SONOMA RACEWAY (1.99-MILE ROAD COURSE)
LOCATION: SONOMA, CALIFORNIA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 16 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JUNE 26 (FOX SPORTS 1/PRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Great Clips/Shark Week Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 36 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
17th in standings
15 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
5 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Career
447 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
88 top-five finishes
161 top-10 finishes
4,607 laps led
Track Career
12 starts
1 win
2 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
5 top-10 finishes
41 laps led
SONOMA STATS: Sonoma Raceway is the first of two stops this season at a road course for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In Kasey Kahne’s 12 starts at the 10-turn track, he’s earned the pole position twice – 2008 and 2010. Kahne won in only his sixth event at the 1.99-mile track after starting from the fifth position and leading 37 laps. He took the 2006 checkered flag with a 0.748-second margin of victory over competitor Tony Stewart. The Enumclaw, Washington, native has three top-10 finishes in his last three starts at Sonoma.
SONOMA LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data, Kahne ranks third in quality passes with 279 and sixth in green-flag passes with 617. He’s seventh-fastest on restarts with an average speed of 86.939 mph, and ninth in laps led among active drivers with 41.
SHARK WEEK CHEVY: For the fourth year in a row, Kahne will pilot a Shark Week paint scheme. Not only is Kahne racing his competitors on the track, he’s also racing a shark in Discovery’s #GreatSharkRace. In preparation for Discovery’s Shark Week, which kicks off on Sunday, June 26, at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel, Kahne went shark tagging off of the coast of Miami with the University of Miami and Oceana.
GOING HOME: Mechanic Charley McDonell is the only California native on the No. 5 Great Clips team. He hails from Cottonwood, California, which is located approximately three hours north of Sonoma Raceway.
DAYTONA SCHEME: Kahne’s No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS will have a different look at Daytona International Speedway. Great Clips teamed up with Strong Against Cancer to encourage patients at the Seattle Children’s Hospital to use their imaginations to design Kahne’s paint scheme for the upcoming July 2 race. Kahne personally narrowed the drawings down to his favorite four, leaving the final choice up to the fans. Eight-year-old Noelia from White Center, Washington, received the most votes. Her design was inspired by jaguars, music and the Seattle skyline.
THE DRIVE: For the third year, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Kahne have selected the Strong Against Cancer initiative to be the beneficiary of The DRIVE, a private charity concert, auction and celebrity-amateur golf event scheduled for June 27-28 in Cle Elum, Washington, at the Suncadia Resort. Fans are encouraged to join Wilson and Kahne to support Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Strong Against Cancer initiative. To donate, please visit . Their goal is to raise awareness and valuable funds for research that supports immunotherapy — a medical treatment that harnesses the power of a child’s immune cells to fight cancer. If you are interested in covering the event, please contact Lauren Emling.
No. 24 3M Chevrolet SS / Chase Elliott
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 20 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
6th in standings
15 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
118 laps led
Career
20 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
118 laps led
Track Career
0 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
CAREER-BEST FINISH: Chase Elliott earned his career-best finish earlier this month at Michigan International Speedway. Elliott led 35 laps en route to a second-place finish. The runner-up result not only marked his career-best finish, but it also continued his top-10 tear. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has earned a top-10 finish in each of the past six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points-paying races. Only two drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have more top-10 finishes than Elliott’s 11 (Kevin Harvick with 12 and Kurt Busch with 13 — both Sprint Cup champions). Additionally, Elliott is tied for the third most top-five finishes in the Cup Series with his six top-five finishes, trailing Kyle Busch and Harvick with nine and seven top-five finishes, respectively.
SEASON STANDINGS: Elliott currently sits sixth in the standings with 453 points. The rookie trails points leader Harvick by 73 markers. The 20-year-old driver is younger than any driver currently inside the top 16 – the amount of drivers NASCAR takes into its playoffs – while also being the highest ranked rookie.
