The final NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race for the FOX portion of the broadcast schedule takes place this Sunday. The Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway will kick off the month of June. The third road course race will be NASCAR’s 16th of the 2021 season. This will be just the second time this millenium that the drivers have raced on this full circuit of the course.
Sonoma Raceway Overview
Sonoma Raceway opened as Sears Point in 1968. The track located in Sonoma County, California, right in the heart of wine country. The NASCAR Cup Series would make their first stop at the raceway in 1989. They have raced at the track every year since with the exception 2020 because of the pandemic rescheduling. In 1998, they changed the layout to a shorter distance and took out the carosel portion of the course in the process. The track looked like a broken guitar during those years.
In 2002, the track changed names to Infineon Raceway. That would last for ten years until Infineon technologies decided not to renew their contract as the course’s title sponsor. Since May 2012 the track has been named Sonoma Raceway. In 2019, Sonoma went back to the original full layout of the course and NASCAR went back to racing the carousel.
NASCAR Cup Series Runs Alone at Sonoma
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series also raced at this track for the series’ first 4 years of existence. In 1999, they decided not to come back to Sonoma Raceway. The IndyCar Series also used to have an annual race here from 2005-2018. The NASCAR Xfinity Series has never hosted a race at Sonoma Raceway as of June 2021.
NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway | Weekend Racing Schedule
Toyota Save Mart 350
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Date: Sunday, June 6, 2021
Start Time: 4:00 P.M. EST
Coverage: FS1
Distance: 227 miles
Laps: 90
