NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series Toyota-Save Mart 350 will be run at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. While road course racers will be pouring on the speed, motorists outside the track often find themselves mired in highway traffic.

California Highway Patrol and Sonoma Raceway are hoping their plan will mitigate race day traffic, Diana Brennan, senior director of media and community relations, said.

“NASCAR’s annual visit to the Sonoma wine country marks one of the Bay Area’s largest single-day sporting events each year,” Brennan said.

“The addition of racing fans to the normal wine country visitor traffic puts tremendous strain on the surrounding road systems, particularly the two-lane stretches of Highways 37 and 121.”

She said CHP and the track are trying to share information to those who don’t plan to attend the race, so they can find alternate routes in and out of 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,” she said.

“When combined with race traffic, the results can bring hours of congestion for all drivers.”

Two years ago, Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer was caught in one of the traffic jams. He had to abandon his ride and sprint on foot to make the pre-race driver’s meeting. Maybe it brought him luck — he won the race that day.

This year, the raceway’s traffic management plan includes multiple measures officials expect will divert traffic that’s not headed to the track to highways in other areas.

Brennan said 46 changeable message signs, 25 more than in prior years, will be placed along highways up to 15 miles away from the track, directing those motorists away from California State Highways 37 and 121

Area restaurants, hotels and wineries are being given traffic warnings, maps and alternate routes so both residents and visitors who aren’t going to the race can navigate to their destinations.

Race fans who are heading to the Sonoma contest will be helped, too, Brennan said.

Seven new signs placed along California Highway 121 will direct race fans to the appropriate entry gate, she said.

“The signs will also help explain lane delineation for raceway and Sonoma/Napa traffic,” she said.

After the race, more parking employees will remain in the lots to help organize and manage exiting traffic, she said.

In addition, the raceway has employed a traffic manager to work closely with a CHP officer to provide real-time direction to make entry and exits at the raceway flow more smoothly, she said.

Motorists also can tune into the track’s own radio frequency, 87.9 FM, to hear exiting guidance and driving routes, she said.

“Our goal is to improve the experience for our guests, but 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.”

More than 30 CHP and Caltrans workers will be on duty Sunday to assist with traffic control, Brennan said.

“The CHP supports and endorses the efforts by Sonoma Raceway to help minimize the impact of traffic in and around the raceway,” CHP Sergeant Brad Bradshaw said. “We feel these efforts have gone above and beyond to assist the public.”

In the meantime, Brennan said race fans going to the track should arrive early Sunday to avoid heavier traffic.

But traveling by car isn’t the only way a fan can get to the track, she said

“The raceway encourages all guests to explore two of its most popular mass transit options,” she said.

One of these is the second annual NASCAR Express Train from Sacramento, she said. That special train is expected to carry more than 500 race fans to the track by rail.

In addition, the SportsFan Express bus program will bring in more than 1,000 fans from 27 locations around Northern California.

Another way fans can avoid heavy traffic is by staying at Sonoma Raceway for a while after the checkered flag falls and take advantage of a track-organized stroll.

“Fans can also delay jumping into post-race traffic and enjoy a walk around the road course at the annual post-race Track Walk,” Brennan said.

The walk will feature specially-painted lug nuts dropped around the road course. Each lug nut can be redeemed for a prize at the Ticket Pit Stop behind the Main Grandstand.

She said track officials and Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies will be making stringent placard checks to make sure disabled guests have sufficient parking, she said.

Deputies will check each car and driver for its handicap placard, matching paperwork with name and placard number and a valid driver’s license.

Those displaying fake licensees or placards, or placards that are not their own will be fined, ticketed and required to appear in court, she said.

Those interested in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma Raceway’s traffic plan, best routes to and from the race and transportation options may visit racesonoma.com/traffic or call the track at 800-870-RACE (7223).