For Dale Earnhardt Jr. and all race fans, weekend at Sonoma Raceway about memories

After finishing sixth Sunday in his final NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma Raceway, retiring driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he hopes fans will remember him as a good person and a good driver.

The popular 43-year-old driver announced in April he will retire from the sport after this season, multiple concussions making him realize he wanted to decide when to quit, not have the sport decide for him. His famous father was killed at age 49 in 2001 following a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500.

Still on the track after the race Sunday, Earnhardt was asked about his legacy.

“I think the wins and everything are great. I enjoyed celebrating those,” he said. “But long after your career, guys come along and win races and some of your accomplishments on the track sort of get forgotten. But who you are as a person never gets forgotten. People never forget who you were.”

He said while he's had a lot of fun racing his whole adult life, he hopes he's left some good memories for fans as well.

“I hope people just thought I was good and honest and represented the sport well. I hope people that work with me enjoyed working with me, whether it was in the late model ranks or whatever,” he said. “And I hope the guys I raced against enjoyed racing with me. That's really all that will matter and what people, I think, will remember, as long as you're alive and beyond.”

Sonoma Raceway doesn't release attendance figures, but said Monday the advance ticket sales were up this year slightly over last year.

Gate sales hadn't been compiled yet, but raceway officials expect a modest increase over last year as well.

ONE FAN'S NASCAR SWEEP

One North Carolina man checked a big one off his bucket list Sunday.

Bill Silvester, a 71-year-old retired middle school teacher from Jacksonville, completed his life goal of attending a race at every active NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series track with the Toyota/Save Mart 350. He was recognized at a drivers and crew chiefs meeting in the center of the track before the race.

Silvester attended his first race in 1964 at Dogtrack Speedway in Moyock, North Carolina, where the Richard Petty supporter counted every lap by NASCAR's most winningest driver.

Silvester has worn the same Petty polo shirt to every cup series race.

STEM RACERS

Team Carzilla brought home the win for three students from Hidden Valley Elementary School in Santa Rosa in the 4th annual STEM Race Car Challenge over the weekend.

Students from 33 North Bay schools participated in the soapbox derby-style event, a partnership with Sonoma Raceway, Kid Scoop News and Friedman's Home Improvement that focuses on educating students about the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The kids - a record of more than 1,900 this year - competed to develop the quickest gravity-powered race car utilizing recycled materials. Their winning entry used recycled computer disks for wheels.

GET THE SCOOP

Sonoma Raceway partnered with Sonoma-based Kid Scoop News, a children's literacy non-profit that publishes and distributes a free newspaper to 500 classrooms and 18,000 kids in the North and East Bay.

The event has soared in popularity, from 12 schools participating in 2016 to 33 this year.

MORE RACING TO COME

Just because the NASCAR race is in the rearview mirror doesn't mean Sonoma Raceway goes into hibernation. Three big motorsports events are on the schedule this summer.

From July 28-30, the NHRA Sonoma Nationals drag car races will be held.

The loud and blazing fast dragsters, motorcycles and funny cars will qualify and have early rounds over two days before the eliminations and finals on Sunday.

The jet dragsters on Friday night are a particular favorite for some, the needle-thin cars powered by jet engines throwing flames out the back and rattling fans' teeth as they break the 300-mph barrier.

In August, the raceway will host the seventh of 10 rounds in the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Race Championship.

From Aug. 11-13, the three-year-old MotoAmerica series will hold its first Northern California race.

Racing will include Motul Superbike, Superstock 1000, Supersport, and Superstock 600 classes over a 12-turn course.

And in late summer, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma will take over the track Sept. 15-17 for three days of open-wheel racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series, the top level of open-wheel racing in North America.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.