Infineon Toyota Save Mart 350 Top 10 Confidence Ranking Picks

1. Clint Bowyer – You can’t go wrong if you pick Clint Bowyer for the Infineon Toyota Save Mart 350. Last season he put on a clinic. He led 71 laps, had a second place average running position, earned a 142.8 driver rating and of course took home the trophy. His performance certainly wasn’t a one off fluke. In the five prior Sonoma races he had three 4th place finishes and an 8th. At Watkins Glen last season he finished 4th. In the combined races on this track type last season he led the series in points accumulated. I think Clint Bowyer feels really good about his car this weekend. He has a happy attitude (many weekends he complains in practice) and speed wise he’s probably the fastest this weekend. If you wan to see some information about his speeds then check out our Speed Spotlight post. Out of the high interest drivers I followed he was the class of the field. Not many drivers ran 10 consecutive laps in practice but out of the ones who did his 10 lap average ranked as the quickest. On Sunday Bowyer will start in 5th. That’s one position better than last season. Look for Clint Bowyer to be the driver to beat on Sunday. My prediction is that he’ll win the Toyota Save Mart 350.

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2. Marcos Ambrose – Last year at Infineon Marcos Ambrose was lightening quick when the green flag waved. His problem was long runs because in the practice sessions before the race he just did short runs. Yesterday in practice I think his main focus was qualifying. Practice #1 was dedicated to qualifying trim and part of Happy Hour was also consumed with more qualifying trim. That concerns me because it seems like they avoided the issue that was their problem last season. Back in May Marcos Ambrose tested here with his teammate Aric Almirola. During Happy Hour when he was interviewed he said that they practiced long runs during the test and they know what to expect. On Sunday Ambrose will be using the chassis he tested here. Last season at Infineon Ambrose finished 8th after rallying from 16th during the Green-White-Checker. In his other races at Infineon he’s been much more competitive. In his next three most recent Sonoma races he’s finished 3rd, 6th and 5th. His 6th place finish deserves an asterisk mark because he was leading late until he shut off his engine but couldn’t get it restarted. At Watkins Glen Ambrose has performed like Super Man. He’s won the last two races and has a 2.0 average finish. On Sunday Ambrose will start on the front row alongside Jamie McMurray. He’s an aggressive road course racer and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lead the first lap.

Recommended Reading: Top 15 Predictions, Qualifying Results, Speed Spotlight, Practice Speeds, Practice Notes

3. Kurt Busch – In the last two races at Infineon nobody has been more impressive than Kurt Busch. In 2011 he finished 1st, led 76 laps and earned the best driver rating. Last season in the underfunded #51 he wheeled his Chevrolet to a 3rd place finish. What made it so remarkable is that he had something severely wrong with the rear end of his car. This season Kurt Busch has been good in the #78 car and I expect that trend to continue in the Toyota Save Mart 350. Yesterday in practice the #78 car looked really fast. In practice #1 he ran some quick lap times and focused on balance in race trim. He also said his car has good forward bite. On Sunday Kurt Busch will start in 7th.