Enjoy a Taste of the Wine Country During Historics Weekend
Infineon Raceway has hosted an historic car race for each of the last 23 years, but this year’s version will have a new look and feel that will take the weekend to a new level.
The debut of the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, hosted by both Infineon Raceway and General Racing, will take place, June 5-6. Steve Earle, founder of General Racing and the long-time promoter of the successful Monterey Historics, will bring world-class cars to the Sonoma Valley.
In all, there will be 375 of the world’s finest racing machines on the property, some dating as far back as Pre-World War I. It’s sure to be an incredible collection of racecars, some that have never tested the twists and turns of Infineon Raceway’s world-class road course.
Unlike past years at the Wine Country Classic in Sonoma, race fans will be treated to different racecars each day of the event. On Saturday, June 5, there will be racing in seven divisions, including 1966-1974 Historic Can-Am Cars, 1948-1955 Sports Racing & GT Cars and 1973-1980 IMSA GT, among others.
On Sunday, June 6, a new collection of historic racecars will grace the 12-turn, 2.52-mile circuit, including 1914-1949 Pre-War Sports & Racing Cars, 1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars and 1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am Cars, among others.
Some of the makes you can expect include Ferrari, Bugatti, Jaguar, Porsche, Lotus, Corvette, Camaro and more. Alfa-Romeo should have a nice turnout, as well, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary globally. With the raceway’s open garage policy, you can get an up-close look at these machines and chat with the drivers.
The race weekend will also include the popular Wine Country Pavilion, which will be open from noon-3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free with your race ticket and includes a number of samples of some of the finest food and wine from the Sonoma and Napa valleys. Noted chef Victor Scargle from the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Campus in St. Helena is helping to oversee the food component.
In addition, there will be Track Talk sessions in the Wine Country Winner’s Circle, car clubs, and displays from the Pacific Coast Air Museum and Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance. We also hope you pick-up a copy of this year’s poster of a white Allard J2X, which was produced by noted Bay Area artist David Grandin from Pleasant Hill. This marks the eighth poster in the series, which dates back to 2002. Cost for the poster is $10 with proceeds benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities.
On Saturday night, fans will be treated to the Historic Race Car Festival on the Sonoma Plaza. Following the on-track action, thirty historic racecars will depart the raceway at approximately 5 p.m. under a full CHP escort to the beautiful town of Sonoma. The cars will take a ceremonial lap around the Town Square before settling into the Plaza for viewing. This is a separate event (5:30-8 p.m.) and tickets are $30 (advance) or $35 (at event). All proceeds from this specific event benefit Speedway Children’s Charities. Call 800-870-RACE for tickets to the festival on Saturday night.
