Seeing a NASCAR hustled around a technical road course like Sonoma Raceway is a thing of beauty. Note how stiffly sprung AJ Allmendinger’s stock car is, and how the 3,300-pound behemoth hops dramatically when taken over curbs—most notably at 1:00, though a slight skip over the Turn 2 apex curb is noticeable. Yet, the car isn’t so stiff that it’s thrown into a time-sapping slide by the undulations; it can shortcut the track in ways an Indycar, due to its rigidity and its underbody aerodynamics, simply can’t.

Though it can be thrown over the curbs quite well, it does require some mechanical sympathy—the tires and brakes are easily overwhelmed by the stock car’s girth and its grunt and it requires a soft touch. As Juan Pablo Montoya puts it, “With the [Winston] Cup Car, the limiting factor is the car. You’ve gotta learn how to drive fast without driving it hard.” Therefore, Allmendinger’s throttle application is painstakingly progressive.

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It’s predictable it would spin its wheels over the crest at Turn 3A, but even at higher speeds, the car is able to spin the wheels—there is 800 horsepower available, after all. Over the curbs at the end of the esses, the wheelspin is audible—as is the long lift into Turn Ten. Even at some of the fastest spots at Sonoma—which is not considered the grippiest track around—wheelspin is an issue. Some NASCAR drivers, on cold tires, won’t ever get to full throttle around this trying circuit!