Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway is an auto racing complex in Sonoma, California. The complex features multiple layouts, including various road course layouts and a drag strip. The facility has hosted various major events since its opening in 1969, including IndyCar, NASCAR, and NHRA events. Sonoma Raceway is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC and led by track general manager Brian Flynn.
Originally opening in 1969, the track was built to be part of a large resort complex, but the plans were quickly abandoned. After the sale of the facility to film company Filmways within the year, it shortly thereafter fell into deep financial trouble. After three years of abandonment, numerous track operators attempted to reverse its financial troubles with little success until the start of the 1980s. In 1981, Jack Williams bought the track and was able to make the facility financially stable. The track's recovery continued under the leadership of Skip Berg, who took control of the facility in 1986, making several renovations. In 1996, Speedway Motorsports bought the facility from Berg and continued expanding it, primarily with a multi-year project in the early 2000s.
Description
Layouts and configuration
Sonoma Raceway has multiple layouts. The main layout is measured at and has 12 turns. Its NASCAR layout, measured at, bypasses turns five and six and instead uses a straight-line section known as "the Chute", which connects turn 4A to turn 7A, both of which are turns exclusive to the NASCAR layout. The facility has a dragstrip which is measured at a long and is known for having an uphill gradient.Amenities
Sonoma Raceway is located in Sonoma, California, and is served by California State Route 37 and California State Route 121. As of 2022, the track has a permanent seating capacity of 44,000 according to track owner Speedway Motorsports. In total, the track complex covers approximately of land according to KTXL.Track history
Early years
Planning and construction
On December 19, 1967, The Press Democrat reported that Sears Point Properties, Inc. filed a permit to build a road course near the Sears Point area. The corporation's investors consisted of four Marin County businessmen: James Coleman, John B. Gibbons, Robert D. Marshall, and Gordon Blumenfeld. The track was originally set to be the first phase of an entertainment complex named "Sears Point Park," according to the permit application. The Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments approved the permit on December 21, with track executives stating hopes of hosting an inaugural Sports Car Club of America event on September 22, 1968. Additional plans for the track were released the following month, which included a projected budget of $1,200,000 and track layouts for a drag strip and two road course layouts. Groundbreaking for the track was initially announced for March of that year; however, financing struggles in raising the $1.2 million budget delayed it by months. A new groundbreaking date for the now-named "Sears Point International Raceway" was announced and took place on August 14, 1968, with work commencing on the main road course and drag strip. A different road course layout was used than the initial plans released in December 1967.In early September 1968, promoter Ken Clapp signed a long-term lease to host United States Auto Club and NASCAR-sanctioned races at the facility. Paving for SPIR began on September 26 and was completed by October 4, with the complex having three road course layouts of,, and, according to The Modesto Bee. Later that month, Clapp secured rights to host motorcycle races at SPIR, with the first event at the complex being scheduled for a National Hot Rod Association event in March 1969. SPIR held its first races on November 30, holding informal SCCA races that were closed off to spectators. Construction was slowed throughout the winter of 1968–69 due to storms, with Coleman, now general manager of the track, stating that "more than $100,000" worth of damages were incurred as a result of the storms. According to track designer Don Boos, construction costs "far exceeded" expectations. In addition, the final hairpin corner was altered in the final design; according to Boos, it was altered because the land where the corner was built was a former dairy farm. The dairy farm included a manure reservoir which was described as "an absolute stinking quagmire" by Boos, so the designers opted to alter the corner from Boos' plans.
