NASCAR At Sonoma Results: Kurt Busch Wins Toyota/Save Mart 350

Kurt Busch won Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway for his first win of the 2011 season and his first on a road course.

Jeff Gordon was second, followed by Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, and Marcos Ambrose.

Polesitter Joey Logano, defending race winner Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.

The race was, unsurprisingly, marked by a number of on-track incidents that ruined the day for several drivers. Tony Stewart was running third when he was crashed by Brian Vickers for payback for an earlier incident. Juan Pablo Montoya, meanwhile, had worked his way up into the top-five when he was spun by Brad Keselowski after running into a number of drivers throughout the race.

Busch's win completes a turnaround for an organization that was in a freefall in the spring. Busch was outspoken, often in profanity laced tirades, on his radio about his feelings on his No. 22 Dodge. Since then, he has recorded three-straight pole positions and now his first win since last year's Coca-Cola 600.

NASCAR At Sonoma Update: Tempers Flaring As Race Reaches Halfway

Kurt Busch is still dominating at Infineon Raceway, but the story of the race has been fenders flaming, tempers flaring, and NASCAR's Most Popular Driver flaming.

The action started at lap 36 when Juan Pablo Montoya shoved Kyle Busch off course at turn 10. Moments later, Tony Stewart shoved Brian Vickers into Jamie McMurray, triggering a multi-car incident that collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt's Chevrolet caught fire not long after, putting Earnhardt - who entered the race third in points - out of the race with engine failure.

After that incident, Denny Hamlin and A.J. Allmendinger traded blows on-track a pair of times, the first sending Martin Truex Jr. for a spin in turn 11 for the second year in a row.

Most recently, Robby Gordon and Joey Logano tangled, leading Logano to shove Gordon nearly into the tire barrier in turn 11. Logano and Gordon have previously traded paint on a road course. In the 2009 Nationwide event at Watkins Glen, Logano's car ended up flames after being shoved off course by Gordon.

Kurt Busch, meanwhile, leads Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., and Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 Update: Kurt Busch Storms To The Lead Early

Kurt Busch stormed from 11th at the beginning of today's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway to snare the lead from Denny Hamlin after just 13 laps. Hamlin held the top spot after passing pole-sitter Joey Logano on lap six, but Busch quickly tracked him down and took over the lead. Marcos Ambrose currently runs third, followed by Ryan Newman and defending race winner Jimmie Johnson.

Logano has faded outside the top-10 after starting from the pole. He won Saturday's K&N Pro Series race at Sonoma and led the first five laps Sunday, but has steadilly backslid since giving the lead to Hamlin.

There have been no cautions thus far and, aside from a minor stack up at the top of the hill leading to turn one on the opening lap, the race has been relatively clean thus far. There is no reason to believe that will be the trend throughout the remainder of the race, however.

NASCAR At Sonoma: Toyota/Save Mart 350 Lineup, Pit Selections, And Stories To Watch

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway (3 p.m. Eastern, TNT) is the 16th race of what has been a thrilling and often unpredictable NASCAR Sprint Cup season. That unpredictability continued this weekend as Joey Logano snared the pole for today's event on the 1.99-mile road course nestled in California's wine country.

Jamie McMurray starts second, followed by Paul Menard, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman. Defending Infineon winner Jimmie Johnson rolls off 12th. Perennial road course contenders Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart start 13th and 20th, respectively. The entire staring grid can be found at Jayski.com, as can each team's pit stall selection.

Some stories to watch in today's event:

Does Marcos Ambrose get redemption a year later? Ambrose was within sniffing distance of his first Sprint Cup victory in last year's Sonoma event when what could charitably could be called a slight lapse in judgement led him to stall his Toyota and effectively gift-wrap the win to Johnson. The native of Tasmania brought is road racing skills, honed in Australia's V8 Supercar Series, to the U.S. and has recorded three-consecutive wins at Watkins Glen in the Nationwide Series. Until he wins a Sprint Cup race, though, his career in the States will be more known for that one failure than any of his other successes.

Can an invading driver put the Cup stars through the "ringer?" The last time a "road course ringer" beat the full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers to snare a win was 1973, when the late Mark Donohue recorded the lone NASCAR victory in his legendary racing career. Names like Boris Said, Brian Simo, and P.J. Jones highlight the contemporary list of road-racing specialists taking a shot at stealing a win from a Sprint Cup regular. Said, with his curly mop of hair and gregarious demeanor, has become one of racing's more beloved personalities and would be a popular victor.

Can Tony Stewart get back to victory lane? Stewart is winless through the first 15 races of 2011, with just one top-five finish. He has seven wins on road courses, however, including two at Sonoma (2001, 2005). That 2005 victory jump-started his run to his second Sprint Cup title, as he followed that up that triumph by winning four of the next six races.

Will there be fireworks? Drivers traditionally, to be frank, lose their mind at the end of an event at Sonoma, leading to numorous late-race spins. There have been plenty of fireworks already in 2011, and it would only be fitting if drivers trade paint, words, and even blows at the end of the day.

Does strategy come into play? Unlike oval races, the worst thing that can happen to a driver today - aside from ending up stuffed into a tire barrier or stricken without fuel or power - is being on track when the caution flag comes out. The track's size means that most drivers will not lose a lap while making a green-flag stop, which could take a driver who was near the rear of the field to the front and vice versa if their stop is timed just right.

NASCAR At Sonoma TV Schedule, Plus Braves-Padres, Wimbledon, Women's World Cup

NASCAR At Sonoma Weekend TV Schedule, Entry List: Right Turns And Ringers

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes a break from just turning left this weekend, as it heads to the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The first of two road course races each season brings upon a unique set of challenges - and competitors, known as the "road course ringers" - not seen at the ovals.

This week's entry list features six of the so-called "ringers," drivers with road racing backgrounds brought in to compete against the Sprint Cup regulars. Boris Said is racing for Phoenix Racing, which is locked into the top-35 in owner points, while the other five - P.J. Jones, Andy Pilgrim, Tony Ave, Tomy Drissi, and Brian Simo - must all qualify on time.

The entire entry list can be found at Jayski.com.

You won't want to miss a minute of the action on the winding road course, and SB Nation Atlanta has you covered. Here is the TV schedule for the entire weekend.

Practice:

Friday, 3 p.m. - SPEED

Qualifying:

Friday, 11 p.m. - SPEED (Tape-Delay)

Practice:

Saturday, 12:30 p.m - SPEED

Saturday, 1:45 p.m. - SPEED

Toyota/Save-Mart 350:

Sunday, 3 p.m. - TNT (Pre-Race Show at 2 p.m.)