- Held annually one an early June weekend, 2 days
- Held at Infineon Raceway, Highways 37 and 121 in Sonoma. Phone 800-870-7223
- Wine Country Classic website
- Advance tickets are available, but you can easily get in on the day of the race without reservations. Parking is free.
Infineon Raceway is a 12-turn, 2.22-mile road racecourse that hosts all kind of racing events, including very large NASCAR races. It's a 900-acre facility with several grandstands and wine country views so beautiful that you could easily get lost in them and forget to watch the race.
The Wine Country Classic draws a small crowd relative to the size of the facility, and you can easily roam around and watch from different spots, including seats that are right behind the start/finish line. The food pavilion gets crowded at lunch time, but not unbearably so.
- How long you'll be here depends on how many races you watch. We spent 5 hours, watching a couple of races, viewing cars and sampling gourmet goodies.
- The track is in full sun and can be windy. Bring a hat that will stay on, sunglasses, sunscreen and an extra jacket in case it's cloudy.
- Main grandstand seats left of the starter are good for seeing the track and the cars as they line up, but the best scenic views are from the grandstand above the first turns.
- Bring water. It's expensive here.
This vintage car race is popular with anyone who likes the classic vehicles that participate.
Vintage does not mean old and quiet, and the engines' roar can be deafening. No matter how much you love these classic beauties, don't go if you're sensitive to noise.
We rate the Wine Country Classic 5 stars out of 5 for anyone who loves classic cars and racing. With food and drink included in the admission price and free parking, it's a good value for money, especially if you stay all day.
Infineon Raceway is located north of San Francisco, near the intersection of Highways 121 and 37. You can get there from San Francisco by taking US 101 north across the Golden Gate Bridge to 37 east, or from the East Bay from I-80.
While a big NASCAR event can snarl traffic here, the Wine Country Classic does not generate traffic jams.
The Wine Country Classic is an annual event that features some 300 vintage cars, dating back to the early 1900s. Practice is held Saturday morning, qualifiers Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, and the main racing events take place on Sunday afternoon. All kinds of vintage cars participate, from Formula One racers down to stock-produced sports cars and even tiny classic Sunbeams.
An associated Vintage Car Festival is held in downtown Sonoma on Saturday evening.
To make the event even more fun for those who love classic cars, the paddock is open to the public, where you can get a close-up look at the machinery, watch the drivers prepare to race and talk to some of the owners.
An additional treat is the food pavilion, serving wine- and food-tastings, which are included in the admission price.
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary admission for the purpose of reviewing this event. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.
