SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — The stars of the NASCAR Cup Series, including reigning winner and Northern California native Kyle Larson, return to wine country in 2022 for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will see the NASCAR Cup Series take on the road course at the Sonoma Raceway from June 10 to June 12.
“We heard from many fans and drivers how much they loved it when we raced the Chute,” said Sonoma Raceway EVP and General Manager Jill Gregory.
“The Carousel was part of the original course and we reverted back to it for our 50th Anniversary in 2019 and used it again in 2021. But we race to bring excitement and drama to the fans, and an overwhelming majority of them asked us to bring back the Chute.”
The race, 350 kilometers in length, will be extended from 90 laps to 110 laps, giving fans more opportunities to see the cars battle for position.
Racetrack officials said in a press release Monday that the new format will set up Turn 7 as a high-speed corner where many legendary passes and confrontations have occurred.
“It will be more exciting for the fans just because those are a couple of wild corners with some new hairy passing zones,” said 2021 NASCAR Champion and Toyota/Save Mart 350 race winner Kyle Larson.
“Mistakes can be made in those corners when you’re bouncing over curves so the cars will be moving around a lot. It will be exciting. It will be pretty wild because you can go all the way to the exit of Turn 4 on the other side of the curve and barely miss the wall.”
“The Chute,” racetrack was built prior to the 1988 race and was used in every Sonoma NASCAR event through 2018.
The stretch of racetrack connects Turn 4 as the cars approach the top of the hill to Turn 7 as the cars prepare for the downhill march through the “S’ turns.
The last driver to win the Chute layout was: Martin Truex Jr., in 2018.
“Drivers and fans have missed the passing opportunities and close racing created by the Chute so we’ll be returning to that configuration for the NASCAR Cup Series and the return of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior VP of Competition.
“NASCAR has seen drama and incredible action at road course races, and we’re looking forward to even more intensity as the Next Gen race car debuts and the Chute returns at Sonoma.”
For tickets for the June 10-12 race weekend — call the box office at 1-800-870-RACE or online.