5 Fantastic Runs at Sonoma

Road Courses have always brought out the talents of some drivers you just will never see on ovals. 

Credit: SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Moen Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 11, 2023 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Sonoma is no stand out to some fantastic showings by drivers we are not fully accustomed to seeing running up front throughout the season. Here are my Top-5 picks.

Chris Buescher P. 4

Although Buescher has been vastly improving over the last year and a half, he has improved the most on road courses. Buescher followed up last season's runner up with a Top-5 yesterday and even gathered a few stage points. Runs like this could make him an easy lock for the Playoffs.

Chase Elliott P. 5

You may be wondering why the former "Road Course King" made it on this list. Well it's simple. Elliott currently sits 28th in the standings and has missed almost half the season. Fantastic or poor driver, that's a tough pill to swallow. He followed up his suspension with a Top-5 at Sonoma, one of the few road courses in the sport he does not have a win.

Michael McDowell P. 7 

McDowell has two certain skills sets in NASCAR. He is a damn good Superspeedway racer and he is a damn good road racer. The 19th place driver scored his 3rd Top-10 of the season and on top of that, several Stage points. He even led a lap. 

Ryan Preece P. 13

Preece has not had quite the redemption season many including himself had hoped for. He has yet to score a Top-10 this season but has been pretty competitive on short tracks. 13th is a tie to his second best finish of the season, his first being 12th at Phoenix earlier this year. So a solid day from the New Englander. 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. P. 12

Continuing on in his dream season, Stenhouse is continuing to show that himself and the JTG 47 team belong in the Playoffs. Not quite a Top-10, P 12 is still none the less impressive from the Daytona 500 Champ. Both Road Courses so far this season have been vast improvements over last season for the pride of Olive Branch, Mississippi. Sunday, Ricky scored a solid finish and a handful of Stage Points to boot. 

By: Tom Luttermoser