CALISTOGA, CA (7-27-12) - It's the one race they look forward to the most and at the same time, it's the race that even the toughest most experienced drivers fear the most. The Calistoga Cup is just days away for the Hoosier Racing Tires California Sprint Car Civil War Race Series and teams and fans are gearing up for action on the largest, fastest dirt track in the Western States.

The Civil War Sprint Car Series is California's premier traveling race series for 360 cubic inch powered winged sprint cars. Annually, the series consists of 13 events at six of California's best known race tracks that span Northern California from the Sierra Foothills to the Wine Country and the Coastal Region.

This Saturday night marks the one and only annual appearance at the famed half mile Calistoga Speedway; a track boasting record speeds, an elite list of former winners and a history behind it that is rich in both community and competition. So how did the track known simply as "Stoga" come about?

It all started back in 1937, as the Model A was dominating America's roadways when a promoter with the colorful nickname of "Fancy Pants" came to Calistoga with a an idea. He believed the town's horse racing track was ideal for another kind of horsepower. He persuaded the town's leaders to promote a car race on the Napa County Fairgrounds. About a dozen cars showed up for an afternoon of hippodrome-style speed exhibitions. It was the beginning of a tradition that has endured for over 70 years.

Except for the years of World War II, when all racing in the nation was put on hold to conserve fuel and rubber, Calistoga Speedway has hosted open-wheel race cars. From spindly wire-wheeled wonders with four-cylinder engines to midgets and the V-8 powered, winged and modern sprint cars of today, Calistoga's first racing heroes were family names that are still found in the Napa Valley, such as Figone, Normi, and Pacheteau.

The first races were sanctioned by the Bay Cities Roadster Racing Association and later the American Racing Association. The track hit its stride as a racing destination under the nurturing hand of another well-known Calistogan, Louie Vermeil, owner of the former Owl Garage on Washington Street, whose association with the track spanned over 40 years. Initially, he was a mechanic and later a car owner. By 1960, Vermeil and others had formed the Northern Auto Racing Club, now known as the Golden State Challenge Series, to boost the professionalism of sprint car racing. For the next 25 years, Calistoga Speedway was known as the "home" of the Northern Auto Racing Club while Vermeil presided as president.

Some things have changed over the years. Admission price in the early years was a mere 55 cents. The fastest cars of the hippodrome days took more than 30 seconds to turn a lap on the half-mile oval. To be sure, they were daring speeds at the time in rough cars with narrow tires. But they seem tortoise-like compared to speeds of modern sprint cars, which rocket down the long straight aways twice as fast at more than 120 miles an hour.

Over the years, Calistoga Speedway has hosted some of the best drivers of their eras. Indy car veterans Jim Hurtubise, Bob Veith, Freddie Agabasion ('52 Indy pole winner), and Earl Motter raced here in the '50s and '60s. Some of the best race car drivers of the next generation took their place, including 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and Tony Stewart, who has gone on to win championships in the United States Auto Club, the Indy Racing League, and NASCAR stock cars. Many of the drivers on the track's all-time win list became nationally known for their talent, even if they raced primarily in Northern California, as the track gained a reputation for requiring the best effort of the area's best drivers in order to win.

Today, Calistoga Speedway continues its tradition of presenting special events for some of the region's most competitive racing series, including the winged sprint cars of the traveling Civil War and Golden State Challenge series and the traditional sprint cars and midgets of the United States Auto Club.

Saturday's race is the 8th segment of the Civil War Sprint Car Series, This tour competes at six of California's best known race tracks which span Northern California from the Sierra Foothills to the Wine Country and the Coastal Region. Saturday's event and every regular Civil War Series event will pay $2000 to the winner and $300 to start the 22 car A-feature.

Joining the Civil War Sprint Cars this season will be the firebreathing West Coast Late Model Stock Cars on the Calistoga Half Mile. This exciting series brings the golden state's top stock car talent to their largest venue on their tour and some thirty drivers are expected to form the roster.

The front gates to Calistoga Speedway will open at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Adult tickets will be $20. All children 12 and under will be free for this event to encourage families to make the trip to the scenic Napa Valley to enjoy the thrills of Calistoga Speedway as they celebrate 75 years of operation on the Napa County Fairgrounds.

From the Sierra Foothills to the Wine Country and the Coastal Region. Saturday's event and every regular Civil War Series event will pay $2000 to the winner and $300 to start the 22 car A-feature.

Joining the Civil War Sprint Cars this season will be the firebreathing West Coast Late Model Stock Cars on the Calistoga Half Mile. This exciting series brings the golden state's top stock car talent to their largest venue on their tour and some thirty drivers are expected to form the roster.

The front gates to Calistoga Speedway will open at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Adult tickets will be $20. All children 12 and under will be free for this event to encourage families to make the trip to the scenic Napa Valley to enjoy the thrills of Calistoga Speedway as they celebrate 75 years of operation on the Napa County Fairgrounds.