WESTERN STATES MIDGETS SET SAIL TO SANTA MARIA THIS SATURDAY; SCHUTTE WINS CHICO’S MIDGET GOLD CUP

Santa Maria (Calif.) Raceway is next up for the USAC Western States Midgets this Saturday, September 17 as Ronnie Gardner and Michael Faccinto continue their battle for the 2016 championship. Gardner is seeking a fourth consecutive crown while Faccinto is looking for his first in the series.

Alex Schutte of Redding, Calif. won Thursday’s 30-lap “Gold Cup Race of Champions” feature at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. Driving the Zito Vault Aero/Aircraft Electrical Components Spike/Esslinger, he grabbed the lead from Frankie Guerrini on lap 17 and led the rest of the way to beat Guerrini, Cory Elliott, Matt Streeter and Courtney Crone.

Gardner was seventh and retained an 81-point lead over Faccinto going into Santa Maria, where Chase Stockon was victorious one year ago.

Robert Dalby was the Woodland Auto Display fastest qualifier. The event was co-sanctioned by BCRA.

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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:

DATE: Saturday, September 17, 2016

SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship

TRACK: Santa Maria Raceway (Santa Maria, California) – 1/3-mile dirt oval

EVENT: USAC Western States Midget Championship, IMCA Mods, Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and American Stocks

STARTING TIMES: Gates open at 4pm. Racing starts at 6pm.

TICKETS: $11 Adult Tickets

TRACK ADDRESS: 1900 Hutton Rd, Nipomo, CA 93444

TRACK PHONE: (805) 245-3585

TRACK WEBSITE: http://www.santamariaraceway.com/

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):

1.   (682) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)

2.   (601) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)

3.   (521) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)

4.   (505) Cory Elliott (Bakersfield, CA)

5.   (437) Courtney Crone (Corona, CA)

6.   (386) Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)

7.   (384) Robert Dalby (Anaheim, CA)

8.   (362) Maria Cofer (Macdoel, CA)

9.   (354) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)

10. (279) Tyler Dolacki (Fresno, CA)

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):

1.   (682) Six8 Motorsports #68

2.   (601) MF Racing #35F

3.   (505) Cory Elliott #11E

4.   (473) Frankie Guerrini #63

5.   (437) Jerome Rodela #25

6.   (386) Wally Pankratz #8

7.   (381) Robert Dalby #4D

8.   (362) Cofer Racing #57

9.   (352) Kirk Swanson #71s

10. (318) Keith Ford #73

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS:

Mar 23: Placerville, CA - Placerville Speedway

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

Apr 9: Tulare, CA - Thunderbowl Raceway

WINNER: Rained Out

Apr 30: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

May 21: Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

Jun 4: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

WINNER: Michael Faccinto

Jun 25: Hanford, CA - Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

Jul 16: Petaluma, CA - Petaluma Speedway

WINNER: Alex Schutte

Sep 3: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway

WINNER: Tanner Thorson

Sep 4: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway

WINNER: Michael Faccinto

Sep 8: Chico, CA - Silver Dollar Speedway

WINNER: Alex Schutte

Sep 17: Santa Maria, CA - Santa Maria Raceway

Oct 8: Tulare, CA - Thunderbowl Raceway

Oct 29: Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

Nov 19: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

Nov 24: ### Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

**Races noted with ### represent a race with the USAC National Midget Series.

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS:

1. (4) Ronnie Gardner (Placerville Speedway on March 23, Bakersfield Speedway on April 30, Ventura Raceway on May 21 & Santa Maria Raceway on June 25)

2. (2) Michael Faccinto (Bakersfield Speedway on June 4 & Calistoga Speedway on Sept. 4)

    (2) Alex Schutte (Petaluma Speedway on July 16 & Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 8)

4. (1) Tanner Thorson (Calistoga Speedway on Sept. 3)

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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS:

1. [104 wins] Sleepy Tripp

2. [52 wins] Robby Flock

3. [41 wins] Billy Boat

4. [19 wins] Wally Pankratz

5. [18 wins] Page Jones

6. [17 wins] Ronnie Gardner

7. [16 wins] P.J. Jones, Jason Leffler & Rusty Rasmussen

10. [14 wins] Garrett Hansen

11. [13 wins] Jimmy Sills & Tony Stewart

13. [12 wins] Jay Drake & Tommy White

15. [11 wins] Josh Wise

16. [10 wins] Johnny Cofer, Jerry Coons, Jr., Dave Darland, Cory Kruseman & Ron Shuman

21. [9 wins] Bobby East, Tracy Hines, Kasey Kahne & Rich Vogler

25. [8 wins] Stan Fox, Michael Lewis, Steve Paden, Dave Steele & Danny Stratton

30. [7 wins] Rick Hendrix, Chad Nichols & Kody Swanson

33. [6 wins] Rico Abreu, Bryan Clauson, Johnathon Henry, Ken Nichols, Brad Noffsinger & Dave Strickland Jr.

