2017 Sonoma - Toyota/Save Mart 350 - Pre Race Thread

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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EVENT SCHEDULE
Event Schedule times are local to the track

Thursday, June 22
2:00 PM-4:00 PM MENCS HAULERS ENTER (EQUIPMENT UNLOAD)

Friday, June 23
9:00 AM-4:00 PM MENCS REGISTRATION OPEN
9:30 AM-7:00 PM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
11:00 AM MENCS ROOKIE MEETING, SPOTTER MEETING, & RANDOM DRAWING
12:00 PM-1:55 PM MENCS 1ST PRACTICE
3:30 PM-4:55 PM MENCS FINAL PRACTICE

Saturday, June 24
7:00 AM-4:30 PM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
11:45 AM (2:45 PM/ET) MENCS QUALIFYING (MULTI-VEHICLE / TWO ROUNDS)

Sunday, June 25
7:00 AM MENCS GARAGE OPENS
10:00 AM MENCS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING
11:20 AM MENCS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
12:00 PM (3:00 PM/ET) MENCS RACE (110 LAPS, 218.9 MILES)

MENCS = Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

All event schedule times above are listed in LOCAL track time
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Last race for the Fox Network this season
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Hell yeah. No more Waltrips and the grid walk. At least in cup.

gold-fireworks-animated-gif.gif
 
glad for a change up race, love how the cars look with all of the open vents and they actually drive straight for a change.
 
We are heading up Friday night and will be there Saturday and Sunday. My kid is going to get his chance to meet J-Mac, which is the whole reason for the trip this year. He is with Larson and Hamlin for a kids only autograph session on Saturday. We are in the esses on Sunday and main grandstand for Saturday. I hate the walking and I hate the traffic out at this place, but it is always a fun weekend.
 
Hopefully people leave the garbage bags at home this week.
 
Yay, its FOX's last race( Cup/Xfinity), oh yeah, and its a road course, so double yay.
 
NOTES OF INTEREST:

  • This will be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma Raceway as he will retire from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at the end of the 2017 race season.
  • The weekend will also feature the 64-lap Carneros 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday, June 24 at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific). Monster Cup Series regulars Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick are expected to compete.
  • Comedian and actress Cristela Alonzo, the voice of elite trainer Cruz Ramirez in Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 3,” has been named Grand Marshal of the Toyota/Save Mart 350. In addition, the “Cars 3” Road to the Races interactive display will feature life-sized versions of three of the movie’s stars in the main paddock on Saturday and Sunday.
  • Disney•Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter will serve as Official Pace Car driver and will pilot a 2017 Toyota Camry pace car to kick off the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
  • Sonoma Raceway will celebrate “The King” Richard Petty’s 80th birthday with a “Party with Petty” during the NASCAR Pre-Race Show powered by Friedman’s Home Improvement on Sunday morning.
  • Featured concession items throughout the weekend include the Crab Cake on a Stick, Philly Cheese Steak Waffle-Wich, handmande pretzels by Levy Restaurants and Fried Bread Tacos.
  • Race fans will also be treated to a 25-minute air show by Byron’s Patriots Jet Team, the nation's only civilian aerobatic jet team, for a 10th straight year during pre-event ceremonies.
PAST RACE NOTES:

  • Tony Stewart ended an 84-race winless streak and posted the final victory of his Cup Series career last year in Sonoma. It was the third wine country victory for Stewart, who took the lead in a last-turn pass on Denny Hamlin. Contact from Stewart's car sent Hamlin into the outside wall, but Hamlin held the runner-up spot for his best-ever Sonoma finish. Joey Logano finished third, his best finish in Sonoma.
  • Sonoma has hosted 10 different winners over the past 12 years. Kyle Busch is the only active driver to repeat as race winner during that span.
  • Jeff Gordon is the undisputed king of Sonoma, with five victories (1998-2000, ‘04, ‘06) and five pole positions (1998-99, ‘01, ‘04, ‘05).
  • Kurt Busch is the active driver with the most top-five finishes in Sonoma (7).
  • Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Martin Truex Jr.’s only road-course victory came at Sonoma in 2013.
 
These wheel hop pics make me think that the car can really get damaged doing them...
 
Kiante said:
This is the guy to watch, remember last year he put Mike Harmon's "Zombie Dodge" in the top 10 at Road America. Day is one hell of a road racer, I hope he performs the best he can with BK equipment.
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If it rains and it won't, Billy Johnson and Alon Day would put on a "how to" clinic. Nascar rain is different over in Europe, nobody made up a rule that said they can't race when it rains.
 
