STOCKTON, Calif. After a long winter, the wait is coming to an end for 410 sprint car fans in California as the Northern Auto Racing Club opens its highly anticipated season this Saturday night with the annual Salute to Leroy Van Conett at the Stockton Dirt Track.

The first of 29 races scheduled for NARCs 66th season of competition, the Salute to Leroy Van Conett honors one of the all-time greats. A Galt, Calif. native, Van Conett was an eight-time NARC champion, winning his first title in 1969 and scoring his last in 1984.

Among his many career sprint car victories were a Gold Cup win and 65 NARC triumphs, and it all resulted in Van Conett entering the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1999. Van Conetts NARC championship total has been surpassed only by fellow Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding.

Justin Sanders, the defending NARC series champion, won last years Salute to Leroy Van Conett after making a late pass around former series champion Sean Becker. Sanders also won the NARC season finale at Stockton in spectacular style last November, beating Cole Macedo late to win the annual Tribute to Gary Patterson and win the NARC championship in walk off fashion.

Sanders, driving the Mittry Motorsports No. 2x, will look start his title defense with a win at the track where he saw much success last year.

Several other top racers will be on hand. Among them will be the rising star from Oregon, Tanner Holmes, who will be splitting time this season between his familys car and the potent Tarlton Motorsports No. 21, which he will be piloting on Saturday. Holmes won his first NARC 410 race last year and looks to quickly add to his total this season. With Macedo behind the wheel, the Tarlton Motorsports team nearly won the NARC title last year against Sanders.

A number of other aspiring drivers have been knocking on the door of their first NARC win, and opening night at Stockton Dirt Track is that first opportunity this season for drivers like Gauge Garcia and Dylan Bloomfield, a pair of drivers who led NARC main events last season but fell short.

Ashton Torgerson is one of the drivers who will compete for NARC Rookie of the Year honors. A former Tulsa Shootout winner in micro-sprint competition and having raced midgets and 360 sprint cars, Torgerson recently moved up to the 410 ranks and will be one of the young guns to watch.  Other NARC rookie of the year candidates include Landon Brooks, who will be driving for the veteran Bates-Hamilton Racing Team.

Other top drivers expected to compete include 2024 NARC rookie of the year Caeden Steele, Billy Aton, Dominic Gorden, Tanner Carrick, Bud Kaeding, Tim Kaeding, Shane Golobic, Kaleb Montgomery, Angelique Bell, Jarrett Soares, Jennifer Osborne, Tyler Thompson, Sean Becker, D.J. Netto and many others.