Fast Track Facts: Sonoma Raceway

credit: NASCAR Media

One of just two road courses the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will visit in 2017, Sonoma Raceway is one of the rare tracks that also hosts the Verizon IndyCar Series and the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Learn more about this track in the heart of California wine country in this week’s Fast Facts.

• Ground breaking for the track, originally known as Sears Point Raceway, took place in Aug. 1968; the surface was completed in November of that year, and the first race – an SCCA Enduro – was held on Dec. 1, 1968.
• The 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course went by the name of Sears Point until 2001, after which its naming rights were sold and it became Infineon Raceway from 2002-2012; once the naming rights expired, it became Sonoma Raceway, or often simply “Sonoma.”
• The track has a permanent seating capacity of 47,000, and can expand to 102,000 seats during major events, including hillside seating and additional terraces added for the events. Track changes in 2002 saw the drag strip separated from the front the front straightaway.
• A modified 2.2-mile version of the course is used for many races, including the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma. The NASCAR track is a 1.99-mile, 10-turn course which utilizes Turn 4A, a 70-degree turn that replaced the previously-used “Chute” which bypassed Turns 5 and 6.
• The NASCAR Cup Series qualifying record is held by Kyle Larson (96.524 mph/1:14.354 minutes in June 2015). Jeff Gordon holds the records for, among other items, most wins (five), most top 10s (18) and most poles (five).
• Find out more about Sonoma Raceway and all of its events at www.sonomaraceway.com.