Sonoma Raceway Announces 50th Anniversary Celebration for 2019 Season
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Sonoma Raceway will celebrate 50 years of racing during its 2019 race season, as the motorsports facility hosts a full slate of on-track activity while looking back at its incredible history in the Sonoma Valley.
The raceway kicked off its anniversary celebrations earlier this year, marking the 50th anniversary of the facility’s groundbreaking on Aug. 14, 1968. Paving was completed on the road course in November of that year, and the raceway hosted its first non-spectator event, an SCCA Enduro, on Dec. 1, 1968. The raceway went on to host its first full season of racing in 1969, which included NHRA drag racing, AMA motorcycle racing and SCCA road racing.
Today, the raceway unveiled its 50th anniversary logo, which includes a nod to the raceway’s signature Sears Point Raceway emblem. The 50th anniversary logo will be prominently featured throughout the 2019 season, including merchandise and promotional materials.
Honoring the raceway’s history and memorable moments will be at the heart of the raceway’s efforts in 2019, including celebrations to mark significant milestones in the raceway’s history, signature celebrations at the raceway’s major events featuring drivers and legends, and plenty of throwback images and memorabilia.
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| 1969 Program Cover |
“Sonoma Raceway’s legacy over the last half century covers the spectrum from iconic professional stars to thousands of amateur enthusiast racers who have turned laps on our road course or accelerated down the quarter-mile," said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager. “We look forward to celebrating with all of them in the coming year, and honoring our incredible history."
Race fans are invited to get in on the fun by sharing their personal memories, stories and pictures from events at Sonoma Raceway at www.sonomaraceway.com/50 or on social media using the hashtag #Race50noma.
On track, the 2019 major event schedule will be highlighted by the 31st return of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (June 21-23) and the 32nd NHRA Sonoma Nationals (July 26-28).
The raceway announced earlier this year that NASCAR will return to the circuit’s historic 12-turn, 2.52-mile road-course layout for the 2019 Toyota/Save Mart 350. The full track layout incorporates the raceway’s signature sweeping downhill corner known as “The Carousel." The Carousel plunges from Turn 4, down through Turns 5 and 6 and navigates a more than 200-degree radius turn before dropping onto the raceway’s longest straightaway into the Turn 7 hairpin.
The 2019 Sonoma Raceway calendar also features a number of new events, including the Sonoma Speed Festival historic car races (May 31-June 2) and the Blancpain GT World Challenge America Series (June 7-9), as well as a number of fan favorites, including the NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, presented by Korbel (July 17-21), MotoAmerica’s CycleGear Championship of Sonoma (Aug. 10-11) and the CSRG Charity Challenge (Oct. 4-6). Make the Future California Featuring Shell Eco-Marathon Americas (April 3-6) returns for the second consecutive year.
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| Turn 7 in 1968 |
For more information or to purchase tickets for any of the 2019 events at Sonoma Raceway, visit www.sonomaraceway.com or call 800-870-7223.
The complete major event schedule for Sonoma Raceway’s 50th anniversary season:
- Make the Future California Featuring Shell Eco-Marathon Americas – April 3-6
- Sonoma Speed Festival, Historic Car Racing – May 31-June 2
- Blancpain GT World Challenge America Series – June 7-9
- Toyota/Save Mart 350, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series – June 21-23
- NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, presented by Korbel – July 17-21
- NHRA Sonoma Nationals, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series – July 26-28
- CycleGear Championship of Sonoma, MotoAmerica – Aug. 10-11
- CSRG Charity Challenge, Historic Car Racing – Oct. 4-6