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After a string of back-to-back high-intensity oval track outings, the NASCAR circus is all set to go racing at the Sonoma Raceway this weekend. Originally known as the Sears Point Raceway, the track is known for its challenging nature with major elevation changes and blind corner entries.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is all set to go live on Sunday with 36 Cup Series drivers wanting to visit Victory Lane. To add to the fans' excitement this weekend, NASCAR also announced the return of the beloved 'Chute.' Replacing the Carousel corner from last year, the Chute has created some great racing for stock cars over the years.
'The Chute' was introduced to the 2.5-mile-long track in 1998 to increase speeds for stock car races by bypassing Turns 5 and 6, better known as the Carousel. Spectator visibilty also improved greatly with the introduction of the corner, along with another possible location for drivers to pass other cars.
Sonoma Raceway's executive vice president and general manager Jill Gregory further iterated on the decision to bring the corner back for this year, and said:
“We heard from many fans and drivers how much they loved it when we raced the Chute. The Carousel was part of the original course and we reverted back to it for our 50th Anniversary in 2019 and used it again in 2021. But we race to bring excitement and drama to the fans, and an overwhelming majority of them asked us to bring back the Chute.”
The 350-mile-long Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be extended from 90 to 110 laps owing to the shorter overall length of the new layout. Stage breaks are set to close the pack up on lap 25 and 55. Along with the NASCAR Cup Series, the weekend will comprise of the Camping World Truck Series as well as the ARCA Menards Series at the track.
Kyle Larson reacts to the addition of 'The Chute' for NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson seemed pleased by the news of the popular corner making its return to this year's Toyota/Save Mart 350. The Hendrick Motorsports driver highlighted the track's unforgiving nature and anticipated a good showing for the fans as he elaborated on the change in layout, saying:
“It will be more exciting for the fans just because those are a couple of wild corners with some new hairy passing zones. Mistakes can be made in those corners when you’re bouncing over curves so the cars will be moving around a lot. It will be exciting.”
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 goes live from the Sonoma Raceway on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. EST.