Brief first opening, financial troubles, subsequent closure
SPIR's dragstrip opened to the general public as scheduled on March 8 for an NHRA event, with Don Garlits winning the first feature event at the dragstrip a day later in the event's Top Fuel division. The venue received some criticism for heavy traffic and a lack of available parking; in response, two additional parking lots were opened to alleviate parking issues. The venue's road course formally opened later in the month on the 28th to host an SCCA event. In May of that year, negotiations began for film company Filmways to buy out SPIR, with Filmways finalizing its purchase two months later. SPIR held its first NASCAR-sanctioned race in June, with Ray Elder winning a Pacific Coast Division event. On September 7, the track experienced its first fatality after motorcycle rider Lee Patterson crashed in the main track layout's seventh turn, hitting a hay bale and dying instantly upon impact. The following year, SPIR hosted its first USAC Championship Car race, with Dan Gurney winning the event on April 4.Soon after Filmways' purchase of SPIR, the facility fell into financial trouble due to high overhead expenses. In early May 1970, SPIR president Craig Murray talked to local media about the facility's financial decline, stating that the facility had lost $300,000 within 14 months, undergone major staffing cuts, and that the stock price of the track had dropped from $35 to $8.25. Despite plans to host future scheduled races, on May 11, Filmways officially announced the cancellation of all Filmways-run events. The entire facility was put up for sale with an asking price set at between $3.5–4 million. After all offers to buy out the entirety of SPIR at the initial asking price fell through, the price was quickly dropped to $1.5–1.7 million for only the racetrack and its parking lots. After two one-off races run by the San Francisco Junior Chamber of Commerce, SPIR was closed for the rest of 1970 in August, with "no bright hopes" of a potential sale. By the end of October 1970, San Francisco Examiner reporter Miles Ottenheimer described the condition of SPIR as a "sad scene," writing that "nature is slowly taking over... peering through the wire gate at all this potential lying wasted, one is saddened. Only rabbits and occasional deer now venture out on the road course."
1973 reopening, further financial troubles and government conflicts
In February 1971, Craig Murray stated an interest in potentially purchasing SPIR, planning meetings with NASCAR executives Bill France Jr. and Les Richter. Two months later, Murray announced in a press conference the formation of a corporation with drivers Dan Gurney, George Follmer, and Peter Revson that aimed to raise $1.5 million to purchase the facility. He further stated hopes to host motorcycle and drag races in 1972. An option to buy the facility was purchased by the group in August. In an effort to find other ways to generate revenue for SPIR, Murray announced in January 1972 plans to open the track daily to paying amateur drivers and spectators. However, the opening was delayed due to Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork and a slow stock issue to raise $1,500,000.Starting in November 1972, Hugh Harn and Parker Archer were rumored as potential buyers for SPIR's lease, with the duo stating in the Daily Independent Journal their plans to focus on motorcycle racing. The duo's purchase was officially confirmed on January 1, 1973, for approximately $1,000,000, with the first races being scheduled for May of that year. SPIR officially reopened for an SCCA driving school on March 2, with the first sports car and motorcycle events since reopening occurring in the following months. Harn and Archer, soon after their purchase, were embattled with local environmental agencies, who refused to let the duo run major races until improvements to the track's water and sewage systems were made. Although some upgrades were made, by the time the duo tried to renew their racing license in 1974, Sonoma County officials had increased their requirements to host spectator events. After it was found that the track was near the Rodgers Creek Fault, Sonoma County refused to renew the track's license to host spectator races.
In June 1974, Bob Bondurant, the owner of a driving school which was a tenant at SPIR, bought Harn and Archer's lease, making some renovations to the track's parking lot and water system by the end of July. However, within the first months of Bondurant's tenure, The Sacramento Union's Jack Woodard reported that as a result of continued financial issues and conflicts with local environmentalists, SPIR would "probably close forever next spring." Woodard further criticized the track's surface for being "not fit for any kind of racing at all," claiming, "construction goofs and years of neglect have resulted in a track that ranks somewhere between impossible and impassable." Bondurant denied the claims in late October, stating, "I'm going to sit down with ... and have him do another article." In Woodard's follow-up article released on November 3, Bondurant admitted that although numerous renovations were needed, he did some minor renovations as a sign of "good faith" in hopes of getting Sonoma County officials to renew the track's annual license.
Conflicts between SPIR officials and SPIR owner Filmways continued into the mid-1970s, with Filmways refusing to invest in and expand the track as they were looking to sell the facility. After minor repairs were made to the track's surface in June 1975, Filmways approved $1 million in November to build a sewer treatment plant. By February 1976, SPIR President Lee Moselle stated that "considerable sums of money" had been spent on water and sewage facilities to comply with Sonoma County law. Three years later, Bondurant signed an agreement with Filmways to purchase the track in March. The purchase became official in June, with the Bondurant, Bill Koll, and Don Marsh-led Black Mountain Inc. paying $1.45 million.