Will Aussie Marcos Ambrose finally get back on track Sunday in Sonoma? And what about Jeff Gordon?

   Jeff Gordon, flying high over the valley at Sonoma (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   SONOMA, Calif.
   Now if Jeff Gordon can't win here, where can he win?
   The four-time champ opened the season strong, but is still winless, and the last few weeks he appears to have been struggling.
   But this is his 'home' track, just down the road from Vallejo, and he's a five-time winner at this hilly road course just north of San Francisco.
   NASCAR could use a shot in the arm here this weekend, a big sports week in California, with the U.S. Open just south of town, and the Lakers and Celtics going to Game Seven.
   Maybe some highlights footage, like Tony Stewart promised us a few weeks ago.
   And while we're at it, maybe NASCAR officials should take into consideration some of those idea that Michigan boss Roger Curtis has raised, to boost this sport's popularity – heats races, like the SpeedWeeks duels, instead of one-at-a-time qualifying runs. And maybe revive Saturday's Happy Hour, the final frantic one hour of Cup practice, which always seemed to add urgency to the weekend.
   For Gordon Sunday as Fathers Day will be memorable, since it's daughter Ella's third birthday. But she and mother Ingrid won't be at the track; it's all business for Gordon.
    "With the success we've had here, this is an event we always look forward to," Gordon says.
   He has after all won more NASCAR road race (nine) than anyone else.
   So what to expect?
   "The track is one where you have to be aggressive yet smooth," Gordon says. "You really have to get after some of the corners, while not overdriving them."
   And the crew chief has to be on top of the game, hoping to make that final pit stop for fuel before a yellow. Drivers don't lose a lap here by pitting under green, but track position is important, because it's hard to pass.
   "If teams made their final stop before you, and a caution waves, there's a strong chance you're restarting mid- pack or worse," Steve Letarte, Gordon's crew chief, says. "That's a huge disadvantage."
    And then there's the issue of just how NASCAR – and drivers – might play the new three attempts at a Green-White-Checkered finish.
  
   

  Carl Edwards will see a lot of blue skies this weekend, from the jet, between Road America and Sonoma (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   At least Gordon will get a good night's sleep before Sunday's race.
   Carl Edwards will be doing the Milwaukee-Sonoma Nationwide-Cup double, and that's a lot of air miles.
   And Road America, NASCAR's new Nationwide stop, replacing Milwaukee, will be a new one for everyone.
    "I've been doing everything I can to learn about Road America to prepare myself," Edwards says. "It's going to be fun. Going to new race tracks is part of the adventure of racing."
    However Edwards, who has never won a Cup road race, might be at a disadvantage Sunday afternoon, because of the shuttling. He finished second to arch-rival Brad Keselowski at Kentucky last weekend to move to second in the Nationwide standings.
    But Edwards did win last summer's Nationwide road race at Montreal....Here's the video: http://bit.ly/aoT4F2
   
  

  Marcos Ambrose: Redhot in 2009...struggling in 2010...but a super road racer (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

  Wonder what Marcos Ambrose might have up his sleeve this time around? He had shots to win both the Cup race here (he finished third) and the Cup race at Watkins Glen (he finished second).
    And that race here last summer, well, it was a pretty ragged weekend for Ambrose: "We lost an engine in the first practice. Got out for the last 10 minutes in the second practice -- and ran into Jimmie Johnson at the hairpin and tore the front of the car up.
    "So we had a difficult weekend, harder than what it needed to be. We had to start in the back of the field for the race, had to pass the entire field, on probably the tightest road course in the world.
    "We got off sequence with our (pit) strategy, to try to pass in the middle part of the field.  We had to do to try to do it through strategy, which helped somewhat.  But we were off sequence with our tires at the end of the race, and I was on older tires than the other drivers around me and battled to bring it home third."
    Still, when Ambrose and Gordon traded cars at Watkins Glen a few weeks ago, during a Goodyear tire test, Gordon was amazed at how fast Ambrose is as a road course racer. It's not the car, Gordon said. It's the driver.
    Here Ambrose is in the middle of a a really tough season, with some DNFs and that 150-point penalty a few weeks ago.
    "Sure, my confidence has been hit, our team confidence has been hit," Ambrose concedes. "We had a breakout season last year. 
    "We knew 2010 was going to be a challenge -- a single-car team (though getting engineering support from Michael Waltrip).
    "But we definitely haven't performed to our own expectations. 
    "Last week (Michigan) was good: We finished 16th, after some early problems.
    "A good weekend at Sonoma, if we can finally get back up into the front, might start us on a roll, and get the confidence back we need as a team.
    "We wanted to contend for the chase and win a race. But we haven't been consistent enough to run top-10 on a regular basis,  which is where you need to be to start thinking about winning a race.
    "So we've got some work to do. We're trying to do is get our feet going, get our confidence back.  We've been hit pretty hard with confidence.
    "Racing is a very aggressive, tough business. When you have a bad period like we've been through, you've got to get out of that hole before you can breathe. 
     "Our goal now is to start gaining momentum, start getting consistency, hopefully back on track.
     "We've lost time, we've had a lot of races in the doldrums." 
      Sunday's race could be a turning point. "It's a long race, Sonoma," Ambrose says. "You wear your brakes out, the car wears out, tire wear is crucial.
      "I think the hardest road racing I've ever come across has been in NASCAR.  Tony Stewart did not miss a beat in Watkins Glen last year;  I tried to chase him down with 15 laps to go, but he never made a mistake.  And Kasey Kahne was the fastest car here last year. 
    "These guys are as good as they get. They're very talented drivers, with great teams, and hard to beat."

  Carl Edwards (L) talks things over with crew chief Bob Osborne (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  


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