Sears Point: Jamie McMurray preview

McMurray on racing at Infineon Raceway:

"I've always enjoyed racing at the road course in Sonoma -- it's one of my favorite types of racing. It reminds me a lot of running go-carts when I was younger. I like the challenge of left and right turns, and having to shift through the course -- it's a lot of fun. Qualifying is so important at the road courses, because once you get into the race, it's really tough to pass. Last year I qualified second and got a little too aggressive on the first lap and spun going into the second turn. I was able to work my way back into the top 20, but I know we had a better car. It just goes to prove that you have to qualify well, because track position is so important at Sonoma.

"Last week in Michigan we were able to work on the car throughout the entire race and post a top-10 finish. Larry made some great calls that were able to move us to the front through great pit strategy. Hopefully, this weekend in Sonoma, we can have a repeat performance and continue to improve our position in the point standings."

Crew Chief Larry Carter on racing at Infineon Raceway:

"We tested our road-course car a couple times in the last month. We tested the car a couple laps at Road Atlanta before it started raining, and then two weeks ago, we went down and tested the road course in Kershaw, S.C. I think we have a pretty good car going out to Sonoma this weekend. It will be a new challenge with the COT and how it handles with left and right turns, but overall, I think we will have a good car this weekend. It's important that we qualify well, so a lot of our effort on Friday will be to get a good starting position for Sunday's race."

-credit: rfr