Pre-race notes from Sonoma

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Terminator is here at Sonoma Raceway. Yes, movie actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is here as the Honorary Pace Car Driver for this afternoon's Toyota/Save Mart 350.

It's about 20 minutes until the green flag falls Here are a few quick facts.

Laps: 110
Track Length: 1.99 miles, 12 turns
Distance: 218.9 miles
Pit road speed: 40 miles per hour
Purse: $5,735,702

Tires:

Each team has 5 sets of Goodyear tires (Tire Code: D-4638) for the race. The same tires will be run in all four tire positions at Sonoma. This is the first time teams will be running this code, which is supposed to have better wear than before.

Pit Stops:

The level of wear will play a role in pit stops. Talking to the teams I got some mixed views on whether this is a two or three-stop race. With fuel saving teams can make it to the end on 2 stops. But at what point does the tires wear that saving fuel for a two-stop race becomes counter-productive.

That seems to be the question.

The National Anthem just ended. We have about 15 minutes before the green flag. My pick to win?

I'm going with Kurt Busch. He's been fast, relaxed and confident all weekend. Look for Busch to score his third Sprint Cup Series win this afternoon.

Brian C. reporting from Sonoma Raceway