2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 16: Sonoma

Weekly Review and Power Ranking

Toyota Save Mart 350

Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images

By Richard Tix

Eighty Four races. For a driver who had won 48 career NASCAR Cup races in his career, eighty four races without a win must have felt like a lifetime. From the fan's perspective it felt like it was ages ago that we got to witness an upbeat Tony Stewart in Victory Lane, so it must have felt even better to be Smoke on Sunday.

After multiple injuries, personal turmoil, and social beating and battering, Smoke finally rose for at least a moment at Sonoma Raceway.

Stewart made an early pit during the last set of stops because he was losing ground on a long run. Just when it looked like he was down and out because of the pit strategy luck turned around when Michael McDowell's car stalled out and NASCAR threw a caution. 

The yellow left Stewart with pretty fresh tires and the lead with 14 to go, which was a spot Smoke hadn't been in in quite some time.

To most NASCAR fans it was a sight to see. Even non Stewart fans started to focus in on what could be his winless streak coming to an end and some even turned into his cheer section. Stewart spent the next 14 laps battling off Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, and what seemed to be all of Toyota.

After running nearly perfect and depending all the key passing spots on Sonoma, Stewart finally gave Hamlin an inch when he wheel hopped turn 7 with two laps to go. Fortunately for Stewart Hamlin couldn't take full advantage and still trailed him.

When it happened again on the final lap Stewart eventually gave the lead up to Hamlin and hope seemed to start to disappear. Everyone knew Stewart would do anything it took, but with Hamlin in defense mode would it be enough?

Turn 11 came and went in a matter of seconds, but the turn and that moment will forever stick in NASCAR fan's minds. Denny Hamlin missed his mark, came in too hard and missed the inside line leaving the door wide open for Smoke to get his nose into the corner and into Hamlin's side.

From there it was classic Tony Stewart not giving an inch and taking the win while beating Hamlin's door around the corner.

Win number 49 was well worth the wait, though I'm sure if you ask Smoke he would rather have had 10 wins in that time. Stewart added his name to the list of 2016 winners and now only has to make up nine, yes only nine, points to take over 30th place in the standings.

In his last season fans may get their wish and see Tony Stewart in the 2016 Chase. Toyota Save Mart 350 Race Results.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 16 (Week 15)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Not a huge threat on the day, Harvick was still up front consistently with an average running position of 10th. Finish: 6th
2. Kurt Busch (LW-2)- Ten straight top 10's, when will Kurt get a bit more credit for how consistent he is this season? He ran inside the top 10 most of the day at Sonoma. Finish: 10th
3. Joey Logano (LW-4)- Other than Tony Stewart, JoLo was the only ones to cut into Toyota's big day at the front. Late in the race Joey made some charging moves, but only enough to stick in the top 5. Finish: 3rd
4. Carl Edwards (LW-7)- Carl started on the Pole and had what looked like a winning car early and often (leading 24 laps). In the end he couldn't get past Hamlin and Truex to really contend (though he did finally pass Truex). Finish: 4th
5. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- The rookie gets a pass for Sonoma. It's no easy task coming to Sonoma as a rookie, but Chase kept it clean all day. Plus, he had six straight top tens coming into Sundays road course. Finish: 21st
6. Martin Truex Jr (LW-9)- Truex is a past Sonoma winner and he showed it Sunday. Before Hamlin charged at Stewart it was Martin trying to make his move. Finish: 5th
7. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- Quiet day for BK. In fact, considering it was Sonoma he didn't run very well for most of the race. Finish: 15th 
8. Kyle Larson (LW-8)- Larson ran a ton of the race up front until he had trouble on pit road late. He still bounced back for a nice finish and continues his strong mid season surge. Finish: 12th
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- Sonoma is one to forget for Kenseth, but when isn't it? In his career Sonoma has been a tough place for Kenseth to gain control of. Finish: 20th
10. Kyle Busch (LW-12)- Sunday at Sonoma was finally a step in the right direction for Rowdy. After a string of bad luck Kyle finally had a good race start to finish. Even though it wasn't enough it could be the start of another hot streak. Finish: 7th
11. Jimmie Johnson (LW-10)- Not a ton to say about JJ's day at Sonoma. Overall it was an average day with an average finish with JJ just being average. Look for a bounce back at Daytona. Finish: 13th
12. Tony Stewart (LW-NR)- Poor Newman, he drops out after finishing 8th, but this isn't about Newman. I couldn't let this spot pass by without having Smoke be apart of the rankings again. It wasn't just for the win, but it is also back to back top 10's (7th at Michigan). Finish: 1st

