3RD TIME A CHARM: FUSON FLOURISHES WITH 2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TITLE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (October 12, 2023)………Finishing second in the USAC Western States Midget championship point standings in each of the last two years left Brody Fuson with one major step left to take entering the 2023 season.
Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) responded with authority during the 2023 campaign, putting together the best single season in terms of feature victories with the series since Ronnie Gardner in 2016 to earn his first career series title. Fuson tallied five feature victories along the way while finishing inside the top-five in 10 of 11 starts and added six fast qualifying times to his record.
In the process, the 18-year-old Fuson became the youngest ever USAC Western States Midget champion and also provided car owner and fellow Bakersfieldian Rusty Carlile with his first career USAC Western States Midget entrant title by the same 41-point margin over driver Cade Lewis and entrant “Kiwi” Dean Alexander.
Fuson collected a trio of his handful of victories at Ventura Raceway, sweeping all three series events on the docket with triumphs on May 27, June 10 and September 9. Fuson also added a pair of wins on July 8 at Placerville Speedway and September 30 at Antioch Speedway’s Chet Thomson Memorial.
Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, Calif.) finished his first run at a USAC Western States Midget title with a runner-up finish in the final standings with one win to his credit on June 24 at Merced Speedway, a race which featured five official lead changes at the line with Lewis prevailing in a fantastic duel with Fuson. Lewis also added a championship in the Antioch Challenge Presented By Graunstadt Enterprises, which he earned by accumulating the most points in the two Antioch events.
Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) spent the 2023 season as a full-timer on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship tour. However, he still made time to return to his west coast roots, making three Western States starts and never finishing outside the top-two, winning both stops at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park in April and again during October’s George Snider Classic for car owner Pete Davis, while also scoring a runner-up result in the series’ debut at Antioch Speedway in August.
Fourth place points finisher Ben Worth (Coalinga, Calif.) returned to victory lane with the series by earning the opening night victory at Merced on April 15 aboard the Graunstadt machine.
Caden Sarale (Stockton, Calif.) brought Graunstadt back to the winner’s circle on July 22 at Petaluma to become the first first-time USAC Western States Midget winner of the season. In the very next round at Antioch two weeks later, T.J. Smith (Fresno, Calif.) became the second first-time series winner, wheeling the Six8 Motorsports ride to its first series win since the 2021 season opener.
C.J. Sarna (Palm Desert, Calif.) finished third in the standings, equaling his best career USAC Western States Midget finish after previously placing third in 2021. Ron Hazelton (Chatsworth, Calif.), meanwhile, took fifth in the standings, his best career finish in the USAC Western States standings, besting his previous best points ranking of sixth all the way back in 1993. Hazelton’s career with the series dates back four decades to 1983.
Ben Covich (Auckland, N.Z.) has only lived in the United States four years and had never driven a midget until this season. The current Reno, Nev. resident scored sixth in the standings to earn 2023 Rookie of the Year honors.
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1. 831 Brody Fuson, Bakersfield, Calif.
2. 790 Cade Lewis, Bakersfield, Calif.
3. 558 C.J. Sarna, Palm Desert, Calif.
4. 532 Ben Worth, Coalinga, Calif.
5. 528 Ron Hazelton, Chatsworth, Calif.
6. 410 (R) Ben Covich, Auckland, N.Z.
7. 404 Caden Sarale, Stockton, Calif.
8. 403 Randi Pankratz, Atascadero, Calif.
9. 384 (R) Samuel May, Camarillo, Calif.
10. 255 Blake Bower, Brentwood, Calif.
11. 243 Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, Calif.
12. 220 Steve Paden, Downey, Calif.
13. 174 (R) Kevin Gray, Yuba City, Calif.
14. 169 Bryan Drollinger, San Pedro, Calif.
15. 166 (R) Brandon Wiley, Santa Maria, Calif.
16. 142 (R) Garrett Twitty, Bakersfield, Calif.
17. 78 (R) Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.
18. 76 Mike Leach Jr., Foothill Ranch, Calif.
19. 68 Braden Chiaramonte, El Cajon, Calif.
