Multi-time track champion Brian Crockett will make his return to the track and compete with the Thompson’s Winged 360 Sprint Cars during “Legends Night” this Saturday.  

Crockett is the all-time leader when it comes to combined victories at the Placerville bullring, which includes 48 documented Winged 410 Sprint Car triumphs, and well over 100 total wins. 

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He’s also captured the most combined championships of any driver in the 58-year history of the quarter mile. The 2020 campaign saw Crockett claim his 180th career win at the age of 64 in Cottage Grove, Oregon. All in all, when people think of Placerville Speedway, they often point to Brian Crockett. 

“It will be pretty cool to see Brian bring his Winged 360 Sprint Car down for Legends Night,” commented Placerville Speedway Promoter Scott Russell. “This show has been a lot of fun over the last few years, and we can’t wait for it to occur this Saturday. Brian Crockett was the man throughout his days at the speedway and he’ll be one of several familiar faces scheduled to make an appearance. We can’t thank Rick Hirst enough for his amazing efforts that make Legends Night such a special occurrence.”

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Since opening in 1965 the Placerville Speedway has been a favorite among fans throughout Northern California. Well known for its steep banks, distinctive red clay, loyal fan base and extremely close action, the track is located just 40-minutes up the hill from the capital city of Sacramento. 

Night will be Western Sprint Tour Speedweek finale with added winnings

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Russell Motorsport Inc. has announced the upcoming Legends Night event at Placerville Speedway on August 26th has become even more lucrative as we honor our fallen friend CJ Humphreys. 

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Thanks to Thompson’s Family of Dealerships, Absolute Auto Glass and Motherlode Rock N Ready Mix, the winner of the Winged 360 Sprint Car main event will walk away with a stout $3,850. 

ADCO Driveline & Custom Exhaust, along with Sierra Foothills Wine Services has boosted the fast time award to a solid $850. ADCO Driveline is also handing out $85 to each Sprint Car heat race winner during the night. 

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The evening of racing will be our way of remembering CJ Humphreys, who we lost back in February. A memorial lap and more will be conducted during opening ceremonies on Saturday August 26th. The long-time Rescue, CA resident ranks fifth in all-time Winged 360 Sprint Car victories at Placerville Speedway, having netted 25 career triumphs.

For the first time ever, Legends Night will also mark the grand finale of Western Sprint Tour Speedweek South. 

The much-anticipated stretch of races begins on Monday August 21st at Cottage Grove Speedway, before venturing to Coos Bay Speedway, the Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg, Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico and ultimately Placerville Speedway. 

Several names from the days gone by will be in attendance with numerous vintage cars on display. The restored machines will also take some laps on the red clay for old times’ sake. Names such as Brian Crockett, Doug Gandy, Walt Carmichael, Richard Forsberg, Joe and Joey Magaruh, Steve Scott, Roger Kolb, George Turnboo and more will be part of the festivities. 

Legends Night is also the perfect opportunity to break out all those vintage shirts you have hanging in the closet to help commemorate the event. It should be an outstanding evening as long-time friendships rekindle in Old Hangtown.

Along with being championship night for the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, we’ll also crown champions with the Anrak Ltd. Late Models and the Red Hawk Casino Pure Stocks. The traveling Nor-Cal Dwarf Cars will also be part of the action. 

Tickets and Details:

Grandstand seating is general admission at Legends Night on Saturday August 26th, except for the reserved seats marked for season ticket holders. Adult tickets cost $20, while seniors 62+, military and juniors 12-17 will be $18. Kids 6-11 cost $10 and those five and under are free.

Purchase tickets online at https://www.eventsprout.com/event/ppr-2023 or at the gate on race day. Pit passes can be purchased at the pit gate or on Pit Pay to take advantage of the expanded seating area on the hill. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞!

The pit gate will open at noon, with the front gate opening at 3pm. Happy Hour is offered when the gates open until 6pm in the grandstands featuring live music along with discounted Coors Light and Coors Original at the beer booth. The pit meeting will be held at 4:45pm with cars on track at 5:15. Hot laps, ADCO Driveline qualifying and racing will follow. 

For those who can’t make it to the track, CaliDirt.TV will provide live flag-to-flag coverage of every Placerville Speedway point race this season. The live streaming service also includes each event with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour in 2023. Fans can purchase through a monthly membership or on a per race basis via https://calidirt.tv/

The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. For more information on the Placerville Speedway log onto http://www.placervillespeedway.com

Join over 16,800 followers of Placerville Speedway on Facebook, where you can keep abreast of updates for the 2023 season. You can also find Placerville Speedway on Twitter by following us https://twitter.com/pvillespeedway – In addition, Placerville Speedway is also on Instagram. Please follow us @PvilleSpeedway. 

Upcoming events at Placerville Speedway:

Saturday August 26: Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks and Nor-Cal Dwarf Cars| Legends Night/ Western Sprint Tour Speedweek South Finale 

Saturday September 2: Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints | 6th annual Nor*Cal Posse Shootout presented by Adrian Blanco Jewelry
Sunday September 3: Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints | 6thannual Nor*Cal Posse Shootout presented by Pville Speedway’s Official Realtor, Taylor Hirst and Hirst Home Team

Gary Thomas
Author: Gary Thomas