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.
Sonoma Raceway's long configuration is a 2.52-mile (4.06 km) road course featuring 12 turns and significant elevation changes, totaling approximately 160 feet. This layout includes the iconic "Carousel" (Turns 5 and 6), a sweeping left-hand turn that descends into a challenging uphill section. The track's design offers a mix of high-speed straights and technical corners, providing a comprehensive test of both driver skill and vehicle performance. The long configuration is favored for its complexity and has been utilized in various racing events, including NASCAR and IndyCar.
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