What:
NASCAR visits the Sonoma Valley for the 22nd consecutive year at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sprint Cup Series event. This will mark the first of two road-course events on the NASCAR schedule.
When:
June 18-20 (Father’s Day weekend)
Circuit/Race Length:
Infineon Raceway is a 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course for all NASCAR-sanctioned events. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is measured in kilometers. The race distance is 218.9 miles or 110 laps around the 1.99-mile road course.
Entries:
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for last year’s event. The starting field in 2010 will feature 43 cars.
Purse:
A purse of $5,520,395 in posted awards will be up for grabs.
Schedule (All times Pacific):
Friday, June 18: Sprint Cup Series Practice, Noon-1:30 p.m.; NASCAR West Series Qualifying, 1:50 p.m.; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, 3:35 p.m.
Saturday, June 19: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice, 9:30 a.m.-10:15 a.m.; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, 10:45 a.m.-11:50 a.m.; Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200, NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 20: Toyota/Save Mart 350, noon (NEW START TIME)
For a complete schedule, visit www.infineonraceway.com.
Television (All times Pacific):
Friday, June 18: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice, Noon (SPEED); NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, 3:30 p.m. (SPEED)
Saturday, June 19: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice, 9:30 a.m. (SPEED); NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, 10:30 a.m. (SPEED).
Sunday, June 20: Toyota/Save Mart 350, Noon (TNT)
Local Radio Coverage (all provided by PRN):
KNBR 1050 AM (San Francisco): Sunday, June 20: Toyota/Save Mart 350 and Post-Race Show.
KHTK 1140 AM (Sacramento): Sunday, June 20: Toyota/Save Mart 350 and Post-Race Show.
What To Expect:
Kasey Kahne earned his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road-course victory when he took the checkers at Infineon Raceway in 2009. The win also marked team owner Richard Petty’s first victory since 1999. Kahne was the fifth different winner in five years in Sonoma…. Jeff Gordon is the undisputed king of Infineon Raceway, with five victories (1998-2000, ’04, ‘06) and five pole positions (1998-99, ’01, ’04, ’05) – the most of any driver. Gordon is also the all-time NASCAR winner on road courses with nine victories…. Two-time winners at Infineon Raceway include Rusty Wallace (1990, ’96), Ernie Irvan (1992, ’94), Ricky Rudd (1989, 2002) and Tony Stewart (2001, ’05).… In 2009, eight of the top-15 finishers at Infineon Raceway started farther back than 20th…. Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon are tied for the record of most top-10 finishes at Infineon Raceway at 13… Michael Waltrip has completed the most laps of any NASCAR driver at Infineon Raceway. He has completed 1,770 of 1,999 laps run in Sonoma… There have been 65 lead changes combined over the last seven years of Cup Series competition at Infineon Raceway…. The first lap of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 will make the 2,000th lap of NASCAR Cup Series competition at Infineon Raceway.
Qualifying/Race Records:
Qualifying: Jeff Gordon, June 24, 2005, 94.325 mph/1:15.950
Race: Ricky Rudd, June 23, 2002, 81.007 mph
In addition:
• The weekend will also feature the Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200, NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday, June 19 at 12:30 p.m. (Pacific). The race will span 64 laps and a handful of Sprint Cup Series regulars are expected to compete. Ontario’s Jason Bowles will look for his third consecutive victory in Sonoma driving the No. 31 Thunder Valley Casino Resort car.
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner Rick Hendrick will be inducted into the Infineon Raceway Wall of Fame on Friday, June 18. Hendrick is the winningest NASCAR team owner in NASCAR history at Infineon Raceway, and Hendrick drivers have also posted nine pole positions, including three consecutive poles by Ricky Rudd (1990-92), and 23 top-5 finishes in Sonoma.
