News

Track:  Sonoma Raceway
Race:   Toyota / Save Mart 350
Date:   June 28, 2015
 
No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion – Brad Keselowski

Start:  10th
Finish: 19th
Status: Running
Laps Completed:  110/110
Laps Led: 0
Points Position (behind leader):  6th (- 111)
 
Recap: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford team started 10th and battled all afternoon on the twisty, Wine Country road course at Sonoma Raceway to finish a disappointing 19th on Sunday afternoon.  Keselowski and company qualified 10th and held steady in the top-10 early on, but eventually fell back several positions as he reported a lack of drive off the corners. The Rochester Hills, MI native went on to run as high as seventh and as low as 31st as the various pit strategies played out over the course of the 110-lap event. A late-race caution flag allowed the No. 2 Team Penske Ford to pit for tires in hopes of making up some positions with fresh rubber.  Unfortunately, the lack of drive continued to hamper Keselowski, and the team settled for a hard-fought 19th-place finish.  The No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford remains sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, 111 points out of first.

Quote: "That was a tough race. We just weren't able to get off of the corners and it was all I could do to hold track position most of the day. Our No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford team gave me great service in the pits and Paul (Wolfe) did his best to adjust the car over the course of the race, but we just couldn't find the handle. I was really hoping we'd do better than what we did. We'll take a good look at what we learned and do our best to be better next time around."

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion – Joey Logano

Start:  19th
Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed:  110/110
Laps Led:  0
Points Position (behind first): 3rd (-57)
 
Recap:  Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion overcame a tough weekend and used a strong pit strategy to earn his ninth top-five finish of the season, coming home fifth on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.  Logano started the race in the 19th position and dropped back as far as 26th while fighting a car early that had no drive off the corner, the same problem the team dealt with all weekend long.  Crew chief Todd Gordon played his pre-race pit strategy perfectly, bringing Logano into the pits on lap 23.  As is normal with road course racing, teams throughout the field were on a number of different pit strategies, allowing Logano to cycle his way up to fourth at one point.  Eventually, cautions flew and Logano was able to become a regular fixture inside the top-five.  Late in the race, Logano was able to hold off several drivers on fresher tires until a caution flew with just 10 laps to go, bringing nearly the entire field to pit road.  With just eight laps left, Logano restarted the race in the eighth position and was able to make up three spots as the checkers flew, coming home fifth.  It was Logano's first-career top-five finish at Sonoma and kept him third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, 57 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.
 
Quote:  "Todd did a good job and got me some track position and got the car running pretty good.  We struggled all weekend and got something decent.  Once we started running I thought, ‘We're not that slow.'  We made some adjustments and started getting closer and got a top-five out of it.  We'll take that.  I think it's our third top-five in a row and they've all been hard fought.  We learned some things to make us better the next time, so I think that's the biggest thing to come out of today."