20. 49 Keoni Texeira, Honolulu, Hawaii
21. 40 Billy Rayburn, Denver, Colo.
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:
1. 831 Rusty Carlile, Bakersfield, Calif. (#51)
2. 790 Dean Alexander, Visalia, Calif. (#5K)
3. 711 Graunstadt Enterprises, Santa Maria, Calif. (#14J)
4. 558 C.J. Sarna, Brea, Calif. (#20)
5. 422 Six8 Motorsports, Burbank, Calif. (#68)
6. 416 Keith Ford, Ventura, Calif. (#73)
7. 251 Matt Streeter, Lodi, Calif. (#14JR)
8. 174 Len Gray, Sacramento, Calif. (#7L)
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS:
Apr 15: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA
WINNER: Ben Worth (Graunstadt Enterprises #14J)
Apr 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Jake Andreotti (Pete Davis #00)
May 27: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Rusty Carlile #51)
Jun 10: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Rusty Carlile #51)
Jun 24: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA
WINNER: Cade Lewis (Dean Alexander #5K)
Jul 8: Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Rusty Carlile #51)
Jul 22: Petaluma Speedway - Petaluma, CA
WINNER: Caden Sarale (Graunstadt Enterprises #14J)
Aug 5: Antioch Speedway - Antioch, CA
WINNER: T.J. Smith (Six8 Motorsports #68)
Sep 9: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Rusty Carlile #51)
Sep 30: Antioch Speedway - Antioch, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Rusty Carlile #51)
Oct 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Jake Andreotti (Pete Davis #00)
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINS:
5-Brody Fuson (May 27 at Ventura Raceway, Jun 10 at Ventura Raceway, Jul 8 at Placerville Speedway, Sep 9 at Ventura Raceway & Sep 30 at Antioch Speedway)
2-Jake Andreotti (Apr 29 at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park & Oct 7 at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park)
1-Cade Lewis (Jun 24 at Merced Speedway)
1-Caden Sarale (Jul 22 at Petaluma Speedway)
1-T.J. Smith (Aug 5 at Antioch Speedway)
1-Ben Worth (Apr 15 at Merced Speedway)
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE LAPS LED:
92-Brody Fuson
39-Jake Andreotti
31-Ben Worth
30-Caden Sarale & T.J. Smith
23-Chase Johnson
21-Mitchel Moles
19-Robby Josett
16-Michael Faccinto & Cade Lewis
9-Blake Bower
3-Ryan Bernal
1-Samuel May
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES:
10-Brody Fuson & Cade Lewis
5-Caden Sarale
3-Jake Andreotti, David Gasper, Randi Pankratz, T.J. Smith & Ben Worth
2-Chase Johnson, Robby Josett & C.J. Sarna
1-A.J. Bender, Ryan Bernal, Blake Bower, Braden Chiaramonte, Danika Jo Faccinto, Michael Faccinto, Ron Hazelton, Mitchel Moles & Brandon Wiley
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES:
11-Cade Lewis
10-Brody Fuson
8-C.J. Sarna
7-Ben Worth
6-Ron Hazelton & Randi Pankratz
5-Ben Covich, Caden Sarale & T.J. Smith
4-Blake Bower, David Gasper, Samuel May & Steve Paden
3-Jake Andreotti, Danika Jo Faccinto & Robby Josett
2-Bryan Drollinger, Chase Johnson, Marvin Mitchell, Nikko Panella, Garrett Twitty & Brandon Wiley
1-Floyd Alvis, A.J. Bender, Ryan Bernal, Braden Chiaramonte, Michael Faccinto, Kevin Gray, Jim Keene, Mitchel Moles, Terry Nichols & Brandt Twitty
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE STARTS:
11-Brody Fuson, Ron Hazelton & Cade Lewis
10-C.J. Sarna
9-Ben Covich & Ben Worth
8-Samuel May
7-Randi Pankratz
