Posted on by Holly Cain

“Win Numero Uno.” Those were the words on the flag Mexican driver Daniel Suárez held out the window of his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet as he turned celebratory donuts on the frontstretch of Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon in the ecstatic first moments of his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet pulled away from runner-up Chris Buescher’s RFK Racing Ford in the closing laps to take an impressive 3.849-second maiden Cup Series win on the 1.99-mile Northern Californian road course – the third victory of the season for the second-year Trackhouse Racing team whose members rushed over the pit road wall to embrace their driver and celebrate the historic achievement.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

With the win, in his 195th Cup Series start, Suárez becomes the fifth different driver not born in the United States to win in the premier series; joining Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy). And he did so convincingly. He led a race-best 47 of the 110 laps and ultimately took one of the largest margins of victory on the season.

Suárez, the 2016 Xfinity Series champion, screamed in joy on his team radio on the cool-down lap and after exiting his car, smashed a piñata.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Congratulations soon came in from across the racing world on social media – including former seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson – all before Suárez had even hoisted his trophy.

“I have so many thoughts in my head right now,” an emotional Suárez said, thanking his team owner Justin Marks, his family, and “all the people who helped me get to this point.”

“So very happy we were able to make it work,” Suárez added, saying of his team, “They believed in me from day one.”

He then offered a message of thanks in Spanish to the large crowd of his “Amigos” — the name of his fan club cheering trackside — and ended it in English by promising, “this is one of many.”

The 30-year-old Suárez, from Monterrey, Mexico, is now the 12th different winner of the 2022 season – and fourth first-time winner.

MORE: Suárez lands historic first

The top-four finishing drivers Sunday were all looking for their first win of the season. Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell finished third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in fourth.

This year’s Daytona 500 winner, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Austin Cindric was fifth, followed by his Team Penske Racing teammate Ryan Blaney. Suárez’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain was seventh, followed by Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and William Byron.

Buescher’s RFK Racing teammate and team co-owner Brad Keselowski was 10th – his best finish since a ninth-place showing in the season-opening Daytona 500.

For much of the early going, it looked like Elliott and his Hendrick teammate – defending race winner Kyle Larson – would decide the win. But both had to overcome uncharacteristic pit-stop miscues that allowed Suárez to essentially dominate the closing laps.

Elliot, who led 26 laps, pitted outside his box and had to serve a penalty that put him 34th — last in the field among those still running. His rally to an eighth-place finish was impressive considering the adventurous day.

Larson, the pole-sitter who also led 26 laps and won Stage 1, had a right-front wheel come off his Chevrolet heading into Turn 2 right after a pit stop. His team now faces a mandatory penalty for that infraction that includes a four-race suspension for the team’s crew chief (Cliff Daniels) and both the tire changer and jackman. The defending series champion finished 15th.

On an upside, however, the combined 52 laps led by Elliott and Larson topped the 100,000 all-time miles led mark for Hendrick Motorsports – most in NASCAR history.

With his top-10 finish, Elliott still holds a 16-point advantage on Chastain in the Cup Series championship standings.

The Cup Series has its only “off week” of the season next week but will return to competition on June 26 in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway (5 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Larson won the inaugural race there in 2021.

NOTE: Inspection in the Cup Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming Daniel Suárez as the race winner.


Posted on by Terrin Waack

Daniel Suárez has made history.

The 30-year-old Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race on June 12 at Sonoma Raceway, steering his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet to the checkered flag.

The victory came in Suárez’s 195th career start at NASCAR’s top level.

“It’s a crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now,” Suárez said, becoming emotional in his victory celebration. “I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series. These guys believe in me — Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get to this point. A lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never gave up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t. … Just very happy we were able to make it work.”

RELATED: Race recap: Suárez dominates late | At-track photos

Suárez becomes the fifth Cup Series winner born outside the United States. The others: Aussie Marcos Ambrose, Italian-born Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia and Canadian Earl Ross.

Suárez is a graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. Before going national, Suárez spent a good chunk of time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, which is now known as the ARCA Menards Series East.

Where Suárez first made his name known was the NASCAR Peak Mexico Series. The Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, native had his first stock-car start there on Sept. 6, 2009. He had four starts that year but then raced five full-time seasons through the 2014 season. Suárez won 10 times between 2012-14, placing a career-best runner-up in the 2013 final standings. His career then took off.

“I’m extremely proud to be the driver from Mexico, the driver from a different background,”  Suárez previously told NASCAR.com. “I don’t feel that the sport could have found someone more committed to myself, my culture and my background.”

