Toyota/Save Mart 350

NASCAR race infobox
Name = Toyota/Save Mart 350

Img_size = 100x100 px
Venue = Infineon Raceway
Sponsor = Toyota and Save Mart
First race = 1989
Distance = 219 miles (352.2 km)
Laps = 110
Previous names = Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (1989-1991)
Save Mart 300K (1992)
Save Mart Supermarkets 300K (1993)
Save Mart Supermarkets 300 (1994-1997)
Save Mart/Kragen 350 (1998-2000)
Dodge/Save Mart 350(2001-2006)
)

The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a convert|350|km|mi NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event held annually at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California. This race is one of the only two Sprint Cup races each year that is run on a non-oval track, with 12 turns over the convert|1.99|mi|km track. Due to its unique layout, it creates a discussion each time it comes, with people both in favor and against racing this race. Also due to its unique layout, you can find so called "road course ringers", a NASCAR term standing for drivers that appear on the NASCAR circuit only for the road course races. It was held for the first time in 1989, as the replacement for the Budweiser 400 at the now-defunct Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, and has underwent name and length changes since then.

Race history

In the 1991 race, the first car to cross the finish line, Ricky Rudd, was black flagged and penalized five seconds for running into the back of, and spinning out Davey Allison with a little over one lap to go. The controversial penalty relegated him to second place, and gave Allison the victory.

In 1998, the circuit for the NASCAR event was shorted from the full 2.52 mile road course to a 1.99 mile road course with the addition of the "Chute" from turn 4 to turn 7, bypassing turns 5 and 6.

In 2001 the "Chute" was modified to such that the NASCAR circuit measured 2.0 miles long.

Gilligan's Island

From 1989 to 2001, the pit road could only accommodate 34 pit stalls. In the early years, some teams were required to share pit stalls. When cars dropped out of the race, their pits were reassigned to cars who were sharing. After a few years, a makeshift pit road was constructed inside the Hair Pin (turn 11) nicknamed "Gilligan's Island". Cars that had qualified 35th-43rd were assigned these pit stalls. Since the length of the auxiliary pit road was significantly shorter than the main pit road, the cars that pitted there were held from 15-20 seconds to make up for the time that would had been spent if the cars had traveled the entire main pit road. [cite web|title = Jayski's Sears Point/Infineon Raceway Past News|accessyear = 2002|url = http://www.jayski.com/pages/tracks/past/sonoma-past.htm ] Pitting on "Gilligan's Island" had other inconveniences as well. The area was landlocked by the race course, and crew members were unable to leave once the race began. All repairs had to be in the area, as crews could not access the garage area. Crew members were also unable to return to the garages or their transporter for spare parts. If a team pitting on "Gilligan's Island" dropped out of the race, the crew was unable to pack up their supplies and prepare to leave (a common practice at other tracks) until the race was over. In 2002 the main pit road was reconfigured to handle all 43 cars, and Gilligan's Island was abandoned. Along with the pit road reconfiguration, the frontstretch was separated from the drag strip in 2002, shortening the track distance to 1.99 miles.

Television

Televised rights were first handled by ESPN from the race outset in 1989 through 2000. FOX held broadcast rights between 2001-2006. Starting in 2007, TNT took over the telecast and will continue until the current rights deal expires in 2014. Maxim magazine ranked this race as one of their top ten annual NASCAR Sprint Cup races. [ [http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=7455&src=maxim_ed NASCAR's Best Races] ]

See also: List of current NASCAR races

Past Winners

*With two laps to go Ricky Rudd spun Allison to take the lead. Instead of the checkered flag, Rudd received a black flag being penalized 1 second. This then gave the win to Allison. [http://www.racing-reference.info/tracks?id=024]

Manufacturer Wins

References