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Sonoma Raceway says fans will be allowed in the stands during the upcoming NASCAR race.
Sonoma Raceway has announced that fans will be allowed to attend the Toyota / Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race on June 6. The event was dropped for 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation in California.
“We are thrilled to be able to open our gates and welcome fans back to the raceway for our annual NASCAR race weekend in June,” Sonoma Raceway Executive Vice President and General Manager Jill Gregory stated in the announcement. “We are fortunate to have a beautiful, outdoor facility that is perfect for social distancing and will provide a safe and memorable race-day experience for our guests. We look forward to welcoming the greatest fans and drivers in motorsports back to Northern California.”
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COVID-19 protocols will still be in place, however, with the track's website stating that fans will have to wear a mask at all times and be subject to mandatory body temperature checks upon arrival. Attendees will also have to maintain a minimum distance of six feet from each other.
The track also announced they were making tickets digital to keep contact to a minimum.
The pandemic forced NASCAR to skip its annual Sonoma stop last year, with a race at the Indianapolis road course held in its place.
Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of the event, having emerged victorious in 2018 and 2019. Another prime candidate for the win will be Chase Elliott, who won four road races in a row before having his streak come to an end at the Daytona road course earlier this year.
Despite the best efforts of health officials, NASCAR and the rest of the sporting world are still very much at the mercy of COVID-19 and are continuing to have to plan around it. But for fans longing to return to Sonoma Raceway for what is usually one of the most entertaining races of the year, the decision to allow them back will come as welcome news.
