Looking at Infineon Raceway

Because of the unusual track that the Cup is running at tomorrow, Infineon Raceway, I thought I would post a little bit about how the drivers plan to get through it.

They start with a small turn one, then go up a steep hill that's very slippery. Many cars wreck in this area.

Then they go into the S's from there. Turn three goes downhill, and turn four is a slippery part where cars can get off balance and possibly move their wheels up. Keep in mind, none of these turns are really good for passing.

Turn five is a rare place where passing is possible.

Coming out of it is a straightaway that goes into a very tricky turn six. It's a narrow corner, so drivers have to be fully concentrated in order to stay on the track.

Then until turn ten the track is actually fairly fast with the cars just maneuvering some small turns. Again, not the best place to pass.

Coming out of turn ten is a small straightaway where drivers get their final positions for the last corner.

Turn eleven is the spot that drivers do almost all of their passing. It's a very difficult paper clip that requires drivers to stay on the bottom, or else they'll be passed by multiple cars. If someone needs to make a pass on the final lap or gain positions, this is the spot to do it.

Turn twelve is a fast corner which is pretty easy to coordinate.

So, as you can see, Sonoma doesn't offer many opportunities to pass cars up, making one's starting position very important. Boy, I'm kind of happy that I don't have to go around this course for three hundred and fifty miles tomorrow. I can see how they're unhappy about having to do this, with the slipper conditions and lack of turns that are decent for passing. Whatever, they're making enough money.