One writer’s ride on a wild road course

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

THE TAGLINE FOR THE RACEWAY AT SONOMA is “Think outside the oval,” but the reality of that line doesn’t fully hit you until you witness it firsthand — which I had the opportunity to do Sunday morning before the Sprint Cup Series Toyota-Save Mart 350 got under way.

I’ve been a fan of road course tracks for as long as I’ve been a fan of racing. Having one in our “back yard” is a bonus. While most of the tracks on the NASCAR circuit are ovals — meaning they have four turns to the left — most of Sonoma is a right-hand turn, with a few surprises thrown in.

A hot lap — a tour of the track at high speed — was being offered on a few occasions over the weekend, and I had my chance on Sunday. Pat Brandon, a photographer who had taken me under his wing over the weekend, let me know about the opportunity and, since it was my first time, graciously allowed me to ride in the front seat. I think he wanted to watch the “rookie’s” reaction.

Our hot lap was in one of the track’s Toyota Camrys. Our driver was Tim Moser, an instructor at the Simraceway Performance Driving Center, home of the Simraceway School of Racing and the Audi Sports Car Experience in Sonoma.

I felt the adrenaline kick in the moment Tim’s foot hit the gas. Right away he whipped around the other car giving passengers hot laps. Then we hit Turn 1, a crazy left turn with a hill that veers into a steep right-hand turn often compared to scaling a wall — only the wall is being scaled at speed and with curves. Even in a stock sedan going well under race speeds, the G-force made itself known.

Turn 2 leads to a straightaway before Turn 3, another crazy left turn, followed by Turn 3A. All of this is starting to head downhill, so with the combined G-force of hitting the turns at speed, banking through the twists and turns of a road course and going downhill leading into Turn 4-A — well, you get the idea.

Turn 7 is another crazy turn. Those pictures that show cars on two wheels after hitting the rumble strips? Those are likely from Turn 7. I found myself wishing for a five-point harness when we hit this turn.

From there we hit the esses of Turns 8 and 8-A and the deceptively gentle-looking left-hand curve of Turn 9. It only looks gentle — hitting it with any speed will still get the tires squealing.

Pat was right when he said I’d get a much better feel for the track after riding with someone who knows how to drive it. He later told me we averaged 70-75 miles per hour, but it felt a lot faster!

My only question: When can I do it again?

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