WESTERN MIDGETS IDLE UNTIL OCTOBER 8 AT TULARE
The USAC Western States Midgets are idle until October 8 when they resume action at the Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
Ronnie Gardner continues atop the series standings, with an 82-point lead over Michael Faccinto, after Gardner took second behind Cody Swanson in last Saturday night’s 30-lapper at Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway.
Swanson, of Corona, Calif., won Saturday night’s Santa Maria Raceway main event, leading the final six laps after passing Cory Elliott on lap 25. Gardner took second ahead of Elliott, Frankie Guerrini and Shannon McQueen.
Swanson piloted the Marcie Campbell Realtor/Advanced Racing Suspensions Spike/Van Dyne.
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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 2016
SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship
TRACK: Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare, California) – 1/3-mile, high-banked clay oval
TRACK ADDRESS: 6080 Leonard Noel Dr., Tulare, CA 93274
TRACK PHONE: (559) 688-0909
TRACK WEBSITE: http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com/
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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (763) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)
2. (681) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)
3. (589) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)
4. (578) Cory Elliott (Bakersfield, CA)
5. (493) Courtney Crone (Corona, CA)
6. (433) Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)
7. (431) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)
8. (426) Robert Dalby (Anaheim, CA)
9. (418) Maria Cofer (Macdoel, CA)
10. (335) Tyler Dolacki (Fresno, CA)
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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (763) Six8 Motorsports #68
2. (681) MF Racing #35F
3. (578) Cory Elliott #11E
4. (541) Frankie Guerrini #63
5. (493) Jerome Rodela #25
6. (433) Wally Pankratz #8
7. (431) Kirk Swanson #71s
8. (426) Robert Dalby #4D
9. (418) Cofer Racing #57
10. (362) 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
WINNER: Cody Swanson
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) Cody Swanson (Santa Maria Raceway on Sept. 17)
(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, Cody Swanson & Tanner Thorson
111. [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, 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.
