And Now For Something Completely Different - The Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 Race Primer
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Once upon a time, a trip to Sears Point was a guarantee that either Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart was going to win.
That was before the advent of the Chase for the Championship, a playoff format that has made each race prior to the 26-race-cutoff vastly more important. Teams can no longer afford to take the two road courses off as the Chase essentially shortened the season by ten races from 36 to 26.
This is especially true when a single win could make or break a driver’s championship hopes.
Road aces like Gordon and Stewart, or Marcos Ambrose, Robby Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya have lost a little of their edge. Teams spend more on turning right than they ever have before and it’s starting to show.
Practice makes perfect.
Just ask defending race-winner Jimmie Johnson who never won on a track with right turns prior to breaking through on the 12-turn, 1.99-mile Sonoma race circuit last June. Ambrose dominated the late stages of that race before a caution-speed penalty (Ambrose was short on fuel) caused the Aussie to fall from first to seventh, allowing Johnson to inherit the lead and cruise to victory.
Despite Johnson’s breakthrough and what it means for non-road course ringers, Montoya, Gordon, Stewart and Ambrose are still your best bets.
Read more about the contenders after the jump!
Jeff Gordon hasn’t won at Infineon since 2006 but he’s still the most-successful active driver in track history with five wins, 11 Top-5s and 14 Top-10s in 18 starts. His 100.2 average driver rating is fourth in Sprint Cup while his 9.1 average-finish is second.
Gordon finished fifth at Infineon last year after a disastrous race in which he drew the criticism of his competition after making contact with Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya and others. Gordon hopes to avoid retaliation on Sunday and earn some retribution and his third win of 2011.
Tony Stewart is a pretty safe pick, too.
In 12 starts, Smoke is averaging a 9.2 average finish, good for third-best in Sprint Cup. He has two wins (his last coming in 2005), four Top-5s and eight Top-10s. His driver rating of 110.4 leads all active Cup drivers as does his average running position of 9.1. Stewart should be amongst the leaders if he keeps his nose clean.
Juan Pablo Montoya is a quick learner.
The Columbian won in his very first start at the track, fending off Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick in 2007 from the 32nd starting position. In four total starts at Sears Point, Montoya averages a 5.8 finish with four Top-10s and an average driver rating of 108.6 (third-best in Cup).
After last year’s disappointing Infineon finish, Marcos Ambrose was left to wonder what could have been. Ambrose’s inability to restart his idling engine turned a 2.102-second lead into a fifth-place finish in what may have been Ambrose best shot at winning in the Sprint Cup Series.
Ambrose might have the worst luck of all competing drivers at Sears Point and that’s excluding his 2010 effort. In three starts, Ambrose has an impressive Infineon driver rating of 108.4 and only averages a 17.8 finish.
A victory could also have Chase implications for Ambrose who currently sits 21st in points, just six tallies out of 20th. A win at Sonoma (and possibly another at Watkins Glen) could catapult the Petty Motorsports driver into the playoffs.
And what a story that could be.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. starts at 3 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on TNT. A race thread will be posted first thing in the morning. We hope to see you there!
Note: Driver rating combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races included: 6
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