Scouting Report: Infineon Toyota Savemart 350
How to make an informed pick for the Toyota Savemart 350?
1. Picking a driver with a good starting position is crucial at road courses. Seventy percent of all races run at Infineon have been won by a driver starting in the top ten. In the twenty-two races run here only twice has a driver started from 21st or worse and won.
2. Having a good track history is a must for making an informed pick this week. Road course racing is a skill and the turning of a few wrenches won’t help a driver who struggles at serpentine tracks.
3. Practice also has a role this week in the equation of how to make a good fantasy pick. I don’t care about average laps times this week though. What I want to hear is that my drivers happy with their car, their brakes are good, and their not having any trouble with their transmission.
What’s the difference between Infineon and Watkins Glen?
Infineon Raceway is a technical track that is a lot slower than Watkins Glen. Infineon is the “Martinsville” of road courses and Watkins Glen is the “Talladega” of road courses. The difference between them is night and day but a good course driver excels at both. Traditionally this track is tougher on non-road course skilled NASCAR drivers.
Drivers to watch:
Jeff Gordon – 5 Wins here along with 5 straight top tens. Add in how well he’s been doing in recent weeks and this race appears his to lose. Don’t underestimate him this week.
Juan Pablo Montoya – This former Infineon winner / former F1 driver has an impressive 5.75 average finish. 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.
Marcos Ambrose – Ambrose had this race won last year but his fuel saving tactic of shutting off his car going uphill ruined his chances. His average finish in the last five road course races is 3.5.
Tony Stewart – Stewart is traditionally better at Watkins Glen but he’s no slouch here. Stewart has two wins here and five at Watkins Glen. He’ll definitely be a favorite this week.
Kyle Busch – In the last ten road course races he has eight top tens. In 2008 he won at both road courses.
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.
VegasInsider.com odds to win:
Jeff Gordon 7/2, Jimmie Johnson 9/2, Kyle Busch 6/1, Tony Stewart 6/1, Juan Pablo Montoya 7/1, Marcos Ambrose 8/1, Kevin Harvick 10/1, Kurt Busch 12/1, Robby Gordon 16/1, Carl Edwards 16/1, Boris Said 18/1
