CHICO, Calif. — It all came down to a pair of rivals during Sunday night’s 13th annual Louie Vermeil Classic at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Damion Gardner passed Brody Roa on the final lap to claim the USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series triumph.
Gardner took the lead on the 11th lap of the quarter-mile oval, but Roa tracked him down and led lap 29, setting the stage for Gardner’s last-lap heroics.
Charles Davis Jr. raced from ninth to nip Roa for second, with Roa, fast-qualifier Chase Johnson and Cody Williams rounding out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 laps, With Starting Positions): 1. Damion Gardner (8), 2. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 3. Brody Roa (5), 4. Chase Johnson (6), 5. Cody Williams (10), 6. Tony Gomes (21), 7. Danny Faria Jr. (12), 8. Daniel Whitley (3), 9. Shane Hopkins (13), 10. Ryan Bernal (4), 11. Tommy Malcolm (16), 12. Nate Schank (19), 13. Chris Gansen (23), 14. Ron Laplant (17), 15. Trevor Schmid (11), 16. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (22), 17. Jarrett Soares (15), 18. Gary Paulson (18), 19. Carson Short (1), 20. Austin Williams (2), 21. Logan Williams (14), 22. Ryan Timmons (20), 23. Kaleb Montgomery (7).