Sonoma Raceway NASCAR Chute
Sonoma Raceway NASCAR Chute Notes:
When people think of NASCAR racing, tight packs of colorful stock cars circling counter-clockwise through an oval racetrack come to mind. High banking turns, lots of passing, even some light bumping here and there. And that perception would be correct if there were no complex, clockwise oriented road courses like Sonoma Raceway, 30 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California. The road course in Sonoma is a 12-turn, 2.39-mile circuit, with an average speed of 77 mph and an average lap time of 1:51.426, enclaved in a region known for its high-quality wineries and its mild weather year-round.
The main attention-grabber in this track is The Carousel, a set of high-speed turns starting from turn four, a tight right-hand corner going into a light, high-speed sweeping turn five, only for turning heavily to the left in six and ending right into a hairpin in the opposite direction at turn seven. That segment is so difficult to maneuver with regular stock cards that NASCAR bypassed it from 1998 until 2019 and only brought it back to life for the circuit's 50th-anniversary celebrations. The new (or old) configuration was so exciting to see that it stayed ever since, and nowadays is the signature feature of Sonoma Raceway.
See our Sonoma Raceway Track Guide for more information on getting the most performance out of this track.
NASCAR Chute Notes:
The NASCAR Chute configuration at Sonoma Raceway delivers a 1.99-mile 10-turn layout utilizing the 890-foot high-speed stretch that bypasses the Carousel (Turns 5-6), connecting Turn 4 at the hilltop directly to Turn 7 for the downhill march through the S-turns. Introduced in 1998 specifically for NASCAR stock car racing, the Chute was built primarily for spectator visibility, increased speeds, and improved competition compared to the full 12-turn road course that proved challenging for heavy stock cars navigating the off-camber Carousel. The configuration was modified in 2001 when the original straight Chute was replaced with a 70-degree Turn 4A, bringing the track to its current 1.990-mile dimensions while maintaining the Carousel bypass that defines this NASCAR-specific variant.
What distinguishes the NASCAR Chute from Sonoma's full road course is the deliberate optimization for stock car characteristics, where the Chute's higher speeds and reduced technical complexity create better racing action for vehicles designed for oval tracks rather than road course precision. The configuration has been used in every Sonoma NASCAR event since 1998 construction except 2019 (when the full Carousel layout was restored for the track's 50th Anniversary) and 2021, with the Chute returning for 2022 and subsequent NASCAR weekends based on series preferences and competitive considerations. Northern California's wine country climate creates ideal summer race weekend conditions, though morning fog occasionally delays sessions before afternoon sunshine pushes track temperatures above 55C. The NASCAR Chute configuration serves Sonoma's role hosting NASCAR Cup Series events, providing stock car-optimized racing while sports car series and motorcycle events utilize the full 12-turn layout with Carousel intact, reflecting modern circuit design philosophy where multiple configurations serve different series requirements at multi-use facilities.
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