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Road course ringer (also road course specialist or more recently road runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Brothers, while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese....
) is a term used to describe a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR
NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series....
 team to race at a road course (Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway

Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA....
, Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake . The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation....
, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

The Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez is a 4.421-km race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named for the famous racing drivers Ricardo Rodr?guez and Pedro Rodr?guez ....
, or the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a motor racing circuit which was the venue for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, and is the venue of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, and, as of 2007, NASCAR Nationwide Series and Rolex Sports Car Series Car Series races....
).

"Ringer" is a slang term commonly used in sports to describe a particularly good competitor who is brought in to win in a specific match as opposed to competing in the entire schedule. It can also be used to describe a professional athlete who competes in amateur sports; a softball
Softball

Softball is a Team sport sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball and the rules of both sports are substantially similar....
 team might have a "ringer" who used to play minor or major league ball.






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Road course ringer (also road course specialist or more recently road runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Brothers, while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese....
) is a term used to describe a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR
NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series....
 team to race at a road course (Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway

Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA....
, Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake . The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation....
, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

The Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez is a 4.421-km race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named for the famous racing drivers Ricardo Rodr?guez and Pedro Rodr?guez ....
, or the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a motor racing circuit which was the venue for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, and is the venue of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, and, as of 2007, NASCAR Nationwide Series and Rolex Sports Car Series Car Series races....
).

"Ringer" is a slang term commonly used in sports to describe a particularly good competitor who is brought in to win in a specific match as opposed to competing in the entire schedule. It can also be used to describe a professional athlete who competes in amateur sports; a softball
Softball

Softball is a Team sport sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball and the rules of both sports are substantially similar....
 team might have a "ringer" who used to play minor or major league ball. The term does not relate directly to racing and does not refer to the shape of the race course.

A road course ringer is often brought in when either the normal driver is inexperienced at road courses, or if the driver is having a poor season and the team needs an excellent qualifying run to qualify for the race. Road course ringers have competed in championships which race primarily road courses, frequently in sports car racing
Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
 series such as the American Le Mans Series
American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance racing and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans....
 or the Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex Sports Car Series

The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premiere series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car racing series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship....
.

Famous road course ringers

For a more complete list of current ringers, click here
List of NASCAR drivers

Sprint Cup DriversAll statistics used in these tables are as of the end of the 2009 Auto Club 500....
.
  • Ron Fellows
    Ron Fellows

    Ron Fellows is an accomplished Canada sportscar driver, and a NASCAR Road course ringer....
  • Boris Said
    Boris Said

    Boris Said is an United States race car driver from Carlsbad, California, California but considers his hometown to be Stamford, Connecticut, Connecticut....
  • Scott Pruett
    Scott Pruett

    Donald Scott Pruett is an United States of America race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, International Motor Sports Association, Trans-Am Series and Grand-Am....
     (although he ran the 2000 season full-time, and took wins and poles in open-wheel
    Champ Car

    Champ Car, was the name for a class and specification of automobiles used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race....
     oval track racing)
  • Brian Simo
    Brian Simo

    Brian Simo is a race car driver from Carlsbad, California, California, USA. Simo currently races the #24 Hefty Chevrolet at road courses for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series....
  • Robby Gordon
    Robby Gordon

    Robert W. Gordon is an American racing driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, owning his #7 Toyota Camry, sponsored by Jim Beam, and also owning his #55 Jim Beam/Camping World ride which competes part-time in the Nationwide Series, he has also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Champ Car, the Indy Racing...
     (runs series full-time now, has won at both Infineon
    Infineon Raceway

    Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA....
     and Watkins Glen
    Watkins Glen International

    Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake . The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation....
     since becoming full-time, winning at both tracks in 2003)
  • Mark Donohue
    Mark Donohue

    Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. was an USA racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car and drive it consistently on the absolute limit....
  • Terry Labonte
    Terry Labonte

    Terrance Lee Labonte is a semi-retired NASCAR driver who now races part-time in the Sprint Cup Series. Labonte was introduced to the sport through his father, who had worked on racecars as a hobby for his friends....
     (after retirement in 2006, he has now run the road courses for struggling teams ever since)
  • Tommy Kendall
    Tommy Kendall

    Tommy Kendall is an United States race car driver and television broadcaster. He is best known for his Trans-Am Series career.Kendall earned a degree in economics from UCLA and to this day maintains an avid interest in business....
  • Dan Gurney
    Dan Gurney

    Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager....
  • Juan Pablo Montoya
    Juan Pablo Montoya

    Juan Pablo Montoya Rold?n is a race car driver in NASCAR and a former Formula One and Champ Car driver. He has enjoyed great success, most famously in top open wheel racing series....


Success

Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney

Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager....
 won 5 NASCAR races as a ringer, while also succeeding in Formula One
Formula One

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, and currently officially referred as the FIA Formula One World Championship is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile ....
. The last win by a road course ringer in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race was by Mark Donohue
Mark Donohue

Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. was an USA racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car and drive it consistently on the absolute limit....
 in 1973 in a Penske Racing
Penske Racing

Penske Championship Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, American Le Mans, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART....
 AMC Matador
AMC Matador

The AMC Matador is an mid-size car that was built and sold by American Motors from 1971 to 1978. These models were also assembled in Mexico by Veh?culos Automotores Mexicanos and in Australia by Australian Motor Industries with modifications for their markets including continuing the use of the Rambler marque....
 in the Motor Trend 500
Winston Western 500

The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, USA, in January, and then in later years, November....
 at Riverside.

Fellows, Said, and Pruett have combined for 12 Top 10 finishes in their 33 career road course starts. Said has the only two poles by a road course ringer: one in the 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sears Point Raceway
Infineon Raceway

Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA....
 and the other, ironically, a superspeedway pole for the 2006 Pepsi 400
Coke Zero 400

The Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona is a 160 lap, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car racing held on the first Saturday night of July, usually around Independence Day weekend, at Daytona International Speedway....
 at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home to the most important race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Daytona 500....
.

Nevertheless, the modern-day "ringer" has yet to win a Sprint Cup race. Often, the disadvantage of having the NASCAR race car in itself, with its heavier car, narrower tire, smaller (compared to premium road-racing cars) brakes, (especially with inexperienced drivers) pit stops, and most often longer races (all NASCAR road course races are at least 200 miles/322 kilometers or longer) have hurt the "ringers".

Also see: List of NASCAR drivers whose only wins have come on road courses
List of NASCAR drivers whose only wins have come on road courses

Below is a list of NASCAR winners who have only been victorious in road course events. Many of them have had their only NASCAR starts on road courses and are known as road course ringer....