With the closure of Riverside International Raceway in Moreno Valley, California after the 1988 season, NASCAR wanted a West Coast road course event to replace it, and chose the Sears Point facility.

[3] The 2.520 mi (4.056 km) road racing course was constructed on 720 acres (2.9 km2) by Marin County owners Robert Marshall Jr., an attorney from Point Reyes, and land developer Jim Coleman of Kentfield.

A few years later a group calling itself Black Mountain Inc., which included Bondurant, William J. Kolb of Del Mar and Howard Meister of Newport Beach, purchased the track from Filmways for a reported $1.5 million.

American Motorcycle Association national motocross races in the hills north of Turn 7 became popular with Bay Area fans, but were phased out by the end of the decade because of rising insurance costs.

Jack Williams, the 1964 NHRA top-fuel drag racing champion, Rick Betts and John Andersen purchased the track from Filmways at an auction for $800,000.

In 1994 more than $1 million was spent on a beautification project and construction of a 62 ft (19 m)-high, four-sided electronic lap leader board in the center of the road course.

In the following years a major $3 million renovation plan included VIP suites and a two-story driver's lounge/emergency medical facility.

In 1995 Trans-Am and SportsCar races returned to Sears Point and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was added to the major-events schedule.

Major renovations began at Sears Point Raceway in 1998 with the creation of "the Chute", an 890 ft (270 m) high-speed stretch.

In 2000 Sears Point Raceway gained unanimous approval from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors by a 5–0 vote to begin work on a $35 million Modernization Plan that included 64,000 Hillside Terrace seats, repaving of both the road course and drag strip and increased run-off around the entire track.

In 2006, the Grand Prix of Sonoma was transferred to the Rolex Sports Car Series, who would limit it to Daytona Prototypes only for 2007–2008 before the event was discontinued altogether.

Since 2010, however, the course has seen a mild resurgence, with the circuit becoming a sponsor for various events as well as hosting an increasing amount of lesser series, including the WTCC and the return of the SCCA World Challenge.

The track was modified in 1998,[6] adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6 (the Carousel), shortening the course to 1.949 mi (3.137 km).

[7] The Chute was built primarily for spectator visibility, to increase speeds, and improve competition for the stock cars, which are not necessarily groomed well for road course racing.

Before the 1994 NASCAR race, a makeshift auxiliary pit road was constructed inside the hairpin (turn 11) nicknamed Gilligan's Island.

Teams sent only the primary pit crew to Gilligan's Island, and once they were there, they could not access the garage area or their transporters to collect spare parts/tools.

This hairpin is located just past the drag strip control tower and offers a fairly straight run to the start-finish line.

This version uses the end of the dragstrip (instead of the Keyhole) to create a Magny Cours-style hairpin that joints the drag strip to Turn 7 to open an overtaking opportunity.

During major races, hospitality tents and other stages are erected around the track, which brings the total capacity up to 102,000 seats.

Scenes from a Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR race were used in the softcore porn series Hotel Erotica in Season 1 Episode 3 The Fast and the Curious[76]