John Cardinale, a longtime employee of Sonoma Raceway who was beloved for his tireless efforts to make the raceday experience wonderful for anyone who ever visited, has died. He was 47.

Sonoma Raceway announced Friday that Cardinale, its vice president of communications, had died a day earlier following a two-year battle with gastric cancer. He died at home surrounded by his family, the raceway said.

Steve Page, raceway president and general manager, said Cardinale's passing left "a hole in the heart of this organization." Page also called Cardinale "as true a friend, as loyal a colleague, as devoted a husband and father and as fine a human being as you could ever hope to know."

Cardinale is survived by his wife, Andrea, and the couple's two daughters.

Services were pending.