how long is total road course at sonoma

by Sigrid Hickle 7 min read

2.520 mi

Full Answer

How long is the Sonoma Raceway Course?

The standard, full length road course at Sonoma Raceway is a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) 12-turn course. This course was utilized by all competition through 1997. Most races, including the Grand Prix of Sonoma, use the full course.

Does Sonoma have a drag strip or road course?

Track changes completed in 2002 separated the road course from the drag strip. The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, an annual classic car racing event, uses the full circuit. NASCAR returned to using the full circuit in 2019 as a part of the tracks 50th anniversary.

What tracks use the full Sonoma circuit?

The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, an annual classic car racing event, uses the full circuit. NASCAR returned to using the full circuit in 2019 as a part of the tracks 50th anniversary.

What's new at Sonoma Raceway?

April 19-22, 2018 and April 3-6, 2019: Sonoma Raceway hosts more than 1,000 students from 99 high schools and universities across North and South America at Make the Future California featuring Shell Eco-marathon Americas. This event challenges future engineers and scientists to go the farthest with the least amount of energy.

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How long is a road course?

Road America"America's National Park of Speed"SurfaceAsphaltLength4.048 miles (6.515 km)Turns14Race lap record1:41.874 ( Alex Zanardi, Reynard 98i, 1998, CART)32 more rows

How long is the NASCAR race at Sonoma?

Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The 218.9-mile (352.3 km) race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007. This race is one of seven NASCAR Cup Series road-course events.

Is Sonoma Raceway a road course?

Historical Highlights. The 2022 race season marks 52 years of racing action in the Sonoma Valley. Below are a few memorable highlights from the 12-turn road course and the lightning-quick quarter-mile drag strip: 1968: Ground was broken in August and paving of the race surface was completed in November.

How long is a lap at Sonoma Raceway?

The full length road course at Sonoma Raceway measures 2.52 miles and includes 12 total turns.

How many laps is Sonoma NASCAR?

90 lapsThe Sonoma Raceway Road Course is 2.52 miles (5.81 km) long and a 226.8-mile race that requires 90 laps to complete.

How long is Sonoma Raceway drag strip?

2.52-mileSet against the picturesque hills of the Sonoma Valley wine country is Sonoma Raceway, a world-class racing facility featuring a 2.52-mile road course, drag strip, and complete karting center.

Is Sonoma Raceway hard?

On top of that, the design of the circuit makes it one of the most challenging courses to learn the fastest way around. Hopefully, when you finish reading this story, you will have a better understanding of what it takes to get around Sonoma Raceway quickly.

What is a good lap time at Sonoma Raceway?

Sonoma Raceway (Full) lap timesRankVehicleTime1.Dodge Viper ACR (Mk V)1:38.302.Porsche 718 GT4 Clubsport1:38.993.Modified Porsche 911 GT3 (991)1:44.634.McLaren 620R1:45.023 more rows

How do you drive on Sonoma Raceway?

0:007:15Sonoma Raceway - Beginner's Guide - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipHere's a beginner's guide to Sonoma Raceway beginner as in first time at Sonoma. Not beginner as inMoreHere's a beginner's guide to Sonoma Raceway beginner as in first time at Sonoma. Not beginner as in new to tracking. If you're brand new to tracking.

Where is 24 hours lemon?

The name of the race series is a play on words alluding to both the long-running annual 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race in Le Mans, France, and the notion of "lemon" cars.

How long is Watkins Glen?

2.45-mileNASCAR Cup Series drivers are set to take on the fifth road course of the season — the 2.45-mile, seven-turn Watkins Glen International located in the Finger Lakes region of central New York.

How long is Laguna Seca Raceway?

2.238-mileWeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is an 11-turn, 2.238-mile jewel of a road course on California's beautiful central coast. While the track is a favorite of racers and fans worldwide, many focus on one specific section—officially Turns 8 and 8A—or more commonly known as The Corkscrew.

How many laps does the Sonoma Raceway have?

The race spans 90 laps. Mat Mladin (AMA), Josh Hayes (AMA), Doug Kalitta (NHRA, Top Fuel), John Force (NHRA, Funny Car) and Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) are the only riders/drivers to three-peat in a major racing series in Sonoma. Winners in Sonoma celebrate with a sip from the Champion's Goblet in Victory Lane. The goblet, which is handcrafted by ...

