Biggest NASCAR Storylines to Watch Ahead of Sprint Cup Series at Sonoma
NASCAR heads to the most picturesque part of the circuit: lovely Sonoma for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
It’s the first of two road races this season and that will create opportunity for some of the fringe players in the Chase scenario. AJ Allmendinger won at Watkins Glen International a year ago and that launched him into the Chase.
Road racing is also pleasing to the eye. Gone are the monotony of long, green-flag runs at the superspeedways in favor of a winding, thrilling course.
Larry McReynolds, a former crew chief and NASCAR analyst for FoxSports.com, wrote:
"Like I always say every year at this time when we head to Sonoma, expect the first 60 or 70 laps on Sunday to be nice and calm. All the drivers will mind their manners and behave. It's when the spotters or crew chiefs get on the radio and in the driver's ear and say, "There are only 10 or 15 laps to go" that things could get crazy. That's when you can expect these drivers to lose their minds.
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Carl Edwards won the Sonoma race in 2014 and has become one of the better road-course drivers in the Cup. There’s also an old master, Jeff Gordon, who has five wins at Sonoma but none in years. How will he fare as he tries to reach Victory Lane for the first time in 2015?
Read on for this week’s storylines, a nice stroll through wine country.
Will Jeff Gordon Find His Old Winning Ways at Sonoma?
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For a long stretch from the late 90s and into the early 2000s, Jeff Gordon was the chief vintner, as it were, at Sonoma. He won three times in a row from 1998 to 2000. The year before this streak he was the runner-up, and the year after the streak he finished third.
For whatever reason, Gordon goes from 5’7” to 10 feet tall when in Northern California. But the heat is on for Gordon who still remains winless in 2015.
“Probably the biggest name that's feeling the pressure has to be Gordon,” wrote Larry McReynolds on FoxSports.com. “This is his last year. He wants to go out as a winner, but unfortunately they are struggling.”
That they are, but coming to a track where he’s had such great historic—and recent—success, means Gordon could finally reach Victory Lane this year.
Can Carl Edwards Repeat?
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Carl Edwards secured his bid in the Chase with a win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte this year. Beyond that, he's had a lackluster campaign for his new team.
Now he comes to a road race where he’s quickly cementing himself as one of the better drivers on the serpentine tracks, those being Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
Edwards said in an Associated Press story (h/t NESN.com):
"My road racing progression, it’s been a pretty long climb. The real special part to me was to stand in Victory Lane at Sonoma and have Jeff Gordon come and give me a handshake as the second-place finisher. I grew up watching Jeff Gordon and specifically watching how he drove this race track and all the successes he had here, so I mean, that’s really super. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
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In 10 trips around Sonoma, Edwards has five top 10s and the one win.
"Sonoma is the most fun race of the season and it’s also one of the most physically demanding races," Edwards said in John Singler’s MRN.com story. "It’s pure driving, left, right, using all the gears, managing tires, pit strategy comes into play and it’s mentally tasking. For all those reasons, it was a blast to win there last year."
Earning that first win for JGR was, no doubt, a weight lifted off his shoulders, and now he can simply race.
Will the Success of Martin Truex Jr. Continue?
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Martin Truex Jr. is by far the best story coming out of the NASCAR season to date. Through 15 races he has 14 top 10s and he’s second in points behind the seemingly invincible Kevin Harvick.
Truex put to rest any notion that his No. 78 car can't be taken seriously by, at last, winning at Poconohis first in two years. That last win? Sonoma in 2013.
Truex said in an Associated Press story following that Sonoma win (h/t ESPN.com):
"I was a freaking mess… I had to stop and start doing donuts because I couldn't think about what I was doing. I tried to key the radio once and I couldn't even talk. So I thought, 'OK, I'm going to do some donuts and wave to the fans.' But after I stopped the first time and did that, I calmed down a little bit and I just wanted to make sure I took my time coming back... You never know when you're going to get that opportunity again.
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That race snapped a 213-race winless streak, and while his drought prior to his 2015 win wasn’t as long, it was still enough to put doubts in his head. The big question remains: Will he ever be able to compete with top garages as a single-car team?
So far that is an unequivocal “yes,” and heading back to Sonoma where he won in the past will only bolster his confidence for Furniture Row Racing.
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Can Kevin Harvick Snap His Three-Month Skid Without a Win?
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Lest we forget, Kevin Harvick is still the most dominant driver on the circuit, this despite being two wins back of Jimmie Johnson. Harvick’s affinity for runner-ups (eight on the year) makes for a petrifying view in the mirror.
Who wants to see the No. 4 car clipping off a few tenths of a second every lap late in a race? Now, as he heads back to his home state, he’ll charge for his first win at Sonoma. It's been three months since he last won. Hard to believe, but true.
Slump?
“It comes down to a good group of guys that never really settle for anything,’’ Rodney Childers, Harvick’s crew chief, said in Dustin Long’s NASCAR Talk piece. “They don’t ever feel good about themselves for finishing second. It’s always about trying to make things better.’’
As far as Sonoma goes, Harvick has three top fives and five top 10s. It’s not his best track, but Harvick has a special skill for making every track feel like home of late.
How Will AJ Allmendinger Fare over the Road?
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Road courses are such a wild card on this circuit. Gone are the chances where Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick can get out front on the 1.5-mile tracks and crush it. With the turns slinking left and right, drivers who have had experience in their formative years on these kinds of tracks have an unfair advantage.
Enter AJ Allmendinger.
“We all know it’s going to be one of our best opportunities to win,’’ Allmendinger said in a team release in Dustin Long’s NASCARTalk.com story. “Last year, it was heartbreaking, but in the end I don’t think we had a car good enough to win the race with the way the race played out. So, we’ve got some good ideas this time around that will help us.”
Dinger hasn’t won at Sonoma but he does have two top 10s. He has a single win and four top fives at Watkins Glen International.
On the back of a strong performance at the Glen, Allmendinger qualified for the Chase in 2014. These road courses are his best chance at breaking into the Chase grid. He doesn't have the horsepower to hang with Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Other drivers and teams at the 1.5-mile tracks and the superspeedways have their own unfair advantages. The two road tracks are the venues where Allmendinger can, in some small way, strike back.
“We will treat this weekend like any another race, but everybody in our race shop knows this is a place we can go to and win. We want to stay calm, focus on a solid weekend and doing the easy stuff right,” Allmendinger said.
All stats come courtesy of Racing Reference.info unless otherwise noted.
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