Dropped Out: Ryan Newman (LW-12)

Just Missed: Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and Dale Earnhardt Jr

2015 Pit Road Week 16: Sonoma

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 16: Toyota Save Mart 350

By Richard Tix

NASCAR headed into Sonoma with a ton of questions. Would an underdog win? Would someone steal a Chase spot? Can AJ Allmendinger get another road course win?

Well, AJ won the Pole and it looked possible all of those questions would be answered. Until Sunday came around and Kyle Busch won the Toyota Save Mart 350. Now, we have even more questions to be answered. Will Kyle sweep in and steal a Chase spot after sitting out with an injury for 11 races? Kyle got the win, but he now needs to make up ground and get into the top 30 in points to make the Chase. Can Kyle make up the points difference? Will someone else steal a win later at Watkins Glen?

As it stands right now Kyle Busch has 125 points and is 136 points behind Cole Whitt who has 261 and is 30th in points. Kyle now has 10 races left to make up those 136 points before the Chase, keep in mind Justin Allgaier is sitting at 260 points, so Kyle has to catch an pass both.

It wont be an easy thing to do, but it will be a fun story line to watch down the stretch. 

Onto the Power Rankings. Let's check out the movers and shakers this week:

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 16 (Week 15)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Harvick notched another top 5 on the season which is a Cup leading 11. He now has 11 top 5's and 14 top 10's in 16 races. Its another great start for Harvick, but he hasn't been seeing Victory Lane lately. Finish: 4th
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-3)- Not a lot of movement with these top guys. JJ once again had a strong weekend where he lead 45 laps (most by any driver on Sunday) and finished in the top 10. Finish: 6th
3. Kurt Busch (LW-6)- Who is second behind Harvick in laps lead in 2015? Thats right, its Kurt in 3 less races than most other drivers. Again on Sunday he lead 43 laps, which was good for second most on the day. Finish: 2nd
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Jr is having another good run in 2015, but gets overlooked because guys like JJ, Harvick, Truex, and Kurt are doing even better. Don't count him out of the title hunt just yet. Finish: 7th
5. Joey Logano (LW-4)- Three straight top 5's for Logano, maybe I am being too tough on him? It's a really strong stretch for him, but he still has only lead 7 laps in those three races, many of the guys above him can say more than that. Finish: 5th 
6. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Rough day for Truex. Seems like the only way to hold him back right now is for him to be involved in a wreck. Well, he doesn't have to worry about that for now after getting his win at Pocono. Finish: 42nd
7. Jamie McMurray (LW-7)- Now that Truex Jr got his win in 2015, McMurray is the next driver up to be underrated on the season and win-less. He currently is 7th in points and has been sitting in the top 9 for 8 races. Maybe his time to come is this weekend at Daytona? Finish: 11th
8. Kasey Kahne (LW-10)- Kahne hasn't been terrible this year, be he also hasn't been amazing. Instead, he has been pretty consistent and on Sunday he added a top 10 to that list of consistency. Finish: 8th
9. Brad Keselowski (LW-8)- BK has sat 6th in the points standings for 7 straight weeks. In that time it has been tough to know what you will get from him. He has 3 top 10's in that time, but also 3 finishes of 17+ (the other finish was 12th, right in the middle). Finish: 19th
10. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)-Bowyer makes a stop on the NBTW Power Rankings and it has been awhile. Clint's 3rd place finish was his first top 5 of the season and his third top 10 in the past four races. He seems to be picking up a bit of steam lately. Finish: 3rd
11. Matt Kenseth (LW-9)- Kenseth is behind win-less drivers like Kahne and McMurray and almost behind Kurt Busch (who sat out three races). It hasn't been a strong season for the #20 team, but at least they have that one win to get them to the Chase. Finish: 21st
12. Paul Menard (LW-NR)- Menard has been in and out of these bottom spots for mush of the season. He just keeps hanging around. He has been in the top 16 in points ever since the third race of the year and lately he has been hanging around the top 12. He may not get a win, but he might put himself in position for a spot on points. Finish: 13th

