The wildfires that devastated northern California were too close for comfort for one NASCAR track.
Sonoma Raceway issued a statement Monday, ensuring members of the motorsport community that the facility had not been damaged by the first that raged through Sunday night into Monday.
“All of us at Sonoma Raceway extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to those who have been touched by the devastating North Bay fires,” Sonoma Raceway president and GM, Steve Page, said in a statement. “Our facilities team and a number of local fire companies have been battling grassland fires on Cougar Mountain and elsewhere around our property, and at this point it does not appear any of the raceway’s structures or other facilities are at immediate risk. We appreciate all of the good wishes that have flooded in from friends around the country.”
Although its facilities weren’t among the roughly 1,500 buildings that were destroyed, a picture that Sonoma posted revealed that the blaze essentially was knocking on the track’s door.
A follow-up tweet from Sonoma showed local firefighters working on nearby hills to keep the flames from progressing farther.
KTXL-TV reporter Doug Johnson drove by the circuit Monday after the flames had been put out, and tweeted that the entire hillside backdrop, which sits just outside the Sonoma’s confines, had been charred overnight.
