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Mash The Gas – NASCAR Road Race Weekend

It’s time for the stock car crowd to turn right this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to the California wine country as the Sonoma Raceway hosts the Save Mart 350 on Sunday, while Nationwide Series takes on the beautiful road course at Road America for the Johnsonville Sausage 200 Saturday afternoon. The road course events pose a unique set of circumstances for the tour regulars as they find themselves negotiating the heavy stock cars around challenging turns and elevation changes while a few road course “specialists” have entered the events in an attempt to cash in on their talents.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway is set to see the green flag fly at 3:19pm EDT on Sunday June 23rd. The race consists of 110 laps over the 1.99 mile course for a 219 mile distance.

At Road America the NASCAR Nationwide Series contests the Johnsonville Sausage 200 starting at 5:23pm EDT on Saturday, June 22nd. 50 laps on the 4.048 mile course make up the 202 mile distance.

Here are some drivers to watch in both events:

Sonoma

Marcos Ambrose
Dan Margetta: Marcos Ambrose enters the Save Mart 300 as the odds on favorite as he is the most accomplished road racer on the tour. While he has yet to win at Sonoma, he holds top ten finishes in every event he has run there, including a near win a few years ago. If Ambrose has any hopes of qualifying for the Chase for the Championship, this weekend holds the key as a win here and another one later at Watkins Glen would put the #9 team in the wildcard running.

Tony Stewart
John Wiedemann: It is the start of summer and Tony Stewart is already hot. Three straight top five finishes including win has vaulted Stewart into the top ten in the standings. At Sonoma, Stewart has nine top ten finishes in fourteen races including two wins and three runner-up finishes with one of those second place runs last year. Stewart is my pick to win at Sonoma.

Clint Bowyer
DM: Clint Bowyer was my longshot pick at Sonoma a year ago and when all was said and done, he found himself in victory lane hoisting the trophy. When it comes to road course racing, Bowyer continues to fly under the radar but the truth is, he’s very good at turning left and right. It’s not what you would expect from a dirt tracker from Kansas but don’t be surprised if Bowyer and the #15 team make it back to back victories at Sonoma.

Kurt Busch
JW: A win two seasons ago for Team Penske and a third place run last year driving the #51 for James Finch shows that Kurt Busch can get it done at Sonoma. I’m sure he circled this race on the schedule as a winner and Busch should run up front this weekend. Busch is currently on the bubble for being Chase eligible in 20th in the standings. He will need a couple of wins to have some hope for the Chase and this weekend gives him a great shot at accomplishing that.

Ron Fellows
DM: Ron Fellows is the road course “ringer” tabbed to drive the #33 car at Sonoma this weekend after spending the last few years racing at Road America. The Sonoma course is a technical one which should play to Fellows’ talents and he should have the normally irrelevant #33 machine challenging near the front on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if the rest of the crew is up to the task as it could be their opportunity to shine on the big stage.

Kyle Busch
JW: Kyle Busch’s results at Sonoma have been all over the map but he did win in 2008 while driving in his first year for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle has four top six finishes in the last five points races and has been slowly crawling back up the standings, currently residing in sixth. Engine issues remain a question as they will be put to the test on the road course. If the motor holds up, look for Kyle to be racing at the front.

Jacques Villeneuve
DM: Coming in at 60-1 odds in Las Vegas, Jacques Villeneuve is my longshot pick for Sonoma this weekend as the exciting and unpredictable Canadian takes on the Cup stars after ruffling everyone’s feathers in the Road America events the previous years. Villeneuve is driving James Finch’s #51 entry at Sonoma with almost nothing to lose as rumors have the team on the verge of shutting down in a month. Jacques Villeneuve on a “take no prisoners” mission on Sunday should be fun to watch and he is certainly going to be part of the race story in one way or another. Maybe Danica will remember she owes him one from a year ago.

