8 things you need to know about Sonoma Raceway
For the first time this season, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is going road racing, with Sunday's Save Mart/Toyota 350 at Sonoma Raceway (FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET).
8. HOW MANY TURNS? -- Officially, Sonoma Raceway has 12 turns. But in NASCAR racing, only 10 of the 12 are used. You'll see a lot of passing and a lot of wrecks in Turn 11, which for the NASCAR drivers is really the ninth turn they encounter. Yes, it's confusing.
7. THE IMTIMIDATOR -- Only one of the late Dale Earnhardt's 76 career race victories came on a road course. It happened at Sonoma in 1995.
6. SHEEPISH -- The tract of land where Sonoma Raceway sits today was a working farm called Sears Point Farm in the early 1900s. And even today, sheep graze on the hillsides at the track.
5. JUAN-TWO PUNCH -- When Juan Pablo Montoya won at Sonoma in 2007, he set two records: He was the first rookie winner here and he won from the 32nd starting sport, the deepest any winner has begun this race.
4. BLUE & GOLD -- Sonoma President and General Manager Steve Page attended UC Berkeley. That's why the track's corner berms are painted blue and gold, the school's colors.
3. ROLLER COASTER RIDE -- Sonoma road course features more than 160 feet of elevation change from its highest point (Turn 3a, 174 feet) to its lowest point (Turn 10, 14 feet).
2. LOCAL HERO -- How dominant was Vallejo, Calif., native Jeff Gordon at Sonoma? He won here five times. No one else has won more than twice at this track. There are five two-time winners: Ernie Irvan, ('92, '94), Ricky Rudd ('89, '02), Tony Stewart ('01, '05), Rusty Wallace ('90, '96) and Kyle Busch ('08, '15).
1. WALK OF FAME -- Friday at Sonoma, Tony Stewart and Ernie Irvan will become the newest members of the raceway's Wall of Fame, joining fellow NASCAR stars Rusty Wallace (2005), Mark Martin (2005), Jeff Gordon (2006), Ricky Rudd (2007) and Rick Hendrick (2010).
