It's NASCAR race day at Sonoma, and we've got the actual race start time, the starting lineup and some other facts about today's race for you below.
What time does the race start today? Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa will give the command to fire engines at 12:07 p.m. local time, which is 3:07 p.m. Eastern. After a couple pace laps, the race will take the green flag at 12:19 p.m. local (3:19 p.m. ET). So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race itself, turn on your TV sets at 3:19 p.m.
Race name/distance: The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a 110-lap race around the 1.95-mile road course at Sonoma. The track is no longer called "Infineon Raceway" (the naming rights deal expired), so it's simply known as "Sonoma" for now. Anyway, the "350" is actually 350k – not miles. Drivers will complete a total of 218.9 miles around the 12-turn course.
TV, radio and live streaming: Today's race can be seen on TNT. This is TNT's third of six broadcasts this summer before handing the reins to ESPN for the rest. There IS live streaming of the race today, which can be found at NASCAR.com's "RaceBuddy" site. If you'll be away from your computer and TV, check the Performance Racing Network's web site for a list of affiliate radio stations in your area.
*** NOTE: If you're out and about today and can't watch the race, make sure to follow me (@jeff_gluck) on Twitter. I'll be tweeting updates from the event. ***
National anthem: The University of California's "Straw Hat Band" will play the national anthem before the race today. That's a subset of the marching band at Cal Berkeley, for those who aren't familiar.
Tickets: The race is not a sellout, so you should be good to go if you're planning to make a last-minute trip on race day.
Weather: The unofficial NASCAR weatherman, Brian Neudorff, says today's weather will be quite pleasant. Sunny skies with temperatures in the low 70s should prevail after a chilly weekend.
Last time: One year ago, Kurt Busch dominated for his first-ever road-course win and beat Jeff Gordon by nearly four seconds. Busch led a race-high 76 laps en route to the victory.
Starting lineup for today's NASCAR race at Sonoma:
- Marcos Ambrose
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Greg Biffle
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Clint Bowyer
- Kyle Busch
- Kurt Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Carl Edwards
- Ryan Newman
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Brad Keselowski
- Joey Logano
- Kasey Kahne
- Denny Hamlin
- AJ Allmendinger
- Bobby Labonte
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Casey Mears
- Brian Vickers
- Scott Speed
- Paul Menard
- Tony Stewart
- Jamie McMurray
- Kevin Harvick
- David Gilliland
- Boris Said
- David Ragan
- Aric Almirola
- Regan Smith
- Dave Blaney
- David Mayhew
- Robby Gordon
- Jeff Burton
- Joe Nemechek
- Chris Cook
- JJ Yeley
- Travis Kvapil
- Josh Wise
- Tomy Drissi
- Landon Cassill
- Stephen Leicht