Play Now <br> <a href="/fantasy/games/football/office-pool-manager/" class="">Football Pick'em</a> <br> Play Now <br> <a href="/fantasy/games/football/office-pool-manager/" class="">College Pick'em</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/the-early-edge-a-daily-sportsline-betting-podcast/" class="">A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/beyond-the-arc/" class="">It's NBA Playoff Time!</a> <br>Kyle Larson put an exclamation point on his homecoming to Northern California, as the Elk Grove, Calif. native took the checkered flag in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway to earn his third win of the 2024 season. Larson prevailed in a strategy race, using 13-lap fresher tires to run down Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. and take the lead for the final time with nine laps to go.<br>After a rash of cautions in the first two stages gave way to a long green flag run in the final stage, Larson made his final stop of the day from the lead with 30 laps to go, putting him on offense as he was tasked with running down drivers who pitted far earlier than he did from eighth place. Larson was able to make up the deficit and made his move with nine to go, first following Truex through as he passed Buescher for the lead then taking the top spot for himself when Truex went wide in Turn 4.<br>Larson would pull away over the closing laps as both Truex and Buescher then went into fuel conservation mode, with Truex running out of fuel on the final lap and Buescher holding on to finish third.<br>The victory for Larson ties him for the most wins this season with Denny Hamlin and William Byron, and it comes only five days after he was formally absolved of missing the Coca-Cola 600 due to inclement weather altering his attempt at the Indy 500-Coke 600 double. Larson was granted a playoff waiver, and he is now firmly back in position for the regular-season championship and much beyond that.<br>"Once we had to go race and pass those guys, I got a bit nervous. I knew I'd be quick from the get-go, but I thought once the tires would come up to temp that it would even off too much," Larson told Fox Sports. "Thankful that we had enough grip. Thankful too that those guys got racing and Martin never got clear really to where I would get stuck in third. That really saved the race.<br>"And I thought too once (Truex) got to the lead, I'm like, 'Man, I hope he doesn't have somebody to judge off of here into four and he misses the apex,' and sure enough he did and I had a big run. Just an awesome, awesome racecar. ... Cool to win at home, drink some wine here in a little bit and go celebrate."<br>Thanks to the 26th win of his Cup career, Larson has retaken the points lead with 10 races to go in the regular-season championship, capitalizing on Denny Hamlin's race lasting just two laps before he blew an engine coming to Lap 3. Larson's win also moves him into a tiebreaker for 32nd on NASCAR's all-time wins list with Hall of Famers Fred Lorenzen and Dale Earnhardt Jr.<br>In two races with NASCAR's Next Gen car, Sonoma's annual Cup date had seen only four cautions in 2022 and just two in the entirety of 2023's race. But with newly-paved asphalt and a new set of barriers lining Turn 11, Sonoma was a different and much more treacherous racetrack, with the yellow flag flying constantly in the first half of the event.<br>The first two stages of Sunday's race would see eight cautions in total, including a number of multi-car pileups that altered numerous drivers' days. Joey Logano would lead much of the opening part of the race from the pole, but his day would wind up being dramatically altered when he was tagged by a spinning Chase Briscoe at the top of the esses. Then, contact from Erik Jones to Josh Berry would send Berry sliding into the entry to Turn 11 and bowling into a tight pack of cars he had been racing just behind.<br>That didn't even account for the number of cars that spun or went off-track without drawing a yellow. Gateway winner Austin Cindric was the most notable to make the highlight reel, as he went for a spin in the uphill section of the course entering Turn 2 that saw his car get some airtime and come close to biting and rolling over before thankfully settling down on all four wheels.<br>The amount of caution flags had a major impact on the flow of the race and subsequently strategies, as by the time things finally settled down and virtually the entire final stage ran under green, the field was put in a position where they could make it to the end on a one-stop strategy. That's what ended up occurring, but exactly when everyone's final stops occurred was largely set up by a combination of when they came to pit road during the opening stages and how much caution laps allowed them to stretch the fuel they had.<br>In the end, Sunday's race would wind up featuring a high attrition rate as seven drivers failed to finish due to both crashes and mechanical problems. One of those was Chase Briscoe, whose transmission failure was especially undesirable given that he entered Sonoma just below the playoff cut line.<br>With Martin Truex Jr.'s issues on the final lap bringing the last caution out at the finish, Sunday's race would feature nine cautions in total, tying the track record for most cautions in a single race first set back in 1990.