CONCORD, N.C.— This weekend’s event at Sonoma Raceway brings the first road course racing of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. At the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course track, it’s bound to be challenging, but it's popular one with many drivers.
“It’s a great track and in a great part of the country," Kasey Kahne said. "My first couple of trips there were tough for me to figure out the track. Once I got it figured out we were much better and got a win. It’s one of my favorite tracks to go to.”
And Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, is ready to visit the familiar state.
“As a California native, I’m always happy to get back there,” he said.
To prepare for Sunday’s race, take a look at the key notes below to keep an eye on this weekend.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: Sunday’s race will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 3 p.m. ET. Can’t make it to the television? Listen to the race live on PRN and SiriusXM to catch the radio coverage. Here is the full broadcast schedule:
Friday, June 24:
3 p.m. ET: Sprint Cup Series Practice, FOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m. ET: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, FOX Sports 1
Saturday, June 25:
2 p.m. ET: Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, June 26:
3 p.m. ET: Sprint Cup Series Race, FOX Sports 1
THIS WEEKEND’S PAINT SCHEMES: For the fourth year in a row, Kahne will pilot a Shark Week paint scheme. This weekend, he will drive the No. 5 Great Clips/Shark Week Chevrolet SS. 3M will be the primary partner on board Rookie of the Year contender Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS. Johnson will pilot the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT SONOMA: At Sonoma, Hendrick Motorsports has earned six victories, nine pole positions, 30 top-five finishes, 49 top-10s and 638 laps led. Gordon owns five of the organization’s wins there, while Johnson most recently took the checkered flag at the 1.99-mile track in June 2010.
KAHNE AT SONOMA: Sonoma Raceway is the first of two stops this season at a road course for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In Kahne’s 12 starts at the 10-turn track, he’s earned the pole position twice – 2008 and 2010. Kahne won in only his sixth event at the 1.99-mile track after starting from the fifth position and leading 37 laps. He took the 2009 checkered flag with a 0.748-second margin of victory over competitor Tony Stewart. The Enumclaw, Washington, native has three top-10 finishes in his last three starts at Sonoma.
SPEEDWAY STATS: At tracks two miles or longer, Kahne has made 131 starts and notched four of his 17 wins. He’s also earned seven of his 27 Sprint Cup career poles in addition to amassing 25 top-five finishes and 48 top-10 results at speedways of that length. Kahne is coming off of a sixth-place finish at 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway as he heads to the Irish Hills this weekend.
SHARK WEEK CHEVY: Not only is Kahne racing his competitors on the track, he’s also racing a shark in Discovery’s #GreatSharkRace. In preparation for Discovery’s Shark Week, which kicks off on Sunday, June 26, at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel, Kahne went shark tagging off of the coast of Miami with the University of Miami and Oceana.
CAREER-BEST FINISH: Chase Elliott earned his career-best finish earlier this month at Michigan International Speedway. Elliott led 35 laps en route to a second-place finish. The runner-up result not only marked his career-best finish, but it also continued his top-10 tear. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has earned a top-10 finish in each of the past six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points-paying races. Only two drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have more top-10 finishes than Elliott's 11 (Kevin Harvick with 12 and Kurt Busch with 13 -- both Sprint Cup champions). Additionally, Elliott is tied for the third most top-five finishes in the Cup Series with his six top-five finishes, trailing Kyle Busch and Harvick with nine and seven top-five finishes, respectively.
ONE WIN IN SONOMA: Johnson has been able to sip wine in Victory Lane one time over the course of his career. His only win at the 1.99-mile road course came on June 20, 2010, when he led 55 laps en route to the win.
SONOMA DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Johnson has the second-best driver rating at Sonoma with a score of 101.0 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
HEADING IN THE 'RIGHT' DIRECTION: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has mentioned time and again that he is not as confident on road courses as he is on ovals that make up the bread-and-butter of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. But the 41-year-old veteran has stepped up his game when it comes to tackling both left- and right-hand turns. In his first 14 starts at Sonoma Raceway, he never finished inside the top 10, although he did have six top-15 finishes. However, in his most recent two starts at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, the driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS has earned two top-10 results, finishing third in 2014 and seventh in last summer’s event. Earnhardt’s best start at Sonoma came in 2007, when he qualified third, and he has finished on the lead lap in 13 of 16 races.