Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sonoma Odds and Ends: Toyota Save Mart 350


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 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Infineon Raceway 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.
·         13 different drivers have won poles; only three have won more than one.
·         Jeff Gordon (five) leads all pole winners. Ricky Rudd has four, including three consecutive (1990-92) and Rusty Wallace has two.
·         There have been five different pole winners in the last five races.
·         There have been consecutive pole winners three times: Ricky Rudd (1990-92) and Jeff Gordon (1998-99 and 2004-05).
·         13 different drivers have won races; five have multiple victories there – led by Jeff Gordon with five. Ernie Irvan,Ricky RuddTony 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.
·         There have been five different race winners in the last five races: Tony Stewart (2005), Jeff Gordon (2006), Juan Pablo Montoya (2007), Kyle Busch (2008) and Kasey Kahne (2009).
·         Five of 21 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.
·         Jeff Gordon is the all-time leader in road-course victories, with nine. Tony Stewart is second, with seven.
 
NASCAR in California
·         There have been 127 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in California:
·         411 drivers from NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as California.
·         There have been 33 race winners from California in NASCAR three national series:
Driver
 NSCS
 NNS
NCWTS
Jeff Gordon
82
5
0
Jimmie Johnson
50
1
0
Marvin Panch
17
0
0
Ernie Irvan
15
3
0
Dick Rathmann
13
0
0
Kevin Harvick
12
36
8
Dan Gurney
5
0
0
Eddie Gray
4
0
0
Parnelli Jones
4
0
0
Eddie Pagan
4
0
0
Robby Gordon
3
1
0
Ray Elder
2
0
0
Danny Letner
2
0
0
Marvin Porter
2
0
0
Casey Mears
1
1
0
Dick Brooks
1
0
0
Marvin Burke
1
0
0
Jim Cook
1
0
0
Lou Figaro
1
0
0
Danny Graves
1
0
0
Johnny Mantz
1
0
0
Bill Norton
1
0
0
John Soares
1
0
0
Danny Weinberg
1
0
0
Ron Hornaday Jr.
0
4
45
Jason Leffler
0
2
1
Mike Skinner
0
1
28
Joe Ruttman
0
1
13
David Gilliland
0
1
0
Matt Crafton
0
0
1
Boris Said
0
0
1
Scott Speed
0
0
1
Brandon Whitt
0
0
1
 
Infineon Raceway Data
Race #: 16 of 36 (6-20-10)
Track Size: 1.99 miles
Race Length: 110 laps/219 miles/350 kilometers
 
Driver Rating at Infineon RacewayTony Stewart                 113.2
 Juan Pablo Montoya     111.3
Kyle Busch                   101.9
Kurt Busch                    101.4
Marcos Ambrose           99.6
Ryan Newman               98.8
Jeff Gordon                  97.1
Jamie McMurray            89.6
Boris Said                     88.8
Denny Hamlin                87.1
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (5 total) at Infineon Raceway.
 
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Brian Vickers (93.678 mph, 76.475 seconds)
2009 race winner: Kasey Kahne, 71.012 mph, 6-21-09)
Track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon (94.325 mph, 75.950 secs., 6-24-05)
Track race record: Ricky Rudd (81.007 mph, 6-23-02)
 
Estimated Pit Window: Every 30-32 laps, based on fuel mileage
 

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