GALT, CA (MPG) - Local racing legend LeRoy Van Conett, one of the most successful sprint-car drivers in West Coast history, was honored the evening of Oct. 28 at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento during a special event celebrating his career and the museum’s new racing display.

Van Conett, a Galt native known as the “Dragon from Galt,” shared memories spanning decades of dirt-track competition, mechanical ingenuity and the tight-knit racing community that shaped his life.

A National Sprint Car Hall of Famer, he earned eight Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) championships between 1969 and 1984 and became a fan favorite across California racetracks.

During that 16-year span, Van Conett won 65 Northern Auto Racing Club Main Events, which is still second all-time on the Northern Auto Racing Club Win List. Thirty-one of those came at the Historic Calistoga Speedway, a half-mile track with speeds that truly separated the men from the boys.

 

Leroy Van Conett, right, speaks Oct. 28 at the “An Evening with LeRoy Van Conett” at the California Automobile Museum.

Van Conett also won the prestigious 1976 Gold Cup Race of Champions. At the end of his very successful career, he was inducted into the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame, West Coast Motorsports Hall of Fame and his previously mentioned National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Before an enthusiastic crowd on Oct. 28, Van Conett reflected on racing alongside fellow hall of famers and local legends Jimmy Sills and Jimmy Boyd. The audience laughed as he recalled once towing a race car home from Reno with a California Highway Patrol officer riding shotgun, and at a speed that would turn heads today.

He also spoke about the evolution of safety in racing. When early debates arose over adding roll cages, some critics argued they would make the cars look ugly.

Van Conett fired back, “Why don’t you get in the seat and see what it looks like from there?”

The evening served not only as a tribute to his competitive achievements, but also to his storytelling charm and enduring connection to the racing community. Van Conett’s legacy remains firmly rooted both in dirt-track history and in the hometown that cheered him on.