Denny Hamlin’s on a roll after winning two consecutive races and five of the last ten! Could a road course race be a spoiler for the #11?

Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

“It’s a great accomplishment to win on so many different racetracks for us,” Hamlin said after his win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway. “To be able to unload and know you’re going to be competitive for a race win week in and week out gives you a lot of confidence. For the first time really in my career, I feel like we’re at this place.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series head to Infineon Raceway this weekend for the first road course race on the schedule. In his 4 races there, Hamlin has only posted one top-5 finish, but he finished each of those four races.

“To me, it’s a great feeling,” he said. “Because, you know, like I said, it’s not just one characteristic type of racetrack that we’re seeming to step up, we can show up and win. Now it seems like it’s everywhere. I know that we don’t have a huge amount of focus on our road course program. I mean, we go there and we think we can win.”

“I feel like I could be a little bit better, and I think a few more studying tapes and things like that could make me better. But for me, I feel like there’s a lot of hard work that got us to be competitive at all these racetracks. It’s not just the team, but it’s me going home and studying tape every time we race a race, whether we win or finish 20th. It’s a great feeling.”

Coming off of a runner-up finish at Michigan, Kasey Kahne is heading back to Sonoma as the defending race winner.

“That was definitely a surprise last year,” Kahne said. “We felt really strong the whole race, practice day and evening. Hopefully we can unload similar this year. Be a little different with the Ford engine, how it runs, things like that. But I look forward to it. I always liked Sonoma. I liked it when I didn’t run well there. I enjoyed learning that type of racing. Hopefully we can put another top 10 together. That’s a tough track. There’s a lot that goes on there that that you don’t have control of and a lot that you do have control of. Hopefully we can have some luck and have a solid race.”

Infineon Raceway -- 2009

Jeff Gordon has won more races at Infineon Raceway than any other driver. He also has led the most laps there with a combined 437 over 17 races. So what is the key to getting around the 12 turn road course?

“The track is one where you have to be aggressive, yet be smooth,” Gordon said.

Gordon leads the series with a total of nine wins at road course tracks. And another stat for Gordon at Infineon Raceway, he holds the qualifying record of 94.325 mph he set in June of 2005.

Infineon Raceway -- 2006

The cons for Gordon?
1)  He is on a 44-race winless streak. Gordon hasn’t won since the spring last year at Texas.
2) There hasn’t been a repeat winner in the past five races and not since Gordon won three consecutive races at Infineon from 1998 to 2000.

Tony Stewart is the only other driver that will start Sunday’s race with multiple wins at Infineon. Stewart won in ’01 and in ’05. He has the best average finish of all active drivers: 9.27. Stewart moved up two spots in the point standings after posting two consecutive top-5 finishes. He’s currently 11th in the standings and inside the coveted top-12 that will get locked in to compete in The Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Infineon Raceway -- 2005 (fan video)

“I’ve always liked Sonoma,” Stewart said. “It’s really a driver’s track.”

Stewart’s 7 wins on road course tracks ranks him second on the all-time win road course win list right behind Gordon.

All-Time Road Course Win List:
1.   Jeff Gordon, 9
2.   Tony Stewart, 7
3.   Rusty Wallace, 6
4.   Bobby Allison, 6
5.   Richard Petty, 6
6.   Ricky Rudd, 6
7.   Darrell Waltrip, 5
8.   Tim Richmond, 5
9.   Dan Gurney, 5
10. David Pearson, 4
11.  Mark Martin, 4
12.  Ernie Irvan, 3
13.  Geoff Bodine, 3
14.  Tim Flock, 3
15.  Cale Yarborough, 3

Qualifying begins Friday evening at 6:35 (ET).

TV coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 starts at 2 (ET) this Sunday on TNT.

It’s a road course kind-of weekend. The Nationwide Series will race for the first time at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. TV coverage of the inaugural event starts at 3 on ESPN2.

Hey, turn it up!

This is one of my favorite songs!

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With berries, cinnamon and dark fruit tones

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Enjoy the Sangiovese
With berries, cinnamon and dark fruit tones

 

2008 Monte Rossa Sangiovese :

• Harvested Sep. 18, 2008
• Bottled Aug. 29, 2008
• pH 3.65
• Alcohol: 14.6
• Cases 559
• Monte Rosso Vineyards
• Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County

Awards:

• 2009 Sonoma Valley Wine Competition ~ Gold
• 2010 SF Chronicle Wine Camp ~ Silver

Aromas of raspberry, blackberry and cinnamon. Savor the bright cherry and dark fruit with a long, slow finish. A food friendly wine.

 

2007 Unti Vineyard Syrah:

• Harvested Oct. 15, 2007
• Bottled Aug. 29, 2008
• pH 3.72
• Alcohol: 14.4
• Cases 200
• Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
• Unti Vineyard

Awards:

• 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – Silver

Aromas of blueberries, blackberries, grilled meats and a hint of vanilla from the French oak barrels. Savor the big, berry fruit and structured body, with lots of tannins to chew on.

 

2007 Tosoro:

• Blend: Sangiovese 58%, Syrah 21%, Cabernet Sauvignon 21%
• Bottled: Aug 29,2008
• pH 3.60
• Alcohol: 14·4%
• Cases 454
• Proprietary Red Blend, Sonoma County

Awards:

• 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – Silver
• 2009 Orange County Fair Wine Competition – Gold

Aromas of plums, chocolate and dark fruit with a hint of herbs. Savor the full fruit with hints of ripe boysenberry.  The finish is beautifully balanced with velvety tannins. Enjoy with food.

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