Sonoma race is wide open

NASCAR will use its new Car of Tomorrow on a twisty road course for the first time Sunday at Infineon Raceway, prompting speculation that it’s anyone’s race to win.

But former Cup champion Bobby Labonte isn’t so sure.

It’s true that many Nextel Cup drivers who mainly excel on oval tracks have their hands full at Infineon Raceway, a 1.99-mile course in scenic wine country with 10 turns -- right and left -- plus sharp elevation changes.

That’s why several teams hire veteran road racers just for this event, to give themselves a fighting chance. Qualifying for the race is today.

The Car of Tomorrow -- a new, safer chassis that NASCAR is mandating the teams phase in this year -- throws another unknown into the equation.

“I hear the [car] setups are across the board,” said Labonte, 43, who won the series title in 2000 and now drives the No. 43 Dodge for Petty Enterprises. “It’s going to be a challenge.”

But Labonte, whose best finish is fourth in 14 previous starts at Infineon Raceway, said that no matter what car they use, he wouldn’t bet against the likes of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. “I wouldn’t count those guys out,” Labonte said.

“They just seem to prevail there.”

Indeed, Gordon -- who grew up in nearby Vallejo -- is the only five-time winner at Infineon Raceway and is the defending winner of the Toyota/Save Mart 350, which is actually 218.9 miles long or 110 laps.

There was the possibility that Gordon, 35, might miss this race because his wife was about to give birth, and his Hendrick Motorsports team had lined up another veteran, Mark Martin, to replace him.

But the baby was born Wednesday morning. So Gordon -- a four-time Cup champion and the current points leader, with four wins already this season -- will arrive as scheduled.

Stewart, the two-time Cup title winner for Joe Gibbs Racing, has won twice at Infineon Raceway and Sunday’s race will be his 300th career Cup start.

“It’s definitely a place I feel like we’ve got the potential to win, even before we make a single lap,” Stewart said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks on the circuit because it is so unique and different.”

Which also is why some teams use road-racing specialists. For instance, Ron Fellows will substitute for Tony Raines in the No. 96 Chevrolet of Hall of Fame Racing, owned by former football stars Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

And Labonte’s brother Terry, another two-time Cup champion, will come out of retirement for one week to drive the No. 55 Toyota Camry for owner/driver Michael Waltrip.

The field also will be closely watching Juan Pablo Montoya and A.J. Allmendinger, two newcomers to NASCAR who both have plenty of road-racing experience from their days as open-wheel racers.

Montoya, the Colombian who won the Indianapolis 500 and drove in the Formula One series, already has won on a road course in Mexico City this year in NASCAR’s second-tier Busch Series.

He’ll be trying to win his first Cup race in the No. 42 Dodge prepared by the team of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Allmendinger, who won five times last year in the Champ Car World Series, drives the No. 84 Toyota for Team Red Bull. “I don’t know if I will bring anything to the table against someone like Jeff Gordon,” said Allmendinger, a native of Hollister. “But, I’ll definitely be more comfortable driving a stock car this weekend than I have been all year.”

james.peltz@latimes.com