Klaus Graf is entered in Sunday's race at Sonoma. Ever heard of him?

So are Butch Leitzinger, P.J. Jones, Ron Fellows and, of all people, Terry Labonte. They make up five of the eight road-course ringers who will make one of their annual appearances this weekend and do so each time the Nextel Cup Series stops at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Time to brush up on the entry list for the first time this season.

At the track where NASCAR turns right, experienced road racers often sit in for drivers whose teams are lower in the points. Graf is substituting for Mike Bliss. Leitzinger will be Jeremy Mayfield this week. The list goes on.

So is it good that a newbie takes the wheel instead of the driver these respective teams have "committed" to? Without question, the answer is a resounding yes.

First, ringers will do something each of these replaced drivers have proven they cannot: qualify the car.

Of the eight teams using ringers, seven of them must qualify based on their speed. Only Ron Fellows, who's driving the No. 96 instead of Tony Raines, is guaranteed a starting spot. Four of the ringer teams are replacing drivers who have repeatedly failed to qualify for races this year: Michael Waltrip has missed 12 races, Mike Bliss 11, Mayfield 10 and David Reutimann five.

A qualified car means the sponsor gets exposure in the race.

All of the must-qualify teams that are using ringers are fully funded. Sponsors write checks for upwards of $15 million annually for hood placement. Missing a race, according to research done by Joyce Julius & Associates, can cost a top-25 finisher as much as $7 million of advertising.

Of the six ringers who are replacing full-timers, four of them have an average finish of 25th or better; Jones and Brian Simo average 30.4 and 33.2, respectively. Total average: 23.5...