Legendary drivers Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin will retire from the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series after the 2005 season, but their legacies will live forever at Infineon Raceway. Wallace and Martin, who have combined for three victories and three pole positions at Infineon Raceway over their careers, were honored during a ceremony on Friday in the Winner’s Circle as the raceway announced the construction of a Wall of Fame. Wallace and Martin were honored as the Wall of Fame’s first inductees – the ceremony took place during the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend. The Sonoma Valley facility has featured the best in motor sports over the last 37 years, and raceway officials decided to establish a Wall of Fame, which will honor those who have excelled not only in their form of motor racing, but more importantly, at Infineon Raceway.
Both drivers were presented with granite plaques by Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway. The plaques were etched with each driver’s likeness, as well as their form of motor racing, and the date of induction. The plaques will be on display in the Wall of Fame, which is being constructed behind the main grandstand and will be open to the public.
“The Infineon Raceway Wall of Fame provides a wonderful means to celebrate the rich motor racing history of this facility,” Page said. “Both Rusty and Mark have performed so well on this track and have done so much to build this sport in Northern California. I can think of no two names we’d rather feature as our first inductees.”
Both Wallace and Martin have been road-course specialists at Infineon Raceway over the years. Wallace won the event in 1990 and 1996 and has two poles (1989, 2000). He has also led the most races (eight) and is fourth at the raceway in all-time earnings ($882,205). Moreover, Wallace placed outside the top seven just twice from 1989-1996. “I’ve always enjoyed coming to Sonoma and we’ve always run well here, so this is a big honor for me to be one of the first drivers to be inducted into the Wall of Fame,” Wallace said. “The bottom line is that it has always been one of the most fun races of the year.”
Martin, meanwhile, won the event in 1997, and has 13 top-10 efforts in 16 starts at Infineon Raceway. He has placed outside the top 10 just once since 1994, and is second in all-time earnings ($955,737). “This is a great honor for me,” Martin said. “We’ve had some great races here and I will miss the road course, but it’s an honor to know that I will always be a part of the history in Sonoma.”
The Wall of Fame will include competitors from all forms of motor racing at Infineon Raceway, including NASCAR, NHRA POWERade Drag Racing, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), open-wheel cars, sports cars, and more. It will also include those who have made significant contributions to the raceway over the years. A raceway committee will oversee the selection process on an annual basis.(Infineon Raceway)(6-25-2005)
