Though the track operates nearly every day of the year with smaller-scale events and classes, the biggest — and most lucrative — event is the Toyota/SaveMart 350 NASCAR race each June.
Raceway president Steve Page is trying to remain optimistic that it might actually happen.
NASCAR is committed to running every race on its schedule, Page said, which could mean extending the season, holding the usually weekly races more often, and moving races to states that have more lenient isolation orders.
But Page hasn’t given up on hosting this year’s race in Sonoma.
He said right now there are three scenarios.
One: running the race as scheduled, June 12-14, with a full crowd.
“I think that train has left the station,” he said Thursday.
Two: running the race with no spectators. “That hasn’t left the station, but the horn is blowing and the wheels are starting to turn.”
Three: “The most likely scenario is that we will run at a date in the future. Whether fans are here or not, it is too early to speculate,” he said.
NASCAR’s desire to run its entire schedule will take some creative scheduling, conceivably moving the Toyota/SaveMart 350 out of state if California’s shelter-in-place order extends that deeply into the season.
— Press Democrat —