I used to go to the Vallejo Speedway Speedway from the beginning. I can barely remember my dad taking me to the Pacheco Speedway when I was a tike  Then we went to Vallejo Speedway when it opened and they demolished Pacheco Speedway. My dad raced in the roaring roadsters from 1946 to 1949, he was a WWII Vet. He started racing for the BCRA back in '49 in what he called the Jalopy's (Hardtops). Unfortunately the old racers from that era are almost all gone now. My dad (Wild Bill Perry) took his final Checkered Flag on Oct.19, 1999. I've sent some pics of my dad to other websites, but I'm glad I discovered this one. Vallejo Speedway was an important part of my youth; I'll never forget it. My dad raced with , Chet Thomson, Julian Castro, Gene Dudley, and Nelson Snow . Earlier in the roadsters he raced with Fred Agabasian, Bob Sweikert, Joe Valenti, Bill Vuckovich Sr., just to name a few. He raced his last race on July 3rd 1954. He had a horrendous wreck in his coupe, he flipped 5 times end for end at Pacheco Speedway. He was unconscious for 3 days, he broke his neck, clavicle, and collarbone. He was lucky that he didn't have too many after effects from this, but he just couldn't keep away. You could always find him in the pits at Vallejo Speedway helping his old buddies with their cars. I miss him terribly, Most of his pics involve a wreck, I guess that's why he was called "Wild Bill" Perry.
I remember Joe Valente hot lapping cars during intermission at Vallejo Speedway, even during his later years. My dad used to race against him in the Roaring Roadsters. Valente won the Roadster championship in 1947, I believe.  He was no slouch behind the wheel. He didn't need a lap or two to get the feel of a car he just flew out of the pit gate and drove. My dad used to rib him when he did that sometimes as my dad was a fixture in the pits at Vallejo years after he quit also. He once said that "old farts like Joe and I never really quit racing".


           Rick Perry