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Infineon Raceway
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Sears Point Raceway
Sonoma |
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| Location |
29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, California, 95476 |
| Time zone |
GMT-8 |
| Capacity |
102,000 |
| Owner |
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Operator |
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Broke ground |
1967 |
| Opened |
1968 |
| Construction Cost |
$70 million USD |
| Former Names |
Sears Point Raceway |
| Major Events |
AMA Superbike
Supercuts Superbike Challenge
Indy Racing League
Motorola Indy 300
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Toyota/Save Mart 350
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
FRAM Autolite Nationals
|
| Surface |
Asphalt |
| Circuit Length |
2.52 mi (4.05 km) |
| Turns |
12 |
| Lap Record |
1:21.688 (Marco Werner, Audi Sport North America, 2004, LMP1) |
|
| NASCAR Course |
| Surface |
Asphalt |
| Circuit Length |
1.99 mi (3.2 km) |
| Turns |
10 |
| Lap Record |
1:15.950 (Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports, 2005 NASCAR Sprint Cup) |
|
| IndyCar/Motorcycle Course |
| Surface |
Asphalt |
| Circuit Length |
2.22 mi (3.57 km) |
| Turns |
11 |
| Lap Record |
1:16.4913 (Ryan Briscoe, Chip Ganassi Racing, 2005 ) |
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills. It is host to one of only five NASCAR races each year that are run on road courses (including two races at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York and the Nationwide Series-only races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico and at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada). It is also host to the Indy Racing League, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Infineon Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events which may or may not be open to the general public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America.
With the closure of Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California after the 1988 season, NASCAR, wanting a west coast road course event to replace it, chose the Sears Point facility. Riverside International was razed for a shopping center development.
In 2002, Sears Point Raceway was renamed after a corporate sponsor, Infineon. However, as with many renamings of sports complexes, many people still call it by its original name. (It was never affiliated with Sears, Roebuck and Company, having been named for the nearby geographical feature.)
The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a 2.52 mile (4.05 km), 12 turn course, however the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as the Toyota/Save Mart 350, and was criticized by many drivers, who prefer the full layout.[1] In 2001, it was replaced with the 70° turn, 4A bringing the track to its current dimensions.[2] Most races, including the Grand American Road Racing Association's Grand Prix of Sonoma, use the full course, while American Motorcyclist Association and Indy Racing League events use a modified 2.22 mile (3.57 km), 12 turn course. This layout, opened in 2003, skips much of the Esses and run from Turn 10 to Turn 11 (the hairpin) for additional safety for motorcyclists, including runoff available in the motorcycle Turn 11 (the main Turn 11 has no runoff, and is a very slow turn, similar to the Loews hairpin at Monaco). The raceway also has a quarter mile (400 m) drag strip used for NHRA drag racing events. The drag strip was originally located on part of the front straightaway of the course. Track changes completed in 2002 separated the road course from the drag strip.[1]
See Also: List of NASCAR race tracks
As well, Infineon is the first track to be included in the GT series, the first game being Gran Turismo 4. It is expected that, alongside Daytona International Speedway, it will reappear in Gran Turismo 4
[edit] Records
- Most Wins (Sprint Cup Series): Jeff Gordon, 5 ('98,'99,'00,'04,'06)
[edit] NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Winners
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[edit] Seating Capacity
Infineon Raceway has a permanent seating capacity of 47,000 [2]. 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 wastewater treatment facility, 100 acres of restored wetlands, permanent garages, new retail space, a go-kart track and a new drag strip.
[edit] Major Events
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Tracks of the USAC Championship Series |
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Former Tracks
(1956-1981) |
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| Road Courses |
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| International |
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