Richard Petty takes the checkered flag at Bridgehampton N.Y. There, on a 2.00-mile course laid out among runways and taxiways, Al Keller won a 50-lap, 100-mile race in (gasp!) a Jaguar. In fact, the first of its 155 road races (among 2,729 total events through last weekend) was at the Linden (N.J.) Airport in June of 1954. All told, its top series has raced at least once at 16 of them, including three temporary circuits designed around airports. Known since its inception as primarily an oval-track discipline, NASCAR has long had a presence at left-hand, right-hand venues. It’s been difficult to gauge fan interest, but some of the more discerning one seem more receptive to road racing today than in the recent past. After Sonoma, the tour visits downtown Chicago in July, the Indy infield course and Watkins Glen in August, and the Roval at Charlotte in October. It’s the second of this year’s six road races, after Circuit of the Americas in March. There, 38 cars will run 110 laps around the 1.99-mile course (that’s 218 miles) in the year’s 16th points-paying race. Things will be quite different at Sonoma. NASCAR’s Garage 56 entry at Le Mans won’t be the only Cup car making left turns this weekend. It’s part of the Le Mans Garage 56 project, which is reserved for a car accepted for embracing what officials call “technology of tomorrow and beyond.” In France, seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, past F1 champion Jenson Button, and Le Mans veteran Mike Rockenfeller will share a Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Saturday-Sunday endurance race.

While much of its upper-level corporate attention is focused on a single car in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the rest of NASCAR’s 30-some Cup Series teams are at another road race, this one at Sonoma Raceway in northern California. Known since its inception as primarily an oval-track discipline, NASCAR has long had a presence at left-hand, right-hand venues.Īll told, its top series has raced at least once at 16 of them, including three temporary circuits designed around airports. NASCAR Has a Rich History of Turning Right, Too Chris Graythen - Getty Images

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