The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Truex king of the road course
Martin Truex Jr. won the NASCAR Cup Series race in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday, using a clever pit strategy to cruise to his second career victory on the challenging road course.
Truex easily held off Kevin Harvick for his second win in three weeks and his third victory of the season in his Furniture Row Racing Toyota.
The defending Cup Series champion waited to pit until the 81st lap, a full eight laps later than Harvick. Truex and his crew chief, Cole Pearn, appeared to use a bit of trickery on the decision, bluffing an earlier move to the pits and enticing Harvick into pit lane instead.
The decision left fresher tires on Truex’s car down the stretch and allowed him to pass Harvick for the lead around the final hairpin turn with 20 laps to go.
“That was all Cole,” Truex said. “I’ll do whatever he wants to do. Awesome job by him today . ... Honestly, all you’re doing is begging, hoping that the caution doesn’t come out and hope the engine stays together.”
Truex’s victory in his manufacturer’s title race was the 18th of his career. He earned his second career victory at Sonoma in 2013 for Michael Waltrip Racing, making him the only racer to win twice in the past decade at Sonoma.
Cup Series leader Harvick went to the pits shortly after Truex passed him, but never got the caution that would have been necessary for him to catch up. Clint Bowyer finished third and Chase Elliott was fourth.
Truex began racing as a kid running go-karts on road courses, and those skills are showing. After winning at
Watkins Glen last year and taking Sonoma this year, his three career road course victories are second among active drivers to the four wins on non-oval tracks by Kyle Busch, who was fifth in Sonoma.
IndyCar: Josef Newgarden put in a lot of work to make his win at Road America look easy. With no caution flags all afternoon to slow him down, the pole-sitting Newgarden finally pulled away late from Ryan Hunter-Reay for a comfortable victory in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Newgarden led 53 of 55 laps, crossing the finish line with a 3.38-second cushion over second-place finisher Hunter-Reay for his third win of the season.
“We had our work cut out for us today,” Newgarden said. “We had to be perfect.”
The defending series champion savored the victory in the 222-mile-long Kohler Grand Prix on his cool-down lap, taking in the
crowd at the rural Wisconsin road course. Newgarden has such a devoted following here that fans planted a garden in his honor in time for this weekend’s race.
“These people have a professional garden set up with little ‘Baby Josefs’ growing,” Newgarden said with a smile. “It was kind of cool.”
The victory might have been more satisfying. It completed an impressive weekend for the Team Penske driver at the 14-turn track, where Newgarden’s No. 1 Chevy registered the top speed in practice.
Points leader Scott Dixon finished third. He was part of the three-car pack led by Newgarden that separated from the field with about 13 laps left.
Formula One: Lewis Hamilton capitalized on a mistake by rival Sebastian Vettel to enjoy a wire-to-wire victory at the French Grand Prix and retake the lead in the Formula One title race.
Starting third behind Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, Vettel tried to use his faster set of tires to make a good start.
But the German’s lunge on the inside of the first corner crunched his Ferrari into the back of Bottas, damaging both cars and sending them into the pits for repairs.
Vettel emerged with a new front wing and the entire field to fight through, and even though he made quick work of the slower cars he had to settle for a fifth-place finish.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari crossed second and third to complete the podium at the Paul Ricard Circuit. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was fourth.
NHRA: Blake Alexander raced to his first Top Fuel victory in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Alexander had a 4.011-second pass at 297.81 mph to beat Terry McMillen in the final.