Backseat Blonde - Sonoma Steps it Up

July 1, 2004

Sonoma Steps it Up, But is it Chase Worthy?
By Allison Wagda

Road courses aren’t the most popular tracks on the
NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit. While stock car racing’s top
drivers only make two stops a year at these windy
venues, many fans would prefer NASCAR forgo the
races for more short tracks or superspeedways.

They’re wrong. Sure, road courses don’t make passing
easy. Nor are they conducive to thrilling side-by-side finishes. But while they lack the
edge-of-your-seat excitement of a Bristol or Daytona, they more than redeem
themselves with intense drama.

Sonoma this past weekend proved the point. After dominating all practices and
taking the pole position, Jeff Gordon was asked if he was a lock for the win. He
responded confidently, yet reminded the reporter that it would only take one small
mistake to ruin his day.

At Sonoma, drivers are challenged to navigate a very technical track. Miss a mark and
end up facing backward in the dirt. Go a lap down? There’s no “lucky dog” pass to
put you back on the lead lap. And, in a marked change from the traditional oval
tracks, drivers must successfully turn right every now and then.

Perhaps naysayers need to experience a road course in person to understand its
allure. While even the most expensive seats at Sonoma offer an obstructed view at
best, the action isn’t less enthralling. The rumble of the engines, the smell of
exhaust, the cars flying around hairpin turns, the drivers ripping through the S
turns…there’s always something happening on the track to keep fans engaged.

And Infineon Raceway has stepped up to the plate in recent years, vastly improving
fan facilities, reconfiguring the track and, new for 2004, repaving the track surface. No
one knew what to expect, and that added greatly to the suspense of the race.

Sonoma separates the men from the boys. Rookies rarely fare well. Currently, the
Busch series, NASCAR’s version of the minor league, doesn’t run at road courses
so rookies lack significant experience. Sonoma and Watkins Glen are among the
few tracks where veterans have the edge.

Some teams even substituted so-called road course ringers in established rides in
order to gain visibility for a sponsor. The inclusion of these specialists is one of the
most compelling aspects of road course racing. Drivers like the colorful Boris Said
and the wily Scott Pruitt added a fresh new flavor to the race line-up at Infineon. Last
year, Said captured the pole, and his crew all sported black, curly wigs to push the
car off the track, mimicking Said’s wild locks. It was a fun, lighthearted moment
during a mostly serious weekend. Both Pruitt and Said finished near the front of the
pack last weekend and showed Cup regulars some slick moves.

With the new points system, there is increasing focus on the tracks hosting the final
10 races comprising the Chase for the Championship. Those races will essentially
determine the first Nextel Cup champion. The question now becomes, do we want
our champion to prove their mastery of all the types of tracks? Including a road
course? After all, what kind of champion would he be if he can only turn left? Or for
that matter, if a driver can’t bump and bang with the toughest drivers at a short track
like Richmond or Bristol, are they truly qualified to wear the championship mantle?

With that in mind, Sonoma should be seriously considered for a second date right
smack in the middle of the Chase. To be elevated to such importance, Infineon still
has some improvements to make in order to deserve the honor.

For example, track personnel was sadly lacking in information. I was looking for the
ticket upgrade booth at the Start/Finish Grandstand, and stopped by the Fan Care
office for directions. Everyone in the room looked at each other and told me to try Turn
7, all the way on the other side of the track. It was clearly marked on my ticket that the
booth was located at the grandstand. I left the office, and sure enough about 50 feet
in front of me was the upgrade booth. That was just one example of the staff’s
ineptness (and mine, but that’s to be expected) I experienced over the three-day
weekend.

While traffic on Highway 37 was much improved, and the expanded bus service was
extremely convenient, some of the roads and parking lots were in horrific shape. On
Friday, I entered the track at Gate 9 and was directed up a dirt road to Lots 4 & 5. The
one lane sandy road was so uneven and rutted that, even in my 4x4 Jeep, I was
sliding all over the place. And on the way out, track staff was using it for two lane
traffic, causing all sorts of headaches.

On race day, I was seated in the aisle at the top of the stairs in the grandstand when I
accidentally spilled my $6 Bud (yes, at Sonoma fans are banned from bringing their
own alcohol into the track). With nothing to clean it up, I alerted several staff
members about the spill. While all the track representatives I talked to committed to
getting a towel, no one ever returned. I ended up warning people, one by one, in
order to prevent an accident. I bet had someone slipped and sued the track it would
have gotten someone’s attention.

Infineon also needs to figure out how to enable fans to see more of Turn 11, at least
from some seats. The hairpin turn, currently only viewable by a few seats on the right
side of the main grandstand, boasts most of the passing action. Most of us had to
watch on the big screen in the middle of the track. I can do that from home.

But if Infineon can fix the fan experience, the track can rise to the occasion and
provide thrills and drama needed in the Chase. It is a track where champions are not
born, they are made. The two top point’s leaders, Jimmie Johnson and Dale
Earnhardt Jr. both crossed the hurdle with relative success. Junior even spun out
multiple times and was at one point scored a lap down before battling back and
landing a respectable 11th place finish. It’s that kind of mental focus and
perseverance that shows the mettle of a champion and illustrates Sonoma’s validity
for Chase representation.

As for Jeff Gordon? Make no mistake, he made none. He led a record 92 out of 111
laps and took his rightful place in Victory Lane. Talk about changes in
NASCAR…even the fans cheered.

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