This Week in Auto Racing June 24 - 26

Sonoma, CA (Sports Network) - NASCAR hits the road courses for the first time this season, with the Sprint Cup Series competing at Infineon Raceway and the Nationwide Series running at Road America. The IZOD IndyCar Series heads to Iowa Speedway, while Formula One travels to Valencia, Spain for the European Grand Prix.

NASCAR

Sprint Cup Series

Toyota/Save Mart 350 - Infineon Raceway - Sonoma, CA

With 11 races remaining before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, things are heating up in the battle for a playoff spot.

On this first week of summer, Sprint Cup teams head to California wine country for road course racing on the 1.99-mile, 12-turn Infineon Raceway. The second and final road course event of the season is scheduled for August 14 at Watkins Glen, NY.

Denny Hamlin is coming off his first win of the year at Michigan. Hamlin's victory last Sunday moved him into a tie with Clint Bowyer for ninth in the point standings. Tony Stewart is only one point behind them in 11th place.

Stewart has two wins at Sonoma (2001 and '05), and he's finished 10th or better in the last four races here. The two-time series champion has scored more points on road courses than any other active driver. He is a five-time race winner at Watkins Glen.

Hamlin has recorded two top-10 finishes in five starts at Sonoma, while Bowyer has posted three top-10s in five races at this track. Both drivers finished outside the top-30 here one year ago.

Currently sitting 12th in points, Jeff Gordon's chances of qualifying for the Chase look good right now with his two wins for the season (Phoenix and Pocono). Gordon holds the series record for most victories on road courses with nine, including five at Sonoma. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has led a total of 437 laps at this track, which is by far more than his closest active competitor, teammate Mark Martin.

Gordon has not performed as well on road courses as he has in the past. Despite top-10 finishes in the last four races at Sonoma, he has not led a lap in either one of those events here. Gordon recently tested at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, in preparation for Sunday's race at Sonoma.

"We've struggled on the road courses recently, and that's not something we're accustomed to," Gordon said. "It's not something we like, so we tested at Mid- Ohio and have been working really hard to make improvements."

Jimmie Johnson, the five-time defending series champion and Gordon's teammate at HMS, won his first road course race in the series last year at Sonoma. Johnson had previously competed in several Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series races to help him improve on the courses.

"I'm very confident now on road courses," Johnson said. "I still think I can be better though, and I still choose to run Grand Am races when it works, and anything I can for that matter on a road course to get more experience."

Johnson's win at Sonoma came at the expense of Marco Ambrose's costly mistake in the closing laps of the 350-kilometer race. Ambrose, who was attempting to win his first race in the series, held the lead during a caution with just seven laps to go. But the Australian driver slowed on the track and fell from his leading position to seventh after he turned his engine off in an effort to conserve fuel. That allowed Johnson to take the lead for good. Ambrose wound up finishing sixth.

"I don't need to look back on what happened last year; it is what it is," Ambrose said. "I couldn't get the motor refired for whatever reason. This year, we have a brand new team, brand new chief, brand new sponsor and brand new carburetor, so I should have no issues. I'm just looking forward to getting out there and trying to win it."

According to NASCAR rules, drivers must maintain caution speed in order to keep their running position.

Ambrose, a two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion, has been one of the strongest contenders in Sprint Cup road-course races lately. He has finished either second or third in the last three races at Watkins Glen. Ambrose also placed third at Sonoma in 2009.

"There's a lot going on behind the wheel," Ambrose said. "You're obviously changing gears. You're turning left and right, and you're managing front and left brake pressure. Sometimes you're doing it together. The track is undulating, and there's a lot of dust that's get thrown off by other cars that run across the track.

"There's just a lot happening on a road course. You really have to stay very focused on your own car and not really worry about whether a guy is pulling away for a lap or two. It normally balances out."

Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Among the entrants are several road-course experts.

Boris Said will replace Landon Cassill in the No.51 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing at Sonoma. Said won a truck race at this track in 1998. He also won last year's Nationwide event at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course.

Andy Pilgrim and Tomy Drissi will attempt to make their first starts in the series. Pilgrim, who is a seven-time Grand-Am race winner from Nottingham, England, is slated to drive the No.46 Chevrolet for Whitney Motorsports. Drissi, a former Trans-Am Series champion from Hollywood, CA, is behind the wheel of the No.37 Ford for car owner Brad Jenkins.

Nationwide Series

Bucyrus 200 - Road America - Elkhart Lake, WI

While the Sprint Cup Series runs at Infineon Raceway in Northern California, the Nationwide Series competes at Road America in Northeast Wisconsin.

Road America, which is located in Elkhart Lake, roughly 60 miles north of Milwaukee, is the longest track on any of NASCAR's three national touring series at a distance of 4.048 miles. The series ran at this track for the first time last year when it replaced The Milwaukee Mile on the schedule.

Saturday's race at Road America is the first of three road-course events in Nationwide this season. The series will run at Watkins Glen, NY on August 13 and then Montreal one week later.

Carl Edwards won the inaugural Nationwide race at Road America last season. Edwards is the only Sprint Cup regular attempting the Infineon Raceway/Road America combo this weekend.

"The most demanding weekend of the year is this one; two tough road courses that are thousands of miles apart," Edwards said. "I feel that Saturday's race will help me prepare for Sunday and will make up for the lost practice in the Sprint Cup car. There is a lot of pride in winning on a road course, and a win at either event would be huge."

