Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart's decision to play for stage points paid off with a stage win in Stage 2 of the Toyota/Save Mart 350. This is Hamlin's second stage win of the season.
With three laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. led the first three cars of himself, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch to pit road for service ahead of the end of the stage and Hamlin took over the lead. Those three drivers did earn some stage points, though, as they cycled out in the top 10 at the end of the stage.
RELATED: Stage 2 results
Clint Bowyer made an unscheduled pit stop at Lap 28 for a loose wheel that brought him down pit road out of the top seven.
Finish
Driver
Team
Points
1
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
10
2
Brad Keselowski
Team Penske
9
3
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
8
4
Joey Logano
Team Penske
7
5
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Roush Fenway Racing
6
6
Kyle Larson
Chip Ganassi Racing
5
7
Martin Truex Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing
4
8
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
3
9
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
2
10
Bubba Wallace
Richard Petty Motorsports
1
Stage 1 recap
William Byron took the lead early on the opening lap and didn't look back to win the opening stage of Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Byron led all 20 circuits to score his first stage win of 2019.
Denny Hamlin took second, while Joey Logano came in third, but reported an electrical issue late in the run. Polesitter Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola completed the top five.
RELATED: Stage 1 results
Strategy was the name of the game late in the stage as several cars in the top 10 -- Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney -- pitted to position themselves better for later in the race and eschewed stage points in the opening stanza.