Kevin Swindell, son of three- time World of Outlaws national sprint car champion Sammy Swindell, is among the early entries for the inaugural Louie Vermeil Classic at Calistoga Speedway this Saturday and Sunday.

Swindell, from Bartlett, Tenn., has been driving cars owned by NHRA drag racer Cruz Pedregon on the United States Auto Club’s national championship tour and will drive a sprint car from Northern California with his father serving as crew chief.

He is one of several drivers from the Midwest and Southern California that will challenge the best Northern California drivers in two days of open wheel racing for both midgets and sprint cars on the half-mile oval on the grounds of the Napa County Fairgrounds.

The event marks the first appearance in 23 years of traditional sprint cars and midgets, or so-called “non-wing” cars, that were the backbone of racing at Calistoga for decades — until the advent of aerodynamic wings in the mid-1980s.

They are still the core of national championship racing on the USAC tour and sprint cars of the Southern California Racing Association (SCRA).

The Labor Day weekend event at Calistoga will bring drivers from both of those tours to compete with some of the drivers that Northern California fans are accustomed to seeing race underneath an aerodynamic wing.

“This race will feature drivers from Southern California and the Midwest who are accustomed to these cars but have never been to Calistoga before, challenging drivers who know Calistoga Speedway very well but who will be getting used to a different kind of car,” noted Patty Sereni, CEO of the Napa County Fairgrounds.

“It has the potential to become a nationwide rivalry.” 

The event is named in honor of the late Louie Vermeil, a Calistoga resident who organized and nurtured sprint car racing at the speedway for nearly 50 years, beginning with the track’s first race in 1937.

Vermeil’s son, Dick, went on to a long coaching career in college and professional football and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams in 1999.

For some drivers, the Louie Vermeil Classic will be a homecoming of sorts.

Among the entries is Damion Gardner.

Formerly from the Bay Area town of Concord, Gardner now lives in Indianapolis, driving cars owned by NASCAR driver Jason Leffler.

Since claiming one of his very first sprint car wins at Calistoga, Gardner has won the SCRA championship and started the 2008 season by winning one of the nation’s most competitive midget titles, the Chili Bowl in Oklahoma, defeating hundreds of drivers from across the country.

Leading the contingent of SCRA drivers is current points leader Mike Spence from Temecula and Cory Kruseman.

The driver from Ventura is a former SCRA champion, a two-time champion of Indiana Sprint Week and a two time Chili Bowl titleholder.

Another wild card in the mix is Missouri driver Jesse Hockett, a top runner on the American Sprint Car Series, which races primarily in the Midwest.

In 2007, Hockett took the Calistoga Cup home to Missouri after flying into California to drive a local car for that one race.      

Several Northern California drivers are also expected at Calistoga, including the 13-time California sprint car champion Brent Kaeding, as well as his sons Bud, a two-time USAC national champion, and Tim, a former state champion and a regular on the World of Outlaws national tour.

Other Northern California drivers include four-time Civil War Series sprint car champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn and Calistoga driver Mike Benson.

Among the contingent of midget drivers is the current champion of the Bay Cities Racing Association, Matt Streeter of Galt and Sacramento driver Johnny Rodriquez, a two-time USAC western states midget champion, who will do double duty over the weekend by also driving a sprint car.

In all, an estimated 50 teams are expected for the weekend, which will feature main events for both sprint cars and midgets each night.

Qualifying is expected to begin at 5:30, followed by a full racing program.