Dropped Out: Jeff Gordon (LW-11) and Denny Hamlin (LW-12)

Just Missed: Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson

Honorable Mention: Sam Hornish Jr (10th place) and Tony Stewart (12th place)

No one correctly picked Kyle Busch to win this weekend at Sonoma. It has been a rough few weeks for me getting the word out to vote on winners, but this week we had an ok showing, just no lucky guesses. This weekend we head for Daytona on Fourth of July Weekend for the Firecracker 400 (Coke Zero 400). Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Holiday weekend! Check back in for the entry list a preview! As always, thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall!

Dale Earnhardt Jr's Adrenaline Tweets: 6/23

Tweets from After Sonoma

By Richard Tix

This seemed to be a pretty big hit last week, as anything with Jr Nation tends to be, so I figured I would write up round two the very next week. This still may not be a weekly article, so you may actually have to go to twitter to see the Dale Jr tweets you missed, but a few good ones came up after the road course race that I thought I had to share.

The above two chain Tweets was pretty comical Tue night

Good stuff from Dale Jr again this week. He has provided some great Q&A opportunities on social media since joining Twitter. I personally love when drivers are actually on social media answering and interacting as themselves and not just having PR do it. I may add some more this week if Dale Jr tweets a lot more, as it was a slow post race Q&A this week. Thanks for checking it out. To get more just go and check out his twitter feed for yourselves!

Pit Road Week 16: Sonoma

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 16

By Richard Tix

The Toyota Save Mart 350 finish was anticlimactic, yet many fans are once again asking for more road courses, or at least one in the Chase. Carl Edwards may have pulled away late for the easy victory (Gordon looked like he had a chance with about 12 left, but by about 5 left he started loosing ground again) but the race at Sonoma was a lot of fun.

Guys bumped and banged and made there way from the back to the front, or for some there way from front to back. Road courses take some drivers out of there comfort zone and then put some drivers into theirs (Ambrose and Allmendinger).

This year was different though. This year with a win meaning so much more, not many ringers were called in to driver for a team (a trend that has been sliding downwards the last few years). Also, other drivers are starting to take notice and figure something out on these courses. Marcus Ambrose did not have a dominate day (which Watkins Glenn is the track he has done the best at out of the two, but he is no slouch at Sonoma). Dale Earnhardt Jr even was relevant all day (had not finished better then 11th, which was 10 years ago, until Sundays 3rd place finish). 

Whether its luck that drivers found there way up front or the fact that teams are focusing more on these tracks, its a good thing. I predicted this year in my 2014 Chase Predictions, "No, I think Ambrose will be shut out again in 2014 at road courses. Look out for AJ this season though." Obviously, I wont get all my predictions right, but coming into the season I did think it was interesting Ambrose was shut out last year and I do think the new Chase points system will keep changing the road course as we know it.

If a road course race was added to the Chase it would amplify the importance of these types of courses even more. Not to mention how much excitement would be added for fans just because of turning right. I think what gets me excited about road courses in NASCAR is the fact that cars get to beat and bang on each other at these tracks, but you can not do at a 1.5 mile track without ruining your own car (Also why I like short track racing).

If you missed it here are the Toyota Save Mart 350 race results. 

