CONCORD, N.C. – This weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway brings the first road course of the season.
“The first road-course race of the year is always exciting. This year will be different with NASCAR’s no-testing policy — we will get to turn left and right without any testing,” said No. 5 team crew chief Keith Rodden.
Be sure to know what you should be watching for this race weekend, as Rodden and the Hendrick Motorsports teams take on the 1.99-mile track—turning right for the first time this year.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: The season's first road-course race will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 28. Can’t make it to a television? Tune into PRN or SiriusXM to catch the Sonoma radio coverage. This weekend’s qualifying session will take place Saturday afternoon on FOX Sports 1. Tune in to this weekend’s two practices on FOX Sports 2 on Friday. Here is the full broadcast schedule:
Friday, June 26:
3 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Practice, FOX Sports 2
6:30 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, FOX Sports 2
Saturday, June 27:
2 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, June 28:
3 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Race, FOX Sports 1/ PRN Radio/ SiriusXM (3:20 p.m. ET green flag)
THIS WEEK’S PAINT SCHEMES: This weekend, Kasey Kahne will compete in the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS at the 1.99-mile road course. Jeff Gordon will pilot the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, while Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. drive the No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS and No. 88 Microsoft Chevrolet SS, respectively.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT SONOMA: In 26 races at Sonoma, Hendrick Motorsports leads the competition with six victories, nine pole positions, 30 top-five finishes, 46 top-10 finishes and 593 laps led. Gordon owns five of the organization’s wins, while Johnson most recently took the checkered flag at the 1.99-mile track in June 2010.
KAHNE AT SONOMA: According to NASCAR loop data from the last 10 races at Sonoma, Kahne ranks sixth in quality passes (242), seventh in fastest laps run (37), eighth in speed in traffic (88.538 mph), eighth in laps in top 15 (610) and 10th in fastest drivers late in a run (89.005 mph).
GORDON KING OF THE ROAD: The native of Vallejo, California, is the all-time leader in NASCAR road-course victories with nine. Along with five wins at Sonoma, the 43-year-old driver has visited Victory Lane four times at Watkins Glen International in New York.
GORDON AT SONOMA: Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, tops the following statistical categories at Sonoma: starts, wins, pole positions, top-five finishes, top-10 finishes, laps completed (2,233), laps led and average finish (8.0).
JOHNSON AT SONOMA: In the last 10 races at Sonoma, according to NASCAR loop data, Johnson is tied with Tony Stewart for the third-best driver rating, 98.8. During that span, he has an average starting position of 16.7 and an average finish of 11.1, leading 86 total laps at the track.
EARNHARDT AT SONOMA: In 15 Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma Raceway, Earnhardt has posted seven top-15 finishes and completed 94.7 percent of the laps he has attempted (1,573 laps of 1,661 total). He scored a career-best third-place finish at the 1.99-mile road course in 2014.