2024 Velocity Invitational: Sip and Savor
Historically, October hasn’t been a time of year flush with automotive events. To us, the word October has usually been synonymous with dropping temperatures, falling leaves, shorter days, and probably a little bit of rain…things not always conducive to racing or even meet-ups. Not to mention that at about the same time last year we attended a very cold and quite soggy Rennsport Reunion.
That’s definitely not how things have gone down this year. Forget politics, this year’s October surprise has been the heat. Although on paper, summer was over at the end of September, that fact didn't prevent nearly two weeks of near triple digit temps all over California, and luckily it didn't stop the return of the Velocity Invitational to Sonoma Raceway.
The Velocity Invitational was founded by Jeff O'Neill, an avid vintage racer and car enthusiast. His vision was to create an event that not only celebrated the history of motorsport but also delivered a premium experience for attendees. It first began in 2019 with the Sonoma Speed Festival showcasing 220 period racing cars connecting a generation of enthusiasts with a new generation. After COVID shut the world down, the event returned in 2021 under the Velocity name and moved to WeatherTeach Raceway Laguna Seca.
The inaugural event was held at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California, one of the country's most scenic and challenging race tracks. From the beginning, the event featured a carefully curated selection of historic racing cars, from early 20th century machines to more contemporary fare. The focus on quality over quantity established the Invitational as a serious motorsport gathering, blending vintage racing with a refined sense of occasion. And on the subject of, “refined,” the Invitational is also a showcase for California’s burgeoning food and beverage scene. Along with all the things automotive were numerous opportunities to sample (at a cost) some of the region’s best food and wine, which is completely appropriate considering Sonoma Raceway’s proximity to many of the Golden State’s best vineyards and restaurants. Velocity further gilded it’s lily by inviting celebrity chef Tyler Florence to stop by for some cooking demos and book signing.
That’s all fine and good, but…
But as much as we love good food and drink, we didn’t get up at the crack of dawn for two days to sample the local fare….Although we did begin to refer to ourselves as “he is Sip and I’m Savor,” but that's for another time. ((It’s not easy being (with) us sometimes.))
Each year, the Invitational attracts top-tier racing talent, including professional drivers and vintage car collectors, and manufacturers eager to showcase their prized vehicles.
One of the hallmarks of the event is its inclusivity, welcoming cars from various racing disciplines and eras. The event has featured cars from iconic manufacturers like Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, and Bugatti, with races featuring everything from classic Le Mans prototypes to historic Formula 1 cars. However, it's not just about speed; the event also pays homage to automotive craftsmanship, design, and engineering, with several non-racing exhibitions dedicated to rare and historically significant vehicles. The inclusivity of these events doesn’t just apply to the cars. Every year we see more and more women, small kids, and whole family units, which always reminds us that the future of motorsport and events like this only succeed when more people participate. The people who run this event seem to do more than any other to create a well organized, choreographed, and accommodating experience. We can’t think of any other event that covers all the bases to make sure everyone has a great time from the first moment they’re met with a shuttle from the parking lot when they arrive.
Many tires were killed….
Every past Invitational has seemingly had a focus or anchor component around which most of the other features seem to cycle. In years past it has been the roadcars of McLaren Automotive, McLaren F1 and Indycar efforts, Mercedes Benz and their F1 program, and also some staggering assemblages of the world’s most exotic super, hyper, and mega cars.
Even the infield sections of Sonoma Raceway not typically used as a track space became a tire shredding exibitions as fans could sign up for a drifting passenger experiance.
This year’s anchor was generally focused on cars that tend to do a lot of sliding around and/or just plain killing poor defenseless tires with massive displays of power. The good folks at DirtFish Rally School brought a gaggle of historic and iconic international rally cars along with plenty of the PNW’s finest rally drivers and instructors who did their best to show us their driving chops through numerous demos and attendee ride-alongs.
Subaru brought the goods
Subaru blew minds all over the place by not only bringing the bewitching Project Midnight WRX and the Family Huckster to the California wine country, but also the drivers, Scott Speed and Travis Pastrana. In case you live under a rock, these two driver/car car combos stormed the internet and all the socials earlier this year with spectacular demos at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. Both cars did laps on the track, much to the delight of all in the grandstands, but then Pastrana did a half dozen or so demo and fan ride-along laps that demonstrated the Huckster’s tire slaying abilities as well as his ability to make it drift and dance around a few of the tracks regular turns and then on the event’s improvised drift course. Not gonna lie, these two cars were as impressive as you’d probably assume, and probably alone worth the price of admission.
Global Time Attack. Production based tuned and tuners…
Founded to assemble a variety of purpose built cars designed to race the clock, GTA (Ha ha ha) is a test of drivers to set a fastest time unimpeded by battling other cars around the track. Beginning in the 1960s in Japan it evolved into tuning and automotive accessory companies joining together to host competitions that gave cars like the Mitsubishi Evo and Nissan S15 Silva icon status. The single largest GTA event occurs at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California every November and Velocity presented an opportunity for many fans to get their first taste of this niche, yet very open, Motorsport genre. To be honest as we watched and shot photos trackside we were unaware of what was really happening, but it provided a good spectacle of drivers pushing the limits around Sonoma Raceway. Project Midnight and Scott Speed certainly lived up to the hype established at Goodwood by setting the top time.
And speaking of spectacles…
Probably our favorite part of our experience this year was delivered via one of our favourite racing drivers and his amazing and historically significant car. 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button made his mark on the event by absolutely flogging his personal 1952 C-Type jaguar around the track in near hundred degree heat. If the Jag’s previous owner, Juan Manuel Fangio, was looking down from heaven he would have undoubtedly been proud to see Jenson using every bit of grip from the car’s tall and relatively skinny tires as he blasted through and lapped the field of other classic sports racing cars. The gap from Jenson’s beautiful bronzy cat to the next fastest qualifier in Group 1 was something like a minute and sixteen seconds. So good!
A hillclimb you say?
For the first time in the track’s history cars would run counterclockwise for a hill climb event that saw 11 cars compete to set the fastest time. The machines that ran were a ridiculous group including a Ford GT MK IV, Ferrari 599XX, McLaren Senna, AMG GT3 Raw Spec and even a NASCAR. Among the drivers were notables of various Motorsport pedigrees including Romain Grosjean, JR Hildebrand, Tony Kanaan and Scott Speed. The track attack Project Midnight Subaru also took part and logged the fastest hillclimb time. Neither the concept of the hillclimb nor the decision to run these unrelated cars makes any sense to us, but hot damn it was good to watch!
We drank through the firehose as best we could…
It would be a monumental task to cover everything we experienced. We left a lot of the Invitational on the table, and with the sheer diversity of motorsport genres on display, capturing it all feels almost impossible. Along with what we’ve covered above, other racing groups included Formula Jr., FiA Sports and Prototypes, Trans-Am, historic NASCAR, IMSA GT, and modern Le Mans prototypes and more.
In closing…
Despite the sweltering ninety-plus degree heat, it was an enjoyable and engaging event—really, that’s about the best you can ask for.
Velocity has always been a fantastic way to ease us into the fall season, even if, as we write this, Northern California is still unseasonably warm. But here’s the kicker: next year, Velocity is shaking things up by ditching its late-season slot and heading back to Sonoma Raceway in mid-June of 2025. Just how much hotter could it possibly get?
As always, we invite you to take a look at our mega gallery below to see what we’ve described in this report plus the rest of the stuff we had to leave on the table.
Enjoy!
The Loud Pedal