TIRE CODES

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Road Course Radials

Set limits: 4 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 5 sets for the race

Tire Code: D-4678 (same on all four tire positions)

Tire Circumference: 88.66 in. (2,252 mm)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 22 psi Right Front -- 20 psi
Left Rear -- 17 psi Right Rear -- 17 psi

Storyline - Hard on Brakes + Hard on Throttle = Hard on Tires at Sonoma: Going from slow speed corners and back hard to the throttle will create difficult handling conditions for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup cars at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. That deceleration and acceleration is also a challenge for Goodyear as such harsh changes puts an increased stress on the front tires with heavy braking into the turns and an increased stress on the rear tires with harsh acceleration off the corners. Those factors combine to put undue stress on the tread splice, the area of the tread that is joined together in the manufacturing process. Because of all that, Goodyear will mount its D-4678 tires (same on all four corners of the car) for Sonoma in a directional manner, helping to insure that the tread splice is "closed" under both braking and acceleration.

"For Sonoma, we will employ directional mounting, where the left-front and right-rear tires are mounted the same, and the right-front and left-rear are mounted the same," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "This directional mounting helps to protect the beveled splice of the tread component, insuring the splice is closed under the force of braking on both front tires, and closed under the force of acceleration on both rears."

While helping the competition on the track, this mounting procedure will provide a slightly different look for team tire specialists as they arrange their tire sets this weekend.

"The right-front tire and the left-rear tire will be mounted with the 'non-serial' side facing outwards," said Stucker. "The molded information for press position and date code on these tires will be on the inside of the assembly rather than the outside. During mounting, the tires will be marked with the positions in which they are allowed to be run - right-front/left-rear or left-front/right-rear. This will allow both tires on the front axle to have tread splices that close under braking and both tires on the rear axle to have tread splices that close under acceleration."

To go along with all that, Goodyear's distinctive yellow lettering will be applied to both sidewalls of each tire. That way, no matter which side of the car a particular tire is mounted, the "Goodyear" and "Eagle" branding will be visible.

Notes: Teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will run the same Goodyear tire code (D-4678) on all four tire positions at Sonoma . . . this tire debuted at Sonoma in 2016 . . . this is the only track at which teams in NASCAR's three national touring series will run this tire code . . . as on all NASCAR road courses, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Sonoma.

Wet Weather Tires: Goodyear will bring its wet weather radials (D-4215) for use at Sonoma, should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant . . . teams are allowed up to three sets of "wets" for practice/qualifying and up to three sets for the race . . . this tire code was last run by NASCAR Xfinity Series teams at Mid-Ohio last season.

Jayski ... thanks
 
aunty dive said:
TIRE CODES

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Road Course Radials

Set limits: 4 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 5 sets for the race

Tire Code: D-4678 (same on all four tire positions)

Tire Circumference: 88.66 in. (2,252 mm)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 22 psi Right Front -- 20 psi
Left Rear -- 17 psi Right Rear -- 17 psi

Storyline - Hard on Brakes + Hard on Throttle = Hard on Tires at Sonoma: Going from slow speed corners and back hard to the throttle will create difficult handling conditions for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup cars at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. That deceleration and acceleration is also a challenge for Goodyear as such harsh changes puts an increased stress on the front tires with heavy braking into the turns and an increased stress on the rear tires with harsh acceleration off the corners. Those factors combine to put undue stress on the tread splice, the area of the tread that is joined together in the manufacturing process. Because of all that, Goodyear will mount its D-4678 tires (same on all four corners of the car) for Sonoma in a directional manner, helping to insure that the tread splice is "closed" under both braking and acceleration.

"For Sonoma, we will employ directional mounting, where the left-front and right-rear tires are mounted the same, and the right-front and left-rear are mounted the same," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "This directional mounting helps to protect the beveled splice of the tread component, insuring the splice is closed under the force of braking on both front tires, and closed under the force of acceleration on both rears."

While helping the competition on the track, this mounting procedure will provide a slightly different look for team tire specialists as they arrange their tire sets this weekend.

"The right-front tire and the left-rear tire will be mounted with the 'non-serial' side facing outwards," said Stucker. "The molded information for press position and date code on these tires will be on the inside of the assembly rather than the outside. During mounting, the tires will be marked with the positions in which they are allowed to be run - right-front/left-rear or left-front/right-rear. This will allow both tires on the front axle to have tread splices that close under braking and both tires on the rear axle to have tread splices that close under acceleration."

To go along with all that, Goodyear's distinctive yellow lettering will be applied to both sidewalls of each tire. That way, no matter which side of the car a particular tire is mounted, the "Goodyear" and "Eagle" branding will be visible.

Notes: Teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will run the same Goodyear tire code (D-4678) on all four tire positions at Sonoma . . . this tire debuted at Sonoma in 2016 . . . this is the only track at which teams in NASCAR's three national touring series will run this tire code . . . as on all NASCAR road courses, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Sonoma.

Wet Weather Tires: Goodyear will bring its wet weather radials (D-4215) for use at Sonoma, should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant . . . teams are allowed up to three sets of "wets" for practice/qualifying and up to three sets for the race . . . this tire code was last run by NASCAR Xfinity Series teams at Mid-Ohio last season.

Jayski ... thanks
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fascinating read. I just love love seeing these big cars turn left and right and seeing the shifting....heel toe braking...rev matching...clutchless shifting...
 
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