Road Course Ringers Not a Sure Thing in NASCAR Anymore

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images )

There was a time not too long ago that road course races, like this Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, were almost ‘throw away’ events.

Most divers, used to turning left around the ovals, knew that they weren’t going to finish well and looked forward to the next race. The road course races were the bastions of the road course specialists, the so-called road course ‘ringers’. 

That was then, but this in now. In today’s NASCAR every race is important, every point gained is valuable and the highest finishing position is the goal each and every week.

The road course ringers will still be in evidence this weekend, Boris Said, Ron Fellows, Max Papis, Patrick Carpentier and Brian Simo are expected to be in attendance. But their dominance is no longer a sure thing.

Jeff Gordon leads the list of NASCAR’s all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winners on road courses with nine victories–four at Watkins Glen International and five at Infineon Raceway. MORE-->>

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