rpm.espn.com: Key differences between Glen, Sonoma

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Saturday, August 11
Key differences between Glen, Sonoma
By Jonathan Baum
ESPN.com

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- While Watkins Glen and Sears Point certainly have more in common than The Glen and Bristol, the two road courses on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit do have their differences.

"The difference between racing at Watkins Glen and Sears Point mostly has to do with the difficulty of the turns," said Mark Martin, who has three career wins at Watkins Glen International and one win at Sears Point. Martin, who will start from the 15th position for Sunday's Global Crossing at the Glen, had the seventh-fastest practice time during happy hour on Saturday.

"At Watkins Glen, it is a whole lot more like a big right-hand oval rather than at Sears Point, where you've got all kinds of turns and ups and downs. It is a much easier course to drive if you're not as familiar with road racing. I'm not saying it's easy -- just easier than some."

Tony Stewart won the Dodge Save Mart 350 at Sears Point in June, but he doesn't think that success will necessarily transfer to The Glen due to the differences in the tracks.

"Watkins Glen is much faster than Sonoma. I think there are the same amount of passing opportunities, but because of the speeds that you're able to run at The Glen, brakes become a much bigger factor than I think they are at Sears Point.

"(The win at Sears Point) made us feel good, but Watkins Glen is really a whole new ball game."

Robby Gordon, running his final race filling in for the injured Mike Skinner in the No. 31 car, agrees with Stewart's assessment.

"It is very different because you don't have the real low speed corners (at Watkins Glen) you need to accelerate out of. You don't have those fast S-turns coming through the last few turns -- it's pretty much one turn at a time here," said Gordon, who finished second to Stewart in Sonoma and has two top-5 finishes at the Glen.

Gordon thinks Sunday's race could be a war of attrition.

"It will be a long race tomorrow. It'll be important to keep the rear tires on the car. I think the biggest challenge is surviving. There are only a couple of places to pass, and even in those places you've got to risk the car a little bit to get by somebody. The most important thing will be to keep the fenders on the car. It's a high-speed race track, so the downforce will mean a lot."

Gordon, who qualified fourth, had the third-fastest Happy Hour time.

"Practice speeds are showing that we should be very competitive in the Lowe's Home Improvement car. Richard Childress' team does really good pit stops. If we can beat a couple of guys in the pits ... We only have three guys in front of us, so I'll pace with them for a while until those last ten laps."

The level of difficulty involved in passing makes pit stop strategy particularly important.

"Track position is everything on a road course," said Lee McCall, crew chief for Sterling Marlin and the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge. "Really good pit strategy is going to be a key factor. Once you get in your fuel window, you need to start planning your pit strategy for the whole race."

Marlin has four career top-10 finishes at The Glen and is currently fourth in the Winston Cup points standings. He starts 16th on Sunday.

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