This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will race on the road course for the first time this season in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Located in the heart of wine country in California, Sonoma Raceway is a different challenge for the teams and drivers of the Sprint Cup series than what they have seen to date this season. The 1.99-mile track goes uphill and downhill through a total of 12 turns that range from dog legs to hair pins and everything in between.
Road courses put an emphasis on handling and acceleration power more than top speed like at most tracks on the NASCAR circuit. To have a shot at being in position to win at Sonoma, drivers will need to be able to drive their car under another one heading into a turn and the power to accelerate ahead of them coming out of that turn without losing control and wrecking.
Sure, there are some places where a pass can be made going in a straight line. However, the handling will again come into play as that driver will need to be able to slow down and make it through the turn that comes up quickly to avoid sliding off the track and into the dirt or wall.
Here are the top ten for driver rating at Sonoma Raceway.
#1 – Kurt Busch – 106.5 driver rating with 1 win
#2 – Jeff Gordon – 103.4 driver rating with 5 wins
#3 – Tony Stewart – 98.8 driver rating with 2 wins
#4 – Jimmie Johnson – 98.8 driver rating with 1 win
#5 – Clint Bowyer – 95.0 driver rating with 1 win
#6 – Carl Edwards – 90.1 driver rating with 1 win
#7 – Ryan Newman – 88.4 driver rating with 0 wins
#8 – Jamie McMurray – 87.8 driver rating with 0 wins
#9 – Martin Truex Jr. – 86.1 driver rating with 1 win
#10 – Kasey Kahne – 85.5 driver rating with 1 win
Jeff Gordon has to be a favorite heading to Sonoma this weekend. The California native is very familiar with getting around this road course, which is evident by his five wins. This will be the last time he will be on the track as a full-time Sprint Cup driver and needs to get that first win of 2015 to lock himself into his final Chase.
Kurt Busch is having a phenomenal season considering he missed the first three races of the season and has scored two wins now with the rained shortened race at Michigan two weeks ago. With the highest driver rating at Sonoma Kurt has to be a threat to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 this week.
Really it is hard to predict who will win when it comes to road courses in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. There are so many unforeseen things that can completely change the complexion of the race during the 110 laps. The perfect proof of that is that in the past 10 races at Sonoma there have been 10 different winners. Carl Edwards is the 2014 defending race winner and that could be a bad omen for his chances at winning again this year.
I will take a very long shot in calling a “dark horse” for this week. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to be that pick this week. The numbers (72.1 driver rating and only one top five and one top ten) indicate that it is not very likely that the #88 Chevrolet will visit Victory Lane. However, here is why I am making him my “dark horse” pick.
Dale Jr. is happier personally then he ever has been. He just got engaged during the Sprint Cup week off. He is happy professionally as he and new crew chief Greg Ives are messing very well and getting results. Dale Jr. already has a 2015 win (Talladega) to get him in the Chase so he and Greg can gamble to go for the win. Last year he had his best ever finish at Sonoma grabbing third place. It could all fall into place for Dale Jr. to get his first ever road course win in the Sprint Cup series at Sonoma this week.
With the era of “Win and You are In” for NASCAR you can bet that there will be some gutsy passes made and some gutsy passes attempted that could result in tempers flaring wider than the damage caused by the resulting wreck at Sonoma this week.
The 43 cars will be uncorked by NASCAR starting at 2pm central time at Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 this Sunday, June 28th.
By: Buck Stevens