Jeff Gordon
JW: jeff Gordon is due for a pick-me-up and Sonoma could be a great track for that. Gordon dropped five spots in the standings down to sixteenth after his 39th place finish at Michigan and this could be another dramatic race to the Chase for him. Three straight wins from 1998 to 2000 along with victories in 2004 and 2006 give make Gordon the all-time leader with five visits to victory lane at Sonoma. An average finish of 8.7 and a six race streak of top ten finishes make Gordon one to watch this weekend.

Road America

Max Papis
DM: “Mad Max” is back at Road America behind the wheel of the #33 Childress entry once again and should be a strong favorite for the Johnsonville Sausage 200. Papis has been battling for the win numerous times at Road America and this year Jacques Villeneuve is 1000 miles away in California so he can’t run into him. Papis knows this is his moment in the NASCAR sun so the desire to win runs deep and after watching good friend Tony Kanaan win the Indy 500 a month ago, Papis’ chance to bask in the glory could come Saturday afternoon. I wonder if he rubbed the good luck charm?

Michael McDowell
JW: Michael McDowell is always fast at Road America and no doubt will be up front again this weekend. I predict that this is the weekend that he breaks through and turns all of those laps led into a victory. Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the #18 is a big help but McDowell is one of the smoothest racers at Road America.

A.J. Allmendinger
DM: A.J. Allmendinger is the popular choice to wheel Penske’s #22 entry around America’s National Park of Speed and should be one of the drivers to watch on Saturday. Allmendinger has experience at Road America and he charged up the crowd with a Champ Car win here a few years ago. “The Dinger” is an accomplished road racer and he’s behind the wheel of a potent machine which could be a frightening combination for the rest of the field on Saturday. A win in a major NASCAR event would complete his comeback to the forefront of American motorsports.

Nelson Piquet Jr
JW: Last year’s winner of this race at Road America should be strong again. Confidence and experience are growing for the former F1 driver and Nelson Piquet Jr will be a force to be reckoned with again this weekend. Currently thirteenth in the Nationwide Series standings, this weekend gives Piquet a great chance to climb up the standings.

Johnny O’Connell
DM: The most successful GM factory racecar driver in the United States tries his hand at the full-bodied NASCAR stock cars for the first time on Saturday at the age of 50. Driving the JR Motorsports #5 entry at Road America this weekend, O’Connell brings class wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the table as proof of his road racing capabilities. The Las Vegas odds makers aren’t high on him, setting opening odds on him at 40-1, but that’s most likely because they, like many other NASCAR followers, aren’t aware of his driving talents, especially on road courses. Don’t be surprised if Johnny O’Connell takes the younger NASCAR stars to school on Saturday.

Brian Scott
JW: This is a personal pick for me. Back when he was a rookie, I was able to take a ride around Road America with Brian Scott as he discussed how he intended to drive the track and where the problems areas were located. Scott is now in his first year driving for Richard Childress Racing in the #2 Chevrolet. Currently sixth in the standings, Scott could climb all the way up to second with a top finish this weekend. Scott has run at the front, leading laps in the last two Road America races and had his best finish of seventh last year. I expect Scott to be in contention again this weekend.

Billy Johnson
DM: Billy Johnson is Roush-Fenway Racing’s road course specialist for Road America, driving the #16 entry. Johnson has racked up 44 road course wins in numerous sports car series and was responsible for qualifying and setting up the NASCAR Nationwide cars for Carl Edwards in the past. He filled in for Edwards at Road America in 2011 where he led practice and qualified fourth. Last year, he challenged for the win at Montreal before having to pit for fuel just two laps from the finish. He’ll look to put himself on the NASCAR fan’s radar on Saturday with a strong run at Road America.

Kyle Larson
JW: Watch Kyle Larson in the #32 Cottonelle Chevrolet. It will be interesting to see the young speedster race on the road course and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in contention throughout the race. Watching how Larson progresses from hitting the track for practice on Friday on through the green flag for the race on Saturday will be a great indicator on how Larson will finish up.

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