Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway at a glance
- Location
- Sonoma, California
- Type
- road course
- Length
- 2.52 mi (4.06 km)
- Turns
- 12
- Direction
- clockwise
- Surface
- asphalt
- Elevation change
- 160 ft
- Opened
- 1969
- Owner
- Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
- Capacity
- 44,000
- Address
- 29355 Arnold Drive
- Phone
- +1 800-870-7223
- Website
- sonomaraceway.com
Track map and layout
Carved into hills at the southern end of Sonoma Valley, the Grand Prix road course climbs and drops nearly 160 feet across its 12-turn lap, with the high point at Turn 3a and the low point down at Turn 10. The circuit is best known for the Carousel, a long, off-camber, downhill left-hand sweeper through Turns 5 and 6 that punishes cars trying to carry too much speed, and for the tight Turn 11 hairpin that sets up the run to the start-finish line. NASCAR uses a shortened Club/NASCAR configuration that skips the Carousel via a straight shortcut called the Chute, cutting the lap to 1.99 miles while keeping the same 12-turn count. The blend of elevation change, a Wine Country backdrop, and genuinely technical corners makes Sonoma a favorite among both pro road racers and weekend track-day drivers.
Named corners and sections
- The Carousel. The long, downhill, off-camber left-hander through Turns 5 and 6, the signature feature of the full road course.
- The Chute. A straightaway shortcut connecting Turns 4 and 7 used in NASCAR's Club Circuit configuration, bypassing the Carousel entirely.
- Turn 11. The tight, uphill final hairpin leading onto the frontstretch, a common passing and contact point.
Configurations
| Layout | Length | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix / Road Course | 2.52 mi | Full 12-turn layout used for IMSA, Trans-Am and club racing |
| NASCAR / Club Circuit | 1.99 mi | Shortened via the Chute, used for NASCAR Cup and Xfinity races |
| IndyCar Circuit | 2.385 mi | Used historically for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma (2005-2018) |
Events and race weekends
Sonoma's headline weekend is NASCAR Cup Series' Toyota/Save Mart 350 in June, one of only a handful of road-course dates on the Cup calendar, run alongside NASCAR Xfinity and ARCA Menards Series West support races. The track's drag strip hosts the NHRA Sonoma Nationals in July as part of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Sonoma also carried an IndyCar Grand Prix from 2005 to 2018 (its former season finale), and today sees regular GT World Challenge America, Trans-Am and club-racing dates through spring and fall.
| Event | Series | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota/Save Mart 350 | NASCAR Cup Series | June | Run on the Club/NASCAR configuration |
| NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race | NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | June | Same weekend as the Cup race |
| DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals | NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series | July | |
| GT World Challenge America round | GT World Challenge America | March |
Getting there and parking
Sonoma Raceway sits in Sonoma Valley roughly 30 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge area, off Highway 37 near the junction with Highway 121. The nearest commercial airports are in the greater San Francisco Bay Area; Oakland and San Francisco are the most common gateways for visitors flying in, with Sonoma County Airport (STS) closer but served by fewer flights.
- Oakland International Airport (OAK) · about 60 min drive
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) · about 70 min drive
- Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS) · about 30 min drive
Highway 37/121 access gets heavily congested before and after NASCAR race weekends; arriving early or late helps avoid the worst of it.
Hotels and camping near Sonoma Raceway
Event weekends at Sonoma draw heavily on on-site camping, since the surrounding Sonoma Valley has limited hotel inventory relative to crowd size, especially around the NASCAR Cup weekend. Wine Country towns nearby offer higher-end lodging but book up and rise sharply in price during race and NHRA weekends.
Where to look
The city of Sonoma, plus Santa Rosa, Napa and the wider North Bay Wine Country, all within roughly 20-45 minutes of the track.
Camping
On-site camping is offered for major events (NASCAR, NHRA) with multiple tent, car-camping and RV areas across the property; passes are sold separately from event tickets.
RV
RV camping sites are available on-site during marquee event weekends; exact hookup and pricing details vary by event and should be checked on the track's camping pages.
Track days, driving experiences and lap records
Sonoma is a working track-day and driving-school venue outside of its pro race weekends. Simraceway Performance Driving Center operates on-site at Turn 1, running HPDE and instructed driving programs in customer cars, school race cars and karts. The track also hosts car-club and track-day organizer days through its own Track Days & Car Clubs program, alongside visiting SCCA and NASA regional events.
