Sonoma Raceway is in the heart of its racing season.
The track will be hosting the NHRA Sonoma Nationals during the last week of July and IndyCar will have its season-ending race - the Grand Prix os Sonoma - in mid-September. In addition to the bigger pro series events, the NHRA will host a Division 7 event at the track the weekend before the Sonoma races.
Cycle Gear’s Moto America Road Race Championship will also be hosting a race weekend during the second week of August.
The NHRA’s Division 7 series will be hosting drags on the weekend of July 20-22. Just a tier below the main NHRA racing series, the drags will also run under the lights on Saturday night. Tickets for the weekend run from $5 for Friday admission to $45 for a full weekend ticket.
For more information, visit www.sonomaraceway.com/events/nhra-division-7-drag-races-presented-by-korbel or call (800) 870-7223.
Bracket drags
Results for this past Wednesday’s Bracket Drags weren’t available Thursday. For more information, visit sonomaraceway.com.
SF Speed will be hosting track days on Saturday and Sunday this week. For more information on how to race this weekend, visit www.speedsf.com/events/2018/7/7/sonoma-raceway.
Nitro dinner
The Sonoma Raceway division of Speedway Children’s Charities will be honoring Ron Capps during the Eric Medlen Nitro Dinner at Viansa Sonoma on Thursday night before the Sonoma Nationals.
“It’s an unbelievable honor. Not just the fact that it’s the inaugural Eric Medlen Spirit Award, but the fact that it came from Steve Page and his group in Sonoma, and I consider them family,” Capps said in a statement. “My dad took me there as a kid, and whenever someone asks me what my favorite racetrack is, it doesn’t take long for me to say Sonoma.”
The raceway said this year’s event will focus on honoring someone within the drag-racing community who shares Medlen’s qualities and has made efforts to contribute to charities.
Medlen was an Oakdale native who won the Funny Car championship for the John Forcing Racing team at Sonoma in 2006 before passing away during a testing accident in 2007.
Tickets start at $150 per person or $1,500 per table and include wine/beer and dinner. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit sonomaraceway.com or contact Cheri Plattner at 707-933-3950 or cplattner@sonomaraceway.com.
Wednesday nights
The Wednesday Night Drags program runs almost every Wednesday. Currently in its 30th year, it runs from March 14-Nov. 4. Fans can race their vehicles down the quarter-mile drag strip in a controlled environment away from city streets. Gates open at 3:30 p.m., with racing from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Competitors must have a driver’s license to compete, their cars must pass a technical inspection and all vehicles must have mufflers. Up to 300 cars are allowed to enter.
Running alongside the drags will be Sonoma Drift, where pros and amateurs can swing wheels to perfect their drifting techniques. Speed is secondary as competitors are judged on the style and execution of their drift through a marked course. Cars must pass a technical inspection before being allowed to drift.
Drifting starts at 4 p.m. Drivers pay $25 and high school students with ID can race for $15 at the gate. Spectators can watch for $10.
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