Thanks to pitting for fresh tires on the final caution and being second when Jerry Nadeau’s rear gear broke with three laps to go, Ricky Rudd grabbed the lead at Infineon and drove to his second win at the newly configured road course. Today’s race started rather slowly with only two cautions in the first 67 laps and it looked to be anybody’s race as most of the field remained on the lead lap. However, when the third and final caution waved on lap 84, strategy began to take control of who would win the race. During the caution, Bill Elliott, Jerry Nadeau, Terry Labonte, Jeff Green, and a couple other drivers stayed on track while Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, John Andretti, and the rest of the leaders pitted for four tires. However, the nine drivers that stayed out would be just on the edge of making it on fuel while the rest of the field would be good to make it to the end. On what would be the final restart, Elliott maintained the lead before Nadeau gained on him in turn 7 and passed him for the lead. From there, Nadeau blistered away from the field as the drivers with fresh tires began to make their charge. Busch came out first of the drivers who took four tires, but he couldn’t make much ground as Rudd passed him to become the highest running driver with fresh tires. As the laps progressed, Rudd maneuvered through the drivers with older tires and with about eight laps to go, he was in second with his sights set on the lead. However, Nadeau held a consistent margin on older tires and with four laps to go, it looked the underdog driver was poised to win his second NASCAR Winston Cup Series race. However, the rear gear in his car broke driving through turn 11 on lap 108 and he pulled off on the frontstretch, ending his chance at the victory. Rudd inherited the lead and from there, he stretched his lead on Tony Stewart and grabbed the checkered flag for his first win since last fall at Richmond. Ultimately, today’s race delivered the thrills of NASCAR stock car racing on road courses. Strategy, tight racing, worn out equipment, and mechanical problems created a thrilling conclusion to NASCAR’s annual trip to the wine country of Sonoma, California.
Stage 1:
Clutch Closer: Rudd Leads Only Three Laps, But Takes the Victory in Impressive Fashion
Ricky Rudd might have only led three laps today, but he ended up leading the most important one: the last lap. Rudd and his team came in clutch in the final run of the race to grab the win and a much-needed boost of momentum after several good runs in the past couple of races turned into average finishes. While Rudd wasn’t leading for most of the event, he did have a very consistent race. He started in seventh and on the first run of the race, he lost a couple of positions and found himself at the back of the Top 10 as green flag pit stops began. His stop went well and he returned to the track having moved up a couple of positions. After the first caution waved on lap 38, Rudd ended up fifth on the restart after a couple of drivers in front of him pitted. On the next run, he managed to move to fourth and he stayed there until the second caution waved on lap 67. Again, he restarted in the Top 5 after pit stops and it looked like he was prepared to have a very good finish before the third caution on lap 84 completely changed the team’s fortunes. During pit stops, Rudd’s crew worked flawlessly and he came out second of the drivers with four tires just behind Kurt Busch. However, nine drivers with older tires stood in front of him and it would be a tough battle to find the lead. When the race restarted, Busch and Rudd made quick work of the drivers on old tires and Rudd even passed Busch to become the highest running driver with fresh rubber. With eight laps to go, Rudd found himself in second place with his sights set on the leader, Jerry Nadeau. While Rudd was faster than the leader, he wasn’t gaining enough time to pass him before the checkered flag. Yet, after weeks of bad luck, a piece of luck benefitted the Virginia driver. With three laps to go, something broke in the rear end of Nadeau’s car heading through turn 10 and he stopped his car off track on the frontstretch. Rudd inherited the lead and he put some distance on Tony Stewart, who grabbed second place. After driving cleanly for the last three laps, Rudd took the checkered flag and drove his Texaco/Havoline Ford to victory lane at the newly renamed Infineon Raceway. Thanks to a clutch pit stop from his crew and a little bit of luck, Ricky Rudd managed to close in the last few laps to grab a popular win in the NASCAR garage.
Stage 2:
Move of the Race: Green and Labonte Stay Out Late to Take Impressive Top 5 Finishes
At the start of today’s race, grabbing Top 5 finishes was the last thought on the minds of Jeff Green and Terry Labonte. Yet, when 350 kilometers of right and left turns were finished, both drivers found themselves with hard fought Top 5’s after both teams made excellent strategy moves. Labonte started the race in a dismal 39th spot while Green rolled off in 33rd. Early on, neither driver made any progress and it looked like they would need strategy to move up. Before Labonte could even make a strategy call, he had a tire go down on track on lap 28, which altered the team’s strategy due to the early pit stop. He limped to pit road and his team replaced all four tires before sending him back on track after losing significant time. After the first caution on lap 38, both drivers found themselves outside the Top 20 and another run passed without many gains. When the second caution waved on lap 67, the two drivers came to pit road with the rest of the field for service. On the next run, the two drivers had a luxury most of the field didn’t have. They could run a little bit slower and save some fuel, which could help them make it to the end of the race without pitting again. When the third caution waved on lap 84, all the leaders came to pit road, but Green and Labonte stayed out with seven other drivers. They had saved fuel between the second and third cautions, which allowed them to stay out and finally gain some track position. On what would be the final restart, Green moved into second place while Labonte sat at the edge of the Top 5. As the drivers with fresh tires started moving to the front, Green and Labonte stayed strong at the front. They managed to stay in the Top 5 throughout the final run and when the checkered flag waved, Labonte beat Kurt Busch to the line in a photo finish for third while Green brought his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet home in fifth. The finishes were impressive not only because of where they started, but because neither driver had finished in the Top 5 in the first fifteen races of the year. In the end, an interesting strategy call to stay out on the final caution gave Green and Labonte impressive finishes at Infineon Raceway.
