With two Top-10
finishes in five career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway, Sunday’s
Toyota/Save Mart 350 could rank as AJ Allmendinger’s best opportunity yet to
win a race and qualify for the 2014 Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Despite those
numbers, however, Allmendinger insists that Sunday’s race is not all-or-nothing
for his JTG Daugherty team.
“We can’t put every egg in
one basket and say we have to win this race,” he said. “Because if we do, then
it’s just disappointing if we don’t (win). If we go there, have a solid day and
have a chance to win the race, that’s all we can do.”
Allmendinger said he tested
at Sonoma recently and came away encouraged about his changes at the Wine
Country circuit.
“With our race team being as
small as we are, we don’t get much test time,” he said. “So any track time we
get helps us focus on the weekend and future. These tests are good because as a
driver, you don’t have to focus on other people. You just focus on your car and
what feels good.
“We had two days of testing
there and we had really good speed in the Kingsford Chevrolet.”
Allmendinger said success at
Sonoma boils down to two variables; grip and horsepower.
“It all comes down to rear
grip at Sonoma Raceway,” he said. “ECR Engines have a lot of horsepower and you
want to put it down to the racetrack. Especially if it gets hot, it’s so easy
to burn off the rear tires in five or six laps. Then it’s a long stint when you
do that.
“You have to just ease the
rear tires. If you can make your rear tires last longer than most people, then
you have a shot to win the race.”
The JTG Daugherty driver said there are differences between Sonoma and the other road course on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, Watkins Glen International.
The JTG Daugherty driver said there are differences between Sonoma and the other road course on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, Watkins Glen International.
“Sonoma is narrow and slick
and it is so easy to make a mistake,” he said. “I think it’s about not locking
up the tires, because if you lock up a tire in the brake zone, it just kills
the tire. Other than that, if you have a fast car, you have a shot to win it.
That’s all you can really ask for during your day at Sonoma.”
The California native said
that road racing demands more of a driver, and rewards those who can manhandle
their car through the demanding Sonoma turns.
“In road-course racing, you
can wring a bit more out of the car,” he said, “whether it’s braking, or how
you use the curbs or the lines you choose. That’s why I enjoy it and that’s why
I feel like we can come here and have a shot to do well.
JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said the track’s location also makes it an important venue for his team.
JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said the track’s location also makes it an important venue for his team.
“Sonoma Raceway is not
far from the home office of one of our largest sponsors -- The Clorox
Company -- and it's a home track for AJ", he said. “We will have all of
them out there cheering for us and we want to do well in front of a group of
people that have supported us through thick and thin for nearly two
decades.
“We’ve almost won that race
before,” he said. “We would like to give them something to cheer for again this
time with AJ.”
Team co-owner Brad Daugherty
agreed, saying, “AJ is really good at Sonoma Raceway. We feel like it’s one of
the racetracks – and there’s several, not just the road courses - - that AJ and
our team can win. We’re going to go out and be as prepared as we can possibly
be. We built him a car specific to Watkins Glen last year and we had a great
run there. We feel if we do the same for Sonoma, it gives him a great opportunity.
“We need to qualify well,
run up front all day and have great pit stops. All we need is a chance on
that last green-white-checker to have an opportunity to race to the checkered
flag."
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