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New Members To Be Inducted Into Calistoga HoF
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Nine former drivers, champions and supporters will be inducted into the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame on the eve of the track’s biggest event of the season, the Louie Vermeil Classic, over Labor Day weekend.
The third annual induction ceremony and dinner will be held in the Tubbs Building on the Napa County fairgrounds, Friday, Aug. 29, beginning at 5 pm. Tickets are available by calling HMC Promotions at (916) 773-7223.
“The people enshrined in the Hall of Fame are the story of Calistoga Speedway,” said Tommy Hunt, race promoter for the track. “It was their passion for racing, their driving talent and support for Calistoga as a special place to race that created Calistoga Speedway’s rich history and made it one of the most recognized and longest-operating tracks in the country.”
The nine new inductees include:
• Stan Vermeil: A driver and car owner who worked side by side with his father to establish racing at Calistoga Speedway and spearheaded the effort to create the Northern Auto Racing Club, a sanctioning body for sprint cars that claimed Calistoga Speedway as its home track for decades.
• Gary Gerould: Most well known as the radio voice of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA and motorsports reporter for ABC and ESPN, he has been a life-long supporter of sprint car racing and is a former announcer at West Capitol Speedway in Sacramento and Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
• Jimmy Boyd: Drove his first-ever sprint car race at Calistoga Speedway in 1967 and collected eight feature wins over eight years, placing him in a tie for 12th on the track’s all time winners’ list. Well known for winning the inaugural World of Outlaws race in Texas in 1978, he is also an inductee in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.
• Jack Flaherty: A three time Northern Auto Racing Club champion (1949, ’52 and ’52) who visited victory lane at Calistoga Speedway many times during his career.
• Chuck Gurney: Drove his first race at Calistoga Speedway in 1969 and a 17-time winner, putting him third on the track’s all time winners’ list. A former USAC national champion, Gurney was enshrined in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2004.
• Ron Horton: A six time feature winner at Calistoga between 1974-85. He won his final race driving for owners Gaye and Bill Deschamps, who are also enshrined in the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame.
• Bob Miller: One of the most successful car owners at Calistoga Speedway whose sprint cars found victory circle 10 times.
• George Rogge: a former hardtop driver, he competed regularly at Calistoga Speedway from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s and served as a director of the Northern Auto Racing Club for eight years.
• John Montelli: Widely recognized for his ever-present 10-gallon hat and yellow pickup truck, he was a strong behind-the-scenes supporter of Calistoga Speedway. A professional in the earth-moving business, he helped prepare the half-mile oval for racing. He also made financial contributions to racing purses and sponsored cars owned by the Wolleson family. He succumbed to cancer in 1988.
The third annual induction ceremony and dinner will be held in the Tubbs Building on the Napa County fairgrounds, Friday, Aug. 29, beginning at 5 pm. Tickets are available by calling HMC Promotions at (916) 773-7223.
“The people enshrined in the Hall of Fame are the story of Calistoga Speedway,” said Tommy Hunt, race promoter for the track. “It was their passion for racing, their driving talent and support for Calistoga as a special place to race that created Calistoga Speedway’s rich history and made it one of the most recognized and longest-operating tracks in the country.”
The nine new inductees include:
• Stan Vermeil: A driver and car owner who worked side by side with his father to establish racing at Calistoga Speedway and spearheaded the effort to create the Northern Auto Racing Club, a sanctioning body for sprint cars that claimed Calistoga Speedway as its home track for decades.
• Gary Gerould: Most well known as the radio voice of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA and motorsports reporter for ABC and ESPN, he has been a life-long supporter of sprint car racing and is a former announcer at West Capitol Speedway in Sacramento and Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
• Jimmy Boyd: Drove his first-ever sprint car race at Calistoga Speedway in 1967 and collected eight feature wins over eight years, placing him in a tie for 12th on the track’s all time winners’ list. Well known for winning the inaugural World of Outlaws race in Texas in 1978, he is also an inductee in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.
• Jack Flaherty: A three time Northern Auto Racing Club champion (1949, ’52 and ’52) who visited victory lane at Calistoga Speedway many times during his career.
• Chuck Gurney: Drove his first race at Calistoga Speedway in 1969 and a 17-time winner, putting him third on the track’s all time winners’ list. A former USAC national champion, Gurney was enshrined in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2004.
• Ron Horton: A six time feature winner at Calistoga between 1974-85. He won his final race driving for owners Gaye and Bill Deschamps, who are also enshrined in the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame.
• Bob Miller: One of the most successful car owners at Calistoga Speedway whose sprint cars found victory circle 10 times.
• George Rogge: a former hardtop driver, he competed regularly at Calistoga Speedway from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s and served as a director of the Northern Auto Racing Club for eight years.
• John Montelli: Widely recognized for his ever-present 10-gallon hat and yellow pickup truck, he was a strong behind-the-scenes supporter of Calistoga Speedway. A professional in the earth-moving business, he helped prepare the half-mile oval for racing. He also made financial contributions to racing purses and sponsored cars owned by the Wolleson family. He succumbed to cancer in 1988.