TOP-RANKED ROOKIE: Elliott leads the 2016 Rookie of the Year contender standings heading into Sonoma by 49 points over second-place Ryan Blaney and 84 points over third-place Brian Scott. Elliott has accumulated a total of 216 rookie points this year through the first 15 points-paying races. Among active drivers, his 11 top-10 finishes are the most through the first 15 races of any Sprint Cup rookie season.
ROAD COURSE ROOKIE: Elliott will make his Sprint Cup road course debut this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, but before the road course rookie gets behind the wheel on Sunday he will have a race in the books at the Sonoma track. He is entered to compete in Saturday’s NASCAR West Series race, marking his first start of the season in NASCAR’s western home track series. The 20-year-old driver has competed in six road course races in NASCAR’s XFINITY Series, earning four top-five finishes. He has also competed in one Camping World Truck Series road course event and three ARCA Racing road course races, earning one victory and three top-five finishes, respectively.
FATHER’S DAY CONTINUES: While most drivers spent last weekend with their dads, Elliott and his father Bill Elliott will get plenty of time together this weekend as the elder Elliott takes on the role of second spotter for his son. A NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1998 NASCAR premier series championship driver, Bill Elliott owns one victory and 10 top-five finishes on road courses in his career and is looking to help his son excel at the 10-turn track this weekend.
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 40 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2016 Season
7th in standings
15 starts
2 wins
0 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
7 top-10 finishes
228 laps led
Career
522 starts
77 wins
34 pole positions
213 top-five finishes
321 top-10 finishes
17,937 laps led
Track Career
14 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
4 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
131 laps led
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, will be available to members of the media on Friday at 11 a.m. local time in the media center at Sonoma Raceway.
ONE WIN IN SONOMA: Jimmie Johnson has been able to sip wine in Victory Lane one time over the course of his career. His only win at the 1.99-mile road course came on June 20, 2010, when he led 55 laps en route to the win.
SONOMA DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Johnson has the second-best driver rating at Sonoma with a score of 101.0 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
CALIFORNIA CREW MEMBER: Race engineer Julian Pena hails from Aliso Viejo, California, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in mechanical engineering.
CHICAGO TICKET PACKAGE: Fans can purchase a Jimmie Johnson Family Ticket Package for this year’s race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 18. Johnson has teamed up with NASA to provide an educational experience for kids with the NASA Rockets 2 Racecars STEM Education program. The ticket package includes a Q&A session with Johnson on race day. The package is $48 for adults and $23 for children and is located in Section “L” at Chicagoland Speedway. Click here for details.
KENTUCKY TICKET PACKAGE: Johnson is teaming up with Kentucky Speedway and NASA once again for a family ticket package experience for the July 9 event at the track. Click here for information: http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com/jimmiejohnson/
No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 41 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
11th in standings
15 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
53 laps led
Career
592 starts
26 wins
13 pole positions
148 top-five finishes
252 top-10 finishes
8,187 laps led
Track Career
16 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
9 laps led
HEADING IN THE ‘RIGHT’ DIRECTION: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has mentioned time and again that he is not as confident on road courses as he is on ovals that make up the bread-and-butter of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. But the 41-year-old veteran has stepped up his game when it comes to tackling both left- and right-hand turns. In his first 14 starts at Sonoma Raceway, he never finished inside the top 10, although he did have six top-15 finishes. However, in his most recent two starts at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, the driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS has earned two top-10 results, finishing third in 2014 and seventh in last summer’s event. Earnhardt’s best start at Sonoma came in 2007, when he qualified third, and he has finished on the lead lap in 13 of 16 races.
MAKING PASSES: Earnhardt is scored near the top of the board in making passes at the California road course according to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, which cover active drivers in events from 2005 to the present. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native ranks second in the green-flag passes category with 643 and he’s 10th on the quality passes list with 188. Earnhardt is also 12th in average speed early in a run (90.415 mph), 13th in average speed late in a run (89.105 mph) and 13th in fastest laps run (22 laps).
