Johnny Benson

Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. it’s the first of two road course tests this season in the Sprint Cup Series and while several veteran drivers have enough savvy and guile to conquer the serpentine 10-turn, 1.99-mile track, my gut feeling is that Tony Stewart, a real road course pro, will break his 29-race winless streak by getting to Victory Lane.

Working in Stewart’s favor
Stewart is a great road course racer. In 10 Cup seasons he's won six road course events, the most recent of those victories coming last summer at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y. – which was also his last win on the Cup circuit.

At Infineon he’s won twice, in 2001 and 2005. Also in his last seven races at the Sonoma layout only once has he finished outside the top 15 – that was a 28th-place result in 2006. Since 2001 “Smoke” as Stewart is nicknamed has four top-10s and three top-fives at Infineon.

Stewart, an Indiana native, grew up racing on short tracks and road courses in the Midwest. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is very comfortable competing at Infineon and Watkins Glen. In 18 career road course Cup starts Stewart has placed first or second eight times. He also has 12 top-10s. He’s led for a total of 256 laps and his average road course finish is eighth.

The chassis Stewart will be in made its debut last year at Sonoma, where it started fifth and led for six laps. But Stewart had to pit for fuel with 35 laps to go while other drivers gambled that they could make it to the finish without stopping for gas. So despite having the fastest car, Stewart came home sixth. But later in the season the same chassis took Stewart to victory at Watkins Glen.

Stewart, who is 11th in points, has a history of getting hot around this time of year. A possible sign that may be happening again came last week when despite having to deal with an ill-handling car he crossed the checkers fifth at Michigan International Speedway. In five of the six races that preceded Michigan Stewart finished 18th or worse so he’s hoping the bad part of his season is behind him and better days are ahead starting with Infineon on Sunday.

Other drivers to watch
Jeff Gordon, who is ninth in the Cup standings, should have a good shot at climbing in the points race given his stout past performances on road courses. The four-time Cup champion tops all drivers - active and retired - with nine wins on road courses. Five of those victories have come at Infineon — a track record.

Gordon has always considered competing at Sonoma special because he grew up in nearby Vallejo, Calif. After qualifying 11th two years ago on the heels of his engagement to Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch, Gordon won this event after leading for 44 of the 110 laps.

Last year Gordon started 41st in the 43-car lineup after he and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson were banned from qualifying after their cars failed inspection. But Gordon -- just days after Vandebosch gave birth to Ella, the couple’s first child -- drove another strong race, finishing seventh for his 11th top-10 in 15 starts at Infineon.

Special feature Toyota/Save Mart 350 Loop data, track and overall season stats for some favorites at Infineon Raceway.

Juan Pablo Montoya started 32nd last year in this event, but he still managed to get his first win in the Sprint Cup Series. He also became the first driver to win at Infineon after starting further back than 13th.

After achieving great success as a Formula One driver, Montoya made the move to NASCAR and was the 2007 Rookie of the Year on the Cup circuit. He's one of the world's top road racers, but I'm not picking him to make it back-to-back wins at Infineon since it seems he is still adjusting to Brian Pattie, his third crew chief in less than three months. Montoya has struggled over the last month with finishes of 30th or worse in three of four races.

While Carl Edwards is not a huge threat to win on road courses, his aggressive driving style seems well-suited for success at Infineon. And what should also be working in his favor is he is in a groove, having finished in the top 10 in his last six starts, including runner-up results at Darlington Raceway last month and Dover International Speedway on June 1.

Edwards, who is currently fourth in points, drove to a sixth-place finish at Infineon in June 2006, his best effort in three Cup starts at the track. He came home 18th in this event last year.

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