2/15/2023
BCRA - Bay Cities Racing Association
Bay Cities Racing Association gearing up for a plentiful year across multiple divisions
Bay Cities Racing Association gearing up for a plentiful year across multiple divisions
By Gary Thomas
Livermore, CA…The Bay Cities Racing Association will celebrate its 84th season of competition with an exciting year ahead that will be jam-packed full of racing for the Lightning Sprints, Midgets and Vintage Midget divisions respectively across California.
“We have put together 17 point races for the Lightning Sprints, along with returning to the Hangtown 100 in November at Placerville. The Civil War events with CLS at Merced, Watsonville and Bakersfield are sure to be major showcases for the series. We’re also excited to debut the new Triple Crown Series for the Midget class at Antioch Speedway. Once again, the Vintage Division remains an important part of BCRA as well.”
The BCRA Lightning Sprints kick-off the season at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway during the revived “Mini Gold Cup” alongside the NARC 410 Sprint Cars on Saturday March 18th. The event had been a mainstay in the Golden State but hasn’t been held since 2017.
The first of eight appearances at Placerville Speedway will then take place on March 25th, when the Lightning Sprints compete alongside the SCCT 360 Sprint Cars during the “Spring Fever Frenzy.” Five nights of racing on the red clay will offer full points, while the three-night “Hangtown 100” in November has the designation as a non-point event once again. Out of the eight nights, six will be contested without the Wings.
The always exciting Merced Speedway plays host to Wingless events on July 22nd and the ninth annual “Wayne Albright Memorial” on October 7th, which is co-sanctioned with the California Lightning Sprints.
The Lightning Sprint division also returns to Marysville Raceway for a pair of races, with those occurring on May 13th and October 28th, which will be championship night during the annual “Sprint Spooktacular.”
The Contra Costa County Fairgrounds located Antioch Speedway is back on the schedule for two shows. Saturday June 24th marks round one of the Wingless Nationals, before the Lightning Sprints return with the Wings on September 23rd.
The BCRA Lightning Sprints will also battle the So-Cal based California Lightning Sprints on two occasions at Bakersfield Speedway, taking place on June 3rd and September 9th. An exciting addition to the slate this year will happen on Saturday August 19th, when the Lightning Sprints tackle Ocean Speedway for a Civil War show with CLS during the 63rd “Johnny Key Classic.”
Something new to add intrigue to the BCRA Midget division will be the brand new Triple Crown Series that will take place at Antioch Speedway. The dates for the Triple Crown are April 8th, August 26th and September 23rd. The Antioch bullring has played an important part in BCRA history and a new chapter will be written in 2023, as the association attempts to grow the Midget class once again in Nor-Cal.
The BCRA Vintage Midgets will see a total of 11 events this coming season. The pristine and historic machines will venture to tracks such as Antioch Speedway, Madera Speedway and Ukiah Speedway in 2023. The annual BCRA Reunion/ Picnic will also occur at the Petaluma Speedway on October 14th.
The Bay Cities Racing Association would like to thank Eslinger Engineering, Moto Wear, Hot Head Water Heaters, Extreme Mufflers, CSI Shocks, Hoosier Tires and West Evans Performance for their support this season.
For more info on BCRA please visit our official website at https://www.bcraracing.com/ and be sure to like the association on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BayCitiesRacingAssociation
Image courtesy of Tim Holland
Submitted By: Gary Thomas