Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Sonoma

by Eric McGuire , Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Fantasy NASCAR Preview

Heading to the first road race of the year, we find the traditional favorites. Over the past couple of years picking road course "ringers" has been popular for both Sonoma (also referred to as Infineon Raceway or Sears Point to long time fans) and Watkins Glen. NASCAR had a handful of full time specialists for years like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, and Ricky Rudd. There was a noticeable difference to the other drivers on the circuit at the time on the road courses.

Over the past few years, all drivers have become more specialized and 15 or 20 of them excel on the road courses. This makes it more difficult for a "ringer" to come in and try and steal a win, as they don't have the experience of working with this type of car or the team they are grouped with on a week to week basis. With that in mind, I recommend that you stick with all full time drivers with the exception of one spot on your class C roster.

Something else to remember: the two road courses are extremely different, so the only real results that matter are those the drivers have accumulated in Sonoma.

1. Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Toyota, Gibbs Racing

Stewart is due for a win and it's hard to bet against him on a road course. He's good in any car at any time and has 2 wins and 5 top 10's at Sonoma in 9 starts. He was 6th last season, leading 6 laps, and should contend for the win.

2. Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevrolet, Hendrick Motor Sports

Gordon is the undisputed Road Course King of NASCAR, with 5 wins at Sears Point in just 15 starts. He should also run up front this weekend, although his dominance on the road courses in recent years has lessened as other drivers have improved.

3. Robby Gordon, #7 Harrah's/ Jim Beam Dodge, Robby Gordon Motor Sports

Pay attention if you like rare occurrences, because this is one of the two times this season that I will recommend you place Robby Gordon on your class B roster. He dominated this race last year (leading 48 laps) before pit strategy and fuel mileage relegated him to a 16th place finish. He will be a primary threat to win this weekend.

4. Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 Texaco Havoline Dodge, Chip Ganassi Racing

The 42 did win this race last season and he probably would have finished well at Watkins Glen if he hadn't decided to go Kamikaze into turn 1 and crash half the field before going helmet to helmet with Kevin Harvick. He wasn't the dominant driver last season at Infineon, but his team had a good strategy and he stayed out of trouble. He is a solid class B option this weekend, as he should be better than he was last year on this race track.

5. Jamie McMurray, #26 Crown Royal Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing

Like Gordon, McMurray is almost never a good choice for the class B roster. However, he led 30 laps in this race last year and also had a shot to win before Montoya went by him. Despite the 37th place finish, he is a good class B option this weekend.

6. Kurt Busch, #2 Miller Lite Dodge, Penske Racing South

Busch has finished in the top 5 almost 50% of the time at Sonoma (3 out of 7 races). He has led 60 laps on the California road course and is a pretty good class A choice, despite his 22nd place finish last season.

7. Ryan Newman, #12 ALLTEL Dodge, Penske Racing South

Newman finished a poor 20th last season at Sonoma, but was 2nd in 2006, 9th in 2005, 14th in 2004, 5th in 2003, and 9th in 2002. He has the 3rd best career average finish at Sonoma in 6 starts (9.8) and should rebound nicely this weekend from last season's race.

8. Kevin Harvick, #29 Shell/Reeses/GM Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

Harvick finished 2nd last season at Sonoma, giving him his 2nd top 5 in 7 starts. He has also won at Watkins Glen, but there are simply better class A choices.

9. Greg Biffle, #16 3M Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing

The 16 team was 5th last season, giving Biffle his second top 5 in a row at Sonoma. He's another solid class B choice if you still haven't found a driver to fill out your roster.

10. Kyle Busch, #18 M & M's Toyota, Gibbs Racing

Busch got his first career top 10 at Sonoma last season and this probably means that further improvements are to come if he follows his typical performance pattern. Still, there are much better places to use him than a road course.

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