The Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series comes to Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma this weekend.
The 110-lap car race around the 1.99-mile track, located at the intersection of state Highways 37 and 121, begins at noon Sunday, but other events this weekend include a 15-minute Patriots Jet team air show at 10:50 a.m. Sunday, the Gravity Powered Car Challenge at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and the 64-lap Carneros 200 NASCAR Pro Series West Race at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The final qualifying round before Sunday's race is on Saturday.
There also will also be a qualifying round for Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest on the main stage in front of the Main Grandstand.
Wonder Bread 5, a Bay Area band, will play in the Club 7 Saturday, and there will be movies on a 15-foot by 25-foot screen under the stars Saturday night.
The California Highway Patrol and Sonoma Raceway have plans to mitigate traffic on state Highways 37 and 121 during the Bay Area's largest single-day sporting event.
Sports
The focus is informing non-race attendees about alternate routes in and out of the Napa and Sonoma valleys. In past years, as many as 85 percent of the drivers passing Sonoma Raceway at Highways 37 and 121 during the peak entry and exit times were not attending the race.
One of the traffic mitigation measures includes using 46 changeable message signs -- 25 more than prior years -- within a 15-mile radius of the facility to direct traffic away from the two highways.
Traffic warnings, including maps and alternate routes have been widely distributed to local hotels, restaurants and wineries for residents and visitors.
Seven new signs on Highway 121 will direct raceway guests to the appropriate entry gate, and additional parking staff will remain in the lots to organize and manage traffic.
Sonoma Raceway's traffic manager will work with more than 30 CHP and Caltrans employees.
Fans can avoid the immediate post-race traffic by sticking around for the post-race Track Walk around the course soon after the checkered flag falls. Specially painted lug nuts, that are redeemable for valuable prizes at the Ticket Pit Stop behind the Main Grandstand, will be scattered around the
track.
"Our goal is to improve the experience for our guests, but also to minimize the disruption our event causes for other travelers throughout the Bay Area," Sonoma Raceway general manager and president Steve Page said.
"By using alternate routes, which may look longer on a map, local drivers will actually save themselves time and frustration, and ultimately reach their destination more quickly," Page said.
"We feel these efforts have gone above and beyond to assist the public," CHP Sgt. Brad Bradshaw said.
Race fans are advised to arrive at the track early on Sunday. Mass transit is available to 500 fans via the NASCAR Express Train from Sacramento, and the SportsFan Express bus program that will bring 1,000 fans from 27 locations in Northern California to the race.
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office will be stringently checking the paperwork for disabled driver vehicle placards. Violators will be fined, ticketed and required to appear in court.
Photograph by Daniel Murphy.
