Traffic plan for Sunday’s NASCAR race

To motorists caught in race-day traffic during the annual NASCAR event at Sonoma Raceway, the Bay Area’s largest single-day sporting event of the year, the drive can be one big pit stop. The addition of racing fans to the normal wine country visitor traffic creates huge traffic jams, particularly the two-lane stretches of Highways 37 and 121.

It’s not the kind of bottleneck that tourists have in mind when they set out for a day in the wine country.

Sonoma Raceway and the California Highway Patrol are addressing the problem in advance of the Sunday, June 22 event with increased signage, alerts and parking coordination, along with free shuttle service from Sonoma Plaza.

A primary focus will be to let non-race attendees know about alternate routes in and out of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. In past years, up to 85 percent of the drivers passing the raceway on Highways 37 and 121 during peak entry and exit times are not attending the event.

“Our goal is to improve the experience for our guests, and also to minimize the disruption our event creates for other travelers throughout the area,” said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager. “By using alternate routes, which may look longer on a map, local drivers will actually save themselves time and frustration, and ultimately reach their destinations more quickly.”

The raceway’s traffic management plan this year includes nearly twice (up to 46) the number of signs along highways, up to a 15-mile radius around the facility, directing ambient traffic away from Highways 37 and 121. Also, seven new signs placed along Highway 121 will help deliniate raceway traffic and vehicles headed to Sonoma/Napa traffic.

Additionally, traffic warnings, including maps and alternate routes, have been distributed to local restaurants, hotels and wineries for both residents and visitors.

At the track itself, a traffic manager will work closely with a CHP officer to provide real-time direction to maximize ingress and egress for raceway traffic. Additional parking staff will remain in the lots to help organize and manage exiting traffic, while key parking and directional info will be broadcast on the raceway’ on-site radio station (87.9 FM).

The plan will help minimize the impact of traffic in and around the raceway, said CHP Sergeant Brad Bradshaw. “We feel these efforts have gone above and beyond to assist the public,” he said.

Race fans heading to the track are advised to arrive early on Sunday morning to beat traffic and enjoy the complete race-day experience. The raceway entices fans to stay after the race as well, mitigating post-race traffic, with the annual Track Walk.

For more about the event, see page 23.