You've heard of the love train? Well, now you can take the NASCAR train to Sonoma race - MotorSportsTalk

If you’re heading to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on June 22, racetrack officials want you to get into training for the event.

No, the track doesn’t want you to start doing pushups or lift weights. Rather, for the second straight year, track officials want fans to hop on board an actual train and head to the racetrack in comfort, leaving the driving to someone else.

The NASCAR Express will leave Sacramento, with stops in Davis and Suisun City, and “traverse some of Northern California’s most spectacular scenery before dropping passengers just steps from the raceway’s main entrance,” according to a media release from the racetrack.

Last year’s first NASCAR Express sold out nearly a week before the race, and with more lead time for publicity and promotion, it’s expected to once again sell out early, if not earlier than last year.

“The NASCAR Express was a resounding success in its first year,” said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager. “Our fans told us it turned the race experience into a full day’s adventure and they can’t wait to board the train again this June.”

Admittedly, the train ticket is a bit pricey at $199, which is probably more than most race tickets. However, you get a good return on your investment:

* A reserved-seat in the Main Grandstand.

* Round-trip travel from Sacramento, Davis or Suisun.

* VIP main-gate entry.

* On-track access to driver introduction and pre-race ceremonies.

* Special T-shirt commemorating the train ride.

* You can avoid what can be lengthy and frustrating traffic delays into the track.

* You won’t have to worry about parking at an appreciable distance (the train station is literally at the track’s front gate).

* You can have breakfast on the way to the track in one of two café’ cars, as well as a post-race meal on the way home.

“Fantastic, awesome, best day ever,” said race fan Terry Donigan, who rode the NASCAR Express in 2013. “The train ride through the Napa back country is just beautiful and it was a great way to get to the race. I can’t wait to do it again this year!”

Click here for more information on the NASCAR Express.

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Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

You’ve heard of the love train? Well, now you can take the NASCAR train to Sonoma race

Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan after controversial block pass at Detroit

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