Martin Truex Jr.'s crew chief had high expectations for Sonoma

It can be rare to see a driver dominate a racetrack the way Martin Truex Jr. has at Sonoma. But the 42-year-old continued to own the road course on Sunday, taking home the checkered flag at the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

That marked the fourth time Truex has driven to Victory Lane at the track in his career. It was also his second win of NASCAR‘s 2023 regular season.

On Monday, Truex’s crew chief, James Small, said the result was exactly what the No. 19 team expected at Sonoma.

“When you go to Sonoma with Martin Truex, you expect to win or run really well,” Small said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We’ve done that over the last number of years. But last year was just G** d*** awful, so it was embarrassing. We didn’t want to go back and run that poorly again.

“You need to be perfect to win these races and the guys did a fantastic job across the board on pit road. Martin did a great job. It was just executing … and it enabled us to stay up front and stay in control all day.”

🏆 "When you go to Sonoma with Martin Truex Jr, you expect to win."

🗣️ Crew Chief James Small had high expectations heading into the #ToyotaSaveMart350 and with a trip to Victory Lane, he and @MartinTruex_Jr met those expectations on Sunday.#NASCAR | @JoeGibbsRacing pic.twitter.com/8mXHO25jQv

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) June 12, 2023

Truex has been on a heater recently, finishing inside the top-five in each of the last three races. He’s been inside the top 10 four times in the last five regular season events, too.

The No. 19 driver currently sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Can Truex’s momentum continue moving forward? Based on his recent success, he looks poised to win the second Cup Series championship of his career — taking the title in 2017.

NASCAR bettor wins over $86,000 on impressive parlay

Truex isn’t the only one who knows the Sonoma road course really well. One NASCAR fan cashed in on a massive payday after hitting on a two-leg parlay over the weekend.

One bettor placed a $25 bet on Aric Almirola to win the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and for Truex to take the checkered flag in the Cup Series event. That correct wager netted the individual a huge payout.

That $25 wager turned into $86,825 in winnings. That’s one hell of a weekend. And, honestly, it might be more impressive than Truex winning his fourth race at Sonoma.

Next week, NASCAR heads to Nashville Superspeedway for the Ally 400. The race begins at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, with coverage coming on NBC.

We’ll see if any other big bets hit during that race.