Drag strip opens to amateur racers

The Wednesday Night Drags is again open to all comers – teenagers and grandmothers, muscle cars and mini-vans — as the 26th season roars to life March 5 at Sonoma Raceway.

Anyone with a driver’s license and a car that passes a simple technical inspection is invited to race on the world-famous drag strip — the same racing surface used by the world’s fastest racers.

Wednesday Night Drags gives people, from teen-agers to working professionals, a safe, legal and controlled environment in which to drag race their vehicles, as opposed to using city streets or back-county roads.

There will also be the Sonoma Drift, behind the main grandstand. Drifting is a high-skill form of motor sport that requires drivers to control their car while it slides sideways at high speeds through a marked course.

The Wednesday Night Drags program will run most every Wednesday evening from through Nov. 12. Gates open at 3:30 p.m. and racing spans from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cost is $25 for competitors ($15 with valid high school ID) and $10 for spectators. Children 12-and-under are free, as is parking.