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Here is an aerial photo of Sonoma Raceway before a NASCAR event in 2016. (Sonoma Raceway–Contributed)<\/p>\nIt will be a \u201cGiant\u201d weekend at Sonoma Raceway for this summer\u2019s Toyota\/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race.<\/p>\n
Just a month after the venue announced that former San Francisco Giants ace pitcher and three-time World Series champion Matt Cain will serve as an Honorary Race Official, it announced Wednesday that MLB World Series Champion manager and baseball icon Dusty Baker will serve as the race\u2019s Honorary Grand Marshal on June 28.<\/p>\n
As Honorary Grand Marshal, Baker will deliver the most famous words in motorsports \u2014\u00a0\u201cDrivers, start your engines!\u201d\u00a0\u2014 signaling the start of Northern California\u2019s premier NASCAR Cup Series event.<\/p>\n
Baker said he is looking forward to experiencing the excitement of NASCAR\u2019s annual visit to Wine Country.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthern California has always held a special place in my heart,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThe fans here have been incredible to me throughout my career, and it\u2019s an honor to be part of such a special event at Sonoma Raceway. I\u2019m looking forward to delivering those famous words and experiencing the excitement of NASCAR firsthand.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most respected figures in professional sports, Baker enjoyed a distinguished 19-year Major League Baseball playing career before becoming one of the winningest managers in MLB history. He captured a World Series championship as manager of the Houston Astros in 2022 and remains one of only a handful of managers to lead five different franchises to postseason appearances.<\/p>\n
Here is an aerial photo of Sonoma Raceway before a NASCAR event in 2016. (Sonoma Raceway–Contributed)<\/p>\n
Baker also shares a deep connection with Northern California through his successful tenure as manager of the San Francisco Giants from 1993 to 2002. During his decade in San Francisco, he led the Giants to three National League West division titles, a National League title, earned National League Manager of the Year honors three times, and helped guide the franchise through one of its most memorable eras, making him a beloved figure among Bay Area sports fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving Dusty Baker join us as Honorary Grand Marshal is a tremendous honor,\u201d said Executive Vice President & General Manager Brian Flynn. \u201cDusty\u2019s championship legacy, leadership, and longstanding ties to Northern California make him the perfect choice to help kick off the Toyota\/Save Mart 350. His impact on the Bay Area sports community continues to resonate, and we\u2019re excited to welcome him to Sonoma Raceway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Cain will deliver the official invocation before the green flag for Northern California\u2019s premier NASCAR race, which will air live nationally at 12:30 p.m. on TNT Sports.<\/p>\n
The Toyota\/Save Mart 350 will feature the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series battling on Sonoma Raceway\u2019s challenging 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, a fan-favorite stop on the NASCAR schedule.<\/p>\n
For tickets and event information, visit\u00a0SonomaRaceway.com\u00a0or call (800) 870-RACE [7223].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It will be a \u201cGiant\u201d weekend at Sonoma Raceway for this summer\u2019s Toyota\/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,3335,48,884,6519,462,12716,634,44,1412,112527,11763,512,227070,82,130524],"class_list":["post-743796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-canada","tag-local-news","tag-local-sports","tag-mlb","tag-motorsports","tag-nascar","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-north-bay","tag-northern-california","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-solano-county","tag-sports","tag-vallejo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}