6-Marvin Mitchell & Caden Sarale
5-T.J. Smith
4-Blake Bower, Bryan Drollinger, Danika Jo Faccinto, David Gasper, Kevin Gray & Steve Paden
3-Jake Andreotti, Robby Josett, Garrett Twitty & Brandon Wiley
2-A.J. Bender, Michael Faccinto, Chase Johnson, Mike Leach Jr., Terry Nichols & Nikko Panella
1-Floyd Alvis, Ryan Bernal, Braden Chiaramonte, Steve Hix, Colby Johnson, Jim Keene, Jerry Kobza, Mitchel Moles, Billy Rayburn, Keoni Texeira & Brandt Twitty
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
6-Brody Fuson
2-Cade Lewis
1-Jake Andreotti, Robby Josett & Brandon Wiley
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2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET HEAT RACE WINS:
5-Brody Fuson
4-Cade Lewis
2-Jake Andreotti, Chase Johnson & T.J. Smith
1-Ryan Bernal, Michael Faccinto, David Gasper, Mike Leach Jr., Mitchel Moles, Steve Paden, Randi Pankratz & Ben Worth
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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINS: (FULL POINTS EVENTS)
104-Sleepy Tripp
51-Robby Flock
41-Billy Boat
23-Ronnie Gardner
18-Wally Pankratz
17-Page Jones & Rusty Rasmussen
16-P.J. Jones & Jason Leffler
14-Garrett Hansen
13-Jay Drake, Jimmy Sills & Tony Stewart
12-Michael Faccinto & Tommy White
11-Josh Wise
10-Johnny Cofer, Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Cory Kruseman & Ron Shuman
9-Bobby East, Brody Fuson, Kasey Kahne, Dave Steele & Rich Vogler
8-Tracy Hines, Michael Lewis, Steve Paden, Alex Schutte & Danny Stratton
7-Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell, Stan Fox, Shane Golobic, Rick Hendrix, Chad Nichols & Kody Swanson
6-Bryan Clauson, Johnathon Henry, Kyle Larson, Ken Nichols, Brad Noffsinger & Dave Strickland Jr.
5-Tommy Astone, Bob Davison, Ronnie Day, Robert Dolacki, Davey Hamilton, Tony Hunt, Robby Josett, Brad Kuhn & J.J. Yeley
4-Jake Andreotti, Ryan Bernal, Tyler Brown, Hank Butcher, Nick Chivello, Marc DeBeaumont, Nic Faas, Josh Ford, Chuck Gurney, Darren Hagen, Jordan Hermansader, Chase Johnson, Ryan Kaplan, Austin Liggett, Frank Pedregon, Chris Rahe, Keith Rauch, Jerome Rodela, Johnny Rodriguez, Shane Scully, Ricky Shelton, Tanner Swanson, Brad Sweet, Billy Wease & Ben Worth
3-Brady Bacon, Bobby Boone, Mario Bringetto Jr., Robert Dalby, Danny Ebberts, Jeff Gordon, Scott Hansen, Alex Harris, Trey Marcham, Thomas Meseraull, Ryan Newman, Johnny Parsons, Scott Pierovich, Troy Rutherford, John Starks, Tanner Thorson & Chuck West
2-Floyd Alvis, Alex Bowman, Rick Bussell, Maria Cofer, Cory Elliott, Tony Elliott, Terry Farrar, Mike Figliomeni, Damion Gardner, Bobby Grewohl, Dennis Hart, Darryl Haugh, Jeff Heywood, Gary Howard, R.J. Johnson, Josh Lakatos, Cade Lewis, Evan Margeson, Danny McKnight, Matt Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Rory Price, Stevie Reeves, Bobby Santos, Darin Snider, Michael Snider, Bryan Stanfill, Cody Swanson & Jake Swanson