When is the Sonoma Raceway?

It marked his third Sonoma Raceway win and ended an 84-race winless streak. April 19-22, 2018 and April 3-6, 2019: Sonoma Raceway hosts more than 1,000 students from 99 high schools and universities across North and South America at Make the Future California featuring Shell Eco-marathon Americas.

What is the Champion's Goblet in Sonoma?

Winners in Sonoma celebrate with a sip from the Champion's Goblet in Victory Lane. The goblet, which is handcrafted by a Bay Area glass glower, was introduced in 2006 and incorporates the raceway's rich wine country heritage.

Who won the first AMA Superbike event?

1977: Paul Ritter wins the first AMA SuperBike event in Sonoma on a Ducati.

What color are the berms on the road course?

The berms on the turns of the road course are painted blue and gold at the suggestion of former raceway President and General Manager Steve Page, who attended UC Berkeley.

What is the name of the Sonoma Raceway?

Most loyal fans of the track still prefer to call and remember it by its original name: Sears Point Raceway or, more endearingly, just as Sears.

What is a 12-turn road course?

As you can imagine, a 12-turn road course opens the doors for a lot of reconfiguration possibilities. While most races at Sonoma utilize the full road course, some races are shorter and use what’s known as the Chute which was built in 1998. The Chute shortens the course by cutting off turns 5 and 6.

How high is the lap leaderboard at Sonoma?

One of the main features added was a massive four-sided rotating scoreboard that was 62 ft high. The iconic Sonoma lap leaderboard still sits proudly in the center of the raceway.

When did Sonoma Raceway's contract expire?

With the decade-long contract having expired in 2012 and Infineon opting not to renew, the track chose to indefinitely simplify the name to Sonoma Raceway until new sponsorship opportunities arise.

Does Jeff Gordon race on Sonoma?

As if he wasn’t winning enough regular NASCAR Cup Series events, Jeff Gordon has also dominated on road courses like Sonoma.

When was the Save Mart 350 first run?

The Toyota / Save Mart 350 was first run in 2007. Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of the race. ‹ ›. Photo by Getty Images.

What time is the Save Mart 350?

The Toyota / Save Mart 350 start time is 4:00 p.m. ET Sunday, June 6th. FS1 will broadcast the race with radio coverage from PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

When did Sonoma Raceway get its name?

Infineon Technologies concluded a 10-year naming deal with the circuit in June 2002, whereupon it became the Infineon Raceway. At the conclusion of the deal, the new name of Sonoma Raceway was chosen, rather than a reversion to its former Sears Point title.

How far to go from San Francisco to Sonoma?

If travelling from San Francisco, take US 101 towards San Rafael, then merge onto Highway 37 east toward Vallejo. Travel 8 miles until you reach the intersection of Highways 37 and 121, then turn left onto Highway 121 toward Sonoma. The circuit entrance is a mile along 121 on the left hand side.

When was Sears Point Raceway built?

The classic road course, set in northern California's wine country, started life in 1968 as Sears Point Raceway. The 2.52-mile road racing course was constructed on 720 acres by Marin County attorney Robert Marshall Jr. and land developer Jim Coleman. Conceived during a hunting trip, ground breaking for the circuit began in August 1968, with paving completed by November the same year. The SCCA held the first event on December 1, 1968 and the early years at the facility saw Trans Am draw large crowds alongside a one-off USAC Indycar race in 1970.

When was the chicane section added to the full course?

A new chicane section was added in 2003 to bypass the fast Esses on the return leg of the Full Course, used for motorcycle racing and the majority of car racing (NASCAR continues to utilise the original 8-9-10 corner combination). A new hairpin - Turn 11A - was also inserted just past the drag strip control tower to bypass the original Turn 11, which had insufficient run off for single seaters and motorcycle racers.

When was the Golden State Raceway renamed?

The track was renamed Golden State Raceway in 1981, but the Black Mountain consortium found itself in trouble when Filmways seized back ownership after payments were defaulted. Bondurant had already resigned as president in a dispute with Pook over the Long Beach Grand Prix's management plan.

What are the two road courses in the Cup Series?

