Regular MotorSportsTalk readers might remember my attempt at forecasting how NASCAR’s “road course ringers” would fare at Sonoma, and suffice to say, it didn’t go so well.
But as occasionally a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while, so too does a pick of mine come good. My “Charlie Kimball as IndyCar’s Mid-Ohio sleeper” pick blossomed nicely.
Either way, here’s a recap rather than a forecast of how the “road course ringers” did Sprint Cup’s second and last road course race of 2013. It’s become a lot harder for these one-off drivers to come in and score a result as easily as they used to.
- Max Papis got the call in the No. 14 Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet and did a respectable job, finishing 15th after starting 29th.
- Boris Said (No. 32 Fas Lane Racing Ford, 22nd) and Sprint Cup debutante Owen Kelly (No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, 24th) scored top-25 finishes, which is far from great, but OK given how far most of the full-season drivers have come on road courses.
- Alex Kennedy ended 29th in the No. 19 Humphrey Smith Toyota, that car’s best result in quite a while, with Ron Fellows only 35th in the No. 33 Circle Sport Chevrolet. Only positives there are the cars coming home in one piece.
- Victor Gonzalez Jr. (No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet) and Tomy Drissi (No. 87 NEMCO Chevrolet) were caught up in a Lap 39 accident. Rough day.