NASCAR Sonoma preview: will Martin Truex, Jr win the race for the fourth time?

SONOMA, Calif. (KTXL) – The NASCAR Cup Series visits Sonoma this weekend, a track with so much history.

Including recent history.

Last year, Martin Truex, Jr. won this race for the fourth time.

“You know, it’s gonna come down to track position,” said Truex, Jr. “Being on the right strategy, having good pit stops. We could see a guy gamble on when to pit and catch a caution and win the race, kind of come from nowhere.”

Martin Truex, Jr. is currently fourth in points. The leader in points this season is Denny Hamlin, who has three wins in 2024.

“Martin was so good at this racetrack, saving his tires and figuring out how much throttle to apply to be good in the long run,” said Hamlin. “That advantage is kind of negated in the long run now, but he did come here and test.”

The test to which Hamlin is referring is the tire test, which took place a couple of months ago. The entire track at Sonoma Raceway was repaved in the offseason, a project that took 61 days.

“This race was really hard to pass with the old surface, I think you’ll have a lot more of that,” said driver Chase Elliott. “Honestly, it still felt like Sonoma to me.”