Elk Grove’s Larson to make first Calistoga Speedway appearance Saturday
As top contender for current series Rookie honors, Larson leads field of young talent
by Bill Sullivan

Kyle Larson of Elk Grove will make his Calistoga Speedway debut this Saturday night as the top candidate for the 2007 Civil War Rookie of the Year title, sitting 10th in points. Photo by Steve Lamothe

CALISTOGA, CA (6-13-07) - As the Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Sprint Car Series is bound for the biggest track this Saturday night, the famed Calistoga Speedway some of California’s youngest talent will be among the some 30 drivers in competition. Topping that list of rising stars will be Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson.

Earlier this season, Larson advanced from an already successful outlaw kart racing career. Larson’s early career boasts nearly 130 feature event victories in combined midget and Outlaw Kart competition along with seventeen different championships, four of which were of the national ranks.

As one of the youngest drivers in California’s winged sprint car population, Larson is already turning heads at just 14-years of age aboard the Elk Grove based Vertullo Racing 83v. Since the start of the season, Larson has spent the majority of his Saturday nights at Placerville Speedway where he most recently recovered from a mid race spin and rallied back from the rear of the field to finish an impressive fourth place in the feature event, his first top five of the season. Larson’s feat is one that can take several years of experience for many drivers to accomplish

In addition to his recent top five finish, Larson has claimed five top ten finishes in the 14 event he has competed in so far during during the year. Among his accomplishments was a ninth place finish in the prestigious Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial at Silver Dollar Speedway, a 410 sprint car event in which Larson piloted a 360 powered car toward the front of the field.

This Saturday night, Larson heads to his largest racing venue in his young racing career. Entering the fifth segment of the traveling Civil War series, Larson is ranked 11th in the championship point standings among the 65 drivers that have earned points so far. With his success, Larson is currently the top contender for the coveted Rookie of the Year Award in the Civil War series, sitting five points ahead of Mason Moore of Princeton and just 84-points away from the series lead.

Although he has shown great talent and skill in his first year of sprint car racing, Moore will be on the sidelines Saturday night at the scenic and scary Calistoga Speedway. Moore will wait a bit longer before facing California’s track that is tough to tame and Chico’s Brett Miller will pilot his Moore Insurance #22 for the night.

Miller is a youngster in the sport as well, just 17 years of age. However, he has a full year of racing under his belt. In 2006 he earned the Co-Rookie of the Year honors at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico with a seventh place finish in the standings to share the title with Rohnert Park’s Brett Miller. Additionally, Miller earned the same honor in the Civil War Series with a 10th place rank last season.

In 2007 Miller is running the full season of the Golden State Challenge Series for 410 sprint cars. This weekend the series is off to run the Dirt Cup in Skagit, allowing Miller to race at Calistoga without slipping from his current seventh place rank in the GSC standings.

Additional drivers expected to compete in scenic Napa Valley this Saturday include Andy Forsberg of Auburn, the defending Civil War Series champion who finished second in the 2006 Calistoga Cup and nearly won the Napa Valley Challenge later in the year until a lack of fuel sent him to the pits in the final laps.

As Forsberg looks for his first victory at the track where his father is a three time winner he will be joined by Rohnert Park’s Brett Rollag. Rollag is amidst the most successful season of his young racing career aboard Rick Williams’ #6 car. Rollag trails Forsberg by just 7 points and is sure to be a top contender this Saturday night at Calistoga Speedway is a track that requires great patience and poise, a characteristic quite apparent in Rollag as well as third place runner Colby Wiesz of Colfax.

Mike Henry of Sacramento will be aboard his Werbach Motorsports #20 for the Calistoga event and is looking for his first win there as well while Elk Grove’s Greg DeCaires will compete in his John Taylor owned #35, looking to become the first driver to win two Calistoga Cups in his career.

Placerville’s Andy Gregg is sixth in the standings and will be joined by seventh place driver Matt Petty of Jackson. Last year Petty made his first Calistoga appearance and won a heat race on the fast half mile as a rookie in the sport. One driver looking to best the field will surely be Calistoga’s own Mike Benson. During his racing career and long before it even started Benson has dreamed of a hometown victory, Saturday night he may very well get the job done.

The gates of the Napa County Fairground will open at 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The pit gate will open at 3:30 to allow all race teams to unload on the infield before parking their transporters in the parking area. Qualifying is set to begin at 6:30. All seating is general admission at $20 for adults and $10 for children. For additional information on the Civil War Series visit www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com.