By Lance Jennings
AUGUST 25, 2025… Calistoga Speedway is the place to be this Saturday and Sunday as the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars return for the “14th Louie Vermeil Classic Presented by Quick Change Liquid Energy Drink and Special Thanks to the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.” Promoted by HMC Promotions, the highly anticipated event will also feature the winged NARC King of the West Sprint Cars and honors the former series director. In addition, there will be vintage cars on display, Saturday Wine Tasting, Sunday Beer Tasting, and other activities for fans to enjoy. Calistoga Speedway is located on the Calistoga Fairgrounds at 1435 North Oak Street in Calistoga, California and the Spectator Gates will open at 4:00pm, time trials starts at 5:30pm, with racing to follow. For more information, visit racecalistogaspeedway.org or call 916.773.7225.
For those that cannot make it to the races, the Labor Day Weekend events will be live streamed at FloRacing (floracing.com). As this writing goes to press, forty-four (44) pre-entries have been received for the USAC/CRA portion of the show and the list is at the bottom of this release. An estimated twenty (20) cars are expected with NARC.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
– ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
– TIRES / FUEL: Tires and fuel WILL BE AVAILABLE for sale at the race track.
– ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
– TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
– ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
– TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.
– FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
– FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
– COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
– MUFFLER RULE: The Flowmaster “Suitcase” Mufflers (Part # 53545-10) ARE RECOMMENDED at Calistoga Speedway. The city has tightened sound limit rules and larger mufflers are needed. Failure to comply will risk disqualification.
– RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com.
Since August 30, 2008, twenty-four USAC/CRA races have been held at the Calistoga Fairgrounds and sixteen (16) have claimed victory. The series last raced in Calistoga’s Wine Country in 2019 as Rico Abreu, Ryan Bernal, and Damion Gardner lead all drivers with 3 wins. On September 3, 2017, Ryan Bernal broke the 19-second barrier (18.869) for non-winged sprints and set the 1-lap track record at the scenic half-mile. The complete Calistoga USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.
Heading to Calistoga, Ricky Lewis of Oxnard, California holds a 33-point advantage over the competition. The owner/driver of the #41 May Motorsports / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC raced to his eighth victory of the campaign on August 16th at Perris Auto Speedway. To date, Lewis has also posted one Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 173 feature laps led on the season. Now tied with Bryan Clauson with twelve career wins, Ricky will be a threat to win the “Louie Vermeil Classic.”
Defending champion, R.J. Johnson of Laveen, Arizona ranks second in the chase for the USAC/CRA Championship. Driving the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, Johnson led thirteen laps at Perris before scoring fifth at the checkered flags. At press time, the 2005 Rookie of the Year has five Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Awards, six heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led in the campaign. Currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine wins, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion will have his sights on his first wins of the year at Calistoga.
Yorba Linda, California’s “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams sits third in the point standings. Piloting the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17W Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC, Williams scored seventeenth at Perris after a late flip cost a podium finish. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has posted one Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, and twelve top-10 finishes on the season. Currently tied with Matt Mitchell and Ricky Lewis with eleven career wins, “The Big Game Hunter” will be looking to return to Calistoga’s victory circle.
After running tenth at Perris, A.J. Bender of San Diego, California has climbed to fifth in the USAC/CRA championship points. Driving the family owned #21 Rolls Scaffolding / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender has four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 5 feature laps led on the year. The former Turkey Night Grand Prix Sprint Car winner will be looking to breakthrough at Calistoga for his first wins of the season.
Goleta, California’s David Gasper ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA point chase. Piloting the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Valley Precision Products DRC, Gasper claimed twentieth at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. To date, the 2024 rookie of the year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, one Factory Wraps Semi-Main win, eight top-10 finishes, and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. David is tied with Max Adams, Darren Hagen, Chase Johnson, C.J. Leary, Kevin Swindell, and Chris Windom with four career wins and will have his sights on the “Louie Vermeil Classic.”
Connor Lundy of Peoria, Arizona leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors over Brody Wake, Brecken Guerrero, Connor Speir, Cole Wakim, Dayton Shelton, Blake Hendricks, Lonnie Oliver, Caleb Stelzig, Heath Holdsclaw, Colt Treharn, Trenten Shelton, Lonnie Hochstetler, and Justin Kierce.
