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NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers, known for their oval racing, add the excitement and variety of driving a road course twice during the racing season.

There are two road courses on the current NASCAR Nextel circuit, Watkins Glen, New York and Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point Raceway) in Sonoma, California. The NASCAR Busch Series uses these two courses as well as road courses in Mexico City and Montreal.

Watkins Glen
This windy, hilly race course covers 2.45 miles and boasts 11 turns. These 90 lap races cover 220.5 miles. Watkins Glen has been on the Cup schedule since 1989. The inner loop was added to the backstretch in 1992.

Mark Martin holds the track average speed record here at 103.30 MPH. He also holds the record for most laps led and the records for the top 5 and top 10 finishes. Jeff Gordon holds the qualifying speed record at 124.58 MPH made in 2003. Gordon also holds the record for most races won (4) followed by Martin and Tony Stewart who are tied with 3 wins each. Jeff Gordon leads the list for most money won at $1,268,813 followed closely by Mark Martin at $1,266,477.

Infineon Raceway
Sears Point Raceway, renamed Infineon Raceway in 2002, is a 1.99 mile course in the configuration used for Nextel Cup races. The Dodge/Save Mart 350 race is one of the few NASCAR Nextel races measured in kilometers instead of miles. This race is 110 laps or 218.9 miles or 352.21 kilometers.

In 1998, the course was shortened from 2.52 miles to 1.949 miles, and a high speed straightaway, The Chute, connected turns 4 and 7 to allow more passing opportunities. The course changed again in 2002 to bring the track to its current configuration of 1.99 miles. The redesign is used only for NASCAR events.

Ricky Rudd holds the race speed record at 81.007 MPH set in 2002. Jeff Gordon has the qualifying speed record of 94.303 MPH set in 2004.

Michael Waltrip holds the record for most laps completed. Mark Martin has the most top 10 Nextel Cup finishes here. Dale Earnhardt won his first and only NASCAR road race here in 1995. Jeff Gordon is the highest Nextel Cup money winner by competing in 13 of the 17 events. Gordon also holds the record for most laps led in a race for his 92 lead laps in the 2004 race.

If you would like to try your hand at driving around either one of these exciting tracks, driving schools hold classes at both Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen.

www.nascar.com
www.infineo nraceway.com
www.theglen.com

Learn more about this author, Lynn Jordan.
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