SAAC-50 Day-By-Day – Saturday, August 23, 2025
Saturday finds us deep into the festivities and is a day of non-stop fun and action. It's a full day of track action and a car spotter's dream of viewing some of the best Shelby specimens around. The track opens at 7:00am, in time for the sleepy but anxious Open Track participants to attend the Driver's Meeting.
Open Track – Saturday is a full day of track action. Participants are divided into groups of Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, and have multiple 20-minute sessions on the track during the day. Sonoma Raceway is a 2.5 mile road course with 12 challenging turns. Once an entrant has run one session, they are permitted to run subsequent sessions with a passenger.
Parade Laps – Once again, when the track goes "cold" at the Lunch hour, we will conduct a few sessions of Parade Laps. This is the opportunity to get the feel of a road racing course, but at highway speed. The Laps are run with a Pace Car and passengers are welcome to ride with you. We do limit the number of cars on at a time, so that we don't simulate a traffic jam. Parade laps are almost always sold out in advance, so be sure to sign up if you don't want to miss out.
Concours Judging – starting from early in the morning and running throughout the entire day will be the SAAC National Concours Judging. This is an opportunity to see literally the best of the best. These cars are scrutinized by a team of expert judges from throughout the country. The cars are, simply stated, measured against one benchmark... that is, the way the car appeared at the dealer or on the showroom floor, when it was a new car. A team of judges will examine each car in great detail, top and bottom, looking at workmanship, authenticity and originality. Many owners strive for years to recreate the originality of their car in the hopes of obtaining one of the valued awards from a SAAC concours. Bring your cameras and take your time strolling through the judging area ...you may never have seen cars presented in this condition before.
Vintage Racing – during the day, mixed in with the Advanced open track participants, will be some very unique vehicles. This group of cars, here for a Vintage Race, will be practicing and getting used to the road course at Sonoma. These cars are purpose-built race cars from the vintage Shelby era. Midafternoon, their sessions will be used to qualify their starting positions in the much-anticipated Vintage Race which will be held at the end of the afternoon. This is serious wheel to wheel racing, with a field of cars that are reminiscent of the races seen in the old days. Be sure to get a good seat in the grandstand or along the fence to watch this race.
Dinner and Evening Program – With just enough time to return to the hotel and get cleaned up, come down to the banquet area for our Cocktail Hour. This is a delightful social meeting with interesting special guests who are available for conversation and autographs. At the proper time, the doors will swing open to the banquet room for our SAAC-50 Dinner and Evening Program. Dinner tickets are available in advance; the Banquet area will almost surely be sold out this year. As this celebrates our 50th anniversary of national meetings, we're planning a very special evening program ...enjoyable with a few surprises. As always, the evening program is available (with standing room only) for anyone who wants to attend, following the dinner service.
Whew! ... and there is one more day to go!
Saturday finds us deep into the festivities and is a day of non-stop fun and action. It's a full day of track action and a car spotter's dream of viewing some of the best Shelby specimens around. The track opens at 7:00am, in time for the sleepy but anxious Open Track participants to attend the Driver's Meeting.
Open Track – Saturday is a full day of track action. Participants are divided into groups of Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, and have multiple 20-minute sessions on the track during the day. Sonoma Raceway is a 2.5 mile road course with 12 challenging turns. Once an entrant has run one session, they are permitted to run subsequent sessions with a passenger.
Parade Laps – Once again, when the track goes "cold" at the Lunch hour, we will conduct a few sessions of Parade Laps. This is the opportunity to get the feel of a road racing course, but at highway speed. The Laps are run with a Pace Car and passengers are welcome to ride with you. We do limit the number of cars on at a time, so that we don't simulate a traffic jam. Parade laps are almost always sold out in advance, so be sure to sign up if you don't want to miss out.
Concours Judging – starting from early in the morning and running throughout the entire day will be the SAAC National Concours Judging. This is an opportunity to see literally the best of the best. These cars are scrutinized by a team of expert judges from throughout the country. The cars are, simply stated, measured against one benchmark... that is, the way the car appeared at the dealer or on the showroom floor, when it was a new car. A team of judges will examine each car in great detail, top and bottom, looking at workmanship, authenticity and originality. Many owners strive for years to recreate the originality of their car in the hopes of obtaining one of the valued awards from a SAAC concours. Bring your cameras and take your time strolling through the judging area ...you may never have seen cars presented in this condition before.
Vintage Racing – during the day, mixed in with the Advanced open track participants, will be some very unique vehicles. This group of cars, here for a Vintage Race, will be practicing and getting used to the road course at Sonoma. These cars are purpose-built race cars from the vintage Shelby era. Midafternoon, their sessions will be used to qualify their starting positions in the much-anticipated Vintage Race which will be held at the end of the afternoon. This is serious wheel to wheel racing, with a field of cars that are reminiscent of the races seen in the old days. Be sure to get a good seat in the grandstand or along the fence to watch this race.
Dinner and Evening Program – With just enough time to return to the hotel and get cleaned up, come down to the banquet area for our Cocktail Hour. This is a delightful social meeting with interesting special guests who are available for conversation and autographs. At the proper time, the doors will swing open to the banquet room for our SAAC-50 Dinner and Evening Program. Dinner tickets are available in advance; the Banquet area will almost surely be sold out this year. As this celebrates our 50th anniversary of national meetings, we're planning a very special evening program ...enjoyable with a few surprises. As always, the evening program is available (with standing room only) for anyone who wants to attend, following the dinner service.
Whew! ... and there is one more day to go!