The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks Factory Wraps, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr. & Wiley Miller II, Sexton Fire Protection, Silbermann Solar, WC Friend Company Access Systems, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.
For more information on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2004-Rip Williams, 2005-Damion Gardner, 2006-Cory Kruseman, 2007-Tony Jones, 2008-Mike Spencer, 2009-Mike Spencer, 2010-Mike Spencer, 2011-Mike Spencer, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Damion Gardner, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Damion Gardner, 2016-Damion Gardner, 2017-Damion Gardner, 2018-Damion Gardner, 2019-Damion Gardner, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Damion Gardner, 2022-Damion Gardner, 2023-Brody Roa, 2024-R.J. Johnson.
“LOUIE VERMEL CLASSIC” WINNERS: 2008-Tim Kaeding / Kevin Swindell, 2009-Kevin Swindell / Mike Spencer, 2010-Damion Gardner / Damion Gardner, 2011-Robert Ballou / Mike Spencer, 2012-Ryan Bernal / Kyle Hirst, 2013-Bud Kaeding / Kyle Larson, 2014-Christopher Bell / Rico Abreu, 2015-Ryan Bernal / Rico Abreu, 2016-Ryan Bernal / Thomas Meseraull, 2017-Kevin Thomas Jr. / Rico Abreu, 2018-Damion Gardner / Colby Copeland, 2019-Austin Williams / Jake Swanson, 2020-CANCELLED, 2021-Carson Short / Damion Gardner, 2022-NO RACE, 2023-NO RACE, 2024-NO RACE.
2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 8-Ricky Lewis, 2-David Gasper, 1-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Kaleb Montgomery, 1-Jake Swanson.
CALISTOGA AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Ryan Bernal – 18.869 (09/03/17)
CALISTOGA AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Rico Abreu, 3-Ryan Bernal, 3-Damion Gardner, 2-Mike Spencer, 2-Kevin Swindell, 1-Robert Ballou, 1-Christopher Bell, 1-Colby Copeland, 1-Kyle Hirst, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Tim Kaeding, 1-Kyle Larson, 1-Thomas Meseraull, 1-Jake Swanson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr., 1-Austin Williams.
2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ricky Lewis-910, 2. R.J. Johnson-877, 3. Austin Williams-734, 4. A.J. Bender-719, 5. David Gasper-716, 6. Tommy Malcolm-710, 7. Blake Bower-619, 8. Charles Davis Jr.-584, 9. Connor Lundy (R)-529, 10. Cody Williams-498, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-455, 12. Logan Williams-451, 13. Verne Sweeney-420, 14. Brody Roa-408, 15. Brody Wake (R)-362, 16. Elexa Herrera-359, 17. Brecken Guerrero (R)-328, 18. Connor Speir (R)-311, 19. Jake Swanson-299, 20. Logan Calderwood-286.
“LOUIE VERMEL CLASSIC” PRE-ENTRIES: 1-Nate Schank, 2X-Travis DeGaton, 3-Kaleb Montgomery, 3C-Bill Cornwell, 3M-Marty Hawkins, 5E-Elexa Herrera, 5X-Tommy Malcolm, 6-Logan Calderwood, 7-Carson Short, 17-To Be Announced, 17B-Blake Bower, 17W- Austin Williams, 17X-Ryan Bernal, 18-David Gasper, 18G-Josh Gillis, 21-A.J. Bender, 29T-Ryan Timmons, 33-J.J. Yeley, 33H-Heath Holdsclaw, 33P-R.J. Johnson, 39-Jeff Dyer, 39E-Kyle Edwards, 41-Ricky Lewis, 41M-To Be Announced, 42-Max Adams, 44-Cody Williams, 47-Charles Davis Jr., 51T-Eddie Tafoya Jr., 57-Connor Speir, 67-Britton Bock, 67X-T.J. Hartman, 71D-Bryan Drollinger, 74-Shane Sexton, 78B-Brody Wake, 79-Mark Hanson, 83T-Tanner Carrick, 92-Geoff Ensign, 97-Connor Lundy, 98-Verne Sweeney, 98A-Andrew Sweeney, 98B-Brecken Guerrero, 99T-Tanner Boul, 0G-Kyle Shipley.