Stage 3:
Comeback of the Race: Stewart Salvages Second Place After Pitting Off Sequence
While Tony Stewart started on the pole and came home in second place, his race wasn’t spent just at the front of the field. In fact, most of his day was spent battling from the back part of the Top 20 after pitting when the majority of the field stayed out. On the start, Stewart was in control as he drove away from the field, but he didn’t hold the lead for long. Jeff Gordon, who started fourth, caught up to him on lap 2 and took the lead. From there, Stewart maintained his spot in the Top 5 as the race began to move towards the first set of pit stops. He was the first driver to make a green flag pit stop on lap 32 and that meant he would be on a three-stop strategy while the rest of the field was focused on only pitting twice all day. After the green flag pit stops cycled through, Stewart inherited the lead and led until the first caution came out on lap 38. Instead of maintaining the lead, Stewart and his team decided to be conservative and pit for four tires and fuel, which would get them back on sequence with the leaders of the race. However, he came out of the pits in 26th with a lot of positions to make up to get into the Top 5. Throughout the next run, Stewart passed drivers cautiously as he moved to the front. When the second caution waved on lap 67, he was near the Top 10 with an excellent racecar and a drive to win. On the restart, he moved up a little bit and when the third caution waved on lap 84, he was prepared to make his final charge to the front. He came down pit road with the rest of the leaders and he came out fourth of the drivers with four fresh tires. On the final restart, Stewart passed several cars with old tires and he even passed Kurt Busch for position in the last few laps. With three laps to go, he was in a similar position as Ricky Rudd. He was in third position and it didn’t look like he had enough time to gain two more sports. However, Nadeau’s issue put him into second and he crossed the finish line with a hard-fought second place finish. Early in the race, it looked strategy would derail Tony Stewart’s desire to win a second straight race at the Sonoma road course, but he made an incredible comeback to grab a second-place finish and gain some points in the championship standings.
Stage 4:
Memorable Moment: Nadeau Almost Takes Underdog Victory Before Mechanical Problems
2002 has not been kind to Jerry Nadeau. After two full seasons with Hendrick Motorsports and eleven races to start this season, Nadeau was released from the team and made a free agent during a time when other organizations don’t typically need drivers. However, an unfortunate injury to Johnny Benson Jr. allowed him to get in the #10 Pontiac for two races, but further opportunities did not arise and it looked like Nadeau would go from starting to sitting on the sidelines. Today, though, he had another opportunity to prove that he can contend in a NWCS car. Buckshot Jones drove the #44 for Petty Enterprises to start the year before Steve Grissom replaced him. While Grissom is now the regular driver, he is inexperienced on road courses and the organization decided to put Nadeau in the #44 since he is skilled at tracks with right turns. On the start, Nadeau was proving that the Petty’s decision was a smart one. He started 22nd and was the biggest mover in the first run as he moved towards the Top 15. After the first caution, he continued to move up positions and at the halfway point of the race, he was running solidly in the tenth place. As it looked like he was poised for a career saving run, his fortunes turned for the worst on lap 67. While running tenth, he drove into turn 10 too hot and he spun into the dirt on the outskirts of the track. He completed two spins and drove out of the dirt with his racecar mostly intact despite a hole in the left front of his nose. The spin brought out the second caution and he came to pit road for fresh tires and fuel along with the leaders. Since he restarted towards the back of the field, he saved some fuel and when the third caution waved on lap 84, he was able to stay out along with several other drivers. In hindsight, the spin turned out to be a positive as he sat in second place for the final restart, which might not have happened without the spin. On what would be the final restart, Nadeau pressured Bill Elliott for the lead and when the field came to turn 7, Elliott slipped up and Nadeau powered to the front. He drove away quickly and within just a few laps, he had opened up a five second advantage on the field. The ultimate underdog story was beginning to take shape as Nadeau still held the lead on old tires with four laps to go. Yet, hiss luck ran out. While still maintaining a healthy gap on Rudd with three laps to go, he began to slow on track in turn 10 and he drove through turn 11 before coming to a stop off the track on the frontstretch. It was a broken rear gear for Nadeau and as he sat off track in disgust, Rudd drove to the win and saddled Nadeau with a disappointing 34th place finish. In the future, when today’s race is viewed on paper, it will just appear that Jerry Nadeau brought home a rough finish for his team. However, fans watching today will be left with the memory of a driver in an underfunded ride fighting for the win and his career around the Infineon Raceway in the ultimate showcase of talent and determination.