During his first season with Trackhouse in 2021, Suárez scored one top-five and four top-10 results. He led laps in five different races for a total of 74 laps out front. He averaged a 20.1 finish and placed 25th in the standings.

Suarez Win Graphic

In just the second event of 2022, Suárez matched his best run from 2021. He came in fourth at Auto Club Speedway, tying his mark in the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Race last season. He also finished fourth three weeks after that at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Safe to say, Suárez is more comfortable and confident in Year 2 with Trackhouse.

“We’re going to win a few races very soon here,” Suárez said after Auto Club. “I just can’t thank everyone enough in my team. We had a fast car, but we went through a lot of adversity. … I’m happy and I’m honored at the same time. I can tell you that I’m going to work very, very hard to go to Victory Lane very, very soon here.”

Before Trackhouse, Suárez raced for Gaunt Brothers Racing in 2020. In 2019, Suárez had a career-best four top-five showings, along with 11 top-10 runs. He piloted Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 41 Ford at the time.

From 2017-18, Suárez was with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19 Toyota. His first career Cup Series start came on Feb. 26, 2017,  in the Daytona 500, where he placed 29th. His career-best finish — up until his breakthrough win — was a runner-up on July 29, 2018, at Pocono Raceway.

Suárez dominated the Xfinity Series the year before. He won the 2016 title and earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award with three wins, 19 top fives and 27 top 10s. It was his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series, both of which were spent with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Marks announced Trackhouse’s formation in October 2020, tabbing Suárez as his driver. Not long after, Armando Perez — better known as Pitbull – became a team partner. Ross Chastain joined the fold before the 2022 season as Suarez’s teammate in the No. 1 Chevy, and he has won twice in 2022.

There’s a strong foundation in place despite the team’s youth.

“You look to my career in the last few years, I haven’t had consistency, and I feel like consistency in racing is something super important,” Suárez said when the team was revealed. “If you can’t have consistency, you cannot be successful. It was very important for me to know I’m going to have everything I need to be competitive and successful — not just next year but as well for what is after that.”

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | Watch on USA Network | Get the NBC Sports App | Watch on Peacock | FloRacing

Monday, June 13NASCAR  FS1
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock
NASCAR  FS1

Tuesday, June 14
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, June 15
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock

Thursday, June 16
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West: General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), USA Network
3 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West: General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway (re-air), USA Network
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, June 17
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, June 18
12 a.m., NASCAR
NASCAR8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at Knoxville Raceway, FS1
9 p.m., NASCAR

On MRN:
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Clean Harbor 150 at Knoxville Raceway

Sunday, June 19
8 a.m., NASCAR
10:30 a.m., NASCAR

Posted on by Staff Report

As the Next Gen era continues to bring a revitalized sense of “new” to NASCAR, President Steve Phelps emphasized earlier this week that the commitment to fresh ideas is here to stay.

Phelps highlighted a focus on remaining inventive with the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, highlighted by the return of The Clash to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2023, which was announced Sunday.

RELATED: Bookmark Clash 2023 page

“We’re going to be bold and innovative,” Phelps said Thursday in San Francisco. “I think we’ve done that, whether you’re talking about scheduling innovation, think about going to the LA Coliseum and running an exhibition race. The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. We never would have done that, right?

“First time any of us heard that, they brought it to me, I’m like, ‘Can we do that?’ It was important. So we’re going to be bold. We’re going to be innovative. We’re going to keep mashing the gas, if you will. That’s been the success of NASCAR over the last two-and-a-half years, is doing things that are unexpected, going to places that are unexpected.”

Dating back to the 2020 season, NASCAR’s premier series has raced on eight tracks that featured either new configurations (Bristol Dirt, Indianapolis and Daytona road courses) or entirely new venues (Circuit of The Americas, Road America, Nashville, LA Coliseum, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway).

Taking those risks, Phelps said, is what he hopes NASCAR will be known for.

“We want to get to a point where people are actually saying, ‘Well, that’s actually what I would expect from NASCAR,’ as opposed to just sitting back and (saying), ‘Hey, we’re running a race here, it’s great,’ ” Phelps said.

Fresh venues produce exhilarating racing, with notable story lines stemming from last weekend’s inaugural race at Gateway. The Cup schedule for 2023 has yet to be announced, but the philosophy remains the same: keep it fresh.

“We’re really excited (about) what the future holds,” Phelps said. “I think more schedule innovation is in our future. What that looks like, I don’t know. But we’re poised to be able to continue the success we’ve had for our media partners, our sponsors, and most importantly from our fans.

“The winners in all of this, frankly, have been the fans. It’s really just this terrific racing that these guys are putting on with the Next Gen car.”

