SONOMA, Calif. –There’s no doubt road courses have become wild-card races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Just look at the recent history of Sonoma Raceway. The last 11 races have produced just one repeat winner—Kyle Busch. And Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 again may provide an opportunity for a driver who’s not a regular contender in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to take the checkered flag and qualify for the Chase.
“It is a wild-card race, but I feel like, quickly going through my memory, whichever driver has won has had a dominating day and a strong performance throughout the day,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to repeat that; for whatever reason, I don’t exactly know. But, I think we’ve seen a real interesting shift in the last 10 years, where the road course ringers have come in and they aren’t taking the trophies home; it’s really the NASCAR regulars.
“I think it shows the versatility we have as drivers and the teams as well, that set up the car and make the car get around here. Strategy does play a role, and I think that cost us the win last year (when Busch pitted for tires and passed Johnson in the closing laps) . So occasionally you have maybe a fuel-mileage race that might mix it up a little bit, or strategy; and I think we just had a handful of laps left and decided to stay out and new tires got to us quickly last year.”
Over the course of a Sprint Cup career that has produced six championships, Johnson has acquired a taste for the road courses.
“It’s fun racing,” he said. “I really enjoy it. I wish we did more. To have two road course races a year, you just kind of get into the swing of things, and we leave the Glen and you put it on the shelf and wait eight months or something and then do it again.”
Double duty for Jeff Gordon?
On Saturday morning at Sonoma Raceway, Jeff Gordon affirmed his commitment to his position as an analyst in the FOX Sports television booth.
But that doesn’t mean Gordon is ruling out moonlighting as co-host for “Live with Kelly.” Prevalent rumors have Gordon on the short list to fill the role of departed Michael Strahan as Kelly Ripa’s sidekick on the show.
“Well, I’m flattered that my name has been associated with that,” said Gordon, who has filled in as an occasional co-host of the show. “You know, I’ve always maintained a great friendship with the show and some of the producers and folks within the show. I had a great time co-hosting on that show, and I mean, I certainly would welcome it.
“My priority is FOX and FOX Sports and NASCAR, so I will definitely be back in the booth next year. If there was something that would fit into and around that—great. I don’t know if that’s a reality, but it’s been really interesting kind of seeing that unfold. I really don’t have anything that I can say about it.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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