After hosting its last two Cup Series races on the 2.52-mile layout that includes the familiar Carousel, Sonoma is reverting to its pre-2019 layout featuring The Chute — a stretch of racetrack connecting Turn 4 as the cars approach the top of the hill to Turn 7 as the cars prepare for the downhill march through the “S” turns. Constructed prior to the 1998 race, The Chute was a staple of every Sonoma NASCAR event through 2018.
“We heard from many fans and drivers how much they loved it when we raced The Chute,” Sonoma Raceway executive vice president and general manager Jill Gregory said. “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.” When Kyle Larson won at Sonoma last season, The Chute wasn’t part of the layout. But like most of the drivers who will be in the field on Sunday, he has raced on both the shorter 1.99-mile Sonoma layout featuring The Chute and the longer Carousel-containing layout. Both certainly present their challenges, but the reigning Cup Series champion is embracing the change implemented for this weekend.
“It will be more exciting for the fans just because those are a couple of wild corners with some new hairy passing zones,” Larson said of The Chute. “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. It will be pretty wild because you can go all the way to the exit of Turn 4 on the other side of the curve and barely miss the wall.”