Amy Henderson

Ever notice how some drivers have a track where magic seems to happen? David Pearson at Darlington Raceway, Dale Earnhardt at Talladega Superspeedway, Jimmie Johnson at Dover Motor Speedway; sometimes it seemed like whatever they touched turned into gold trophies. OK, this isn’t about that. Because just as the greatest drivers had that one track where they could seemingly do no wrong, a lot of them had that one where, well, they could do no right. And that’s what we’re going to explore.

Ty Gibbs started the race from the pole and put together a great race at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday (June 28), leading twice for a total of 31 laps. But after a plot twist last week at Naval Base Coronado, it was back to the usual story of what happens on a road course when Shane van Gisbergen is in the field and coming off a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win on Saturday. Van Gisbergen started sixth and wasn’t really happy with the way the No. 97 handled throughout the race.

Time, in NASCAR as all things, marches on. But for a few moments in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday, June 19, at Naval Base Coronado, fans got a glimpse of days past: Jimmie Johnson, eyeing the lead and waiting for his moment to take it. And once he did, he drove away with like he’d robbed a bank on the way to the office. It was vintage Johnson, calculating and ruthless when he sniffed the lead.