| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 36 in the2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 The 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 program cover, featuringMarcos Ambrose at the front. Artwork byDavid Grandin. | |||
| Date | June 26, 2011 (2011-06-26) | ||
| Official name | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | ||
| Location | Infineon RacewaySonoma, California | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.99 miles (3.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 110 laps, 220 mi (350 km) | ||
| Weather | Sunny with a high around 81; wind out of the SW at 13 mph. | ||
| Average speed | 75.432 miles per hour (121.396 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 1:16.82 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 75 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Turner Network Television | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander,Wally Dallenbach Jr. andKyle Petty | ||
The2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was aNASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on June 26, 2011, atInfineon Raceway inSonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps, it was the sixteenth race of the2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the first of tworoad course competitions on the schedule. The race was won byKurt Busch for thePenske Racing team.Jeff Gordon finished second, andCarl Edwards clinched third.
There were fivecautions and 13 lead changes among 9 different drivers throughout the course of the race, Kurt Busch's first win of the season. The result moved Kurt Busch to the fourth position in theDrivers' Championship. He remained 34 points behind first place driver Edwards and three ahead ofKyle Busch in seventh. In the Manufacturers' Championship,Chevrolet was leading with 108 points, 15 points aheadFord and 24 ahead ofToyota.Dodge was fourth on 67 points with 20 races remaining in the season.
Prior to the race,Carl Edwards led theDrivers' Championship with 532 points, andKevin Harvick stood in second with 512 points.Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in the Drivers' Championship with 505 points in a Chevrolet,Kyle Busch was fourth with 503 points, andJimmie Johnson was in fifth also with 503 points.[3] In theManufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 102 points, 13 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 81 points, was 23 ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[4]
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Infineon Raceway is one of two road courses to holdNASCAR races, the other beingWatkins Glen International. The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[5] the track was modified in 1998, addingthe Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km).[5] The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[6] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[7]
*Driver changed toMichael McDowell.
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Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes. The Saturday afternoon session lasted 45 minutes, and the evening session lasted 75 minutes.[8] In the first practice session,Kurt Busch was the quickest, leadingDenny Hamlin,Kasey Kahne,Kevin Harvick, andMartin Truex Jr., who were in second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.[9] During qualifying, forty-four cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR'squalifying procedure.[10]Joey Logano clinched his second careerpole position, with a time of 1:16.82.[11] He was joined on the front row of the grid byJamie McMurray.[11]Paul Menard qualified third, Hamlin took fourth, andRyan Newman started fifth.[11] The driver that failed to qualify wasTony Ave.[11]
In the second practice session, McMurray was the fastest with a fastest lap time of 1:17.62, less than two-tenths of a second quicker than second-placed Kurt Busch.[12]Clint Bowyer took third place, ahead of fourth-placed Kyle Busch andA. J. Allmendinger.[12] The Saturday evening session was held around the same time of day the race would start.[13]Brad Keselowski was the quickest, posting a time of 1:18.10, narrowly faster than both McMurray in second and Kurt Busch in third.[13]Juan Pablo Montoya and Bowyer, rounded out the top five positions.[13]
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