As vintage car owners from all over the world gather for the Wine Country Classic, Infineon Raceway prepares for “Celebrate Sonoma Day” on Sunday, May 31. The track promises VIP treatment for Valley residents, with half-price tickets (children 12 and under free), access into the Wine Country Pavilion including several tickets for wine samples and food tastings, and a special lanyard and goody bag.
Admission includes access to the paddock, the pre-pit row where racing teams set up shop and show off more than 250 historic cars. Some of the rigs pre-date World War I, and even those could probably blow the doors off your daddy’s hybrid.
Saturday, the paddock was a sea of smooth lines and shiny metal. While some teams were prepping for a race – hood up, wrenches out – others were hanging loose, swapping stories or posing for photographs. From a distance many of the racecars look like toys. Up close, they’re not much bigger.
The cars compete in groups based on manufacturing date. First up were the old timers. There was car, or was it a huge box with wheels, piloted by two drivers, and one with three wheels. The top three finishers in the group’s qualifying race were more aerodynamic … and Italian. Larkspur’s Tom Price (pictured) took first in his 1931 Alfa Romeo.
In the ‘50s the cars got smaller, shorter, sleeker. In a word, they look “cool.” They hit 130 mph on the straightaway and are loud enough to make Doppler drop his nachos.
Don Orosco drove his Lotus to victory in a race for cars built between 1958–1963. “This is like my home track,” said the Monterey-based shopping center developer. He attended the track’s professional driving school in 1976. “I’ve been coming here since the beginning.”
Climbing out of his fire suit, huge grin in place, Orosco referred to his friend “Robbie, the guy who took second place.” That would be Robert Walton, CEO of Walmart. “I’ve raced most of these guys for years,” Orosco said, “all over the country, through Europe and Monaco.” Fast company, indeed.
Orosco called the challenging Infineon road coarse “a great equalizer.” Some cars, like his, are less powerful but handle and brake superbly. Others are all engine. “It’s finesse versus brute power,” he said. “And may the best driver win.”
Sunday continues the 100th anniversary celebration of the Morgan, one of the most famous names in racing. There will also be the Wine Country Pavilion with its sampling of regional wines and cuisine. Inside Saturday, folks were climbing in to a real Indy racing car for laughs and photos. “It’s not bad getting in,” said 6’ 6” Mike Woodel of Rocklin. “It’s getting out that’s the problem.”
Wine Country Classic’s “Celebrate Sonoma Day” at Infineon Raceway, Sunday May 31. For information call 800.870.RACE or visit www.infineonraceway.com