AXALTA/U-M UNVEIL: On June 13, Axalta Coating Systems celebrated its second consecutive General Motors Supplier of the Year Award at Axalta’s Mount Clemens, Michigan, research and manufacturing facility. During the celebration, representatives from Axalta and the University of Michigan (U-M) unveiled the joint paint scheme that Earnhardt will race on Aug. 28 at Michigan International Speedway. Axalta and U-M recently entered into an educational partnership to support engineering and business students. Axalta will host 50 U-M business and engineering students at Michigan International Speedway to help them better understand the technology and performance that goes into racing and Axalta’s coatings that shine on the car. Click here for photos of the No. 88 Axalta/University of Michigan Chevrolet SS.
OFF-WEEK ADVENTURE: Earnhardt and his fiancée, Amy Reimann, made a return trip to Germany during the off week to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their engagement. The couple enjoyed German food and beverages as they toured various sites during the week-long trip. For highlights of their trip, visit the photo gallery here.
NATIONWIDE SMALL BUSINESS PROMOTION: Earlier in June, Nationwide launched a social media sweepstakes encouraging small-business owners to enter for a chance to have the name of their company featured on the TV panel of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS during the Sept. 25 race weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. As the No. 1 small-business insurer in the country, Nationwide remains the carrier of choice for more than 500,000 small-business clients — including Earnhardt. The winner and a guest will also receive a VIP experience to the race that includes flights, lodging and a personal meeting with Earnhardt. To participate in the contest, small-business owners, employees and fans can nominate their “Boss Man” by uploading a picture of him or her doing their best “Water Cooler Dale” impression at www.watercoolerdalejr.com. The campaign runs through June 30.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT SONOMA: At Sonoma, Hendrick Motorsports has earned six victories, nine pole positions, 30 top-five finishes, 49 top-10s and 638 laps led. Gordon owns five of the organization’s wins there, while Johnson most recently took the checkered flag at the 1.99-mile track in June 2010.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 242 victories, 208 pole positions, 999 top-five finishes and 1,666 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 65,416 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“It’s a great track and in a great part of the country. My first couple of trips there were tough for me to figure out the track. Once I got it figured out we were much better and got a win. It’s one of my favorite tracks to go to.”
Kasey Kahne on racing at Sonoma
“I’ve been getting a lot of input from (No. 24 team crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) and my teammates about how to get around the track and my goal this week is to maximize all of our pre-race meetings as much as possible. I’ve spent a lot of time with Jeff (Gordon) since he has a lot of experience and success there. Getting his insight, looking through his notes and talking about his braking points and shift marks – all of that is very valuable. I’m going to race the West event out there to get some extra laps as well.”
Chase Elliott on his preparation for his Cup road course debut
“Sonoma is so tricky. Track position is so, so important there. It’s a quirky race and the last two times there we have been one of the better cars but just haven’t had it work out, so I’m optimistic that we can get everything right over the course of the event. If you can save fuel it usually creates more opportunities. Last year it came down to tires and I was the only guy on old tires and it cost us the race. As a California native, I’m always happy to get back there.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Sonoma
“(No. 88 team crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys are working their guts out. They’re a great team full of good guys, and they deserve a ton of respect. They’re giving it everything they’ve got. I needed an off weekend to have some fun and get my battery recharged for the rest of the year. This break couldn’t have come at a better time … and will hopefully give us a chance to reset and come back with a good attitude, get some points back and get some good finishes back in the bank. Richmond’s going to be here before we know it and we don’t want to be sitting there at Richmond having to finish in a certain spot to make the Chase. I have confidence things are going to work out. We’ve definitely got some season left to get things righted. We’ve got a good team with good speed in our car.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the off weekend and his Chase outlook
“We used to test really hard to figure out how to get better at road courses. Now we just show up and race, and that’s really been refreshing … and it’s made the race weekends a lot more enjoyable. We’ve had great race cars at the road courses – we’ve gotten better as a company, which has helped me a lot and helped carry me. Sonoma is the most challenging track that I race at. We’ve just got to take care of our car and make it through to the end.”
Earnhardt on racing at Sonoma
