Infineon Raceway
 | |
| Infineon Raceway | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Sears Point Raceway |
| Location |  29355 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, California, 95476
|
| Broke ground | 1967 |
| Opened | 1968 |
| Closed | Open |
| Demolished | N/A |
| Owner | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Operator | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Construction cost | $70 million USD |
| Architect | |
| Former names | Sears Point Raceway |
| Major events | AMA Superbike Supercuts Superbike Challenge
Indy Racing League |
| Seating capacity | 102,000 |
| Dimensions | |
| Track shape | Road course |
| Track length | 2.52 miles (1.95 miles for the NASCAR course) |
| Track banking | none |
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip in the hills of northern California, near Sonoma, north of San Francisco. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills. It is host to one of the only two NASCAR races each year that are run on road courses. It is also host to several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series.
With the closure of Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California after the 1988 season, NASCAR, wanting a west coast road course event to replace it, chose the Sears Point facility. Riverside International was razed for a shopping center development.
In 2002, Sears Point Raceway was renamed after a corporation, Infineon. However, as with many renamings of sports complexes, many people still call it by its original name. Despite its name, it was in no ways affiliated with Sears.
The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a 2.52 mile (4.05 km), 12 turn course, however the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypasses turns 5 and 6, shortening course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute is only used for NASCAR events such as the Dodge/Save Mart 350, and is criticised by many drivers, who prefer the full layout; most races, including the Grand American Road Racing Association's Grand Prix of Sonoma, use the full course, while American Motorcyclist Association and Indy Racing League events use a modified 2.22 mile (3.57 km), 12 turn course. This layout, opened in 2003, skips much of the Esses and run from Turn 10 to Turn 11 (the hairpin) for additional safety for motorcyclists, including runoff available in the motorcycle Turn 11 (the main Turn 11 has no runoff, and is a very slow turn, similar to the Mirabeau hairpin at Monaco). The raceway also has a quarter mile (400 m) drag strip used for NHRA drag racing events.
See Also: List of NASCAR race tracks
Records
- Fastest Lap: Marco Werner, 110.641 mph, Audi R8, July 17 2004
- NASCAR Qualifying: Jeff Gordon, 94.325 mph , June 24 2005.
- NASCAR Race: Ricky Rudd, 81.007 mph, June 23, 2002.
- IRL Qualifying: Ryan Briscoe, 108.248 mph , August 27, 2005
- IRL Race: Tony Kanaan, 91.040 mph , August 28, 2005.
- Highest speed, Funny Car: John Force, 322.42 mph, 2004.
- Most Wins (Nextel Cup): Jeff Gordon, 5 ('98,'99,'00,'04,'06)
Major Events
- Dodge/Save Mart 350
- Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma
- FRAM Autolite Nationals
- Indy Racing League
- Jaguar Wine Country Classic
Current Races
- AMA Superbike - Supercuts Superbike Challenge
- Nextel Cup - Dodge/Save Mart 350
- NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series - FRAM Autolite Nationals
- Indy Racing League - Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
External links
- Infineon Raceway Official Site
- Infineon Raceway Page on NASCAR.com
- Trackpedia guide to driving this track
- High Resolution image from Google Maps