Stage 5:
Terrible Luck: Winston Cup Points Leaders Fall Victim to Road Course Mayhem and Part Failures
Whenever the NWCS heads to road courses, the top drivers in the points always drive cautiously due to the likelihood of crashes, mechanical failures, and strategy miscues. However, today’s race turned bad for five of the Top 6 drivers in the points standings following last week’s race at Michigan. The first driver to have issues in the race was points leader, Sterling Marlin. Marlin started the race in 36th, which put him in a tough spot to start the event. He made a few moves early, but he was still deep in the field with potential chaos in front of him. After about ten laps, Johnny Benson Jr. went off track and kicked some dirt onto the racing surface. Marlin came by and hit some of the debris, which caused his water pump belt and other belts to break on the car. Over the next few laps, his engine began to overheat and on lap 13, he came to pit road for his team to fix the issue. However, the issue was too much to fix on pit road and his team rolled him into the garage for more service. When the team felt the belts were sufficiently fixed, Marlin returned to the track, but he only ran a couple more laps before his car began to smoke again. He returned to the garage and remained there, which handed him a dismal 43rd place finish. It looked like his closest points competitors would be able to capitalize and gain some points, but they quickly ran into their own problems and allowed Marlin to hold the points lead. Jeff Gordon started the race from fourth, but he maneuvered his way into the lead on lap 2. In the first run of the race, he was absolutely dominating in impressive fashion. However, when he was about to make his green flag pit stop on lap 33, he reported to his team that he was unable to shift gears and he drove to the garage. His team replaced the rear gear, but he lost several laps and his opportunity to gain points disappeared. Shortly after Gordon’s problems, Matt Kenseth, who came into the race fifth in the points, began to drop oil on the track. The oil on track brought out the first caution on lap 38 and Kenseth brought his car to the garage, which cost him several laps and prevented him from gaining points. As the race neared the finish, it looked like Jimmie Johnson and Rusty Wallace would gain points after outlasting the road course chaos. However, Johnson broke a rear gear like his teammate with seven laps to go, which ended his excellent day, and Wallace had an incident on the last lap that sent him from the Top 15 to a 27th place finishing position. Only Mark Martin walked away with a great finish as he took a seventh-place finish. After a rough day for the series points leaders, it will be interesting to see which driver rebounds the best as the field heads towards the end of the season.
After a day filled with shifting gears and battling around tricky right turns, NASCAR’s best drivers head to a different race track after a much-needed weekend off. In two weeks, the NWCS will battle on a Saturday night at the two and a half mile Daytona International Speedway where drivers must manage diverse obstacles compared to today’s race. Daytona is home to the infamous superspeedway racing where drafting, huge packs, big crashes, and pulse pounding action lead to an unpredictable race for all 43 drivers involved. While today’s race proved to be difficult for the Winston Cup points leaders, Daytona will be just as problematic due to its unpredictability. In addition to the possibility of chaos for the Winston Cup points leaders, even more storylines surround the annual July 4th trip to Daytona. Ricky Rudd finally visited victory lane today and with his new momentum, he will be a threat to battle and take his second consecutive win on the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip have been dominate at Daytona in the last two years with wins in two of the last three races at DIS and they will certainly be threats for the victory in two weeks. Finally, Ward Burton might have won the Daytona 500 earlier this year, but he has struggled throughout the season and he could use a rebound heading into 2003 with another win at the World Center of Racing. While today’s race at Infineon was not filled with cautions, the field battled closely, managed strategy, and showed how stock cars can put on an excellent show at road courses like Infineon Raceway.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 38- Oil from Matt Kenseth’s car was spotted on the track.
2nd Caution: Lap 67- Jerry Nadeau drove too hard through turn 10 and spun into the turn’s dirt, but he continued without damage.
3rd Caution: Lap 84- Boris Said spun exiting turn 10 and backed into the tire barrier hard, destroying the back end of his car.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Ricky Rudd
2nd: Tony Stewart
3rd: Terry Labonte
4th: Kurt Busch
5th: Jeff Green
Notables Not in Top 5:
7th: Mark Martin
8th: Bill Elliott
9th: Ryan Newman
13th: Bobby Labonte
14th: Kevin Harvick
15th: Dale Jarrett
22nd: Michael Waltrip
27th: Rusty Wallace
29th: Jeff Burton
30th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
35th: Jimmie Johnson
37th: Jeff Gordon
39th: Matt Kenseth
43rd: Sterling Marlin
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2002_Dodge_Save_Mart_350/W
-Image:
https://twitter.com/basso488/status/613199117267959808
-Full Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNIHje13UFI&t=81s
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