SONOMA COUNTY, California -- Twice a year, NASCAR drivers do the unthinkable: They turn right.

The old saw has it that NASCAR drivers spend their afternoons turning left. There's a grain of truth to that, because 34 of the 36 races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar this year are on oval tracks. But the joke discounts the skills, if not the guts, needed to lap a monster like Daytona International Speedway at something north of 185 mph.

Those skills get a real workout when the Cup Series hits its two road courses, Infineon Raceway here in Northern California and Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. Throwing chicanes in front of the drivers presents them with a unique challenge.

"Everything's completely different," said Joey Logano, who surprised everyone when he put the No. 20 Home Depot Racing Toyota on pole for the Toyota Savemart 350 at Infineon on June 26. "We're usually turning left all the time and not shifting that much."

Above: Jamie McMurray rolls the No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet into the pits for four tires and a fill-up early in the Toyota Savemart 350. He started second and finished 15th.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com