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 16 (Week 15)

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-2)- Alright, JJ didn't really do anything to lose his top spot so Ill take the heat JJ fans. But rather, Jr had one heck of a run on Sunday after never finishing better then 11th at Sonoma. At one point it looked like if we got a caution Jr could contend for the win. Think about that when you are thinking about Jr not being very good at Sonoma.
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- Well, its a tie for 1st this week really. JJ did nothing to lose his spot after a 7th place finish and spending most of the day towards the front. Since Kansas JJ has been on fire and is 2nd in points, behind fellow HMS driver Jeff Gordon and in front of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Jeff Gordon (LW-3)- I thought Gordon was going to pull it off (after all I did pick him to win before the race). He had a strong car on Sunday (though he looked weird in it) and as always he knew how to get his car around the track. He came up just short, but a second place finish will keep the 24 team on a roll.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-5)- Here is where the rankings become dicey. Harvick had one of the best cars all day and was even fighting through bad timed cautions to work his way back up front time after time. But, as always in 2014, he ran into bad luck and hit Bowyer when Clint was turned around (and may have had a right rear tire down). He still finished 20th which could have been much worse, but don't forget he has been one of the best cars week to week.
5. Clint Bowyer (LW-11)- After a pretty poor start to the 2014 season it seems like Bowyer is getting it together (I still want to see more, but its been a good run). His last four finishes are 4th, 11th, 10th, and 10th at Sonoma. After having a tire go down and getting spun late, the 10th place finish is nothing to be too upset about.
6. Jamie McMurray (LW-7)- This weekends Pole winner, McMurray ran very well all day long. In fact, he has been under the radar since Charlotte. Not being talked about, his worst finish since Charlotte is 13th and he has two top 5's and three top 10's in that time (5 races). He is 19th in points but only 4 points out of the top 16 and with the Firecracker 400 (Daytona) coming up he could lock in a spot with a win. 
7. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK's day at Sonoma was a day to forget. His car was flat out awful and he did nothing to help it. He started 13th and fell back quickly. Then he and Kyle Busch got into it early which left BK spun out. BK stated "I deserved that with how bad this car is right now." He did fight his way back to 22nd late in the race, but wine country will be a Sunday for the 2 team to forget.
8. Paul Menard (LW-10)- Speaking of under the radar (McMurray), Paul Menard now has back to back top 5's. Not only that, but he has tied his career best for top 10's (9 in 2012 and 2013) with his 5th place finish at Sonoma. He may get in on points this year because it is now 16, but even in last years points system he is still having a great season.
9. Carl Edwards (LW-NR)- Carl dropped off my rankings last week just to win at Sonoma this week. I still haven't seen the power or speed come out of the Roush team yet this year which has to be concerning for the 99. Carl just hasn't had the cars to compete this year, yet he is 6th in the standings.
10. Kyle Larson (LW-8)- The first half of the race Larson was running most of the day in the top 10. The in the second half things kind of fell apart. Kyle still did spent over half the day in the top 15 and was running an average position of 15th but his 28th place finish was disappointing. 
11. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- When you say Kasey Kahne you can't really say great year after it. But, the 5 team is sticking around. Currently 16th in points the team just seems to be missing something. That said, in the last two races Kahne has shown he isn't near ready to give up. With a 5th place finish at Michigan and a 6th at Sonoma this team may have just gained some much needed confidence. 
12. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- Kenseth wasn't running his best race of his season, but when Jr hopped a curb and bumped into Kenseth sending him hard into a tire wall it turned it into a horrible day. Luckily Kenseth got out of the car fine, but it ended his day just short and he finished 42nd. Kenseth just hangs on in my rankings purely because for the most part he has had a really good season, yet he is win less. 

• Dropping Out: Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin
• Just Missed: Ryan Newman
• Honorable Mention: Marcus Ambrose, Greg Biffle, and Casey Mears

Well that's it for NASCAR's first road course visit of the 2014 season. I didn't have a single vote for Carl Edwards this week so no Twitter Follower gets a shout out this week. I did have a lot of Jeff Gordon votes, AJ Allmendinger, and even one vote for Paul Menard but no winners. NASCAR heads to Kentucky this weekend which could also be a wild card race. Cup has only been coming here for 3 years so maybe a new team will figure it out before others. As always, thanks for reading and checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall. Look this week for the Kentucky Schedule, Driver Entry List, and a Throw Back Thursday 2015 Hall of Fame addition!