Stewart, Montoya among the must-owns at Sonoma

Road course racing has always been a part of NASCAR. And since the first road race held at Linden Airport in 1954, NASCAR drivers have always been out of their element on these tracks. Regardless of their comfort level with turning right and left, potential champions had to make the most of their trip to the exotic tracks. In that first race, Al Keller and Joe Eubanks lapped the field, but eventual champion Lee Petty soldiered home to a 10th-place finish, two laps off the pace and Buck Baker, who finished third in the standings, also finished third in the International 100.

Infineon

This week's fantasy studs, duds and sleepers.

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In modern day NASCAR, drivers still could not afford to give up the points earned on the road courses and with Infineon, Watkins Glen, and Riverside in front of them, during most seasons they had to survive at least two weekends. With the introduction of the Chase format, drivers in the top five in points can actually afford to have one bad run if necessary and it will not significantly affect their chances of winning the championship, but those on the cusp of being inside the top 12 will be on pins and needles.

Fantasy owners have no such luxury. The road course races pay just as many points as any oval track, and if you want to truly dominate your league, it's important to pick drivers for Infineon who not only will survive the race, but have a good chance of running with the leaders at the end.

Throughout history, there have always been strong road course racers. Like so many records, Richard Petty led the old guard with six wins. He had to share this mark with Bobby Allison, but unlike most of his other achievements, this one was not unassailable. In the recent past, drivers like Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd caught him, but the best was still to come.

Today, you get a chance to watch some of the best road course racers that stock cars have ever produced. Jeff Gordon rocketed past Petty with nine victories; Tony Stewart has six and counting and now that some cross-breeding has entered the series from several road racing series, the competition level will continue to skyrocket. (Continued)