The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Sonoma Raceway in Northern California for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday.
Austin Cindric locked into the playoffs with his second career Cup Series victory last weekend at Gateway when he passed Ryan Blaney coming to the white flag as Blaney ran out of fuel.
Also locked into the playoffs is Kyle Larson, whose playoff waiver was granted on Tuesday dating back to the weather-impacted try at the Indy 500-Coca-Cola 600 double last month.
Here are The Tennessean’s expert picks for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Sonoma:
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Mike Organ’s pick: Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
I went way out on a limb last week in picking Josh Berry to win at Illinois. Martin Truex Jr. hasn’t won this year, but picking him at Sonoma is a much safer bet. He is on a 31-start drought since wining at New Hampshire last summer, but he’s been close this year. Truex has four top-5 and six top-10 finishes and will finally break through this week.
Tom Kreager’s pick: Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Larson has his waiver from NASCAR so he won’t be looking over his shoulder to see if what most said was a no-brainer was actually approved. Now, he can focus on what he does best. Win races. Larson has one win at Sonoma and entering the 2024 race he had five poles.
Nick Gray’s pick: Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Long an underrated road course racer, Bowman has run well over the last two months and is poised to make the playoffs either by winning or by points. Hendrick Motorsports now knows Kyle Larson is safely locked into the playoffs, and Sunday will be a very good opportunity for Bowman to earn his first win in 76 races.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Sonoma predictions 2024: Expert picks for Cup Series race
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