2008
Road racing here we goooooo!!!!
Posted by Ron Ripple in Kyle Busch, Nascar, Picks, Tony StewartThis weekend we’re heading down to Sonoma for an incredible road course with turn after turn after turn and I cannot wait. This is going to be an awesome race to watch, and as much as I love to see these guys turn left, it’s going to be incredibly fascinating to see them turn right. I mean… do these cars even turn right? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Wow… Did they seriously just take a right turn?
Sonoma is a track where road course racers are supposed to stand out and show the world what they’re all about. Many times a team owner hires a road racer to come out here and show the world what they’ve got and in the end make a fool of themselves by getting owned by the true NASCAR racers themselves. The statistics show (Nascar.com) only 1.5% of hired guns actually finish top 5 at the end of the day and usually get shown up by the true NASCAR (left turn only) racers.
I love watching road courses and i’m glad NASCAR has a few on the schedule. This course has a lot of history behind it and a lot of drivers really enjoy it. Jeff Gordon is one of the guys to beat this weekend with having won 5 out of the last 10 starts here. He hasn’t been dominating much this year but he’s been in the shadows and this could be the race that lights the fire underneath his panties.
Another racer who has done well here is Juan Montoya. This is his kind of course and he’ll be going out there trying to defend his title. Juan won this race last year by basically driving by ever single car in the field. He started in the 32nd position last year and is the first driver to win the race having started further back than 13th position. I’m not a big Montoya fan but I think he’s going to be a driver to watch out for. He obviously knows this course and knows how to pass… (Craig you better call your boy and tell him to step up his game because he’s going to make me look bad if he doesn’t)
Of course there is going to be a lot of hype behind other racers such as Tony Stewart, Boris Said, Terry Labonte, and many more due to the fact that they are great road racers. But I think the guys that will need to shine and make a solid finish are those focused on making the top 12 for the chase at the end of the year… Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers, Clint Boyer, Martin Truex Jr.
Of course an article on Ron Ripple wouldn’t be an article without mentioning Kyle Busch. For once I have to say Kyle Busch is making a great decision and has decided not to race the Nationwide Series race this weekend in Milwaukee. Sonoma is a tough course and takes a toll on these racers especially if they’re not in their prime come race day. There are a couple racers who have decided to race both and those are David Reutimann, Clint Boyer, and Carl Edwards. All are great racers and have a chance at Sonoma but I think racing both races is going to be a mistake.
Who do you think will take home the trophy this weekend? Is it me or are you excited about the road course as well? Boy do I love NASCAR….
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I mentioned in yesterday’s article that I would come up with a contest for a chance to win a prize. Living up to my promise, I got on the horn with the guys over at 
Howdy, my name is Ron Ripple and with out a doubt NASCAR’s number one fan. I was born and raised in a small town in South Carolina with a population of about 459. It’s basically a town where everyone knows everyone’s business and you can’t walk down to the local grocery store without someone saying your name. Growing up I’ve always wanted to get out of this place and move to the big city. I’ve only had one passion in my life and that passion was NASCAR. It was the only exciting thing in my life, and on every Sunday starting in February and ending in November, you could find me at the local bar drinking a beer watching my boys race for the checkered flag.
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