CALISTOGA, Calif. — J.J. Yeley got his first look at Calistoga Speedway on Saturday and drove to victory.
“I’ve never been here before, but when you race a long time, one place reminds you of another,” said Yeley before setting quick time in the non-swing, USAC/CRA portion of the Louie Vermeil Classic. “This track reminds me of Williams Grove,’ Yeley added. “It’s flat, with tight corners and you need to keep your elbows up.”
After starting sixth in his heat, Yeley quickly moved to second and stalked Cody Williams for seven laps before pouncing as the air went into turn one on the white flag lap to win the heat, completing the second step of the sweep.
In the closing laps of the 25-lap main event, Ryan Bernal was hounding R.J. Johnson from the lead with Yeley a full two seconds behind them and not able to keep pace. Bernal tried several times to dive inside Johnson in turn one only to fall back behind him on the backstretch and through turns three and four.
On the white-flag lap, Bernal took one last “all or nothing” shot as the pair went into turn three, a move that put both in the wall while Yeley inherited the win. “This race got crazy and it took me a while to figure out how to get off turn four, which was kicking our butt all night long, said Yeley. “I don’t care how I win, just as long as I get the trophy.”
The finish:
1.J.J. Yeley; 2- Austin Williams; 3-Logan Seavey;4- Max Adams; 5-AJ Bender; 6-Logan Calderwood; 7-Ricky Lewis; 8-Kaleb Montgomery; 9-Geoff Ensign; 10-Tanner Carrick; 11-Charles Davis, Jr.; 12-Eddy Tafoya; 13-Nathan Shank; 14-Connor Speir; 15-Connor Shipley; 16-Jacobb Tuttle; 17-Kyle Shipley; 18-Verne Sweeney; 19-David Lindt;
