Welcome to the Wine Country Classic

Wine Country Classic Event Highlights

What:
Nearly 300 vintage cars, some dating as far back as1915, will grace Infineon Raceway for a weekend of racing at the 20th annual Jaguar Wine Country Vintage Car Races, presented by Comcast.

Where:
Infineon Raceway, Highways 37 & 121, Sonoma (800-870-RACE).

When:
June 1-3, 2007.

Featured:
The featured marque for this 20th anniversary of the Wine Country Classic will be Trans-Am. More than 40 muscle machines are expected from all over the West Coast, including classics like Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and more.

Schedule: <more>
Saturday: Practice (all groups), 8:10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.; Qualifying (all groups), 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday: Warm-up (all groups), 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.; Main events (all groups), 12:40 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Circuit:
12-turn, 2.52-mile road course.

Race Length:
All main events will span 10 laps.

Entries:
Nearly 300 race and sports cars, ranging from the early 1900s to the mid 1980s, will compete on the challenging road course in nine race groups.

Local drivers:
Larry Ayers (Vallejo); Felix Brunot (San Rafael); Jerry Burr (Berkeley); Michael Callaham (Orinda); Nicholas Colyvas (San Francisco); Clint deWitt (Sacramento); Dick and Shawn DeLuna (Woodside); Brian Ferrin (Sonoma); Chris Locke (San Anselmo); Ashley and Heather Mozart (Palo Alto); Chad Raynal (San Jose); Ferdinand Schoch (Santa Rosa); Martin Swig (Sausalito).

In addition:
The weekend will also feature the COPIA Wine Country Pavilion, which will feature gourmet wines and foods from 35 area purveyors. There will be food samples from a variety of merchants, including Artisan Breads, Cornerstone, Girl and the Fig and Sonoma Saveurs. Participating wineries include Ravenswood, Buena Vista Winery, Cline Cellars, Korbel Champagne Cellars and Estancia.

Entry to the pavilion is included with the price of the admission ticket for the Jaguar Wine Country Classic and you will receive six free wine tastings, and four food tastings at the COPIA Wine Country Pavilion as well as a free souvenir event program. All proceeds from the pavilion will go to Speedway Children’s Charities, the charitable arm of Infineon Raceway.

2005 Winners:
Group 1: Rodney Smith (1934 ERA, Portola Valley); Group 2: John Buddenbaum (1949 Jaguar, Sunnyvale); Group 3: Don Orosco (1958 Lotus, Monterey); Group 4: Heather Mozart (1965 Alfa-Romeo, Palo Alto); Group 5: Terry Gough (1965 Corvette, Reno); Group 6: Tom Byrnes (1962 Cooper, Ross); Group 7: Jeff Lewis (1971 Chevron, Newport Beach); Group 8: Fred Cziska (1971 Shadow, Pacifica); Group 9: Jim Hague (1969 Camaro, Santa Clara).

2005 Race Recap:
Palo Alto’s Heather Mozart made history on Sunday at Infineon Raceway, becoming the first woman to win a feature race in the 19-year history of the Jaguar Wine Country Classic Vintage Car Races. Mozart piloted her 1965 Alfa-Romeo to the checkered flag in the 10-lap main event for Group 4 (1955-1962 Production Sports Cars).… Santa Clara’s Jim Hague took the victory in the premier class of the weekend, 1966-1972 Historic Trans-Am Cars. Hague (1969 Camaro) started on the pole and traded the top spot with Saratoga’s Ken Epsman (1971 Javelin) several times before taking the win…. Ross’ Tom Byrnes took the victory in Group 6 (1957-1963 Formula Cars). Byrnes was then the mayor of Ross and is currently on the town council…. Other Northern California winners included: Portola Valley’s Rodney Smith (Group 1, 1934 ERA); Sunnyvale’s John Buddenbaum (Group 2, 1949 Jaguar); Monterey’s Don Orosco (Group 3, 1958 Lotus); and Pacifica’s Fred Cziska (Group 8, 1971 Shadow).

Vintage Race Car Festival:
Following Saturday’s on-track action, a collection of 30 vintage race cars will drive in parade format from Infineon Raceway to the downtown Sonoma Plaza under a California Highway Patrol escort at approximately 5 p.m. The evening will offer an opportunity to view beautiful cars on display while sampling food and wine from Sonoma Valley’s finest proprietors. Tickets are available for $30 in advance (800-870-RACE). All proceeds benefit Speedway Children’s Charities. For more information, contact Denise Silver at (707) 933-3950 or dsilver@infineonraceway.com.

Admission:
Advance: $40 - Saturday; $40 - Sunday; $60 - weekend pass. Children 12-and-under are FREE. Parking is FREE. Call 800-870-RACE or visit www.infineonraceway.com or www.ticketmaster.com for more information.