 

Posted on by Staff Report

The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum will have an encore.

Following a first-of-its-kind 2022 event on a 0.25-mile track built inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Development and Strategy Ben Kennedy announced Sunday on FOX that the sanctioning body planned to run it back.

The sequel will take place Feb. 5 on FOX and again serve as the prelude to the Daytona 500 two weeks later. The exhibition also will be the first of three visits to California with NASCAR’s premier series also visiting Auto Club Speedway and Sonoma Raceway in 2023. The remainder of next season’s NASCAR Cup Series schedule will be announced at a later date.

Graphic of LA Clash announcement

RELATED: Photos from 2022 race

“Our entire industry made a bold move by bringing the Busch Light Clash to the LA Coliseum this past February and it paid off by becoming an instant classic with both new and existing fans,” Kennedy said in a news release. “We are intent on showcasing our sport and drivers on the biggest stage and there is none bigger than the LA Coliseum. We’re thrilled to return to the heart of Los Angeles to officially start the season and set the stage for the Daytona 500.”

Joey Logano was the winner of the inaugural event, a reimagined and innovative approach to the annual preseason race. There was a pre-race concert featuring Pitbull, an in-race performance by Ice Cube — and oh yeah, plenty of beating and banging among the best stock-car racers in the world, with the City of Angels as the backdrop.

Last year’s rendition marked the first instance that The Clash was held away from Daytona International Speedway, which hosted the event since its inaugural running in 1979. The 2.5-mile superspeedway was home to The Clash through 2020. The 2021 preseason race was held on the facility’s road course before moving west.

PHOTOS: Building the track

Last year’s event was a landmark success, with heat races and last-chance qualifiers setting the tone for the frenetic action that would follow in the main event.

“I feel like I came in with pretty high expectations, and I think everything was just a little bit better,” Kyle Larson said after the race earlier this year. “I think the atmosphere was amazing, just everything about it was really cool. … I hope we can do more of this in the future. I don’t know what the fans think of it, the new fans that are here, but I hope they enjoyed it. That’s the most important part. Just really proud of NASCAR for the effort they put in and what they were able to execute. I felt like this was a really smoothly run event, no real hiccups at all and that’s all you can ask for.”

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

NEWTON, N.C. — When officials from North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway reached out to Dale Earnhardt Jr. to see if he would be interested in being a part of the inaugural Jack Ingram Memorial, Earnhardt did not have to think too hard about it.

“When they asked me to come out for this race, it was an easy yes,” Earnhardt told a near capacity crowd Saturday evening shortly before the start of racing at the historic, 0.363-mile asphalt short track.

Earnhardt was on hand to sign autographs and give the command to start engines for the headlining 111-lap Late Model Stock Car race, an event that was ultimately won by one of his JR Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers, Josh Berry.

RELATED: Takeaways from the inaugural Jack Ingram Memorial

The event paid tribute to the late Jack Ingram, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, two-time track champion at Hickory Motor Speedway and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.

Ingram enjoyed a great deal of his racing success at Hickory Motor Speedway, winning eight times in Xfinity Series competition in addition to countless weekly racing victories.

“I enjoyed going to the race track and seeing Jack racing in the Xfinity Series back in the ’80s. He was a very tough competitor and one of the guys you were going to have to beat every week,” Earnhardt recalled. “I got to meet him myself and work with him a little bit when we were making an episode of Lost Speedways.

“It was awesome to spend some time with him and see where his shop was and trying to imagine him having all that success out of that little shop was pretty incredible.”

Earnhardt is hopeful that competitors and fans who were attendance Saturday at Hickory will take the time to learn a little about Ingram, who won 31 times in Xfinity Series competition and was considered one of the best short track competitors of his era.

“I hope that everybody here, whether they’re competing or they’re a fan, will take a moment to look up Jack and learn a little about who he was and why we’re honoring him,” Earnhardt said. “He’s a great example of what a racer is, a great example for these young drivers.”

Earnhardt is no stranger to Hickory Motor Speedway. His grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, won five track championships in the 1950s at Hickory. His father, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, also raced at Hickory several times.

His JR Motorsports team has scored a number Late Model victories at the track through the years, and he also competed there during his formative years racing Late Models and later in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

While his Late Model team has enjoyed success at Hickory, Earnhardt himself never managed to find his way to Victory Lane at the track as a driver.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. interviewed prior to the Jack Ingram Memorial at North Carolina's Hickory Motor Speedway on June 11, 2022. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. interviewed prior to the Jack Ingram Memorial at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway on June 11, 2022. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

“My memories of racing here aren’t very good. I got beat up pretty good here when I came here to race,” Earnhardt admitted. “It’s a tough race track with a lot of talent. Had some rough times in the Xfinity Series, ran a Late Model race here I believe. It was an incredible story but not one of my finest moments.

