NASCAR Sonoma preview: Short track racing on a road course

When Joey Logano recorded his first victory of 2016 two weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway, the win essentially locked him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, providing a de facto free pass for the duration of the regular season.

While Logano was likely to make NASCAR’s playoffs regardless of whether he won -- he had built up a substantial points cushion -- the victory occurred at an advantageous time entering Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, the first of two road courses on the season.

“I’m glad we won a couple of weeks ago, that part is nice to be able to come into a race track like this,” Logano said. “Tempers will flare and a lot of times it’s because you’re trying to stop a really heavy stock car into a turn, which is basically a U-turn with no banking in the middle of a parking lot kind of feeling -- there are a couple of those around this race track.”

Often resembling sheer bedlam with drivers shoving each other around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile track, how NASCAR conducts races at Sonoma is more comparable to a Sprint Cup event held at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway than how sports cars or Indy car open-wheelers typically navigate a track requiring drivers to turn left and right.

“This to me is like a road course short track race,” defending race winner Kyle Busch said. “There’s going to be some beating and banging and moving some people out of the way for sure.”

Watching full-bodied sedans frequently slam into one another makes for an entertaining afternoon -- lest you’re the one behind the wheel, then it makes for a stressful day on the track located in Northern California’s wine country.

“Feelings get hurt pretty quick and that’s just part of it,” Logano said. “It’s part of what I call short-track racing and that’s what this race track basically is, so keeping your cool is of the utmost importance throughout this race because at some point someone is gonna run into you and you’re probably gonna run into somebody.

“You just have to remember what the big picture is.”

For Logano and Busch, the big picture is that Sonoma is largely inconsequential. Because there is no road course in the 10-race Chase, they cannot learn much at Sonoma that can aid their championship pursuit. Which means whatever happens on Sunday -- good, bad, or indifferent -- it will have little impact on how the rest of the season plays out for either.

Not everyone in Sunday’s 40-car field can enjoy that carefree mindset, however. For the 30 drivers who haven’t yet won a race this season, Sonoma represents a chance to either grab that Chase-clinching victory or work toward accumulating enough points to earn a wildcard spot.

Noted road course ace AJ Allmendinger qualified second and enters the weekend winless on the year. Driving for a midsized team lacking the resources to sustain competitiveness on ovals, he fully recognizes that Sonoma and Watkins Glen represent his best and likeliest chance to score a victory.

Throughout the weekend Allmendinger has repeatedly downplayed the significance of labeling Sunday a “must-win.” Because of his points rankings (19th) he believes he doesn’t necessarily need a victory to punch his playoff ticket. Thus, a sound finish is the goal as that would position him nicely with 10 regular season races remaining after Sonoma.

“I know it’s a lot different than it’s been the last couple of years here, knowing that it’s basically all or nothing because we’d be so far back in points, we’d have to win the race just to make the Chase,” Allmendinger said. “We’re not in that position.

“Yeah, it would be awesome to go win this race for so many different reasons, but if we can have a solid day tomorrow and finish inside the top five, it’s a good day.”