Who runs days here
Lap records
| Category | Time | Driver | Car | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMP1 (Grand Prix Circuit) | 1:22.041 | Marco Werner | Audi R8 | 2005 |
| NASCAR Cup (Club Circuit) | 1:13.629 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | 2024 |
| IndyCar (IndyCar Circuit) | 1:18.3576 | Simon Pagenaud | Dallara DW12 | 2017 |
| Superbike (Motorcycle Circuit) | 1:35.067 | Cameron Beaubier | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2018 |
Spectator guide
Sonoma's hillside terrain gives spectators sweeping views over multiple corners from general-admission hillside seating, on top of grandstands lining the frontstretch and key corners for the NASCAR weekend. The venue's Wine Country setting draws a broader crowd than a typical oval, with on-site wineries-style hospitality options in addition to standard grandstand seating.
Best places to watch
Hillside general-admission areas overlooking the Carousel (Turns 5-6) give views across several corners at once.
Weather
- Jun: warm, dry Wine Country summer, highs typically in the mid-80s°F
- Jul: hot and dry for the NHRA Nationals, highs often in the 90s°F
History of Sonoma Raceway
From Sears Point to Sonoma
The track broke ground in August 1968 on hilly ranch land in Sonoma Valley and opened in early 1969 as Sears Point International Raceway, with the drag strip debuting in March and the road course later that spring. Financial struggles plagued the facility through the 1970s under original owner Filmways Inc. and a series of operators, including a period when driving-school pioneer Bob Bondurant ran operations on the property. Stability finally arrived under Jack Williams in the 1980s and Skip Berg through the mid-1990s, whose renovations set up the track for its next chapter.
Speedway Motorsports era
Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the facility in 1996 for roughly $2 million alongside a much larger option on future improvements, and the track has carried its banner ever since. It was renamed Infineon Raceway in 2002 under a corporate sponsorship deal and became Sonoma Raceway in 2012 when that naming-rights deal lapsed. Throughout these name changes the track built a reputation as one of NASCAR's two true road-course tests, hosting the Cup Series each June since 1989, and it added an IndyCar date that ran from 2005 through 2018, including several years as the series' season finale.
Present day
Today Sonoma Raceway continues to hold its NASCAR Cup and Xfinity weekend each June and the NHRA Sonoma Nationals each July on its drag strip, while running a busy secondary calendar of GT World Challenge America, Trans-Am and club racing. The Simraceway Performance Driving Center operates on-site as a resident driving school, and the track's Track Days & Car Clubs program keeps the Grand Prix road course accessible to enthusiast drivers throughout the year, extending the facility's original mission as a real working road course beyond its marquee televised events.
Frequently asked questions
How long is Sonoma Raceway?+
The full Grand Prix road course is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) with 12 turns; NASCAR runs a shortened 1.99-mile Club Circuit that bypasses the Carousel via the Chute.
Why is Sonoma Raceway sometimes called Sears Point or Infineon?+
The track opened in 1969 as Sears Point International Raceway, was renamed Infineon Raceway in 2002 under a sponsorship deal, and became Sonoma Raceway in 2012.
What is the Carousel at Sonoma Raceway?+
The Carousel is the long, downhill, off-camber left-hand sweeper through Turns 5 and 6 on the full road course, considered the track's signature corner.
Can the public drive Sonoma Raceway?+
Yes. Simraceway Performance Driving Center runs HPDE and instructed driving programs on-site, and the track hosts car-club and track-day events plus visiting SCCA and NASA events.
Is there camping at Sonoma Raceway?+
Yes, on-site tent, car-camping and RV camping are available for major events like the NASCAR Cup weekend and the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
What is Sonoma Raceway's biggest race?+
The Toyota/Save Mart 350, a NASCAR Cup Series road-course race held each June, is the track's marquee event.
Other tracks nearby
- Thunderhill Raceway Park · 96 mi · road course
- WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca · 116 mi · road course
- Willow Springs International Raceway · 325 mi · road course
- Grand Prix of Long Beach · 386 mi · street circuit
- Auto Club Speedway / California Speedway · 394 mi · oval
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway · 430 mi · oval
Facts checked against 4 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-09.