The upcoming Toyota/Save Mart 350 race weekend is canceled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Sonoma Raceway, NASCAR and track owner Speedway Motorsports announced on Friday.
The race was scheduled for June 12-14, but NASCAR will not return to Northern California until 2021 at the earliest. The announcement marks the first time the race has been canceled or rescheduled since the racing series' first event at the track in 1989.
"We work all year for this event, so this is a huge disappointment for us, for our fans and our sponsors, but we realize it's part of a larger challenge facing our nation and everyone in the live events business," Sonoma Raceway President and General Manager Steve Page said.
NASCAR announced last week that it would resume its 2020 season May 17 with four consecutive fan-less races in North and South Carolina, necessitating a shuffling of the season's planned schedule.
On Friday, NASCAR announced that it would cancel planned races at Chicagoland Speedway and Richmond Raceway in Virginia in addition to the Sonoma race.
Toyota/Save Mark 350 ticket holders can exchange their tickets for an event credit for the full amount paid plus an additional 20 percent at any NASCAR event at a Speedway Motorsports track in 2020 or 2021, including next year's Sonoma race.
Ticket holders can also request a full refund of their ticket price. Ticket holders can complete an exchange request form within 30 days.
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According to NASCAR, the Sonoma race will be substituted with a May 27 race without fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is also owned by Speedway Motorsports.
"We are excited that NASCAR is coming back to broadcast television and are ready to support the upcoming events at our Speedway Motorsports tracks," Page said. "We look forward to NASCAR's return to Sonoma in 2021."
