IndyCar Series | |
---|---|
Venue | Sonoma Raceway |
First race | 1970 |
First ICS race | 2005 |
Last race | 2018 |
Distance | 202.725 miles (326.254 km) |
Laps | 85 |
Previous names | Golden State 150 (1970) Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix (2005) Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (2006, 2010–2011) Motorola Indy 300 Pres. by Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel (2007) Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County (2008) Peak Antifreeze Grand Prix of Sonoma County (2009) GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (2012–2014) GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma (2015–2017) INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma (2018) |
Most wins (driver) | Will Power, Scott Dixon (3) |
Most wins (team) | Team Penske (7) |
Most wins (manufacturer) | Chassis: Dallara (14) Engine: Honda (8) |
The IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma was an IndyCar Series race held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The USAC Championship Car circuit raced at the circuit in 1970. In 2005, American open wheel racing returned to the circuit with an IndyCar Series event. The 2006 event saw rookie Marco Andretti win his first career race. It marked the record youngest winner (19 years, 5 months, 14 days) of a major open-wheel racing event at the time.
The IndyCar Series race utilizes a modified 2.2-mile (3.5 km) version of the road course, the same used by AMA Superbike. The circuit includes the carousel, making it longer than the NASCAR layout, but shorter than the full 2.52-mile (4.06 km) course. This course uses turn 7a of the NASCAR course, but skips the hairpin prior to the front straight. The dragstrip is used instead of the keyhole, adding a high speed section immediately following the exit of the carousel.
For 2012, the course was altered. The back hairpin used the inner loop instead of the outer loop used by NASCAR. Turn nine was widened by ten feet while turn eleven at the hairpin was extended by 200 feet.
From 2015 to 2018, the race had served as the IndyCar season finale.
It was announced on July 13, 2018, that the Monterey Grand Prix at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca would replace Sonoma for the 2019 IndyCar Series season. [1]
Season | Date | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) | Report | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||||
USAC Championship Car history | |||||||||||
1970 | April 4 | Dan Gurney | All American Racers | Eagle | Ford | 60 | 151.2 (243.332) | 1:44:26 | 87.009 | Report | |
1971 – 2004 | Not held | ||||||||||
IRL IndyCar Series history | |||||||||||
2005 | August 28 | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Green Racing | Dallara | Honda | 80 | 159.2 (256.207) | 2:01:16 | 91.04 | Report | |
2006 | August 27 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Green Racing | Dallara | Honda | 80 | 159.2 (256.207) | 1:58:06 | 93.486 | Report | |
2007 | August 26 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 80 | 159.2 (256.207) | 1:51:59 | 98.593 | Report | |
2008 | August 24 | Hélio Castroneves | Penske Racing | Dallara | Honda | 80 | 159.2 (256.207) | 1:50:16 | 100.254 | Report | |
2009 | August 23 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 75 | 166.5 (267.955) | 1:49:23 | 94.745 | Report | |
2010 | August 22 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara | Honda | 75 | 166.5 (267.955) | 1:52:34 | 92.063 | Report | |
2011 | August 28 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara | Honda | 75 | 166.5 (267.955) | 1:47:30 | 96.408 | Report | |
2012 | August 26 | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 195.755 (315.037) | 2:07:03 | 95.74 | Report | |
2013 | August 25 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 195.755 (315.037) | 2:20:47 | 86.401 | Report | |
2014 | August 24 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 195.755 (315.037) | 2:09:21 | 94.026 | Report | |
2015 | August 30 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 195.755 (315.037) | 2:09:14 | 94.117 | Report | |
2016 | September 18 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 195.755 (315.037) | 2:00:13 | 101.181 | Report | |
2017 | September 17 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 202.725 (326.254) | 1:55:53 | 104.968 | Report | |
2018 | September 16 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 202.725 (326.254) | 2:02:19 | 99.44 | Report | |
[2] |
Indy Lights | Atlantic Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track in the northeastern United States, located in Dix, New York, just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It is long known around the world as the former home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980). In addition, the site has also been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association, and the IndyCar Series. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR.
Sonoma Raceway is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, California. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 ft (49 m) of total elevation change. It is host to one of the few NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses. It has also played host to the IndyCar Series, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events with some open to the public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America. The track is 30 mi (48 km) north of San Francisco and Oakland.
Laguna Seca Raceway is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and Monterey, California, United States.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, is a 4.361 km (2.710 mi) motor racing circuit on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. It has previously hosted the World Sportscar Championship, the Champ Car World Series, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
Teodorico "Teo" Fabi is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1982 to 1987. In sportscar racing, Fabi won the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 with Jaguar.