The courses are typically longer and require different skills because they are windy with many different turns. Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway are the two road courses in the Cup Series. Watkins Glen is 2.45 miles and Sonoma is 2.52 miles.

How long does it take to complete a lap at Daytona?

This means on average it takes around 45 seconds to complete one lap at the Daytona Motor Speedway. Although Superspeedways may be the longest tracks in the sport, they do not necessarily take the longest to complete one lap as some road courses take longer due to the slower speeds that are driven on the road courses. Previous Next.

How many superspeedways are there in NASCAR?

Superspeedway. Currently, NASCAR only designates two courses as Superspeedways. Those are the Talladega Superspeedway and the Daytona Motor Speedway. Talladega is 2.66 miles and Daytona is 2.5 miles long. Since these tracks are so large it allows for drivers to record speeds up to 200 miles per hour. The cars have to be capped at 210 miles per hour ...

What is the shortest track in the Cup Series?

At only .526 miles, the Martinsville Speedway is the shortest track in the Cup Series. The Bristol Motor Speedway is .533 miles and the Richmond Raceway is .75 miles.

How many laps does the Daytona 500 take?

The Daytona Motor Speedway hosts the Daytona 500 annually and this race consists of 200 laps that require about two and a half hours to complete without any pit stops or breaks.

How long is the Indianapolis motor speedway?

The Charlotte Motor Speedway is 1.5 miles long while the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 2.5 miles long. Since one track is a mile apart they will record different lap times, but typically on an intermediate track, one lap takes anywhere between 40 second to one minute.

How many categories of NASCAR tracks are there?

NASCAR tracks are not all the same size which means there is not one set time how long it can take to do a lap around a track. There are four categories of tracks and those are the short track, road course, intermediate tracks, and the superspeedways.

How much money did the Sonoma Raceway raise?

The Sonoma Raceway chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities raised more than $75,000 through a trio of creative fundraising activities leading up to the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race, June 6.

When is the 2022 Sonoma Nationals?

Over 22,000+ horsepower is coming to rattle the grapevines in wine country at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 22-24, 2022! MORE INFO

Who is Kyle from Sonoma Raceway?

Kyle spent his life in and around drag racing as a racer, crew chief, promoter and as the Sonoma Raceway Drag Racing Manager, taking over the reins of his mother, in 2018.

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Overview

Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway until 2002) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, California. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 feet (49 m) of total elevation change. It is host to one of the few NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses. It has also p…

History

The 2.520 mi (4.056 km) road racing course was constructed on 720 acres (2.9 km ) by Marin County owners Robert Marshall Jr., an attorney from Point Reyes, and land developer Jim Coleman of Kentfield. The two conceived of the idea of a race track while on a hunting trip. Ground was broken in August 1968 and paving of the race surface was completed in November. The first official even…

Layouts

The standard, full length road course at Sonoma Raceway is a 2.520 mi (4.056 km) 12-turn course. This course was utilized by all competition through 1997. Most races, including the Grand Prix of Sonoma, use the full course. The course is noted for turns two and three, which are negative-camber ("off-camber") turns, with the inside of the turn higher than the outside. This provides a challenge fo…

Seating capacity

Sonoma Raceway has a permanent seating capacity of 47,000. This includes the grandstands and terraces around the track. During major races, hospitality tents and other stages are erected around the track, which brings the total capacity up to 102,000 seats. The facility underwent a major expansion in 2004 which resulted in 64,000 hillside seats, 10,000 permanent grandstand seats, a waste…

Current series

• Sonoma Drift Series
• NASCAR Cup Series
• NHRA
• MotoAmerica
• Formula Car Challenge

In popular culture

In the 1970 motorcycle road racing film Little Fauss and Big Halsy, starring Michael J. Pollard and Robert Redford, Redford's character, Halsy, saw Sears Point as the brass ring in the world of racing, and the film was loosely based around that idea.
Sonoma has been featured in many racing video games, beginning with Papyrus's NASCAR Racing for the PC, released in 1994 and has been a frequent addition to NASCAR based games and mor…

See also

• Napa Sonoma Marsh
• Tolay Creek
• Tolay Lake

External links

• Sonoma Raceway Official Site
• Sonoma Raceway race results at Racing-Reference
• Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info
• Trackpedia guide for this track