Sonoma Raceway history

In May 1970 the track was closed and became a tax shelter for Filmways after losses of $300,000 were reported.

Hugh Harn of Belvedere and Parker Archer of Napa arranged to lease the track from Filmways in 1973.

Bob Bondurant, owner and operator of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, and partner Bill Benck took over management and control of the leased raceway from Parker Archer and Hugh Harn in 1974.

1977: Paul Ritter wins the first AMA SuperBike event in Sonoma on a Ducati.

In 1981 Filmways regained ownership of the track after a financial dispute with Black Mountain group.

In 1985 the track was completely repaved, in part with funds donated from the "Pave the Point" fund raising campaign.

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.

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series debuted at the raceway in 1989.

The raceway is also featured in several racing video games with the earliest released in 1994 on PC.

In 1995 Trans-Am and SportsCar races returned to Sears Point and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was added to the major-events schedule.

While most races at Sonoma utilize the full road course, some races are shorter and use what’s known as the Chute which was built in 1998.

The first-ever running of the American Le Mans Series took place at Sears Point in July 1999.

2000: The raceway begins its four-year, $100 million Modernization Plan, which renovates and updates nearly all aspects of the facility.

In 2002, after being called Sears Point Raceway for 34 years, the track’s naming rights were sold to a tech firm called Infineon Technologies and the name officially became Infineon Raceway.

Another modification was made in 2003 that was used for motorcycle series races and, later by the IndyCar Series.

2006: The Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series makes its debut in Sonoma.

2008: Kyle Busch earns his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road-course victory when he takes the checkered flag.

Since 2010, however, the course has seen a mild resurgence, with the circuit becoming a sponsor for various events as well as hosting an increasing amount of lesser series, including the WTCC and the return of the SCCA World Challenge.

• In 2011, in a partnership with Panasonic Corporation of North America, the raceway completed a solar installation of nearly 1,700 solar panels, which offsets approximately 41% of the raceway’s energy usage.

The year 2012 saw the end of Infineon as the corporate sponsor, with the track renaming itself Sonoma Raceway.

• Levy Restaurants partnered with 14 local non-profits who worked in concession stands during event weekends in 2014.

2015: Sonoma Raceway hosted the Verizon IndyCar Series season finale for the first time ever with Target Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon taking the race win and clinching his second series championship.

June 26, 2016: Tony Stewart claims the last victory of his historic Cup Series career.