Raceway not silent in pandemic

The chances for a grandstand of fans enjoying the action at Sonoma Raceway any time in 2020 seems to be slowly evaporating. The latest to finalize their cancellation is the Sonoma Speed Festival, first scheduled for May, then bumped to August, and now formally delayed until May, 2021.

The motorsports, food and wine festival brought thousands of automotive enthusiasts to Sonoma Raceway in its first year, 2019, to watch race cars from past and present in competition on the race track, while enjoying local food and wine and up-close contact with the drivers and their cars.

Ultimately, festival planners determined it would not be possible to hold the event this year and still provide the experience attendees enjoyed at the inaugural Sonoma Speed Festival in 2019. “The event is primarily a social gathering, which is not something that can be comfortably and safely accomplished in the current environment,” said a release from organizers.

It marks the latest blow to the historic motorsports facility at Sears Point, in southern Sonoma County. NASCAR pulled out in May, despite the stock car racing association’s continued season of action at largely empty raceways, most in the American Southeast. Its cup series races are carried on sports cable networks, with commentary and live cars, and perhaps the absence of a live crowd matters less to the competitors inside a 120-decibel cockpit, than to sports such as baseball, basketball or even tennis.

Still, it’s not a ghost town down at the Sears Point facility. Next week, July 10-12, the CSRG David Love Races are currently on as scheduled, but without spectators. This is a vintage car racing event, from the Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) of San Rafael, originally scheduled for May but delayed until this month to work out the health safety protocol. More info at www.lovememorialraces.com

The NHRA Division 7 event , scheduled for July 24-26 at Sonoma Raceway, will also go ahead as planned – also without spectators. Just drivers, mechanics and family will witness the drag cars roaring down that quarter-mile straightaway.

They are also still planning to host the Blancpain GT World Challenge America Series (Aug.7-9), as well as the CSRG Charity Challenge (Oct. 3-4), said Diana Brennan of the raceway. “It's questionable as to whether we will be able to host spectators at these events, or if they will be competitor-only.” That depends, of course, on state or local health orders at that time. You can see up-to-date schedules at sonomaraceway.com/events/

The Sonoma Raceway also puts on the Sears Point Racing Experience, one-day programs of classroom instruction and in-car exercises to help participants learn the technical aspects of driving their own cars.

“The racing school programs are going on as scheduled with social distancing and much of the instruction taking place outside,” said Brennan. “We are also only doing programs that involve one person per vehicle (not people trading cars, etc.).” More information on these programs at searspointracing.com.