The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma should provide plenty of adrenaline-pumping action. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 should be one hell of an event with plenty of the world’s best stock car drivers making their way to Sonoma Raceway. It’s not all about the big dogs like defending Sprint Cup Champion Kyle Busch and 2014 champ Kevin Harvick. There are plenty of up-and-comers who could make a name for themselves, three of which we’ll highlight below.
Chase Eliott can’t be overlooked heading into next Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, especially for one very bid reason—he’s driving a Hendrick Motorsports car. These cars have been excellent at road courses this year, being all fast over long runs. While Elliott hasn’t raced at Sonoma in a NASCAR national series, he finished in the top 10 in every road course race in last year’s Xfinity Series with an average finish of 5.3.
The 20-year-old is bringing plenty of momentum with him to Sonoma, having finished in the top 10 in his last six races.
Brian Scott
Brian Scott is another driver who has never ran a race at Sonoma in a Sprint Cup car. However, he does have some success on road courses in the Xfinity Series last year. Scott started three races, finishing with a 5.3 average finish. Mid-Ohio is very similar to the Sonoma Raceway, in which the Richard Petty Motorsports driver finished seventh. The talent is there, but the question still remains whether he can do so under the bright lights.
Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher is another Sonoma rookie. But he does have some experience driving on Sprint Cup road courses. His first such race was at Watkins Glen last year, finishing 37th. It was a disappointing performance for the Front Row Motorsports export, but he did flash some good stuff at the Xfinity Series. Last year, Buescher finished third, fourth and ninth on three road course tracks to win the Xfinity Series.
