On The Road Again

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes road racing for the first time this season on Sunday at Infineon Raceway in northern California. (Photo courtesy of ESPN)

NASCAR may no longer go to the old Riverside Raceway, but they still road race in California, as the Sprint Cup heads to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma for the 21st consecutive season.

Kyle Busch is the defending race winner of the Toyota/Save Mart 350, and will look to get back on track in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18. After winning eight races last season, Busch has not taken a checkered flag in the Cup Series since winning on his 24th birthday early last month at Richmond. Last week's winner, Mark Martin, won here in 1997; and almost won in 1995 before he was passed by the late Dale Earnhardt coming to the white flag. That race was Earnhardt's lone win on a road course.

Veteran road warriors Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon enter 1-2 in points, and each is a former winner at Infineon. Smoke is looking for his third win in California's wine country, while Gordon leads all drivers with five trips to victory lane, his most recent coming in 2006. Gordon was also the last driver to win at Infineon from the pole, doing so in 2004.