NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West makes its annual pilgrimage to Sonoma, CA, north of San Francisco. The new car has leveled the playing field and double-file restarts contribute to short track style competition.

INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES SPONSORSHIP ENDS 
Reminder for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NSCS race…. As of June 1st, “Infineon Raceway” will simply be called “Sonoma.”

WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT SONOMA:

JEFF GORDON
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, a five-time Sonoma winner, last won in 2006 – the season before the current NASCAR Sprint Cup chassis was introduced. Does Gordon have something he wants to – needs to – prove?

NASCAR SPRINT CUP POINT STANDINGS
How will NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings fare: Kenseth, Earnhardt and Greg Biffle are winless as road racers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

 

WILD CARD OPPS
Former Sonoma winner Juan Pablo Montoya (19th) and Gordon (20th) are now eligible for a post-season berth if they can gain enough wins.

 

DALE EARNHARDT JR
Dale Earnhardt Jr heads to Sonoma with a hunger for a road course win. Sonoma’s last seven races have produced seven different winners. The last four – Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch – posted their first Sprint Cup road course victories. Could Jr. be the next?

 

Race #: 16 of 36 (06-24-12)
Track Size: 1.99 miles
Race Length: 110 laps / 219 miles/ 350 Kilometers
Number of Turns: 12

Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner: Joey Logano, (93.256 mph, 76.821 seconds)
2011 race winner: Kurt Busch, (75.411 mph, 2:54:10, 06-26-11)
Track qualifying record:  Jeff Gordon, (94.325 mph, 75.950 seconds, 06-24-05)
Track race record: Ricky Rudd, (81.007 mph, 2:42:08, 06-23-02)

Top 12 Driver Rating at Sonoma
Marcos Ambrose………………….. 108.8
Tony Stewart……………………….. 107.9
Kurt Busch………………………….. 106.1
Juan Pablo Montoya……………… 104.0
Jeff Gordon…………………………… 99.1
Jimmie Johnson…………………….. 94.1
Ryan Newman………………………. 93.5
Kyle Busch………………………….. 92.1
Jamie McMurray……………………. 86.6
Carl Edwards………………………… 85.8
Clint Bowyer…………………………. 85.1
Elliott Sadler………………………… 84.9
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (seven total) at Sonoma.

Current Point Standings  (After Michigan International Speedway)

Driver	Points	Wins	Poles	Week	Rating
1. Matt Kenseth	565	1	0	1	105.9
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	561	1	0	2	103.2
3. Greg Biffle	548	1	2	3	107.0
4. Jimmie Johnson	532	2	0	5	107.7
5. Denny Hamlin	514	2	1	4	98.8
6. Kevin Harvick	504	0	0	6	94.9
7. Martin Truex Jr.	497	0	1	7	95.0
8. Tony Stewart	491	2	0	8	93.6
9. Clint Bowyer	481	0	0	9	88.8
10. Brad Keselowski	458	2	0	10	91.9

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Sonoma in Sonoma, California going into the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on June 24.

Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 Stanley Ford)
· Two top fives, three top 10s
· Average finish of 14.0

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota)
· Three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 11.2

Kurt Busch (No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Inc. Chevrolet)
· One win, four top fives, four top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 18.3

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
· One win, one top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 18.9

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
· One top five, three top 10s
· Average finish of 16.6

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)
· Five wins, 12 top fives, 15 top 10s; five poles
· Average finish of 8.7

Robby Gordon (No. 7 MAPEI Dodge)
· One win, three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 21.4

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
· One win, three top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 14.7

Jamie McMurray (No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet)
· One top five, one top 10; one pole
· Average finish of 16.9

Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)
· One win, one top five, four top 10s
· Average finish of 9.0

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Quicken Loans/Children’s Tumor Foundation Chevrolet)
· Two top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 12.4

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
· Two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 11.5

History
· The track opened as a 2.52-mile road course and drag strip in 1968.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held in 1989.
· The first nine races were 300 kilometers and switched to a 350k format in 1998.
· The track was reconfigured to 1.949 miles in 1998 with the installation of an 890-foot chute between the original Turns 4 and 7.
· The track was reconfigured to 2.0 miles in 2001 and re-measured at 1.99 miles in 2002.

Notebook
· There have been 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Sonoma since the first race there in 1989.
· Rusty Wallace won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole.
· Ricky Rudd won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
· 14 different drivers have won poles; only four have won more than one.
· Jeff Gordon (five) leads all pole winners. Ricky Rudd has four, including three consecutive (1990-92), Rusty Wallace and Kasey Kahne each have two.
· There have been consecutive pole winners three times: Ricky Rudd (1990-92) and Jeff Gordon (1998-99 and 2004-05).
· 15 different drivers have won races; five have multiple victories there – led by Jeff Gordon with five. Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace (all with two) are the other multiple-race winners.
· Jeff Gordon is also the only driver with consecutive wins, winning in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
· Five of 23 races have been won by the pole winner, including three times by Jeff Gordon. His victory from the pole in 2004 is the most recent.
· The lowest starting position by a race winner was 32nd, by Juan Pablo Montoya; it also was his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.
· Boris Said posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole.
· Jeff Gordon is the all-time leader in road-course victories, with nine. Tony Stewart is second, with seven.
· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sonoma winner: Kyle Busch (06/26/2008 – 21 years, 1 month, 2 days).
· Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sonoma winner: Ricky Rudd (06/23/2002 – 45 years, 9 months, 11 days).