SONOMA, California — Infineon Raceway will host the 21st annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the Sonoma Valley at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend, June 19-21. Below are points of interest regarding previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Infineon Raceway:
PIT NOTES
• Jeff Gordon is the only driver to win five NASCAR races at Infineon Raceway (1998 – 2000, ‘04, ‘06). There have been four two-time winners: Ernie Irvan, ('92, '94), Ricky Rudd (‘89, ‘02), Tony Stewart (‘01, ‘05) and Rusty Wallace (‘90, ‘96).
• A total of 12 different drivers have tasted victory on the Infineon Raceway road course: Ricky Rudd ('89, ‘02), Rusty Wallace ('90, ‘96), Davey Allison ('91), Ernie Irvan ('92, ‘94), Geoffrey Bodine ('93), Dale Earnhardt ('95), Mark Martin (`97), Jeff Gordon (‘98-‘00, ‘04, ‘06), Tony Stewart (‘01, ‘05), Robby Gordon (‘03), Juan Pablo Montoya (’07) and Kyle Busch (’08)
• Juan Pablo Montoya was the first rookie ever to win a NASCAR Cup event at Infineon Raceway in 2007.
• The largest margin of victory at Infineon Raceway belongs to Ernie Irvan (1994) by 9.56 seconds.
• Jeff Gordon holds the record for the most poles at Infineon Raceway with five (‘98, ‘99, ‘01, ‘04, ‘05).
• Ernie Irvan (1994), Mark Martin (1997) and Jeff Gordon (1998, ‘99 and 2004) are the only drivers to win a race starting from the pole.
• Michael Waltrip holds the record for most laps completed at Infineon Raceway. Through 19 races, or 1,886 laps, Waltrip has completed 1,770.
• Kyle Busch’s 2008 victory marked Toyota’s first-ever win at Infineon Raceway. Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2007 win earned Dodge its only NASCAR victory at Infineon Raceway.
• Jeff Gordon is the top money winner with $2,161,600, competing in 16 of 20 NASCAR events at Infineon Raceway. He leads second-place earner, Tony Stewart, by nearly $800,000.
• Mark Martin holds the record for the most top-10 finishes at Infineon Raceway at 13, including one win (1997).
• Eight of the top-15 finishers in the 2008 NASCAR event at Infineon Raceway started farther back than 20th.
• The 2009 Sonoma event falls on Father’s Day for the first time in track history.
• Kasey Kahne posted Dodge’s first-ever pole in Sonoma in 2008 with a 92.153-mph lap.
FUN FACTS
• Nearly 3,000 sheep reside on the Infineon Raceway property. The roving mowers were brought to the facility to help maintain grasses and fire lanes. Provided by Rocky Mountain Wooly Weeders in Colorado, the sheep live on the property full-time and are tended by two shepherds.
• More than 17 tons of materials were recycled at Infineon Raceway during the 2008 racing season. That includes 18,928 pounds of glass, 13,366 pounds of plastic bottles and 2,274 pounds of aluminum cans.
• 216,000 pounds of ice were used at Infineon Raceway during the 2007 NASCAR event weekend. That’s 108 tons, or the same weight as 47 Toyota Tundra trucks.
• JD Heslin holds the distinction of traveling the farthest to attend the 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350. He traveled 6,952 miles from his home in Christchurch, New Zealand, to Sonoma.
• Thus far, fans from 46 of the 50 U.S. states will be in attendance during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 event weekend.
• The Infineon Raceway road course features more than 160 feet of elevation change from its highest to lowest points. That’s approximately the same height as a 16-story building. The highest point at Turn 3a reaches 174 feet, while the lowest point at Turn 10 is just 14 feet.
• Drivers who complete the Toyota/Save Mart 350 will complete 1,100 left- and right-hand turns, and more than 1,500 transmission shifts during the span of the main event. The race spans 110 laps.
