[onlòóker]

Location: Infineon Raceway
Time: Sunday 3:00PM EST / 2:00PM CST / 12:00PM PST
2005 Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon #24
2005 Winner: Tony Stewart #20

Roberts: Dodge/Save Mart 350

Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Before we start talking about a road course race at Sonoma, we better begin to start looking at Tony Stewart rather than Jeff Gordon. For the last decade and half we have been stippled with all the information of how great Gordon is on the road courses, yet we have only three wins in the last 12 races between Sonoma and Watkins Glen for Gordon.

Based on Gordon's track record on the roads, it is safe to say he is somewhat of a slump. Tony Stewart on the other hand is on a roll at the Northern California track. He has won three of the last four races there, including Watkins Glen, where he has won two of the last five races. Without a doubt, he’s earned the right to be called “King of the Road Courses” in NASCAR.

It should come as no surprise to anyone either based on all his accomplishments over his career. We are talking about a guy who did anything and everything he could to get where he is at. It didn't matter if it was go-karts, Indy racing, world of outlaws, or NASCAR. Stewart can just flat out drive fast in anything anywhere.

Now of course you need a team behind you to supply the set up and horsepower. There shouldn't be any regressions about supporting him this week based on his recent past. With a few of the drivers competing against him this week for the win, there are plenty of questions.

Jeff Gordon is still his main competition but something always goes wrong with the set up for Gordon. When betting matchups, Gordon is still a driver to stay away from. There still is belief that he is the truest road course driver on the circuit, one capable of doing well in the F-1 series if he chose so, but his recent struggles show he doesn't have the ability to hang with the likes of Stewart.

Some of the question marks for this race involve the hired assassins such as Ron Fellows, Boris Said, and Scott Pruett. How they do in this race will ultimately affect how Stewart and Gordon finish.

Before we get too comfortable talking about Gordon as Gordon, lets not forget about Robby Gordon who finished second last season and won the race in 2003. He will give the top programs of Gibbs and Hendrick a run for their money.

The best strategy for this race is to bet matchups against some of the top current drivers in the circuit. The top team on the circuit is from the Roush camp. Other than Mark Martin, you should be inclined to go against all of them in plus money situations.

A driver like Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, or Carl Edwards has virtually no shot of winning the race and it is possible that good value will be found in individual matchups for best finish based on their high standing in the bookmakers mind.

Some wild cards to consider are from the Childress organization. Kevin Harvick has three top 7 finishes in his last five Sonoma races. Jeff Burton has been running well all season and has been adequate enough on the roads to merit a wager in matchups against some of the top drivers.

The surprise road course driver among them all is Jimmie Johnson who has taken a good car set up by the Hendrick group and finished in the top five in two of his last three races at Sonoma, despite him not being renowned for his road skills.

It's not just about mashing the pedal and seeing who has the best aero package in this race. This is all about the driver. A far lesser organization can do well in this race with a good road course driver and that is why many bring in the hired guns.

TOP 5 Finish Prediction:

1) #20 Tony Stewart 5/2
2) #7 Robby Gordon 10/1
3) #24 Jeff Gordon 5/1
4) #29 Kevin Harvick 10/1
5) #32 Ron Fellows 12/1

[onlòóker]

1	2	Kurt Busch	     Dodge
2	26	Jamie McMurray	     Ford	
3	29	Kevin Harvick	     Chevrolet
4	12	Ryan Newman	     Dodge	
5	160	Boris Said	     Ford	
6	9	Kasey Kahne	     Dodge
7	16	Greg Biffle	     Ford	
8	6	Mark Martin	     Ford	
9	17	Matt Kenseth	     Ford	
10	01	Joe Nemechek	     Chevrolet	
11	24	Jeff Gordon	     Chevrolet
12	20	Tony Stewart	     Chevrolet
13	31	Jeff Burton	     Chevrolet	
14	7	Robby Gordon	     Chevrolet
15	4	P.J. Jones	     Chevrolet
16	48	Jimmie Johnson	     Chevrolet	
17	32	Ron Fellows	     Chevrolet
18	21	Ken Schrader	     Ford	
19	5	Kyle Busch	     Chevrolet
20	99	Carl Edwards	     Ford	
21	43	Bobby Labonte	     Dodge
22	88	Dale Jarrett	     Ford	
23	66	Jeff Green	     Chevrolet	
24	38	Elliott Sadler	     Ford	
25	10	Scott Riggs	     Dodge
26	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.   Chevrolet	
27	40	Scott Pruett	     Dodge	
28	07	Clint Bowyer*	     Chevrolet
29	14	Sterling Marlin      Chevrolet
30	27	Tom Hubert	     Chevrolet	
31	72	David Gilliland	     Dodge
32	19	Jeremy Mayfield	     Dodge	
33	45	Kyle Petty	     Dodge	
34	42	Casey Mears	     Dodge	
35	55	Michael Waltrip	     Dodge
36	22	Dave Blaney	     Dodge	
37	96	Terry Labonte	     Chevrolet	
38	18	J.J. Yeley*	     Chevrolet
39	1	Martin Truex Jr.*    Chevrolet	
40	11	Denny Hamlin*	     Chevrolet	
41	41	Reed Sorenson+*	     Dodge
42	25	Brian Vickers+	     Chevrolet	
43	102	Brandon Ash	     Dodge

[onlòóker]

Im not really big on road coarses, and rarely watch them. Believe it or not, I like the roundy rounds better.

So I will just leave my starting five the same this week. I havent been changing it anyway, had the same five for quite awhile now.

24 Jeff Gordon
29 Kevin Harvick
31 Jeff Burton
 9 Kasey Kahne
 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

[onlòóker]

Sun 6/25: 12:40 PM EST - Odds to Win the Race

101 Tony Stewart +334
102 Jeff Gordon +264
103 Robby Gordon +812
104 Boris Said +1028
105 Ron Fellows +1994
106 Scott Pruett +3231
107 Kurt Busch +837
108 Kevin Harvick +1699
109 Jimmie Johnson +2740
110 Jamie McMurray +2153
111 Mark Martin +3347
112 Denny Hamlin +8500
113 Ryan Newman +4366
114 Greg Biffle +4519
115 Casey Mears +10000
116 Dale Earnhardt Jr. +4105
117 Jeff Burton +8000
118 Matt Kenseth +6500
119 Bobby Labonte +11000
120 Elliott Sadler +11000
121 Kasey Kahne +6262
122 Carl Edwards +10000
123 Kyle Busch +6262
124 Martin Truex Jr. +12500
125 Jeremy Mayfield +12500
126 Dale Jarrett +12500
127 Brian Vickers +12500
128 Field +4899