Sonoma Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International.[3] The standard road course at Sonoma Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[4] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km).[4] The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[5] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[6]Clint Bowyer was the defending race winner after winning the race in 2012.[7]
For the first time, Amtrak ran a special train from Sacramento to the race on trackage that had never seen a passenger train. The train was run using Capitol Corridor equipment. 500 fans total rode the train.
Entry list
(R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Two practice sessions were held on June 21 in preparation for the race. The first session was 105 minutes, while second session was 90 minutes long.[18]
During the first practice session, Marcos Ambrose, for the Richard Petty Motorsports team, was quickest ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in second and Casey Mears in third.[19]Kurt Busch was scored fourth, and Jamie McMurray managed fifth.[19] Biffle, Keselowski, Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., and Joey Logano rounded out the top ten quickest drivers in the session.[19] Bowyer had the quickest ten consecutive lap average with an average speed of 92.404 miles per hour (148.710 km/h).[19] In the final practice session for the race, Bowyer was quickest with a time of 75.765 seconds.[20] McMurray followed in second, ahead of Kyle Busch and Edwards in third and fourth.[20] Montoya, who was second quickest in second practice,[19] could only manage fifth.[20]
Starting with this race, NASCAR changed qualifying procedures for Sprint Cup races held on the road courses. Rather than having one car attempt to qualify at a time, groups of either five or six cars were released in five-second intervals and had a five-minute time limit to complete their runs.[21] McMurray clinched his ninth career pole position,[22] with a lap time of 75.422 seconds and a speed of 94.986 miles per hour (152.865 km/h).[23] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Ambrose.[23] Edwards qualified third, Biffle took fourth, and Bowyer started fifth.[23] Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Logano, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon completed the first ten positions on the grid.[23]
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