Tribute to the Legends
of Nor-Cal 100 set for Roseville Saturday night – By Bobby Gerould – September 15,
2008. Roseville, CA. …Paying homage to those that paved the way is idea
behind the United States Auto Club’s Tribute to the Legends of Nor-Cal 100 which
will receive the green flag Saturday (September 20th) at
All-American Speedway. Specifically, the memory of three legends, in Larry
Burton, Walt Ross, and DuWayne Starr will be honored while the USAC Western
Sprint Cars do their thing on the lightning fast quarter-mile paved oval.
Carrying the nickname, “The Roseville Rocket”, Burton was synonymous with the Speedway. He won the 1955 track championship
and later became a promoter of racing events at the Placer County Fairgrounds. The 1972 Gold Cup winner and the Superior Racing
Association champion in 1956, Burton was also among the
American pioneers of racing in Australia during USA winter months.
Walter T. Ross from Carmichael was a successful car owner and
driver that campaigned the iconic blue #56 sprint car driven most notably by
the late Gary Patterson. Ross first visited Roseville as a racer in 1956 and by 1958 he
was winning with regularity at the track. He scored a rare “clean sweep” on May
13th, 1958 when he set quick-time, won his heat and the Main Event. According
to his biography, Ross ran Roseville every Friday during the sixties.
Ross followed the great Louie Vermeil as President of the Northern Auto Racing
Club (NARC) when Vermeil stepped down in 1985.
DuWayne Starr was a fixture in the local racing community known
for his innovative work at Tognotti’s Auto World as well as for being a Gold
Cup winning car-owner and a Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) car owner champion.
He was inducted into both the Motor
Sports Press Association’s, and West Capital Raceway’s Hall of Fame. Starr
passed away in 1999.
The 2008 USAC Western Sprint Car season has been dominated
by young sensation Tanner Swanson of Kingsburg, CA. The 17 year-old younger brother of
2005 series champion Kody Swanson, Tanner, won the most recent USAC event at
All-American Speedway. He leads the point standings comfortably with four races
remaining.
Swanson will be challenged Saturday by five-time USAC
champion Tony Hunt of Lincoln, as well as San Francisco driver Nick Rescino Jr. Eric Humphries
from Chowchilla sits in second place in the series point standings. He will be
joined on the Roseville roster by Aztec New Mexico’s Porter
Smith, and John Sarale of Stockton. Recently crowned USAC Rocky
Mountain Region champion JoJo Helberg from Rohnert Park is expected to be in the field
along with Scott Pierovich (Alamo, CA.), Greg Anderson (Roseville), Tim Skoglund (Fresno), and Shauna Hogg (Citrus Heights).
Front gates open at 4pm with racing scheduled for 6pm. For
more information please call 916-786-2025 or visit AllAmericanSpeedway.com.
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