I’m in my second NASCAR race and have reached Victory Lane. Granted, all I had to do was jump through a few barriers and get a laminate to shine. I spent most of the 110 laps comfortably seated overlooking the Sonoma Racewayabout an hour north of San Francisco, and the hardest thing to navigate was the snacks in front of my face.

It’s June 9 at the 2024 Toyota/Save Mart 350, and I’m a guest of Hendrick Motorsports, celebrating the organization’s 40th anniversary and first-place finish in Kyle Larson—driver of their No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Larson and his team deftly navigated to the left And right turns and strategic pit stops to earn his third victory of the season and second career victory on the demanding 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course.

This is rolling terrain, woven into the same patchwork as the vineyards that cover these iconic valleys. We’re in Northern California, and I spent some time in a festival atmosphere at the invitation of Valvoline to learn about two fluids that power the region: motor oil and wine. And this education begins two days earlier with a very different victory.

Pole position

The story begins, like so many Californian tales, in a cellar. Specifically Judd’s Hilla second generation family cellar on Napa Silverado Trail. Fittingly, a cellar started 35 years earlier in the owner’s garage. It is a place familiar to both mechanics and winegrowers. But there are no socket wrenches, no ramps, no dirty rags, no destemmers, no presses, no fermentation vats in our workshop. Just a sunny courtyard full of tables topped with full wine bottles and empty measuring cylinders.

We are here to learn more about blending grape varieties and discover how a few milliliters of Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec or Petit Verdot can change the acidity, lightness and complexity of a wine. And we’re here to find out what this has to do with Valvoline’s latest premium synthetic, Restore & Protect (spoiler alert: you still can’t drink it).

Let’s start with the wine. Well, the wines. We were divided into two teams to participate in a competition. Judd’s Hill produced four of Bordeaux’s six signature red grape varieties and challenged each of us to find a balance of fruit and structure that spoke to our palate, then decide among our respective teams which one had the most depth. Once we declare our collective winner, we will “bottle” our proprietary ratio and present it to three judges for a blind tasting to declare which team triumphs.

As we pour, tweak and polish our tannins, we hear from Dr. Michael Warholic, Global Chief Technology Officer, Valvoline Global Operations. A chemical engineer by training and lead formulator at the company’s laboratories in Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. Warholic introduces us to Restore & Protect. It probably seems difficult to make motor oil comparable, but Dr. Warholic’s quarter century in the industry helps. And, given the serene setting, the inviting Mediterranean climate and the amount of test swirls, sniffs and, most importantly, sips we have to take – in the name of science – we’re pretty receptive.

Pit stops

Both wine and motor oil are made up of small chemical components with significant effects. In the case of wine, microclimates, terroir, nutrients, drainage, etc. contribute to the ripening of different grapes. Small changes in the sugar content (Brix) and acidity (pH) of each vintage impart distinct flavors and impact aging potential. Additional factors, such as the type of oak barrel each grape is stored in as well as the ambient temperature and length of time it stays, contribute to the end result.

Not everyone can discern the subtlest nuances when you change the proportions of a leathery Cabernet Sauvignon versus a meaty Merlot. And that’s OK. Some wines change your life, but most just change your day. However, when it comes to your vehicle, “what’s in your engine is about 85% oil…but it’s the 1% or 2% of this additive or that of high-end products.” ranges like Restore & Protect which really make the biggest difference,” explains Dr. . Warholic.

“In a combustion engine, space is precious… you have friction modifiers, detergents, anti-wear agents all competing for surface space, so it’s essential to get the right balance of each molecule. And Restore & Protect achieved it.

Every few years, science flip-flops on the benefits of drinking wine in moderation. We currently believe that no amount is “good” for you. But no one has ever said the same thing about whether oil can delay gas engine damage. Restore & Protect, which exceeds ILSAC GF-6A and API SP specifications, even aims to reverse age-related buildup.

