Results (with starting position) from the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway 1. (11) Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota 2. (2) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet SS 3. (6) Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota 11. (18) No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevrolet SS (McMurray) 15. (16) No. 42 Viva Vantage Chevrolet SS (Larson) McMurray Overcomes Early Setback to finish 11th at Sonoma In the first of two road course races on the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season, Jamie McMurray looked to continue his streak of three straight top-10 finishes. McMurray, driving the Cessna Patriotic Chevrolet SS, overcame an early tire issue to narrowly miss the top-10 with an 11th-place finish in the Toyota/SaveMart 350. McMurray entered the weekend as the two-time defending pole winner for the race and hoped to be just the second driver to pull-off the hat-trick of three consecutive poles at Sonoma Raceway (Ricky Rudd won three in a row 1990-1992). Unfortunately McMurray was unable to transfer into the second round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon and settled for an 18th-place qualifying result. McMurray was able to pick-up positons in the early running before having to pit off sequence on lap 10 for a tire issue. The minor setback put the No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevy on a different pit strategy than several of the leaders, but the No. 1 team was able to take advantage of some cautions and close back up on the field. On the race’s final caution, crew chief Matt McCall, gambled on track positon and McMurray restarted second with just seven laps to go. McMurray worked hard to fight off several cars with fresh tires to bring home an 11th-place finish. With his finish, McMurray maintained seventh place in the NSCS point standings. NOTES OF INTEREST McMurray has finished on the lead lap in all but one race at Sonoma, completing 1,436 of 1,437 laps The Toyota/SaveMart 350 was slowed by caution five times for 21 laps and one red flags CGRFS Quoteboard: Jamie McMurray – No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevrolet SS: – "Not a bad finish for us today. We struggled a little bit all weekend, but I thought our car was pretty good day today. The guys did a good job working on the balance of the car and we took a chance at the end on track position. We just missed a top-10, but all-in-all a good day for our Cessna team." The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 on Sunday July 5 at 8pm. NBC coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET, Sirius/XM Channel 90 and MRN affiliated radio stations will also have live coverage. Late-Race Handling Issues Slow Larson for 15th Place Finish The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) was at Sonoma Raceway this past weekend for the first of the season’s two road courses races. Although the weekend started a bit slow for Larson in the No. 42 Viva Vantage Chevrolet, the team was able to make significant gains on the car for qualifying, where Larson earned a spot just inside the top-five. After starting the race looking strong, Larson would ultimately experience handling issues towards the end that would result in a 15th place finish at the Northern California road course. Without any previous testing at a road course this season, the team started the weekend off trying to accomplish in practice what would usually be done over a day or two of testing. Although the car was not where it needed to be early in practice, the crew was able to identify some issues and make the necessary changes prior to qualifying. During Larson’s first run in qualifying the changes were evident as Larson had the fastest lap and set a new track record. During the final round of qualifying, Larson would ultimately earn a fourth-place start for the race. The Viva Vantage Chevy looked strong to start the race, with Larson consistently running inside the top-10 and only reporting of minor handling issues. Larson would remain towards the front until a green flag pit stop on Lap 55 shuffled him back. Larson quickly moved back into the top-10 and seemed to catch a break on Lap 73 as he came to pit under green just prior to the caution flag being shown. The stop looked to be Larson’s last one of the day, but unfortunately after restarting in fifth, he would begin to experience balance issues and start losing spots as the race moved towards the finish. Larson would make up a few spots during the final laps to earn a 15-place finish. With the finish, Larson remains 18th in the NSCS driver point standings, 40 points out of 16th place. NOTES OF INTEREST: Larson posted the fifth-best average running position for the race, at 8.8, and ran 90% of his laps in the top-15, the third-highest percentage of the race The caution flag was shown five times for a total of 21 laps, and the race was red-flagged once to clean up debris The lead changed nine times among five drivers During Saturday’s qualifying session, Larson set a new track record, besting teammate Jamie McMurray’s record set last year TCGRFS QUOTEBOARD Kyle Larson, Driver, No. 42 Viva Vantage Chevrolet SS – “We were hoping for a better finish today in the Viva Vantage Chevy. After not starting the weekend off strong, we had a really fast car for qualifying, and a pretty good car to start the race. The car got loose towards the end and we weren’t able to move back through the field on the restarts. It’s a positive that we once again had a competitive car, we just didn’t get the finish we needed.” NSCS teams will run the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, July 5. NBC, Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90 and MRN Radio will have live coverage at 7:45 p.m. ET. About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall his teams have 17 championships and over 160 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, six Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa. For more information log onto chipganassiracing.com .