Edwards dominated last year's race by leading 35 of 50 laps, but had to wrestle the top position away from Canadian Jacques Villeneuve after a restart with nine laps remaining. Villeneuve suffered engine failure on the final lap, allowing Ron Fellows, also from Canada, to take over the second spot. Fellows finished 4.3 seconds behind Edwards. Villeneuve placed 25th.

Fellows will drive the No.7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports this weekend.

"When we finished second at Road America last year, we all felt pretty fortunate to have finished with clean fenders," Fellows said. "It was all about survival in the closing laps. We had a strong car, but we needed a little something extra to have a chance to win. We've talked about what needs to be better this time around and will give it our best shot come Saturday."

Villeneuve will substitute for Brad Keselowski in the No.22 Dodge for Penske Racing. Keselowski is focusing his efforts on the Sprint Cup race at Sonoma.

Ricky Carmichael, a Camping World Truck Series veteran and 15-time motocross champion, is scheduled to make his Nationwide debut at Road America, driving the No.30 Chevrolet for Turner Motorsports. It will also be Carmichael's first road course race in his NASCAR national series career.

Forty-One teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Bucyrus 200.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Iowa Corn Indy 250 - Iowa Speedway - Newton, IA

The IZOD IndyCar Series will run on the 7/8-mile Iowa Speedway this weekend. Following Iowa, the next three IndyCar races will be held on road/street courses -- Toronto, Edmonton and Mid Ohio.

After winning last Sunday at The Milwaukee Mile, Dario Franchitti moved into a tie with Will Power for the lead in the point standings. Franchitti won the inaugural IndyCar race at Iowa in 2007 and claimed his second victory here in 2009. He missed Iowa in 2008 when he competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

Last year, Franchitti led a race-high 69 laps but suffered a a gear-box issue in the late going and finished 18th. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver is hoping for redemption here on Saturday night.

"We've got to go there and do the job, and if we do the job, we'll be in a good situation, and if we don't, we move on," he said.

Tony Kanaan snapped a 34-race winless streak last year at Iowa. Kanaan, who drove for Andretti Autosport at the time, passed Helio Castroneves from Team Penske with 10 laps remaining and then held off Castroneves by 4.2 seconds at the finish for his 14th career IndyCar win but his first since June 2008 at Richmond.

Prior to his win, Kanaan had crashed in the first three races at Iowa, finishing no better than 14th.

"When you go to a track that you've crashed the last three times you were there, obviously you're a little bit concerned," Kanaan said. "We're always a contender there. To get my first finish there with a win was the best case scenario that we could possibly have."

Kanaan, in his first season with KV Racing Technology, is presently sixth in points, with five top-10 finishes in the first eight races. His best run so far this year is third, which came in the season-opener at St. Petersburg, FL.

"I'm looking forward to getting my first win of the year and the first win for KV in Iowa," he said.

Kanaan led 33 laps at Milwaukee but crashed late in the race and ended up with a 19th-place result.

All three Team Penske drivers finished in the top-five in last year's race at Iowa, with Castroneves taking second, Ryan Briscoe fourth and Will Power, the pole sitter, fifth. Iowa is one of two ovals on the 2011 IndyCar schedule where Penske has not won a race. Las Vegas is the other track.

Twenty-six teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Iowa Corn Indy 250.

FORMULA ONE

European Grand Prix - Streets of Valencia - Valencia, Spain

After a soggy but thrilling race last week at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Formula One returns to its home continent this weekend with the European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia, Spain.

Jenson Button from McLaren dealt with torrential rain conditions, overcame contact with his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and then bounced back from a penalty for speeding behind the safety car before he made a dramatic last-lap pass on Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel for the win in the Canada Grand Prix.

Vettel appeared to be on the way to his sixth grand prix win of the season, but the defending world champion and current points leader locked up the rear and slid wide on the last lap, allowing Button to dart by and then claim his first victory this year.

"It's been a fantastic week in the aftermath of the Canadian Grand Prix," Button said. "I had a few days break immediately after the race, which was perfectly timed, as it gave me the opportunity to take in all the positive memories of a crazy weekend and to reflect on an incredible race."

With the win, Button moved up to second in the F1 championship rankings. Vettel holds a commanding 60-point lead heading into Valencia.

Vettel is the defending winner of the European GP. The young German started on the pole and led all 57 laps around the 3.367-mile Valencia street circuit for his second of five wins during his 2010 championship season.

"We had a good race there last year, and the car should be good; I'm looking forward to it," Vettel said.

Vettel's teammate, Mark Webber, was involved in a horrifying wreck in the early stages of last year's European GP. Webber slammed into the back of Heikki Kovalainen. His Red Bull car sailed into the air and landed upside down before he made hard contact with the tire barrier. He was not injured but finished last in the 24-car field.

Valencia is one of the most challenging courses in F1, with its 25 corners the most of all tracks presently on the racing circuit.

"It is a very long circuit with lots of corners, so you need the car setup for good traction," Williams' driver Rubens Barrichello said. "I love this race track. The final part of the circuit has some high speed corners, which makes the circuit feel very complete."

Barrichello won the European GP in 2009 when he drove for Brawn GP. The Brazilian finished fourth in last year's race.

"Valencia is very important to me," he said. "It was there that I won my first race in 2009, and it was also the 100th grand prix win for Brazil, so it was very special."

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