Now the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sonoma, California to wrestle the challenging multi-elevational Sonoma Raceway road course for the 33rd time in series history.
Sonoma Raceway was opened as a 2.52-mile, multi-elevational paved road course and drag strip in 1968. Over the course of its existence, the 12-turn facility has held a few different names - Sears Point Raceway, Sears Point International Raceway, and Infineon Raceway prior to being renamed Sonoma Raceway.
The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway was held on June 11, 1989 and was won by Ricky Rudd driving a Buick for car owner Kenny Bernstein. Rudd ran the race at an average speed of 76.088 mph and led 61 of 74 scheduled laps (82.4%).
Over the years, the format and track configuration has changed at Sonoma Raceway. The first nine NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma were 300 kilometers and then switched to a 350k format in 1998. The track was reconfigured to 1.949-miles in 1998 with the installation of an 890-foot chute between the original Turns 4 and 7. The track was reconfigured to 2.0 miles in 2001 and re-measured at 1.99 miles in 2002.
In 2019 and 2021, the track was reconfigured back to the original 2.52-mile configuration with races being 90 laps – 226.8 miles. This season, Sonoma Raceway will be returning the track configuration back to the 1.99-mile configuration with the return of the ‘chute’.
There have been 32 NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway since the first race there in 1989 – one race per season - until the 2020 season. Due to the pandemic, the series did not compete at Sonoma Raceway.
The 32 NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway have produced 18 different pole winners and 20 different race winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in both poles (five: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005) and wins (five: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006) at Sonoma Raceway.
Of the 18 different pole winners at Sonoma, three are active this weekend, led by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Kyle Larson with three poles (2017, 2018, 2019).
Active Sonoma Pole Winners | Poles | Seasons |
Kyle Larson | 3 | 2019, 2018, 2017 |
Joey Logano | 1 | 2011 |
Kurt Busch | 1 | 2006 |
And five of the 20 different Cup Series Sonoma Raceway winners are active this weekend, led by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. with three wins (2013, 2018, 2019).
Active Sonoma Race Winners | Wins | Seasons |
Martin Truex Jr | 3 | 2019, 2018, 2013 |
Kyle Busch | 2 | 2015, 2008 |
Kyle Larson | 1 | 2021 |
Kevin Harvick | 1 | 2017 |
Kurt Busch | 1 | 2011 |
All the on-track action begins for the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 11 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. ET, directly followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS2.
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