There may be lots of talk at Sonoma this weekend using descriptive words such as bold, fruity, oaky, and a hint of burnt rubber mixed with apples. That would be upper class winos opening a bottle of this and that from the best the vines have to offer in this area of California better known for its wine than stock car racing. The hint of burnt rubber may be a bit of a stretch but one never knows when you pull that awful synthetic cork out of a bottle containing a new batch.
The talk will turn to road racing later today for the 21st edition of the race from Infineon Raceway. Cows munching on hay will raise their heads in wonder at the thunderous sounds of 3800-lb. beasts roaring by.
Maybe some of them will know that this Jeff Gordon’s domain. Not only did he grow up nearby he has won this race five times. That’s why I won’t bet against him in my matchup picks as listed on Sportsbook.com.
Tony Stewart -145 vs Jeff Gordon +115
Tony is an expert at road racing as shown by his two wins at Infineon. He also leads in points. These facts would normally be a no-brainer in choosing to beat just about anybody but in this case he’s up against the best. Bad back or not, Jeffie will finish ahead of Tony.
Kyle Busch -155 vs Juan Pablo Montoya +125
Montoya’s background is F1 so it’s no surprise his first and only win in NASCAR to date came at this track two years ago. Right turns and chicanes are familiar territory for JP but his opponent in this matchup has quickly learned the ropes from Max Papis, an expert at this kind of racing. He paid attention because he won last year’s race starting from the 30th spot. Montoya has looked vary fast in practice so I pick him to finish ahead of Kyle.
Carl Edwards +110 vs Kurt Busch -140
Neither driver has won on a road course and I don’t think that will change today. Carl has been hot in the practice sessions and I think he will have a top 10 finish. I am picking him over Kurt.
Boris Said +105 vs Ron Fellows -135
Road races always call for ringers- the part-time guys who do a lot of this kind of racing. Past races show them to be in contention but unless they are in a car owned by a top team they usually run into mechanical problems. Fellows had the second-fastest car in Happy Hour so I will take that as a good sign and pick him over Boris.
Last week, 2-2; season, 23-23.
GL