What to watch for There are a handful of road warriors who contend at Infineon every year. That list is headlined by Jeff Gordon, who has five wins in Sonoma, and Tony Stewart, who has a pair of victories at the California road course. Gordon won three straight from 1998-2000 and has taken two of the last three trophies in his home state, earning checkered flags in 2004 and '06. If the DuPont Chevy has a crisis-free day in wine country, Gordon will be tough to beat.
Meanwhile, Stewart is nearly as good when it comes to turning right and left. Prior to last year's disappointing 28th, Stewart had never finished worse than 15th in seven previous starts at Infineon. Expect a rebound from the 2001 and '05 race winner.
Robby Gordon, however, may turn out to be the driver to beat. The '03 Infineon winner could have more than one victory in the books if not for unreliable equipment. This year, the Car of Tomorrow could level the playing field for the "other" Gordon. All things being equal, Robby has the edge over Jeff and Tony on the 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course. Infineon could be Robby's road in 2007.
The inaugural Infineon winner, Ricky Rudd, will be back in a Robert Yates Ford this season and will no doubt give the field a run. Rudd won this event in 1989 and '02 and posted a runner-up finish the last time he competed in '05.
Keep an eye on... The Road Course Ringers -- Led by Boris Said, this group of hired guns looks to unseat a Nextel Cup regular each year in hopes of making the show at the Bud Shootout in Daytona. Said finished ninth last season and sixth in 2003 and '04. Ron Fellows has had a couple decent runs, highlighted by an eighth in '05 and a seventh in '03. Scott Pruett wheels a Chip Ganassi Dodge each year; he came up just shy in 2004 when he finished third.
Jamie McMurray -- McMurray ran second here in 2004 and has finished on the lead lap in every Infineon event in which he has competed.
Ryan Newman -- Newman's road course prowess has become evident of late. He finished runner-up last season and ninth in 2005.
Elliott Sadler -- The versatile Virginian has three consecutive top-10 runs to his credit at Infineon with a best effort of sixth in 2005.