NASCAR: How Sonoma Convinced Me We Need a Road Course in the Chase

I have been a critic of road courses for many years. 

I’d be the first one to tell you that road courses belonged in other motor sports, but not NASCAR.  I never found them interesting and just didn’t see the point of putting them in a series that was famous for only making left turns. 

But after watching the race at Sonoma on Sunday, my opinion has changed.  I sat down in front of the TV to watch a little bit of the race before I had to be at my dad’s for father’s day. 

With my hatred of road courses (on second thought maybe my feelings come from my favorite driver also hating them), I thought it would be easy to tear myself away when it was time to leave. The next thing I knew, we were at a red flag after a wreck on lap 67 and I was an hour late.

Like all good NASCAR fans, I called and made a lame excuse on why I was going to be even later and then sat back down, eager for more fireworks. 

There was no lack of drama during during the race and I was hooked for the first time in all my years of watching road courses. The race had everything needed to get more fans: cars were spinning around, tempers were flaring, and we were even treated to seeing Denny’s talented driving as his hood doubled as a windshield for a lap. 

But the highlight of the first part of the race for me was definitely Martin Truex Jr.’s interview after the wreck that caused the red flag. If I was Jeff Gordon, I think I would fear for my life during the next few races with all the guys that are angry at him.

The second part of the race didn't disappoint with the drama continuing all the way to the final lap. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t cheering for Jimmie, but I didn’t want to see him win the way he did.

I am sure Ambrose will hate to watch the highlight reels of the race for years to come. Saving gas is important, but that was one mistake he will never live down.

As one that used to say road courses were the bane of NASCAR, I was delighted to finally be proven wrong. There was more drama during this race than a lot of oval races, and I see a lot of payback in the coming weeks from events during this race.

I have always been hesitant about putting a road race in the last 10 races of the season, but I think it would be another true test of talent to weed out the wannabes when it comes to determining who of the final 12 will be our champion.

If nothing else, it will add more drama to an already dramatic chase.