39. [5 wins] Tommy Astone, Christopher Bell, Bob Davison, Ronnie Day, Robert Dolacki, Davey Hamilton, Tony Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Alex Schutte & J.J. Yeley

49. [4 wins] Tyler Brown, Hank Butcher, Nick Chivello, Marc DeBeaumont, Nic Faas, Michael Faccinto, Josh Ford, Chuck Gurney, Darren Hagen, Jordan Hermansader, Ryan Kaplan, Thomas Meseraull, Frank Pedregon, Chris Rahe, Keith Rauch, Jerome Rodela, Johnny Rodriguez, Shane Scully, Ricky Shelton, Tanner Swanson, Brad Sweet & Billy Wease

71. [3 wins] Ryan Bernal, Bobby Boone, Mario Bringetto, Jr., Danny Ebberts, Shane Golobic, Jeff Gordon, Scott Hansen, Alex Harris, Robby Josett, Trey Marcham, Danny McKnight, Ryan Newman, Johnny Parsons, Scott Pierovich, Troy Rutherford & Chuck West

86. [2 wins] Floyd Alvis, Alex Bowman, Rick Bussell, Tony Elliott, Terry Farrar, Mike Figliomeni, Bobby Grewohl, Darryl Haugh, Dennis Hart, Jeff Heywood, Gary Howard, R.J. Johnson, Josh Lakatos, Kyle Larson, Evan Margeson, Matt Mitchell, Rory Price, Stevie Reeves, Bobby Santos, Darin Snider, Michael Snider, Bryan Stanfill & Tanner Thorson

110. [1 win] Mike Appio, Caleb Armstrong, Brady Bacon, Donnie Beechler, Wayne Bennet, Pat Bliss, Garratt Boyden, Greg Bragg, Larry Brown, Keith Chrisco, Michelle Decker, Larry Derwin, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Dale Durbin Jr., Cory Elliott, Bob Ellis, Tommie Estes Jr., Duane Feduska, Billy Felts Jr., A.J. Fike, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Brian Gard, Damion Gardner, Cody Gerhardt, Rick Gerhardt, Frankie Guerrini, Jac Haudenschild, Lloyd Hemman, Nathan High, Rick Hood, Kenny Irwin Jr., A.J. Johnson, Jim Keene, Steve Knepper, Brad Loyet, Dallen McKenney, Shannon McQueen, Lealand McSpadden, Jeff Meyer, Andy Michner, Kevin Olson, Aaron Pollock, David Prickett, Davey Ray, C.J. Sarna, Zach Schiff, Ryan Scott, Jeremy Sherman, Graham Standring, John Starks, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Stockon, Matt Streeter, Cody Swanson, Jake Swanson, Sammy Swindell, Richard Vander Weerd, Eric Wilkins, Rip Williams & Paul Zimmerly

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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONS

1982: **Jeff Heywood; 1983: Sleepy Tripp; 1984: Tommy White; 1985: Sleepy Tripp; 1986: Robby Flock; 1987: Sleepy Tripp; 1988: Sleepy Tripp; 1989: Robby Flock; 1990: Sleepy Tripp; 1991: Sleepy Tripp; 1992: Sleepy Tripp; 1993: Robby Flock; 1994: Johnny Cofer; 1995: Billy Boat; 1996: Jay Drake; 1997: Ricky Shelton; 1998: Rick Hendrix; 1999: Marc DeBeaumont; 2000: Wally Pankratz; 2001: Danny Ebberts; 2002: Robby Flock; 2003: Steve Paden; 2004: Johnny Rodriguez; 2005: Jerome Rodela; 2006: Jerome Rodela; 2007: Johnny Rodriguez; 2008: Nic Faas; 2009: Garrett Hansen; 2010: Alex Schutte; 2011: Cory Kruseman; 2012: Shannon McQueen (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pave) & David Prickett (Dirt); 2013: Ronnie Gardner (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pave) & Ronnie Gardner (Dirt); 2014: Ronnie Gardner (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pavement), Ronnie Gardner (Dirt); 2015: Ronnie Gardner

**The 1982 Western Midget championship was derived from finishes posted in a number of “west coast” races held under National sanction. These events were NOT promoted, recognized or reported as “western” races and no series standings were generated.