Kevin Buckler planned to uncork 120 bottles of wine Thursday night to celebrate his fledgling Sprint Cup team’s return to its owner’s home turf in the Bay Area. That’s about as extravagant as life gets at TRG Motorsports, which views taking the green as richly as others might consider the checkered on NASCAR’s premier circuit.
Since hiring driver David Gilliland after missing the Daytona 500, TRG’s No. 71 Chevrolet has qualified for 14 consecutive races, making it the most successful of several start-ups lured to Cup this season by a dearth of sponsorship that created open slots on the 43-car grid.
Buckler says he can compete on …Â Details
1. It’s road course time again, with the Sprint Cup tour heading to Sonoma. If you’re the owner of a middling team, do you hire a road course ringer?
David Caraviello: Absolutely. Why not? Fans pay to see the stars of NASCAR, and if you’re running in 30th place, odds are, you’re not a star. So put someone in the seat who can give you and your team a more realistic chance of winning. All for it.
Dave Rodman: That’s a 50-50 question, and it depends on commitment. And of course, this top 35 situation now plays into it as well. If you’re committed and you’re trying to develop an all-around driver, you stick with him. But if the yaw of the top 35 looms, you ring it up, probably.
Duane Cross: No question—you owe it to the sponsor… Details
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At Richard Childress Racing, all the pieces seemed to be in place. After two years of qualifying three cars for NASCAR’s year-end playoff system — yet still left searching for that first championship since 1994 — there was hope in the preseason that they could finally close the deal. There was a strong, stable driver lineup. There was a solid business sense that left RCR as one of the few major Sprint Cup organizations that didn’t lay off anyone. And there was a fourth racing program, backed by another major sponsor, whose dollars just might put the team over the top.
That was the hope, at least. The reality is something quite different.
RCR, one of the steadier organizations on NASCAR’s premier level the past two seasons …Â Details
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Welcome to one of the most popular trips on the circuit. Sonoma is unlike any other stop during the season. The culture and environment surrounding Wine Country drips in character—and scenery.Â
Acre after acre of vineyard sets the background. The road course in the Sonoma Valley is but one attraction of the must-visit stop on the schedule.Â
DID YOU KNOW? • Tribes first lived in the Sonoma Valley at least 12,000 years before Spanish, Mexican and Americans came to the region. According to the Sonoma Wine Country Web site, the term “Sonoma” stems from “noma,” meaning “town.” Â
• The California Republic was an independent government proclaimed on June 14, 1846, by settlers in the Sonoma region. The government formed when the settlers declared independence from Mexico. William B. Ide was named president. It lasted just 25 days—the United States took over the government on June 23 and … Details
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