Sears Point International Raceway/Infineon Raceway/Sonoma Raceway

History

This 736-acre road course and drag strip complex, built by Robert Marshall, Jr. and Jim Coleman, was finished and ready to race in December 1968. Jack Cameron managed the drag strip when it opened with NHRA’s $15,000 National Open on March 8-9, 1969. The race drew 321 entries and more than 17,000 spectators over two days. Don Garlits qualified first at 6.99 and 215.84 mph and won top fuel, Danny Ongais won funny car, and Jim Davis had top speed at 218.92 mph in his AA/FD. A Super Stock meet on April 20 drew only 3,500 people because of poor publicity. In May 1969 newspapers reported that all drag racing was suspended indefinitely until improvements were made, and a few weeks later Filmways Corporation bought the complex. Filmways focused mostly on sports car, stock car and motorcycle racing, then closed the track in May 1970 over revenue losses and used it as a tax shelter.

Filmways did run a big funny car show on November 2, 1969, billed as Northern versus Southern California. Ten thousand people saw the South win on points and Gas Ronda win the event. Larry Reyes was fastest in The Hawaiian at 7.56 and 198.76 mph, and the field included Don Schumacher, Jim Liberman, Connie Kalitta, Dick Harrell, Paula Murphy, Kelly Chadwick and Gene Snow. One more big event, the San Francisco National Open Championships, ran March 14-15, 1970 with fewer than 200 entries. John Wiebe set a track record of 6.794 and 222.77 mph in qualifying, and Jerry Ruth won top fuel, Mike Snively funny car and Dick Landy pro stock.

At an NHRA divisional race on September 22-23, 1973, Paula Murphy crashed her rocket-powered dragster in an exhibition run and escaped with minor injuries, and Ron Atterbury beat James Warren in top fuel. The California E.T. Bracket Championships, with some funny car exhibitions, ran June 20, 1976. On October 30, 1977, 7,000 people came to the Funny Car Classic, where Shirley Muldowney beat Dennis Baca in a match race. Baca, a carpet wholesaler, had been so sure of winning that he promised to carpet the whole quarter mile if she won, and she told him he could make it pink. Tommy Ivo beat Don Prudhomme in the funny car final. The track was called Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012 and Sonoma Raceway after that.