Before gates open to race fans for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, officials welcomed a select group of fans to experience the new safety protocols that will be in place in response to the ongoing pandemic.

Sonoma Raceway executive vice president and general manager Jill Gregory led the “Journey of the Fan” event, which spotlights the special procedures and guidelines in place for the weekend including the mandatory use of face coverings, health screenings, social distancing, frequent hand sanitization and other protocols ranging from digital tickets to cashless concession and souvenir purchases.

“We’re thrilled to welcome race fans back to Sonoma Raceway for this exciting NASCAR race weekend and want to make sure we’re doing so as safely as possible,” Gregory said. “We believe the plans we have put in place address all health and safety guidelines, and we look forward to fans coming out to enjoy a fun weekend of NASCAR racing with friends and family. We want to see exciting racing, but more importantly, we want to make sure everyone that joins us has a wonderful time and can't wait to come back in 2022.”

During the media walk-through, fans were taken through a simulated race-day check-in and souvenir purchase before being shown to their socially-distanced seats.

"We miss the racing, the colors of the cars and having fun with family and friends," said longtime fan Richard Tillman of Redding, a diehard Kyle Busch supporter who is camping at the track this weekend with his family. "We understand we have to take precautions and we are happy to do them all as long as we can have racing back. It's going to be a fun weekend. Go get 'em Kyle!"

Race officials announced yesterday that this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race has reached its allowed capacity. Tickets are available for Saturday's General Tire 200 ARCA Menards Series West race and the Historic Trans Am race. Those not able to attend Sunday's race are encouraged to tune in to FS1 at 1 p.m. PT to watch NASCAR's first race in wine country in nearly two years.