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Calistoga Speedway (CA) Selects Hall Of Fame Class
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Eight new members have been selected for Calistoga Speedway’s Hall of Fame and will be inducted Sept. 1, on the Napa County Fairgrounds at a dinner that traditionally begins the Louie Vermeil Classic on Labor Day weekend each year.
The 10th annual Louie Vermeil Classic features non-wing, “traditional” sprint cars from the Southern California-based USAC/CRA, and USAC Western States midgets for two nights of racing at the Calistoga Speedway half mile oval on Sept. 2-3.
A list of the inductees is detailed below.
Rendy Boldrini, the 1975 NARC Rookie of Year who went on to claim many victories at Calistoga in an era where all sprint cars on the half-mile oval were non-wing. According to racing historian Bobby Gerould, “Boldrini is one of the most underrated non-wing drivers in the track’s history.”
Duane Bonini, a rising talent who won the first sprint car race he entered at Calistoga Speedway, and two additional races over the subsequent year. Almost a year to the day of his first win, Bonini succumbed to injuries from a crash at the speedway.
Dave Bradway, Jr., a seven-time winner at Calistoga Speedway from 1982-87 and only the second driver to break the 100 mph barrier in qualifying, which was a major accomplishment in those days. Bradway perished in a sprint car crash in Skagit, Washington, in 1987.
Jack Gordon, a veteran racer who won many championships in both Super Modifieds and Sprint cars. He won his first race at Calistoga in 1982 and claimed the 1987 NARC car owner’s championship.
Chick Lastire, one of the founders of the Bay Cities Racing Association in 1939, which continues to sanction midget races. Initially sanctioning roadsters, the BCRA ran one of its first races at Calistoga Speedway in 1939. Lastire continued to field cars as an owner and won the ARA championship as a car owner before retiring from the sport in 1959.
Jack McAfee, an owner of sprint cars that were driven by more than 20 of the region’s top racers, many of whom are Hall of Fame members. McAfee built cars in his own two-car garage without major sponsors but finished in the top 10 in championship point standings for 25 consecutive years before retiring from the sport in 1998.
Don Melvin, who consistently finished in the top 10 in the NARC driver’s championship standings from 1970-78. One of his five wins on the NARC circuit was at Calistoga in 1974, when he won the feature race from the back of the field after winning the semi-main to earn his spot in the main event.
Galen Unruh, a NARC president who was instrumental in the growth of sponsorship for the series and for its individual sprint car teams from 1988-96.
The 10th annual Louie Vermeil Classic features non-wing, “traditional” sprint cars from the Southern California-based USAC/CRA, and USAC Western States midgets for two nights of racing at the Calistoga Speedway half mile oval on Sept. 2-3.
A list of the inductees is detailed below.
Rendy Boldrini, the 1975 NARC Rookie of Year who went on to claim many victories at Calistoga in an era where all sprint cars on the half-mile oval were non-wing. According to racing historian Bobby Gerould, “Boldrini is one of the most underrated non-wing drivers in the track’s history.”
Duane Bonini, a rising talent who won the first sprint car race he entered at Calistoga Speedway, and two additional races over the subsequent year. Almost a year to the day of his first win, Bonini succumbed to injuries from a crash at the speedway.
Dave Bradway, Jr., a seven-time winner at Calistoga Speedway from 1982-87 and only the second driver to break the 100 mph barrier in qualifying, which was a major accomplishment in those days. Bradway perished in a sprint car crash in Skagit, Washington, in 1987.
Jack Gordon, a veteran racer who won many championships in both Super Modifieds and Sprint cars. He won his first race at Calistoga in 1982 and claimed the 1987 NARC car owner’s championship.
Chick Lastire, one of the founders of the Bay Cities Racing Association in 1939, which continues to sanction midget races. Initially sanctioning roadsters, the BCRA ran one of its first races at Calistoga Speedway in 1939. Lastire continued to field cars as an owner and won the ARA championship as a car owner before retiring from the sport in 1959.
Jack McAfee, an owner of sprint cars that were driven by more than 20 of the region’s top racers, many of whom are Hall of Fame members. McAfee built cars in his own two-car garage without major sponsors but finished in the top 10 in championship point standings for 25 consecutive years before retiring from the sport in 1998.
Don Melvin, who consistently finished in the top 10 in the NARC driver’s championship standings from 1970-78. One of his five wins on the NARC circuit was at Calistoga in 1974, when he won the feature race from the back of the field after winning the semi-main to earn his spot in the main event.
Galen Unruh, a NARC president who was instrumental in the growth of sponsorship for the series and for its individual sprint car teams from 1988-96.
