Not exactly sure whether to put this, but it’s too important not to share in the sport car section as Sonoma is a track that a lot of people think should return to the IMSA schedule.
Indycar has a spot to fill on its 2019 schedule and one possibility is racing at both Sonoma and Laguna Seca. Marshall Pruett has a piece asking “
Can two Bay Area Indy Car events thrive?” The short answer is “no.” Bookmark this story because you might want to pull out the quotes and use them later. Some samples (there's more good stuff in the story):
Marshall Pruett on the local market:
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Having listened to the local radio ads, watched TV commercials, and seen all manner of online advertising for the aforementioned IndyCar and sports car events [at Sonoma and Laguna Seca respectively], it’s possible those series are actually capturing a high percentage of fans who are interested in what they’re offering. As much as I’d like to believe there’s a great untapped audience to grab, or a large contingent of lapsed fans waiting to fall in love with road racing again, I just haven’t seen evidence of it locally.
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From Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) CEO Tim McGrane, who runs WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:
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“There are only so many people who are rabid fans of a particular race series that have the time and money to spend on attending events. I don’t think this market would support two major [IndyCar] events. Any numbers that are taken away because fans have two choices in the same arena is certainly one path I wouldn’t choose to go down.”
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And from Sonoma Raceway president Steve Page:
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“[Holding dual events] would absolutely not thrive. Neither event, at least by the second year, would be as large as our event is currently, either from fan support or corporate support. You’d end up with two smaller events. I can’t see how that would be in IndyCar’s interest.”
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So for the sustainability of holding IMSA events again at both tracks again, see the above quotes from Page and McGrane and simply replace “IndyCar” with “IMSA.”