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Hello Race Fans
Most of you know by now that the 2008 USAC/CRA Sprint cars and Midgets are scheduled to run a double-header over Labor Day weekend at Calistoga. It will be the first non-wing sprint car race at the speedway in over 20 years. Non-wing midgets and sprints have had a resurgence across the country possibly due to much safer race cars but mostly to the racing itself.
Many of us have some wonderful memories of that era and yes some sad ones also. The last non-wing show at Calistoga was the 1985 Louis Vermeil Classic. I think the first show in 23 years should have the same title. Maybe "The Vermeil Classic" because Alice Vermeil was a huge part of what kept the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) going for all those years. If you have ever organized your kids little league team or was in charge of the school fund raiser then you know how much stuff goes on behind the scenes. The Vermeils dedicated a big part of their lives to racing and to the racers. Louie would call competitors to see if they were coming to the next race. If your race car wasn’t ready then he’d say "get here on Friday and we’ll get it fixed", and he did even if he had to stay up most of the night. Many racers stayed at the Vermeil's home, ate endless meals and worked out of the "Owl Garage" and never paid a dime. Those people loved racing, they loved the racers and they loved Calistoga. Not just the racetrack, but the town itself. There are still a lot of folks around town that can tell you what the Vermeils meant to them.
Louie and Alice would tell you that there were a lot of other people that loved racing just as much as they did and who also gave so much to the sport. I think this is our chance to say "Thank You" to our past generation and also the new generation that is towing all this way to put on a show for us.
Please let me know if you or anybody you know (spread the word) would like to sponsor a specific Heat Race or Dash in the memory of somebody. Lap money or tow money for the out of town racers would be great. I also think it would be neat to get anybody with an old sprint car or midget to put it on display over the weekend at the fairgrounds (running or not). I haven’t officially spoken to anyone at USAC or the Calistoga / Napa County Fairgrounds yet, but I would like to get some great feedback and then present them with your generosity. So pull out those old programs and figure out who you would like to see honored that weekend; drivers, owners, or anyone who supported our sport. If they meant something to you, then lets say "Thank you".
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR RACING FRIENDS…..
Please contact me at [email protected] and reference USAC/CRA or Calistoga so I don’t delete it.
Chad Hawkins
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