The San Jose Grand Prix was an annual street circuit race in the Champ Car World Series in San Jose, California. The race had three different title sponsors over the course of its three-year existence, being known as the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San Jose in 2005, Canary Foundation Grand Prix of San Jose Presented by Taylor Woodrow in 2006, and the San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway in 2007.
Bryan John Herta is an American race strategist and former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series and is the strategist for the #27 Andretti Autosport in the same series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapolis 500 with driver Alexander Rossi. He is the father and former strategist of IndyCar driver Colton Herta.
William Steven Power is an Australian racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has won the IndyCar Championship twice, in 2014 and 2022. Power is one of the most successful drivers in Indy car racing history, currently fourth all-time in wins (44), first all-time in poles (70), and fourth all-time in podiums (105).
Anthony Lazzaro is a NASCAR and sports car racing driver. He is usually classified as a NASCAR road course ringer; however, he has made other starts in the Nextel Cup Series. He also has open-wheel oval racing experience.
Robert Franklin "Butch" Leitzinger is an American professional racing driver. He is best known as an ALMS driver with Dyson Racing, but he has also driven for a variety of other teams and race series. He won the IMSA Pro WSC Ckampionship driver's titles in both 1997 and 1998 while driving for Dyson Racing. Also a three time winner of the Daytona 24 hours race in 1994, 1997 and 1999.
David Martínez is a Mexican racing driver. He holds the record for the best debut ever by a Mexican driver in a premiere open-wheel series with his 9th place finish at the 2006 Gran Premio Telmex.
The Historic Stock Car Racing Series (HSCRS) is an auto racing organization based on the West Coast of the United States that was founded by San Jose, California, businessman John Davis in 1994 with a mandate to register, preserve, restore, and continue showcasing authentic NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock cars in friendly competition.
The 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 5th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 13 races. Al Unser was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Teo Fabi. The 1983 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but an arrangement was made such that it counted towards the CART points championship. Tom Sneva won the Indy 500, after three previous runner-up finishes.
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an annual event held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Its purpose is to provide an event in which historic racecars can compete. It takes place over the course of one weekend every mid-August. It was first established by Steve Earle in 1974 as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Earle organized the meeting for his friends to race their cars at Laguna Seca. The event, known as the Monterey Historics until 2010, acts as a part of Monterey Car Week, which includes the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and other events.
The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is an IndyCar Series race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, United States. The event dates back to 1960, and became an American open wheel race in 1983. The race was part of the CART series from 1983 to 2003, and then the Champ Car World Series, CART's successor, for 2004. After a fifteen-year hiatus, the event returned in 2019 as part of the IndyCar Series, replacing Sonoma.
The 2008 Champ Car World Series season would have been the 5th season of the Champ Car World Series and 30th season of the series dating back to the 1979 formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). It was scheduled to begin on April 20, 2008, and end on November 9. The season was canceled on February 21, 2008, because of the buyout of Champ Car by the rival IndyCar Series, resulting in the reunification of American open-wheel racing.
The GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma was an open-wheel IndyCar motor race and held as the fourteenth and penultimate round of the 2012 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday, August 26, 2012. The race was contested over 85 laps at the 2.303-mile (3.706 km) at Sonoma Raceway, California, United States.
Hoosier Racing Tires presents the Pacific F2000 Championship is an American open-wheel racing series designed for the entry-level and veteran-level drivers. The Pacific F2000 Racing Series offers 12 racing opportunities over six weekends at leading West Coast venues such as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway, Buttonwillow Raceway Park and Thunderhill Raceway Park. The Pacific F2000 Racing series is designed to be the next step up for F1600 drivers with the introduction of wings, increased power, and larger racing tires. The suspension geometry of a modern F2000 car is as sophisticated as those in many more well known races and offers great training for drivers, engineers and mechanics. Because formula and not spec cars are used there are numerous chassis designs, multiple motors allowed, and as a result there is also great opportunity to test new designs.. At the same time, there are enough restrictions to keep costs in check. F2000 originated in England in 1974 and has helped spawn the careers of many of the sport’s top names. In North America, its alumni include Sam Hornish Jr., Buddy Rice, Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, and Dan Wheldon. Graduates of PacificF2000 Racing since its inception in 2004 include J.R. Hildebrand, who won the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights Championship and drove the No. 4 National Guard car in the IZOD IndyCar Series; two-time IMSA prototype champion Dane Cameron; Jason Bowles, who won the 2011 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway; and Thomas Merrill, 2022 Trans-Am TA2 Champion.
The new millennium saw many changes for motorsport. Not only were there technological developments, but also historic ones like NASCAR's severing of ties with the tobacco industry.
The 2010s saw several notable changes in motorsport.