on lap 20. Jamie McMurray was tagged for speeding and was forced to serve a pass through penalty. Allmendinger made his stop on lap 25 and handed the lead to Paul Menard. Kevin Harvick out-braked Menard going into turn 4a to take the lead on lap 28. He pitted on lap 31 and the lead cycled to Edwards.

A number of cars began pitting on lap 45. Debris in turn 1 brought out the second caution of the race on lap 46. Kyle Busch opted to stay out when most of the field pitted and assumed the lead.

Second half

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Tony Stewart scored the final win of his Cup Series career.

The race restarted with 61 laps to go. Denny Hamlin drove to the outside of his teammate in the esses to take the lead with 60 laps to go. A number of cars began pitting with 42 laps to go. Kyle Larson was tagged for speeding on pit road and was forced to serve a pass through penalty. Hamlin pitted with 39 laps to go and handed the lead to Allmendinger. Both drivers pitted the next lap and handed the lead to Danica Patrick. Michael McDowell was tagged for an uncontrolled tire and was forced to serve a pass through penalty. Hamlin took back the lead from Patrick passing to her outside at the top of turn 2.

Debris in turn 7a brought out the third caution of the race with 24 laps to go. Tony Stewart opted to stay out when the leaders pitted and assumed the lead.[21] Allmendinger was tagged for an uncontrolled tire and restarted the race from the tail end of the field, to which he sarcastically told his crew "Good job, guys."[22]

The race restarted with 20 laps to go. The fourth caution of the race flew with 18 laps to go after McDowell's car stalled off the track near turn 9.

The race restarted with 14 laps to go. Martin Truex Jr. attempted to out-brake Stewart going into turn 7a with 12 laps to go, but he carried too much speed and had to stay on the brakes longer. This allowed Hamlin to pass him for second. In the remaining laps, Hamlin attempted to run down and pass Stewart to no avail.[23] On the final lap, however, Hamlin out-braked Stewart going into turn 7a and took the lead. At turn 11, he locked the brakes and left the inside line open. Stewart drove his car into the gap, sent Hamlin and himself into the wall and drove on to score the victory.[24]

Post-race

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Driver comments

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Stewart said after the race that with "eight to go it was the first time I thought, 'hey, we might actually have a shot to hold onto this,' and I actually got a little bit emotional thinking about it while I was driving," Stewart said. "But you stay so focused and you have to. That was when they got racing each other and there was a bit of a gap and I had a little bit of a breather there to kind of think that once Denny (Hamlin) got closing in, it was back to business. You didn't have time to think about wine and flowers and ponies and all that stuff. I had to get back to business. But it was nice."[25]

Hamlin said afterwards that his "car was the worst it was all day. I didn’t have any forward drive (on turn 11). I didn’t run a low enough line. Once I knew he had position, I knew he wasn’t going to leave it to chance and have a drag race."[26]

Race results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Pts.
1 10 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 44
2 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 41
3 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 110 38
4 1 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 38
5 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 110 36
6 25 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 36
7 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 35
8 17 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 33
9 19 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 32
10 4 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 31
11 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 30
12 5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 29
13 15 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 28
14 2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 110 28
15 12 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 110 26
16 9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 26
17 21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 24
18 32 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 23
19 11 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 23
20 23 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 21
21 16 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 110 20
22 24 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 19
23 26 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 110 18
24 14 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 110 17
25 28 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 16
26 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 110 15
27 29 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 110 14
28 31 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 110 13
29 37 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 110 12
30 36 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 110 11
31 33 83 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 110 10
32 30 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 110 9
33 22 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 110 8
34 35 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota 110 7
35 38 93 Dylan Lupton (R) BK Racing Toyota 110 0
36 40 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 109 5
37 34 32 Patrick Carpentier Go FAS Racing Ford 108 4
38 39 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 97 3
39 20 95 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 91 2
40 18 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 5 1
Official race results

Race summary

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  • Lead changes: 12 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 4 for 10
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 13 seconds
  • Average speed: 80.966 miles per hour (130.302 km/h)

Media

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Television

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Fox NASCAR televised the race in the United States on FS1 for the second consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while six-time Sonoma winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race.

