As Harvick found his way through the field, Truex faded from contention with 37 to go when his motor went south, ultimately retiring with 24 laps remaining and finishing 37th after leading the most laps (25) of any driver on the day.
Meanwhile, though, 2012 Sonoma winner Clint Bowyer’s car came alive as the laps wound down at the end.
In the very same chassis that his team owner Tony Stewart used to win at Sonoma in a thrilling finish one year prior, Bowyer charged his way to second, tying his best finish of the season.
“Just never could really get the track position.” said Bowyer, who finished a full eight seconds behind Harvick at the checkered flag. “Some of it was self-inflicted, some of it wasn’t. To get a big finish like that, you just can’t give up. It’s road racing, you got to keep digging no matter what. You’re not down-and-out until you’re out.”
“Things turned around there with that long run. That’s always my strong suit here. I was wanting it to be a lot hotter today, being easy on the tires and taking care of things. … We just got to keep digging. We’re getting closer. Everyone that’s a part of this, thank you guys.”
Keselowski rallied from a 30-second deficit after his late pit stop to finish third, followed by a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas in Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth in his final Sonoma start after an early spin, with Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Jamie McMurray rounding out the top 10.
On the white flag lap, Kasey Kahne crashed hard on the front straightaway, officially ending the race under caution as Harvick came up on Turn 11 for the last time.
Kahne got off the racing line trying to pass Michael McDowell for position, and his No. 5 Chevrolet slammed the jersey barriers just before the start-finish line, ending his day one lap short.
Sunday’s race featured 13 lead changes among 10 different drivers, both setting record marks at the 1.99-mile road course.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at Daytona Int’l Speedway on July 1 for the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).
Full race results can be viewed on the next page…
