Refresher as Sprint Cup's first road course of 2015 approaches
This Sunday Sprint Cup Series drivers head to Sonoma Raceway for The Toyota-Save Mart 350, the first of two road-course events on the 2015 schedule.
NASCAR has had many changes in terms of qualifying rules over the past year, but group qualifying remains in effect this week at Sonoma, a 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course.
Qualifying will consist of two elimination rounds to determine the starting lineup. The first round will last 25 minutes with all cars then the 12 fastest cars will advance to the final round.
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The final round will last for 10 minutes in which drivers will start based off of their time from the first round. The fastest single lap will determine P1 through P12 in descending order for Sunday’s race. The fastest driver wins the coveted pole position.
Last year marked many firsts at Sonoma. Jamie McMurray completed the qualifying round with the fastest qualifying lap in Sonoma history, coming in at 96.350 mph. Carl Edwards won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road-course victory and Dale Jr. finished third, his best finish at the raceway.
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This year, too, will make history, as it will be the last time that Jeff Gordon races as a full-time Sprint Cup Series driver at Sonoma. Gordon is the most successful driver at the racetrack with five wins, five pole positions, 14 top-five finishes and 457 laps led.
This Sunday’s Toyota-Save Mart 350 (110 laps, 218.9 miles) starts at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.