FS1 Television
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Chris Neville
Matt Yocum

Radio

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Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Performance Racing Network. PRN's broadcast of the race was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini announced the race in the booth while the field was racing on the pit straight. Pat Patterson called the race from a stand outside of turn 2 when the field was racing up turns 2, 3 and 3a. Brad Gillie called the race from a stand outside of turn 7a when the field was racing through turns 4a and 7a. The field came back into the view of the booth in turns 8 and 9. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard outside turn 11 when the field was racing through turns 10 and 11. Heather DeBeaux, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards reported from pit lane during the race.

PRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Announcer: Wendy Venturini
Turns 2, 3 & 3a: Pat Patterson
Turns 4a & 7a: Brad Gillie
Turns 10 & 11: Rob Albright
Heather DeBeaux
Brett McMillan
Jim Noble
Steve Richards

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "2016 Sprint Cup Series schedule" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. January 26, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  2. ^ "Sonoma Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 20, 2016. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. June 25, 2016. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  7. ^ "2016 NASCAR Television Ratings". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on July 3, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 3, 2017. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 3, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  10. ^ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 3, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  11. ^ Spencer, Lee (June 24, 2016). "Ganassi teammates lead first Sonoma Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Sonoma, California: Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  12. ^ Utter, Jim (June 24, 2016). "Dale Jr. fastest in final Sonoma practice". Motorsport.com. Sonoma, California: Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  13. ^ Fryer, Jenna (June 25, 2016). "Carl Edwards take the pole for road course race at Sonoma". Associated Press. Sonoma, California: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  14. ^ White, Tucker (June 25, 2016). "Edwards takes the pole in Sonoma". SpeedwayMedia.com. USA Today Sports Digital Properties. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  15. ^ Gluck, Jeff (June 25, 2016). "Carl Edwards edges AJ Allmendinger for Sonoma pole". USA Today. Sonoma, California: Gannett Company. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  16. ^ Jensen, Tom (June 25, 2016). "Carl Edwards wins pole as starting lineup set for Sonoma road course". Foxsports.com. Sonoma, California: Fox Sports Digital Media. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  17. ^ Espinoza, Christian (June 25, 2016). "UNCC graduate Dylan Lupton ready for first Sprint Cup start". Niner Times. Sonoma, California: UNC Charlotte. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  18. ^ Spencer, Reid (June 25, 2016). "Carl Edwards edges AJ Allmendinger for pole at Sonoma". NASCAR Wire Service. Sonoma, California: NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Owens, Jeff (June 26, 2016). "Clint Bowyer smoking hot after latest setback". sportingnews.com. Sonoma, California: Sporting News. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  20. ^ Beard, Brock (June 26, 2016). "CUP: Clint Bowyer's 2016 struggles continue with Sonoma last-place finish; Patrick Carpentier turns in gutsy performance". brock.lastcar.info. Sonoma, California: LASTCAR.info. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  21. ^ Scott, David (June 26, 2016). "Tony Stewart grabs last-turn victory at Sonoma". The Charlotte Observer. Sonoma, California: The McClatchy Company. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  22. ^ Gluck, Jeff (June 26, 2016). "Tony Stewart wins at Sonoma for first victory since 2013". USA Today. Sonoma, California: Gannett Company. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  23. ^ Pockrass, Bob (June 26, 2016). "Tony Stewart wins at Sonoma to snap 84-race drought". ESPN.com. Sonoma, California: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  24. ^ Fryer, Jenna (June 26, 2016). "Tony Stewart wins at Sonoma to snap 84-race drought". Associated Press. Sonoma, California: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  25. ^ Cain, Holly (June 26, 2016). "'Little bit of hop' takes 'Smoke' to victory lane at Sonoma". NASCAR.com. Sonoma, California: NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  26. ^ Fitzgerald, Tom (June 26, 2016). "In a thriller, Tony Stewart gets his 3rd Toyota/Save Mart 350 title". San Francisco Chronicle. Sonoma, California: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved June 27, 2016.


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