INFINEON RACEWAY
Track
Facts
Opened:
1968
Location:
Sonoma, Calif.
First
NASCAR Cup Series Race: June 11, 1989 (Ricky Rudd, winner)
Qualifying
Record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet; 94.325 mph (75.950 seconds), June 24, 2005
Race
Record: Ricky Rudd, Ford; 81.007 mph (2:42:08), June 23, 2001
Distance:
1.99 miles
Banking
in Turns 1-12: Varied
Banking
in the Chute: 2.8 degrees
Miles/Laps:
219 miles/110 laps
Grandstand
Seats: 30,000
Tickets:
800-870-7223
Website:
www.infineonraceway.com
Did
You Know? Infineon Raceway recycled 30,952 pounds of materials during the
2005 season. This included 12,570 pounds of plastic bottles, 4,092 pounds
of aluminum cans and 14,290 pounds of glass.
"I
used to dread certain tracks and the road courses were on that list. But
I've improved a lot as a road racer, and now I really like going to those
places. I've won Cup races on every kind of track except a road course,
so it's like the one last piece I need to fill in to complete the
package," says Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
whose father won a pole and a race at Infineon.
Last
Year: Fourth gear was gone and third gear was failing, so Tony Stewart held the car in gear
with one hand and maneuvered his way around the road course with the other all
the way to
Who
To Watch: Most drivers have a love/hate relationship with road courses
and those that hate them simply try to survive with a minimal amount of damage
to the point standings. Those who love them thrive and are head and
shoulders above everyone else. A couple of guys ~ both named Gordon are among the thrivers.
Jeff Gordon is
the winningest driver at Infineon with four trips to Victory Lane. Robby Gordon's most recent win came
here in '03. Mechanical issues got the best of Jeff last year, if he can
avoid them this year he will most likely make his fifth trip to Victory Lane
here. Tony Stewart is
looking for his fourth road course victory in a row this week and will be
strong. Other drivers NOT in the Top 10 (below) include Roush
drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg
Biffle, and Carl
Edwards. Others to watch will be Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jamie McMurray, Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemechek & Ken Schrader. "Ringers"
Boris Said, and Ron Fellows as well as Rookies Denny Hamlin, and Clint Bowyer should run pretty
well here as well.
Track
Talk: A straight-up, simple road course. The way the track is now is
more fan-friendly, however it's taken a lot of the challenge out of it.
Unlike the way it used to be, most drivers with a little road
course experience are good on it, so it all comes down to equipment. A
lot of upshifiting, downshifting, and braking. Out-braking will be
the key to passing and possibly winning. As always transmission troubles
will be a factor to consider.
Hot
Spots: Spins and wrecks usually occur coming off Turn 4 and onto the
front stretch. The sheer speed carried off of Turn 4 is a thrill in
itself.
Tracking The Top 10
Best
active drivers at Infineon based on average finish (minimum of four starts)
Driver
Races Avg Fin Wins Top 5s Top
10s DNF Avg Start Poles
Tony
Stewart
7
8.0 2
3
4 0
6.3 1
Ryan
Newman
4
9.2
0 1
3
0
15.8 0
Mark
Martin
17
9.9
1
7
13
1
9.4 1
Jeff
Gordon 13
10.6
4
8
9
1
4.4 5
Bobby
Labonte 13
14.6
0
2 5
1
19.4 0
Michael
Waltrip 17
15.5 0 1
7
0 19.1 0
Kevin
Harvick
5
16.0
0 1
1
0
14.2 0
Bill
Elliott
14 16.3
0 3
5
0 13.6
0
Elliott
Sadler
7
16.7
0 0 3
0
30.4 0
Kurt
Busch
5 18.8
0 2
2
0
11.4 0