NASCAR results at Sonoma: Martin Truex Jr. repeats victory in Toyota/Save Mart 350

Thomas Schlarp

•
NASCAR results at Sonoma: Martin Truex Jr. repeats victory in Toyota/Save Mart 350 image

The track configuration may have changed with the return of the "The Carousel," but the winner remained the same. Martin Truex Jr. successfully defended his Sonoma Raceway title by holding off Kyle Busch to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Truex led a race-high 59 laps as he claimed his fourth victory of 2019, tied for the most this season with Busch. Truex has now won three of the last five road course races and joins Jeff Gordon as the only driver to have ever won consecutive races at Sonoma.

MORE: Watch NASCAR live with fuboTV (7-day trial)​

Thanks to a set of fresh tires, Busch closed an eight-second lead by Truex to just over one second in the final laps but, ultimately came up short. Busch and Truex finished far ahead of any other driver despite a heavily damaged front to Busch's No. 18 M&M car.

Ryan Blaney placed third, followed by a career-best fourth place from Matt DiBenedetto and a fifth-place finish from Denny Hamlin who claimed Stage 2. William Byron led every lap of Stage 1 on his way to winning his first stage of the season, but struggled the rest of the race finishing 19th.

The race was the first road course of the season and featured the return to Sonoma Raceway's 11-turn, 2.52-mile layout for the first time since 1997 to commemorate the track's 50th anniversary. The race also served as the final call for NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip and his iconic "Boogity, boogity, boogity," line in the Fox broadcast booth.

The Monster Energy Cup Series heads to Chicagoland Raceway for the Camping World 400 on Sunday.

Sporting News tracked live lap-by-lap updates and highlights from the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Follow along below.

NASCAR at Sonoma: Live updates, highlights from Toyota/Save Mart 350

(All times Eastern.)

Caution flags: 2

Lead changes: 6

Lap leaders: Martin Truex Jr. (59), William Byron (21), Denny Hamlin (4), Chase Elliott (3), Kyle Busch (3)

Toyota/Save Mart 350: 2019 winner, top 20 order of finish

Finish Driver Team (Car No.) Laps led
1. Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing (19) 59
2. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing (18) 3
3. Ryan Blaney Team Penske (12)
4. Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing (95)
5. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing (11) 4
6. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas (4)
7. Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing (6)
8. Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing (20)
9. Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas (10)
10. Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing (42)
11. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing (14)
12. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports (48)
13. Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing (1)
14. Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports (88)
15. Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing (8)
16. Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing (37)
17. Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas (41)
18. Brad Keselowski Team Penske (2)
19. William Byron Hendrick Motorsports (24) 21
20. David Ragan Front Row Motorsports (38)

5:59 p.m.: Truex wins by six car lengths for his fourth victory of the year.

5:57 p.m.: Eleven turns to the checkered flag. Truex has a lead slightly larger than a second.

5:56 p.m.: Three to go!

5:52 p.m.: Five to go, and Truex and Busch have a 25-second lead over third.

5:48 p.m.: Truex gets caught with side-by-side lap cars, and he has to slam the brakes. His lead is down to under one second.

5:43 p.m.: Ten laps left and its, Truex, Busch, Blaney, Harvick and DiBenedetto.

5:38 p.m.: Busch's team tells him to slow down a bit and save some for the end.

5:35 p.m.: Logano pits with battery issues and 15 laps to go.

5:32 p.m.: Busch has cut Truex's lead in half to just over three seconds.

5:29 p.m.: Blaney, Harvick and Jimmie Johnson are battling for third while Truex and Busch are well ahead with 19 laps remaining.

5:26 p.m.: Chase Elliott is officially done for the day.

5:22 p.m.: Truex now has an eight-second lead over Busch after the most recent pit stops.

5:20 p.m.: Busch finally pits with 24 laps remaining. He takes two tires.

5:16 p.m.: Busch is complaining of radio failure. That may explain why he didn't pit.

5:15 p.m.: Truex pits with 27 to go. Busch opts to stay on the track despite worn tires. This is a huge gamble.

5:10 p.m.: Elliott has to make an emergency pit stop, complaining about low oil pressure.

5:06 p.m.: Truex and Busch hold a pretty sizable lead with 31 laps left.

5:00 p.m.: Kyle Busch's crew is worried about radiator damage stemming from contact with Blaney a few laps back.

4:57 p.m.: Now McDowell spins out yet again. Has some decent nose damage.

4:55 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hits the back of Ryan Preece in Turn 11 and spins out Preece.

4:53 p.m.: Busch now passes Elliott for second with 40 laps left.

4:47 p.m.: Kyle Busch and Blaney are going back and forth for third.

4:43 p.m.: Green flag for Stage 3 and the final 46 laps of this race. Ryan Blaney makes some contact.

4:38 p.m.: Looks like Truex and Elliott will agains be 1-2 on the restart.

Stage 2 winner: Denny Hamlin

4:30 p.m.: Denny Hamlin wins his second stage of 2019.

4:28 p.m.: The leaders pit and Denny Hamlin takes his first lead.

4:26 p.m.: Truex, Elliott and Kyle Busch are a full 10 seconds in front of everyone else.

4:23 p.m.: Kurt Busch and others start heading to pit road with four laps to go.

4:19 p.m.: Paul Menard spins out in Turn 11 after McDowell makes contact with the No. 21, but no caution.

4:14 p.m.: Aric Almirola goes off the track in Turn 4.

4:13 p.m.: Logano's electrical problems are apparently fixed. He's improved 10 positions since the restart to 13th.

4:10 p.m.: Clint Bowyer was forced to pit early with a lose tire.

4:04 p.m.: Green flag for Stage 2, and Truex immediately passes Elliott on the first turn.

3:57 p.m.: Chase Elliot and Martin Truex are the first off pit road. Byron will restart 18th

3:54 p.m.: Joey Logano is reporting electrical issues.

Stage 1 winner: William Byron

3:51 p.m.: Byron wins his first stage of the season.

3:48 p.m.: Kevin Harvick spins out Michael McDowell, but no caution.

3:47 p.m.: Truex and Elliott do indeed pit — making a play for the win rather than stage points.

3:44 p.m.: Matt DiBenedetto is the first to pit road with four laps to go.

3:43 p.m.: Elliott is really complaining of bad front tires.

3:41 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr. has really been riding the bumper of Chase Elliott as he tries to take second.

3:37 p.m.: Drivers are starting to chirp about pitting, but it sounds like most are going to tough out all of the first 20 laps to earn stage points.

3:32 p.m.: Kyle Larson has slid back to sixth.

3:30 p.m.: Erik Jones has improved his track position the most. Started 38th and is now 24th.

3:24 p.m.: Despite starting second, William Byron grabbed the early lead and hasn't looke back.

3:19 p.m.: Kurt Busch already with some damage on Lap 1.

3:18 p.m.: One final "Boogity, boogity, boogity," from the great Darrell Waltrip. Green flag!

3:08 p.m.: Quick breakdown of the race today:

2:57 p.m.: Looks like a gorgeous day at the track.

Thomas Schlarp