Wine and Cheese, anyone? Maybe Whine and Cheeez?

Apparently, I know nothing about super-dooper speedway racing. Our picks for MIS last week were only two for ten. OUCH!
So, oblivious to failure, and ever optimistic we march onward and try, once again to negotiate the brink of the cliff known as predicting the outcome of the race.
We'll do something different this week, rather than trying to pick a top ten finishers, we'll just do a preview of what we want to see. CRB says that's the same thing, but maybe a change of attitude will change our luck.
Last year, Tony Stewart seemed almost disappointed in his win at Sonoma, because he wanted to have a one on one race with Jeff Gordon. Instead, because of Jeffy's transmission problems, he ended the race in one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR road racing history, battling Ricky Rudd all the way to the the last lap. Could it get better than that? We hope so. With an average finishing position of eighth, Smoke has the best record of all active drivers at Infineon Raceway, the road course many race fans still hold dear as "Sears Point." If he continues his excellent performance at this race, and if Jeff Gordon steps up, we could see an even greater finish. Whether you like these two drivers or not, you almost have to agree that a one on one race to the finish between Stewart and Gordon would definitely be a treat.
Note to Smoke: You are entertaining enough without crashing. You don't have to crash to get the fans excited. Please be careful, you might hurt yourself. Don't crash.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr isn't known as a road racer, but his new-found confidence in his team and his own ability might just work for him. The perennial Most Popular Driver, probably won't win the race, but he will show that he can be competent in road course driving. This is one place he doesn't need to be aggressive, which is no problem for him, because he usually isn't aggressive enough. Patience and steadiness will net him a good finish.
I can say almost the same for Kasey Kahne. The cute little guy is on a roll, but I'm not so sure of his road course record. That is a very good team, and currently the best of all the Dodge Chargers. If he can handle turning both directions, he will do well.
One could always expect Robby Gordon to do well at Sears Point. His first NASCAR Cup win was at this track, and that was when he was still a part time driver and a road course ringer. He builds a great race car, and he probably builds best for the road courses. We're looking forward to seeing Classic Robby in this weekend's race, and hopefully his streak of bad luck has ended.
I haven't seen the starting grid, yet, so I don't know which ringers made the race. Of the ringers, though, probably the best ones with the best chance would be Scott Pruitt, Ron Fellows, and Boris Said. They have been doing this for quite a while, and usually make for an exciting race. Said tends to be a little overly aggressive in the stock cars, however, and he may cause some problems for other drivers.
That's as far as I'm going to go this week. Time to get a bottle of Napa Valley wine, from any vinyard except Jeff Gordon's, some good chedder and crackers, and enjoy the race.