<br>One week ago at Gateway, the complexion of the race changed dramatically coming to the white flag when race leader Ryan Blaney ran out of fuel, giving the win to Austin Cindric. Kyle Larson was spared such a dramatic turn as he cruised to the checkered flag, but those behind him certainly weren't.<br>The last lap would see two former Cup champions running inside the top five have their races change for the worse: Kyle Busch was on pace for a fifth or sixth-place finish, but he wound up losing several spots after getting spun by Ross Chastain in Turn 4. Busch recovered to settle into what looked to be a top 10, but his car would sputter out of fuel and he would end up 12th, missing out on valuable points and continuing what's become one of the worst slumps of his career.<br>However bad Busch had it, Truex ended up having it worse: He would run out of fuel completely on the final lap, going from running second to puttering without power and crawling to a practical stop just short of the finish line. Truex would end up crossing the finish line -- to the delight of the crowd and with several safety trucks behind him ready to assist -- in 27th at less than walking speed.<br>For the first time, the NASCAR Cup Series will make its long-awaited trip to Iowa Speedway for the inaugural Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on USA.<br>Kyle Larson is going to end his Northern California homecoming with the checkered flag, as he takes his third win of the 2024 season and the second of his career at Sonoma!<br>Spin on the last lap as Kyle Busch gets turned by Ross Chastain while they were racing for fifth! That'll drop Busch back to ninth at the finish. And now Martin Truex Jr. runs out of fuel, giving second to Michael McDowell as Truex sputters and stalls just short of the finish line. Kyle Busch ran out of fuel as well and loses out on a top 10 finish.<br>1 - #5 - Kyle Larson<br>2 - #34 - Michael McDowell<br>3 - #17 - Chris Buescher<br>4 - #9 - Chase Elliott<br>5 - #1 - Ross Chastain<br>6 - #16 - A.J. Allmendinger<br>7 - #12 - Ryan Blaney<br>8 - #45 - Tyler Reddick<br>9 - #20 - Christopher Bell<br>10 - #38 - Todd Gilliland<br>Kyle Larson's lead is up to 1.8 seconds on Truex. White flag this time.<br>Spin in Turn 7 as Austin Cindric goes for a loop. Disappointing followup to his win at Gateway today after his crash earlier.<br>Martin Truex has been able to keep the gap between himself and Larson fairly stable. He's not close enough to seriously threaten for the lead, but he's just within striking distance to capitalize if Larson sets a wheel wrong. Two to go.<br>Buescher misses his entry into turn 11 and slides into the corner, opening the door for McDowell to take third. He's 3.2 seconds back of Larson and doesn't have enough time to try and run him down with just four laps left.<br>Change for ninth in turn 11 as well as Ryan Blaney takes the spot from Tyler Reddick.<br>Five laps to go. Kyle Larson has opened up his lead to nearly one second on Truex and he's setting up to try and set sail into the sunset.<br>Race for third is heating up between Buescher and McDowell, but McDowell tells his team that he thinks he has a right front tire coming apart.<br>Truex isn't letting Larson get away just yet. He's been able to keep within about three carlengths of Larson and just close enough to put the pressure on. Buescher has started to fall back from these two, and he's going to have to deal with Michael McDowell in a moment as the 34 has closed in to 2.6 seconds back of the lead.<br>Buescher misses turn 10, and that gives Truex the chance he need! They lean on each other in turn 11 and are side-by-side for the lead with Larson in tow!<br>Truex gets the top spot at the top of the hill with nine to go, and here comes Larson with him!<br>NOW TRUEX MISSES TURN 4! The door opens for Larson and now Larson takes the lead with 13 lap fresher tires than the two drivers he was racing for the top spot!<br>It's a three car battle for the lead. Buescher, Truex and Larson all running nose-to-tail with 10 laps to go next time by.<br>Josh Berry has taken his car to the garage area.<br>Truex takes a look on Buescher for the lead in turn 7. There's extra urgency for Truex to make the pass and make it now as Larson cuts the gap to under two seconds.<br>Buescher took a defensive line into turn 11 preventing Truex from being able to get a nose under him. 12 laps to go with Larson just 1.5 seconds back.<br>Buescher missed the center of the corner in turn 11, but he still manages to get a good enough exit to keep Truex from capitalizing. Both, however, aren't making nearly the time that Kyle Larson is. He's cut the gap down to under three seconds.<br>Truex has cut the lead down to half a second. Larson has passed Kyle Busch for third, and without incident given their run-in a week ago at Gateway.<br>Larson has 4.5 seconds to make up with 16 laps to go. And the best thing Larson can have happen is for Buescher and Truex to start really fighting for the lead, which will help him make up time just that much more.<br>Justin Haley has gone to the garage area with a problem.<br> <br>© 2004-2024 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.<br>CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.<br>The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. 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