The points leader on the Cup circuit is Kyle Busch, who heads to Infineon 32 markers ahead of Jeff Burton. While Kyle dominated the early-season schedule, his last two races have been nothing to shout about. He had a sub-par run last week at Michigan, where he placed 13th, and two weeks ago he wrecked at Pocono Raceway, winding up last. Kyle has shown improvement in his three Sonoma starts. He was 40th in 2005, 11th in 2006 and eighth last year.

My darkhorse pick is Robby Gordon, who is a strong competitor on road courses. He led for a race-best 48 laps at Infineon last year and has a victory in the 2003 race to count among his two top-fives and three top-10s at Sonoma.

The field could include some drivers who should be watched because they have a knack for doing well at road courses. This group of "road-course ringers" includes Boris Said, who has one pole and four top-10s in eight Sonoma starts, two-time former Cup champion Terry Labonte, veteran Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett, who finished fourth at Sonoma in 2004.

Keys to success at Infineon
To run fast at Infineon a driver must attack the track. Given that, it helps that teams have become smarter about their braking packages, transmissions, and setups for this road course.

A car must be fast for long stretches but in the process the driver must be sure to take care of his car since road racing is a real mechanical exercise. The challenge is for the driver to push his car -- but not beyond its limits. Being smooth and cautious in certain areas of the track and aggressive in other areas is crucial.

Drivers must especially take care of the transmission and the rear-end gear and be sure not to tear up the car. Accomplishing this at Infineon is tough since the track is hilly, and has 10 turns. It's hard to pass, and there is only one good passing spot -- at the lower end of the track in the last corner.

On this road course a driver has to have balance on his brakes so that he is able to use some rear brakes as well as front brakes. Besides being able to take advantage of the prime passing position and using the brakes wisely, another important element is shifting the gears. Cup drivers are not accustomed to the amount of shifting that is required at road courses. Some laps will find the drivers shifting a dozen times -- so that's a dozen times the driver has a chance at making a mistake. Downshifting into the corners -- such as in Turn 11 -- is a key as the engine needs to help the car slow down.

Interactive Resurgent Kahne headed for the Chase

This road course presents the drivers with a complex test of racing. If a car is running well, this is a race where a driver's talents can really make a difference. And history shows that a good starting position can prove invaluable when it comes to boosting a driver's shot at winning the race. A total of 18 races at Infineon prior to Montoya’s triumph last season had been won from a top-15 starting position. And seven of the races have been won from a front-row spot, five from the pole.

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