The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is in Northern California for the first race of the season on a road course. There have been eight different winners in the past eight years at Sonoma: Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. Will there be a ninth different winner today?
Here are the particulars for today’s race:
(All times are Eastern)
START: Cristela Alonzo, voice of Cruz Ramirez in Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3, and Renee Doss, Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician, will give the command for drivers to start engines at 3:08 p.m. The green flag is scheduled for 3:20 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 110 laps (218.9 miles) around the 1.99-mile road course.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 25. Stage 2 ends on Lap 50.
PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Cup garage opens at 10 a.m. The drivers meeting is at 1 p.m. Driver introductions are at 2:20 p.m.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Natalie Gallo, Transcendence Theatre Company’s Broadway Under the Stars, will perform the Anthem at 3:01 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Fox Sports 1 will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. Its coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. Performance Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and at goprn.com. PRN’s coverage begins at 2 p.m. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry PRN’s broadcast.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 73 degrees at race time with a zero percent chance of rain at the start of the race.
LAST YEAR: Tony Stewart won this race a year ago after a last-lap duel with Denny Hamlin, who finished second. Joey Logano was third.
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for today’s starting lineup