Sonoma Raceway notes: IndyCar title a 4-way contest this weekend

What is likely to be the final IndyCar race weekend in Sonoma for a long time is finally here and a Northern California native has a chance to make it a memorable finale if he can win the championship Sunday.

Nevada City native Alexander Rossi looks to make up for what could have been a promising run that was for naught at Portland with a dominant run weekend that could lead to a major series title.

Rossi appeared poised for a top-five run during last weekend's Verizon IndyCar Series race in Portland, but the Grass Valley native's promising day didn't pan out.

Rossi led the most laps in the Grand Prix of Portland, IndyCar's previous race on the circuit, but a poorly timed caution resulted in him pitting while others stayed out, and he finished eighth and points leader Scott Dixon finished fifth.

Rossi is 29 points behind Dixon heading into this weekend's race that offers double points. The race winner will receive 100 points instead of 50, the second-place driver 80 and the third-place driver 70. The pole winner will get one point, drivers who lead a lap during the race will also get one and whoever leads the most lap gets two points.

Although there are many ways for Rossi, Dixon, Will Power or Josef Newgarden to win the championship, the most basic one is this: Rossi can win the title if he wins the race and Dixon finishes in third, as long as Dixon doesn't lead the most laps and take the pole.

If they tie in points, the tiebreaker starts with highest-placed finishes, starting with first-place finishes and working down until the tie is broken. If Dixon wins the race, he basically wins the title.

Weekend schedule

The gates open 8 a.m. the next three days for the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Friday will be a full practice day, with practices at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The teams will have a pit stop practice starting immediately after the final practice of the day.

In addition, the raceway girls will be hosting an autograph session in Victory Lane from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

On Saturday, there will be a full autograph session to start the day, followed by practice at 11 a.m. Drivers Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton will host a question-and-answer session at the Raceway Entertainment Stage. Immediately following that, there will be another Q&A with kids interviewing Tony Kanaan and Matheus Leist at the same location, starting at 1:45 p.m.

The day will end with IndyCar qualifying at 3 p.m.

On race day, there will be a Historic Trans Am grid walk open to all race fans starting at 10:30 a.m.

Pre-race ceremonies for the Grand Prix of Sonoma start at 2:30 p.m. with the green flag scheduled to drop at 3:30 p.m.

Following the race, fans are invited to join the championship celebration on the track.

Sunday's race will be 85 laps on the 12-turn, 2.385-mile road course. The defending champion is Simon Pagenaud.

Defending series champion Josef Newgarden finished second in last year's race and set the qualifying track record last year.

In addition to IndyCar, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, the Formula Car Challenge and the Historic TransAm Series also will be racing at the raceway throughout the weekend. For more information on those series, visit sonomaraceway.com.

Grand Prix Salute sold out

Track officials said the Grand Prix Salute, a charity dinner benefitting Speedway Children's Charities and the Michael Andretti Foundation to be held Friday, is currently sold out.

Wednesday nights at the track

There were no Wednesday Night Drags as the track prepared for IndyCar weekend.

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 car 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 in the raceway's paddock. 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.

The program will resume next Wednesday.