“I am very, very proud that we’ve been able to come here and win races with our Late Model program. Considering the history that my grandfather Ralph and my dad have here and the races they ran, it’s nice to have some sort of legacy here.”

So would Earnhardt ever consider strapping back into a Late Model to race at Hickory Motor Speedway again?

He didn’t say no.

“I would love to, I really would,” Earnhardt said. “I ran some laps here trying to prepare for some of the Xfinity races we run just to get behind the wheel of a race car and get that feeling and understand the sensations that you go through.

“You never know. I’m still pretty young, and I’ve still got some laps under my belt somewhere. I think before it’s all said and done I’m probably going to get in a Late Model car competitively at some point.”

Posted on by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

For the second year in a row, the Hendrick Motorsports teammates of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will lead the field to green at Sonoma (4 p.m. ET, FS1).

Last year, Larson dominated from the pole en route to a clean sweep of both stages, and the race victory.

With Larson and Elliott repeating their front row performance from last year, but at such short odds, I’m looking elsewhere for betting value.

In last year’s race, two other drivers pulled off top-six finishes, have shown speed this weekend and are undervalued relative to other drivers in their respective manufacturer groups.

NASCAR at Sonoma Picks

*Odds as of Sunday morning

Kurt Busch Top Toyota +500

Busch has seven finishes of seventh or better in his last 10 starts at Sonoma, and rolls off 11th in today’s race.

The elder Busch brother was fast in practice as well, posting the second best five- and 10-lap average speed among the Toyotas, behind only his brother, Kyle.

With a win in the bag, Kurt is probably in good enough shape to avoid having to points race, meaning he can take the optimal strategy to finish as high as possible.

My model gives Busch a 19.9% chance to finish as the top Toyota. That means he should be priced at +400 instead of +500, making this a solid value at BetMGM.

The Bet: Kurt Busch Top Toyota +500 | Bet to: +450

Joey Logano Top Ford +425

Like Busch, Logano can focus on the race-winning strategy. Except in Logano’s case, it’s even more certain he will do so.

His two wins make him a lock for the playoffs, freeing him up to key in on the race win.

Last year, Logano started 13th and finished fourth, and I can see a similar performance today.

At Circuit of The Americas, Logano was fast, but had several spins and incidents relegating him to a 31st-place finish. However, I’d rather focus on his speed.

An incident-free race at Sonoma is likely to mean he’ll be one of, if not the top Ford. BetMGM has Logano listed at +425 to finish as the top blue oval.

That equates to implied odds of 19%. However, my model gives him a 25.2% chance to bring home the honors as top Ford.

The Bet: Joey Logano Top Ford +425 | Bet to: +350

Posted on by Dustin Albino

After not leading a single lap at Circuit of The Americas, Hendrick Motorsports looks to be the team to beat entering Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM). Specifically, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were speedy during practice and qualifying, ultimately sweeping the front row. However, there were a few surprises along the way.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Kyle Larson
Starter 2: Chase Elliott
Starter 3: Daniel Suárez
Starter 4: Martin Truex Jr.
Starter 5: Tyler Reddick
Garage pick: AJ Allmendinger

NEXT IN LINE: Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Full Sonoma schedule

RISING: Believe it or not, I didn’t have Kyle Larson in my original fantasy lineup for Sonoma. But the No. 5 team has won three of the last six road-course races, including Sonoma last year in dominant fashion (led 57 of 92 laps). Larson was quickest in practice on Saturday and followed that up by edging out teammate Elliott for the pole.

Michael McDowell is known for his road racing expertise. He’s brought that out in full force so far this weekend. McDowell will take the green flag from fourth position — his best career qualifying run (has four top-three starts all under the qualifying metric system in 2020 and 2021). The No. 34 team has been hot of late, earning top 10s in four of the past seven races, while McDowell led 34 laps at Gateway last weekend, the most he’s led in a single race of his 408 Cup starts.

FALLING: While Martin Truex Jr. is still on my team — simply because he’s elite at Sonoma, winning two of the past three races — the No. 19 team had a disappointing Saturday. Truex was 16th in practice and qualified 28th. Cole Pearn is going to have to work his magic to get Truex competitive on Sunday.

The same could be said for Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. After running the 31st-quickest qualifying time, the No. 20 team brought its machine to the garage to change the steering components. Bell will start from the rear.

