Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s best finish in wine country is 11th. Credit: Autostock

Technically, Infineon has been rough for Junior

Northern California popularity doesn't hide road-course misfortunes

SONOMA, Calif. -- What is it like to be a driver with a beer sponsorship in the middle of a wine and cheese crowd?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has led nine laps at Infineon. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Dale Jr.'s Infineon statistics Year Start Finish Status 2000 31 24 running 2001 37 19 running 2002 23 30 running 2003 11 11 running 2004 20 11 running 2005 10 42 running Average 22.0 22.8   • Sunday's lineup, click here • Happy Hour speeds, click here • 2nd practice speeds, click here • 1st practice speeds, click here SonomaWatch all the videos from Infineon Raceway Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I guess the fans just really like us coming into town," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said of the Sonoma crowd."If they built an oval track next door, we'd probably race there anyway.

"We're just real popular for some reason. I guess it's real exciting to watch."

And he likes it, too, even if it's not a venue at which he's been successful. In six previous Cup races at Sonoma, Junior's best finish is 11th (twice). Last year, he wound up 42nd -- and he'll start Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FOX) in the 13th row.

In Saturday's first practice, the No. 8 Chevrolet was 18th.

"It's frustrating," Earnhardt said. "I want to come out here and be the fastest and qualify first and win the race, you know what I mean?"

A road course like Infineon Raceway requires patience and precision -- that's not Junior's style, and it's adding to his frustration.

"There aren't a whole lot of places to pass," he said. "But there are a lot of places to run into people. You just have to try to make your positions on pit road and maybe some kind of crazy pit strategy. These races are so weird sometimes, you know?"

Earnhardt admits that it's all he can do to keep his car pointed in the right direction on the twisting, 12-turn track.

"I'm just running every lap as fast as I can possibly run it without crashing," he said. "That's about as technical as I get."

Junior proved he can turn a fast lap at Infineon in Happy Hour, when he timed in third just behind Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

Junior knows he has the talent to run up front at Sonoma. Last year, he had a good car and bad luck. This time, it could be the equipment that holds him back.

"I've just got to sort of relax and let it go," he said. "It's real frustrating. We didn't test this stuff and we didn't have a chance to test it. And I don't think it was a wise choice to bring it. And here we are. We dug ourselves a really deep hole."