Sonoma Raceway once again welcomes NASCAR for packed weekend of racing

Start your engines, racing fans — the largest sporting event held in Sonoma County is once again upon us.

Tens of thousands will descend upon the Sears Point area for the annual NASCAR weekend at Sonoma Raceway, headlined by the 34th running of the Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday and the inaugural Xfinity Series DoorDash 250 on Saturday.

The packed weekend of events began with the induction ceremonies for the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday, followed by the racing of the ARCA Menards Series West General Tire 200 on Friday.

Daniel Suarez is back to defend his 2022 win in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. He made history last year by becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. Suarez is coming off a seventh-place finish at last weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300, across the state border from St. Louis, Missouri.

“St. Louis was great for us,” said Suarez — who is currently 16th in the series standings — during media availability this week. “It was a good solid run from start to finish. We just need to build on it.”

Repeating his victory on Sonoma’s 12-turn road course will be no easy task, though.

Among the headliners in the Cup Series field are Northern California natives Tyler Reddick (Corning) and Kyle Larson (Elk Grove), the top two betting favorites for Sunday. Larson, who won at Sonoma in 2021, is aiming to capture pole position for the sixth consecutive time at the track, while Reddick is looking to claim his second win of the season.

Chase Elliott, William Byron and Ross Chastain round out the top five favorites behind Reddick and Larson, according to Vegas sportsbooks.

Another name to watch will be Kevin Harvick, the longest-tenured active driver in the Cup Series. This will be Harvick’s final race at Sonoma, as he’s set to retire at the conclusion of the season after a 21-year racing career. Harvick first raced at Sonoma in 1995 and won in 2017.

“It’s definitely my favorite road course,” Harvick told the media this week about Sonoma. “Racing at Sonoma will bring back a lot of good memories of where it all started out there.”

Several of these big names will be also doubling up on racing this weekend, with the NASCAR Xfinity Series DoorDash 350 happening Saturday at Sonoma for the first time ever since its inaugural season in 1982.

The circuit, second to only the Cup Series, will feature some of the top rising drivers along with a handful of established names, like Suarez and Larson.

Xfinity Series qualifying is scheduled for noon Saturday, followed by Cup Series practice and qualifying at 2 and 3 p.m., respectively. The Xfinity Series race will follow at 5 p.m.

Outside of the on-track excitement, fans can expect a few other nuggets this weekend.

Golden State Warriors rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. will be the Grand Marshal for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race and actor/comedian Adam DeVine of “Workaholics” and the “Pitch Perfect” movies will be the Grand Marshal for Sunday’s Cup Series race.

Fans will also be treated to a Sunday prerace concert by DJ Diesel, aka NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. The concert is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. with the Cup Series race starting at 12:30 p.m.

Heavy traffic is expected in the area all weekend.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at sonomaraceway.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.