FEATURED MATCHUPS

Kyle Busch vs. Joey Logano:
Both are underrated road course racers, but Busch gets the slight advantage with two wins at Sonoma. The No. 18 car was also running in the top five on the final lap at COTA in March before spinning out twice.

Ross Chastain vs. Denny Hamlin:
What a coincidence. Between Chastain and Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing had the field covered at COTA. Unfortunately for Suárez, a spin and power steering issue derailed his chances of the win. That same speed has shown up this weekend, so the No. 1 car gets my vote. But … Hamlin could repay the favor from Gateway last week.

AJ Allmendinger vs. Austin Cindric
Surprisingly, Cindric was just 24th in practice and qualified 25th. Based on experience alone — Allmendinger has 10 starts at Sonoma; Cindric has none — the No. 16 car should get the nod. And while Allmendinger wasn’t lightning quick leading up to the race, he’s off to a better start than last week when he wrecked before the green flag at Portland in the Xfinity Series race and still won.

Christopher Bell vs. Chase Briscoe
The No. 20 team enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the garage, earning five straight top 10s. However, though Bell caught his steering issue on Saturday, Briscoe will have much better track position to start the race. Going with the No. 14 car to outrun Bell.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Kyle Busch held off Zane Smith in a frantic two-lap push to the finish at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway to earn his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the year; extending his record career total to 62 series victories and a streak of 10 consecutive years with at least one series win.

RELATED: Official results | Weekend schedule

Busch led a race-best 45 of the 75 laps in the DoorDash 250 at the 1.99-mile road course in California wine country, but ultimately had to beat the young driver Smith, who leads the series with three wins in 2022.

As the Camping World Truck Series’ all-time winningest driver, Busch has certainly prevailed under any number of race circumstances and that all came in handy Saturday afternoon. There were five leaders and 10 lead changes; a nearly 13-minute red flag in the closing laps and all the pit strategy you would expect in one of NASCAR’s premier road course events.

A hard crash involving Josh Bilicki, Stewart Friesen and Alex Bowman entering Turn 1 brought the race’s final caution at Lap 71, with Bilicki and Friesen incurring the heaviest hits. Their contact with the concrete barriers shifted the walls and necessitated the red flag setting up the final dash to the finish.

Ross Chastain certainly kept Busch and Smith honest until late in the event when an off-course adventure negated any chance for him to pull off any final-lap heroics for the lead. There were five NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered Saturday in the first Truck Series race at Sonoma since 1998.

“Just continuing to work on the truck and make it better,” Busch said of his team’s race-long work on the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota that has now won three times on the season, including last week with driver Corey Heim.

“This Tundra TRD Pro was awesome today and really proud to drive it. We had a struggle at Charlotte a couple weeks ago but today was really good.”

Smith, who methodically worked his way forward later in the race, finished only 1.176-seconds behind Busch and conceded his team had to work hard on the truck at every pit stop – ultimately finding the right adjustments to contend at the end.

“Man, I hate finishing second, especially to him,” Smith said, offering a smile and adding, “That last lap was the fastest lap of the race for me. I just wish I was a little closer so I would have had a shot at him.”

Ty Majeski, who won the opening stage, finished third, followed by Chastain and Busch’s teammate Chandler Smith.

Daniel Suárez – who replaced the injured driver Carson Hocevar early in the race, brought the pole-winning No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet home in sixth place. It was an amazing run for Suárez and the team, considering the truck lost two laps on pit road with the driver change on Lap 11.

MORE: Suárez talks about filling in for Hocevar

“It was busy man, very busy,” Suárez said, conceding he was disappointed to lose two laps instead of just one on the driver change.

“I was hoping for long runs so I could make up some ground,” he continued. “But I think we did a very good job and very thankful we were able to get some stage points and finish in the top-six. That was a pretty decent day. I wish we could have won, the truck was capable of winning the race.”

Parker Kligerman, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Ankrum and Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top-10.

The top four-ranked drivers in the series are now separated by only 14 points with reigning series champion Ben Rhodes, the Stage 2 winner, challenging Busch up front before a tire problem forced him to pit.

Rhodes earned a series-best eighth stage win and holds onto the championship lead by a mere five points over Chandler Smith.

The event was the Truck Series’ first at the California road course since its four-race run from 1995-98. The first four Sonoma truck winners — Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr., Dave Rezendes, Joe Ruttman and Boris Said — were in attendance.

The Camping World Truck Series’ next race is scheduled next Saturday (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway’s half-mile dirt oval.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue, confirming Kyle Busch as the winner of the race.

Contributing staff reports.