“We installed two Ford Mustangs a dynamometer and we put them 300,000 miles on them…and then we took them apart and found that one of them got cleaner with every oil change, which was remarkable,” says Dr. Warholic. Another example given is taking apart Ford Explorer engines after 500,000 miles of using standard private label oil to find several rings almost stuck. In comparison, continued use of Restore & Protect minimized cylinder wall wear by 79%.

Dr. Warholic reinforces the message heading to a display box that shows a quartet of pistons and the amount of deposits that were removed from them between the first and fourth oil changes. This is due to two proprietary technologies – “Active Clean” and “Liqui-Shield” – developed to not only slow aging, but also return and maintain a factory clean condition with regular maintenance intervals. It can’t put the metal back in place, but it can protect it from further wear.

Playing with all these polymers and percentages seems like a winning formula. Speaking of winning formulas, we follow the Restore & Protect presentation with our own presentation. We selected the merits of our team and nicknamed it “ValvoWine”. With 10% Merlot, 60% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, this gives Cahors meets California: dense dark fruit that balances chew and cream, but is more ripe than rustic, not at all distant. It’s a crowd pleaser, and the jury agrees. We emerge victorious, congratulations with the bottles of our alcoholic blend in our hands. Maybe oil and water mix, in a sense.

The parallels between automotive lubricants and California wine country, which we explore from our base in the Silverado Resortdoesn’t end just because the shuffling contest ends. Valvoline has been around since 1866, while Napa Valley’s first winery, Charles Krugwas created in 1861 (Buena Vista in the Sonoma country predates that of 1857). Both Valvoline and these valleys have a long heritage and both have come a long way building on common fundamentals.

Fluid dynamics are an integral part of every finished product. The viscosity of an oil is essential to properly reduce friction, while the way a wine flows determines its mouthfeel: the synergy between taste and texture. Heat plays an outsized role in both cases, contributing to a factor that can impact engine oil coating parts and the proper fermentation of wine. Oil producers and winemakers need to be concerned with filtration and preventing solids from settling. And all of this plays a role in aging, in knowing when fluids are most stable and most flexible.

These thoughts and many more cross my mind as we eat lunch at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It is not only a picturesque place but also a pivotal place in the history of Californian wine since its Cabernet Sauvignon won the 1976 Judging of the Paris wine tastingannouncing that New World viticulture had something to say. And the vineyards, with their ideal exposure, diverse soils and moderate slopes, are oriented to produce exceptionally rich grapes and powerfully performing wines, if one knows how to properly manage the canopy, pests, etc.

Orientation. Spacing. Air circulation. Irrigation. Ideal temperature ranges. Prevent overheating and optimize performance. All this to produce a long finish. We talk about topography, but it’s a mix of conditions and innovations reminiscent of motorsport. And that brings us back to NASCAR.

The checkered flag

There’s smooth dynamics, then there’s fluid and dynamic, and you need both to win at Sonoma Raceway. Suspension and gear ratios, etc., need to be adjusted to handle sudden changes in direction. But it also requires drivers who can fine-tune their style and responses to changes in altitude, braking and acceleration zones that are very different from oval racing. This requires perfect fuel and tire management. And that certainly requires the most thermally stable and degradation-resistant engineering.

Restore & Protect is the result of nearly 150 people and three years of modeling and real-world testing, both for its consumer version and for its special formulations for Hendrick-sponsored Chevrolets. After each race, Valvoline collects the oil, analyzes it and correlates it with track data. It is a formidable challenge to test how it can minimize metal-to-metal contact, how advanced additives prevent burns under extreme environmental and operating conditions.

No, my car doesn’t get the same high stress stuff. Still, higher mileage vehicles can benefit from eliminating engine-destroying carbon compounds that trap heat and let it spread. After all, who doesn’t want a little more pep when accelerating, smoother idling, increased fuel economy and maximized engine life – all of which could be possible over time with Restore and protect.

“Win Sunday, sell Monday” is a long-standing expression in auto racing. And if that rings true, some serious Restore & Protect may have sold out after Larson’s first place finish. It was certainly an exhilarating end to an informative weekend. Standing in Victory Lane, I watch Larson take a celebratory sip from the Winner’s Circle goblet of red wine. If only it was ValvoWine.