By Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee

SONOMA – The travel is crazy, the pressure intense. Work consumes almost every weekend. But Rick Bray of Placerville has his dream job: NASCAR mechanic on a top Sprint Cup team.

Bray, 45, has been part of Denny Hamlin’s crew on the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota since 2006. It’s been a good run; Hamlin won eight races in 2010 and finished second overall for the championship.

Currently ninth in the points standings, the team rolled into Infineon Raceway for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 off a win at Michigan – its first of the season. They celebrated with some R&R in the Sierra.

“A bunch of us went up to Rubicon for three days; camped, fished, hiked,” Bray said. “We got our heads clear.”

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