The Sprint Cup tour cruises into California wine country, or considering how badly some drivers hate this track maybe that should be “whine” country. I look at this track, and suddenly it conjures up thoughts of my local go-kart track. You’ve got left AND right turns, elevations, limited opportunities for passing, and I’ve got to think running Infineon requires a very acute track awareness.
It’s not the most fun race to watch on TV, but I’ve never met a fan who’s been there who didn’t absolutely love the experience.
I wouldn’t want a road course race every week- variety is the spice of life- but if a driver really wants to impress me, he needs to show me he can handle a 10-turn track as well as a superspeedway. Given that, it’s no wonder that Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and upstarts like Kyle Busch be regarded among the top drivers of their generation with their ability to win on all kinds of tracks.
Track Facts
Infineon Raceway made its NASCAR Winston Cup debut on June 11, 1989.
Ricky Rudd- one of NASCAR’s more underrated talents won the first Cup race here- one of two career victories the Iron Man won here- the closest race the track has with a .05 margin of victory over Rusty Wallace.
This 1.99 mile track is shaped like a very beaten up pot. Technically it has 10 turns though there is a Turn 11 and a Turn 12. The banking varies from turn to turn with an 890 foot chute. With 110 laps for a grand total of 218 miles makes the race the shortest of the year.
The grandstand seating holds 47,000, though the estimated capacity for the raceway is 102,000.
Top Performers
The qualifying record on the current configuration is Jeff Gordon, who laid down a time of 75.950 seconds in 2005, the speed? 94.325 miles per hour. Gordon has also earned the most poles at Sonoma with 5.
Jeff Gordon is the all-time wins leader here with 5. Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace have each won a pair.
Ricky Rudd has run the fastest race with a speed of 81.007 miles per hour in 2002. Going the distance took Rudd 2 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds to do it.
The record for the fewest cautions is 3, that’s been done 4 times- the most recent being in 2003. In the 1990 race a record 9 yellow flags flew.
On two occasions, 42 racers were still running at the end of the race. That was most recently accomplished in 2005. The record for the fewest finishers is 32- that happened in 1995.
Four times has there been 10 lead changes which is the most in wine country- happening most recently in 2002. The fewest? 3- in the inaugural race of 1989.
Where and When You Can Catch It
The green flag will wave Sunday, June 21, 2009 at approximately 5:16 PM Eastern, 2:16 PM Pacific. The race will air on TNT network with Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty handling the race call. Pre-race starts at 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 Pacific.
The radio broadcast will be handled by PRN an XM Sirius Satellite Radio.
Who Will Win At Sonoma?
This track is a lot like country music: either you really love it, or you hate it worse than a root canal without Novocain. A look at the drivers with the open wheel and road racing backgrounds is generally where one looks first for favorites- Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose.
In fact, Ambrose makes a great dark horse favorite, along with a cadre of road course specialists such as Boris Said, Patrick Carpentier, P.J. Jones and Ron Fellows. Ambrose sped to the top of the Friday practice charts and let’s not forget his excellence at Watkins Glen as well.
Other dark horses include guys who have run surprisingly well at Infineon. Ryan Newman has produced good finishes and so has Clint Bowyer in his relatively young career. Both drivers are among a top 10 group of active drivers that also includes Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler and Denny Hamlin.
Narrowing it down, I’m watching Gordon, Stewart, Montoya, Ambrose, Newman, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Shrub and pole sitter Brian Vickers with considerable interest. I’d be a little concerned Vickers and Ambrose would wreck out early given their penchant for contact.
Really it comes down to three guys to me- Gordon, Stewart and Montoya. Any one of them to me is a great pick. Stewart continues to be consistent, Montoya is having his best year so far.
I’m going to go with Jeff Gordon. I don’t think his starting position of 13th is impossible to overcome and he knows this place like the back of his hand. The Rainbow Warrior was fastest in Friday practice and he owns Infineon like Jimmie Johnson owns Lowe’s.
So with my fearless forecast- I pick Jeff Gordon to win his 83rd career race, putting the 4-time champion alongside Cale Yarborough.
PHOTO CREDITS- Upper left photo by jesusscc, photo at right by pixelrandy, and Juan Pablo Montoya by keithcolemanstudio. To see more, visit flickr.com, or click on the hyperlinks.
