Infineon Race Preview

It’s out to Northern California this week to the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in Sonoma. The field will be racing NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow on Sunday, but that shouldn’t change the list of favorites as the boys turn left and right. Since the late ‘90s three names have been front and center on the road courses: Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart. We expect to see them up front once again this week, but a few others may be ready to take their turn amongst the traditional trio of triumvirates.

No less than nine road-course ringers will attempt to make the 43-car field for Sunday’s event. Brandon Ash, Ron Fellows, Marc Goosens, Klaus Graf, P.J. Jones and Terry Labonte, driving the No. 00 and 55 Toyotas for Michael Waltrip Racing, Butch Leitzinger, Boris Said and Brian Simo will all climb in one-off rides in Friday’s qualifying session. Bill Elliott will once again drive the Wood Brothers Ford in place of Ken Schrader and Regan Smith will pilot the U.S. Army Chevy as Mark Martin takes a week off.

Of course, new-father Jeff Gordon figures to be the odds-on favorite once again. Gordon leads all drivers with five wins at Sonoma and is the defending winner of this event. Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart should once again factor. Each have a win here and are always tough on the roadies.

A few candidates that have proven their road-course mettle and should be considered contenders include Kurt Busch, who has a new crew chief in Pat Tryson and had a win stolen from him on the road last season; Ryan Newman, who finished runner-up in 2006; Carl Edwards, who had runs of fifth and sixth on the road last year; Denny Hamlin, who as a rookie, posted 10th- and 12th-place finishes on the road courses and Juan Pablo Montoya, who has certainly had this date circled on the calendar since making the jump to stock cars. His Busch Series win on the Mexican road course is proof enough that he’s adapting to 3,400-pound cars when not on ovals.

Road course events customarily boil down to two factors: Track position and pit strategy. Qualify well — 12 of the 18 Infineon races have been won by drivers qualifying in the top 5 — and catch the right breaks on pit road and you’ll put yourself in a position to win at the end.

Athlon’s Pick: While it was just stated that pit strategy is key, Denny Hamlin looks like he could be ready to join Gordon and Co. as a road-racing ace. The kid can flat out drive on any type of track and has proven his Car of Tomorrow is one of the better ones week-in and week-out. The FedEx crew can’t seem to get out of their way on pit road and Hamlin has been highly critical, but you just know they have a win coming sooner rather than later.

A good darkhorse? While there are plenty on the road courses, Montoya and Newman stand out. Newman is on the verge of cashing in on the road and Montoya, although hindered with less-than-stellar equipment is just aggressive — and talented — enough to score the big upset.

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