San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Sonoma speedway holds drag races without fans.
Noise echoed through the hills again Saturday at Sonoma Raceway in what was probably the Bay Area’s biggest sporting event in months — but the roar wasn’t coming from the grandstands.
Spectators were banned during the fiveday NHRA Division 7 Drag Races, a regional amateur competition that was expected to draw about 1,000 drivers, mechanics and crew members, along with a variety of soupedup cars speeding down the quartermile drag strip.
Because of the coronavirus and efforts to prevent its spread, the raceway canceled most events this year, including the big NASCAR Toyota/SaveMart 350 in June and the NHRA Sonoma Nationals drag races originally set for next week. Those events draw tens of thousands to the raceway, which features a hilly road racing course and a drag strip off Highway 37 in Sonoma County.
When most of the state shut down in March, so did the raceway. Steve Page, its general manager, said the facility began to limp back into action in June with some driver training courses and other activities on the track.
This weekend’s races were permitted, he said, after the track’s attorneys reviewed revised Sonoma County health orders from June 18 and concluded that races could happen if they were limited to participants and everyone was required to wear masks, observe social distancing and wash hands frequently.
Coronavirus cases have climbed dramatically in Sonoma County, as elsewhere in the Bay Area, and this month the county was added to the state’s watch list, which means that indoor services like restaurants are closed and schools must proceed with distance learning. On Friday, midway through the event, the number of hospitalized COVID19 patients in the county rose to a record high of 38, well above the previous record — 33 — on Wednesday.
Page said county health officials eventually told the raceway it could operate if it followed public health guidelines. Sonoma County health officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The raceway has held small events, including its weekly Wednesday night drag races and a July Fourth race, but this weekend’s races drew the largest crowd. Race Director Kyle Seipel said 450 entrants from 10 Western states were expected to participate in the seemingly nonstop series of quick, noisy races that started Wednesday and continue through Sunday.
Each entrant was limited to four crew members and a driver but many brought fewer, said Jennifer Imbimbo, a raceway spokeswoman. The grandstands alongside the track sat mostly empty all day.
Aside from the helmeted drivers in their cars, everyone was required to wear a mask and almost everyone complied, even kids riding bikes in the parking lot. Signs reminding people to wear masks and observe social distancing were everywhere. Security guards circulated, reminding the occasional offenders that masks were mandatory.
“Most people are wearing masks, but they’re not always happy about it,” Imbimbo said. “But you have to do what you have to do if you want to do what you want to do.”
Racers Marko Perivolaris, 25, of Petaluma and Steve Williamsof Cherry Valley (Riverside County) said they were happy to don masks if it meant they could return to the racetrack.
“Everybody’s abiding by the rules because we know that’s what it takes to race,” said Perivolaris, who’d just finished a run in his Super Comp dragster. He’s been racing since he first brought his street car to the track’s informal Wednesday night drag races and was hooked.
“I just want to race whenever I can as long as I can,” he said. When Perivolaris is not working on his cars at the raceway, where he and his father rent shop space, he works as a contractor. He raced in January and February but was then forced by the pandemic to take nearly four months off.
After four months away from the track, “It feels great to be back,” he said. “I’m very grateful to be out here again with my family and friends.”
Williams, who has been racing for 30 years, feels the same way.
“When you’re used to going out 20 times a year, it’s hard to stop,” he said. “It’s not like withdrawal, but you miss your friends.”
Williams, who’s teaching his 17yearold daughter to race, said he missed the camaraderie of his fellow drivers, some of whom he sees only once or twice a year at tracks across the West. As he spoke, a young man from Utah brought him a car part and a racer from Washington stopped by. Most of the racers set up camp around the track with their cars, trailers and RVs.
“I would describe it as a really great barbecue where everybody goes racing,” Williams said.
The looming threat of COVID19 failed to dampen spirits, he said, though people tended to gather in smaller groups, stand farther apart and bump elbows for greetings.
“Everybody out here’s been really respectful, especially about wearing masks,” he said. “We’re used to wearing safety equipment and following rules, so wearing a mask is really no big deal.”
Californians are more used to wearing face coverings than some of the racers from other states, he said. For those like Taylor Vetty of Las Vegas, it took some getting used to.
“It is a very different experience racing during COVID and having to wear a mask,” she said. “However, I am extremely grateful for Sonoma Raceway for letting us race.”