Martin Truex Jr. will be gunning for his third-straight Toyota / Save Mart 350 when he revs his engine this coming Sunday at Sonoma Raceway down in Sonoma, California. He has some stiff competition, though, as the likes of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are piping hot right now. In this preview of the 2021 Toyota / Save Mart 350, take a look at three of the top favorites, a couple of sleepers, and a long shot.
By placing second in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday, Elliott has managed to extend his streak of top 10s to five starts. Over that same stretch, Elliott has won the 2021 EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas last May. Elliott will enter Sunday’s race with a career average finish of 17.5 in four starts at Sonoma Raceway. His best finish there was a fourth in the 2018 Toyota / SaveMart 350.
The current leader in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series standings with three wins and sixth 486 points, Truex will look to rebound from lackluster showings in his past two starts. He crashed out of the 2021 EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas and was only 29th in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600. The upcoming race at Sonoma Raceway appears to be the perfect site for a Truex recovery. After all, he’s won both the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Toyota / SaveMart 350. Overall, Truex has three wins and five top 10s in 14 career starts on that track.
Larson has got to be in the conversation of drivers who are favorites to win the race this weekend. He has been lighting it up of late, having finished no worse than second place in his last four starts. After making three consecutive runner-up finishes, Larson finally struck gold last Sunday in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600, winning the race with 327 laps led. Larson has not won at Sonoma Raceway, but he’s cracked the top 15 in four of his last five starts there.
Buescher is back on the sleepers’ radar after finishing eighth in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday. Prior to that, he was 13th in the 2021 EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas and 17th in the Drydene 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also has a NASCAR Cup Series career average finish of 18.13 in road course races.
DiBenedetto is currently occupying the 17th spot on the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 215 points — 31 points behind Michael McDowell, who’s the last man in the current playoff picture. DiBenedetto is coming off an 18th-place finish in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600. He has two top 5s this season to date and three top 10s, including a fourth place in the 2021 Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Wallace has yet to crack the top 10 in a race so far this season, but he’s showing some signs of life lately, He has two top 15s over his last two starts, as he was 11th in the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway and 14th in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week.
Writer’s Prediction
Chase Elliott wins the 2021 Toyota / Save Mart 350.
