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Legends bring historical touch to Toyota/Save Mart 350 June 24 to 26 weekend at Infineon

Valley’s Pedroncelli again racing NASCAR Saturday event

 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is on the horizon of making its 23rd appearance at Infineon Raceway, and there will be “history” in attendance for the popular Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend, which starts on Friday, June 24, and runs through Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26.

Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett and Richard Petty, three of the biggest names in NASCAR history, will be at Infineon all three days and race fans will get a chance to meet and talk to them.

The legendary drivers will participate in an autograph and question-and-answer session for their fans on Friday, June 24, in the Wine Country Winner's Circle at 1 p.m.

Allison, Jarrett and Petty, all esteemed members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will also be featured during a special question-and-answer session during pre-event ceremonies on Toyota/Save Mart 350 race day, Sunday, June 26.

Petty, better known as “The King,” is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion, winning a record 200 races during his career, including the Daytona 500 a record seven times and a record 27 races (10 of them consecutively) in the 1967 season alone.

Allison, the 1983 NASCAR Cup Series champion, is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 and his son, Davey, won in Sonoma in 1991.

Jarrett is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion with 50 career victories, including an impressive 28 wins during the 1964 and ’65 seasons, and he was named one of NASCAR's “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998.

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend will also feature the Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 NASCAR Pro Series West race on Saturday (June 25) and a 25-minute air show by Discovery Bay's Patriots Jet Demonstration Team during pre-event ceremonies on Sunday (June 26).

Actor John “Cliff Clavin” Ratzenberger is this year’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 grand marshal.

Single-day NASCAR tickets range from $25 to $130, with weekend passes from $99 to $180, parking is free and there are discounts for military.

 

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P.J. Pedroncelli, a 2008 Sonoma Valley High School graduate and current racecar driver, will return to Infineon Raceway for the third straight year to compete in Saturday’s, June 25, Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 NASCAR Pro Series West race.

Pedroncelli will be making a signing appearance from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Sunday, June 19, at the new Top That Yogurt shop at 1940 Piner Road, Suite 400, in Santa Rosa, and then he will be part of customer appreciation day from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22, at the Top That Yogurt Sonoma location at 531 Broadway.

 

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Still available is Infineon’s most inclusive ticket package, the Track Pass, which costs $399 and includes tickets to all major events, plus season-long VIP parking, a Pre-Race Pit and Track Pass for NASCAR, a garage pass for IndyCar and more.

Following NASCAR, the Infineon Raceway’s 2011 Big O Tires major events season continues with the NHRA Division 7 Drag Racing weekend of July 22 to 24; the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals from July 29 to 31; the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend of Aug. 26 to 28; and the Classic Sports Racing Group Charity Challenge on Oct. 1 and 2.

To purchase NASCAR and other major event tickets, the Track Pass or other special ticket packages, or for details on Wednesday Night Drags, Top the Cops, Drifting or for more general information, visit www.infineonraceway.com, www.ticketmaster.com or call 800-870-RACE (7223).

 

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INFINEON’S NASCAR SCHEDULE/TV COVERAGE

Friday, June 24 (Pick-n-Pull Pole Day): NASCARSprint Cup Series practice, noon to 1:30 p.m. (SPEED); NASCAR West Series qualifying, 1:50 p.m.; Pick-n-Pull Pole Day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, 3:40 p.m., on SPEED at 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 25: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, 9:30 to 10:15 a.m., SPEED, 11:30 a.m.; DenBeste Happy Hour NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, 10:45 a.m. to noon, SPEED, 12:30 p.m.; Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race, 12:45 p.m.

Sunday, June 26: Toyota/Save Mart 350, noon – TV-TNT, radio – KNBR 1050 AM (San Francisco), KHTK 1140 AM (Sacramento).