By Keith Waltz NASCAR stock car racing invaded California’s wine country on June 11, 1989, when Ricky Rudd held off Rusty Wallace to win the Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at the track now known as Sonoma Raceway. NASCAR was forced to find a new Golden State venue for its premier racing series after Riverside International Raceway was consumed by development following the 1988 season. The historic track, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Riverside, had been a regular stop on the NASCAR schedule since the early 1960s. Officials opted to move Riverside’s traditional June race to Sonoma Raceway, located in the…

By Jared Turner   Following a rare off-week, it’s back to business this weekend for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers as they head west to Northern California for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. The twisty 10-turn track is the first of two road courses on the Sprint Cup schedule, and is a place where just about anything can happen. The past seven races here have produced seven different winners – a far cry from the old days when only a handful of drivers seemed to have a legitimate shot of going to Victory Lane in the Wine Country. “When I…