Infineon Toyota Savemart 350 Fantasy NASCAR Preview and Picks

A= Really, Really Good Pick

Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon has five wins at Infineon and he also has five straight top tens. His average finish is 9.1 and his average starting position is 7.3. Gordon’s completed 17 of his 18 races at Infineon. (Yahoo A Driver)

Juan Pablo Montoya – This former Infineon winner / former F1 driver has an impressive 5.75 average finish at this serpentine track. Look for him to go all out in the Toyota Savemart 350. Only once in his career has he finished outside the top ten at a road course and it was because of an accident with Kevin Harvick (video). (Yahoo B Driver)

Marcos Ambrose – Marcos had this race won last year but he decided turning off his engine going uphill to save gas was a good idea. Turned out it wasn’t. In 2008 at Infineon he had some sort of engine problem and finished 42nd. His next worst road course finish is sixth which is where he was placed last year when he got his engine restarted. His average finish in the last five road course races is 3.4. (Yahoo B Driver)

Tony Stewart – Stewart is the king of the road in NASCAR. He has seven career road course wins. Only two of them came at Infineon. His most recent Infineon win was back in 2005. (Yahoo A Driver)

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A- = Really Good Pick

Kevin Harvick – Harvick’s a previous road course winner. In 2007 when Juan Pablo Montoya won he might’ve actually had the best car. He just choose not to drive hard because he was given information that the 42 car didn’t have enough gas to make it to the finish. (Yahoo A Driver)

Kyle Busch – He’s a strong road course driver who should be taken very seriously this week. In the last ten road course races he’s finished in the top 11 in eight of those races. In this time span he also has two wins. (Yahoo A Driver)

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson is the defending champion at this California track. Beyond Marcos Ambrose pulling over his win wasn’t a fluke. He led 55 laps and has had several previous strong runs on this 12 turn road course. (Yahoo A Driver)

Carl Edwards – With a 18.8 average finish here trust me I haven’t lost my mind rating him this high. Edwards only has two top tens here but on my “eye fantasy race” test he’s passed with fly colors. He knows how to drive around a road course. He’s also good at Watkins Glen. In the Nationwide series he’s won at Road America and at Montreal. (Yahoo A Driver)

B+ = Good Pick

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin’s an underrated driver at road courses. I know I would feel comfortable having him on my team at any road course (in a non allocation league of course). In 2009 he finished 5th. (Yahoo A Driver)

Ryan Newman – Through his first couple road course races you would think he would have multiple wins by now. In his first five races here he had four top tens and never finished lower than 14th. In his last four races here he has one top ten and has finished outside the top fifteen three times. (Yahoo B Driver)

AJ Allmendinger – AJ’s time spent in open wheel cars was in the CART series. If you’re looking at open wheel drivers only take CART and F1 experience as a plus. AJ has two top tens and five top thirteen finishes in six road course starts. (Yahoo B Driver)

Clint Bowyer – Before last year Bowyer had three straight top eight finishes at Infineon. Just like Denny Hamlin he’ll be slipping below people’s radar this week. Don’t let him get below yours. (Yahoo B Driver)

Kurt Busch – Kurt’s record is far from spectacular at Infineon but he’s a good road course driver. In ten races at Napa Valley he has three top fives but seven finishes of 15th or worse. If qualifying matters to you he’s nearly as good as they get at Sonoma. Last year at Watkins Glen Kurt Busch finished second to Juan Pablo Montoya. (Yahoo A Driver)

B = A Tier Below The Good Picks

Kasey Kahne – It’s tremendously hard to rank Kasey Kahne at Sonoma. In the last two races here he won and finished fourth. Before he won here he never finished higher than 23rd. (Yahoo B Driver)

Greg Biffle – Since 2006 Biffle’s finished 4th, 5th, 11th, 28th and 7th. Those numbers look good but keep in mind how many problems he’s had on the track this year. Seems pretty risky in my opinion picking him this week. (Yahoo A Driver)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Junior has zero top tens at this west coast track. However he has finished 11th three times. In his last four Infineon races he’s finished 11th, 26th, 12th and 13th. With the way he’s been running this year he might get his first top ten this year. Momentum matters at road courses. (Yahoo B Driver)

B- = You Can Pencil Them In For Around 20th

Brian Vickers – The last time Vickers raced here he won the pole, led 16 laps and finished 16th. Vickers has never finished higher than 14th here. His average finish is 20th. (Yahoo B Driver)

Jamie McMurray – Stats wise McMurray really doesn’t look that impressive on paper. From the eye test that I do when I watch races he’s shown potential. He’s really struggled on the track this year but getting a good finish this weekend isn’t out of the question. (Yahoo B Driver)

C+ = Proceed With Caution

Mark Martin – Before Mark Martin began his partial retirement schedule he was a pretty good road course driver. Since he’s been back on the circuit full time his average finish is 22.75. If you’re looking at Mark Martin historical stats this week take note that you’ve been warned! (Yahoo B Driver)

Martin Truex Jr. – Truex’s best Sears Point (old track name) finish is his first (15th). Last year he ran good but Jeff Gordon punted him out of the way. He’s had some notable success at Watkins Glen though (a fifth and a sixth place finish). (Yahoo B Driver)

C = I’m Not Picking Them

Paul Menard – Menard’s average finish is an unspectacular 25.67. In the ten road course races he’s been in he’s never finished in the top fifteen. I know I’m not picking him. (Yahoo C Driver)

Matt Kenseth – He doesn’t like this place so I don’t like picking him here. Matt has one top ten but his 22.2 average finish is a pretty fair reflection of what you should expect if you pick him. (Yahoo A Driver)

Brad Keselowski – With limited CUP data that isn’t very good steer clear of the Kansas winner. His road course finishes last year were 20th and 35th. (Yahoo B Driver)

Jeff Burton – If you’ve raced here 17 times and your average finish is 20.3 you should enter this weekend with trepidation. At this point in the season racing his way into the top twenty would be quite a feat. (Yahoo B Driver)

Joey Logano – With the way he’s been running this year and his road course record the only logical reason that you would want to pick him is to sabotage yourself (to big of a lead?). Last year he finished 33rd at both road courses. He has a grand total of zero top 15’s at the serpentine tracks on NASCAR’s schedule. (Yahoo B Driver)

David Reutimann – When David Reutimann first arrived on the scene Michael Waltrip had enough confidence in his road course driving ability that he brought in a road course ringer to drive Reutimann’s car. He’s getting better though. His Infineon finishes are 40th, 31st and 20th. That’s improvement. (Yahoo B Driver)

David Ragan – No one will mistake him for a road course ringer. He’s never started better than 37th and never finished better than 24th. (Yahoo C Driver)