1-Mike Appio, Caleb Armstrong, Donnie Beechler, Wayne Bennet, Pat Bliss, Chad Boat, Garrett Boyden, Greg Bragg, Larry Brown, Keith Chrisco, Michelle Decker, Larry Derwin, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Dale Durbin, Bob Ellis, Tommie Estes Jr., Duane Feduska, Billy Felts Jr., A.J. Fike, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Brian Gard, Cody Gerhardt, Rick Gerhardt, Frankie Guerrini, Jac Haudenschild, Lloyd Hemman, Nathan High, Rick Hood, Kenny Irwin Jr., A.J. Johnson, Colby Johnson, Jim Keene, Steve Knepper, Brad Loyet, Carson Macedo, Dallen McKenney, Shannon McQueen, Lealand McSpadden, Jeff Meyer, Andy Michner, Brian Olson, Kevin Olson, Aaron Pollock, David Prickett, Davey Ray, Caden Sarale, C.J. Sarna, Gio Scelzi, Zach Schiff, Ryan Scott, Logan Seavey, Jeremy Sherman, T.J. Smith, Graham Standring, Chase Stockon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Matt Streeter, Sammy Swindell, Kevin Thomas Jr., Richard Vander Weerd, Eric Wilkins, Hayden Williams, Rip Williams & Paul Zimmerly
ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINS: (NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENTS)
2-Buddy Kofoid & Tanner Thorson
1-Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell, Maria Cofer, Bobby East, Scotty Farmer, Frankie Guerrini, Kyle Larson, Carson Macedo, Danny McKnight, Thomas Meseraull, Alex Schutte & Brad Sweet
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
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 (Pavement) & David Prickett (Dirt)
2013: Ronnie Gardner (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pavement) & Ronnie Gardner (Dirt)
2014: Ronnie Gardner (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pavement) & Ronnie Gardner (Dirt)
2015: Ronnie Gardner
2016: Ronnie Gardner
2017: Ronnie Gardner
2018: Michael Faccinto
2019: Robert Dalby
2020: None
2021: Blake Bower
2022: Michael Faccinto
2023: Brody Fuson
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET ENTRANT CHAMPIONS
1983: George & Gary Zarounian #67wc
1984: Joe Binter #12wc
1985: George & Gary Zarounian #67wc
1986: William Mayhew #16wc
1987: George & Gary Zarounian #67ws
1988: George & Gary Zarounian #67ws
1989: Daniel & Lore McAlister #32wc
1990: DL Motorsports #3
1991: Sleepy Tripp-DL Motorsports #1ws
1992: George & Gary Zarounian #1ws
1993: Rich & Carol Hart #24ws
1994: Dwaine Esslinger #57
1995: John Lawson #15
1996: Steve Beneto #96
1997: William Shelton #75
1998: Rick Hendrix-Anthony Porto #12
1999: Richard Sewell-Jim DeBeaumont #11
2000: Wally Pankratz #8
2001: Thomas Ebberts-Vince Schlachter #14
2002: Jeff Pinkston #63
2003: Richard Farrier #0
2004: Johnny Rodriguez #30
2005: Mike Sala #79
2006: Bret Barber #91
2007: J.W. Mitchell Motorsports #87
2008: Western Speed Racing #40
2009: Jerome Rodela #25
2010: Jerome Rodela #25
2011: Neverlift Motorsports #15
2012: Mason Cook #10
2013: Six8 Motorsports #68
2014: Six8 Motorsports #68
2015: Six8 Motorsports #68
2016: Six8 Motorsports #68
2017: Six8 Motorsports #68
2018: Sean Dodenhoff #9D
2019: Mitch Elliott #11E
2020: None
2021: Tony Boscacci #9
2022: Graunstadt Enterprises #14J
2023: Rusty Carlile #51
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:
1986: P.J. Jones
1987: Terry Farrar
1988: Larry Derwin
1989: Dennis Hart
1990: George Ito
1991: John Kaiser & Andy Pierce
1992: Jason Jonkman
1993: Jay Drake
1994: John Sarna
1995: Jeremy Sherman
1996: Scott Hansen
1997: Ricky Shelton
1998: Bryan Stanfill
1999: Alex Harris
2000: Josh Wise
2001: Danny Stratton
2002: Van Knill
2003: Garrett Hansen
2004: Matt Mitchell
2005: Bradley Galedrige
2006: Chase Barber
2007: C.J. Sarna & Quintin Crye
2008: Nic Faas
2009: Alex Schutte
2010: Cody Swanson
2011: Connor Kassik & Chris Ennis
2012: Nick Chivello
2013: Trey Marcham
2014: Jarid Blondel
2015: Cory Elliott
2016: Courtney Crone
2017: Mason Daniel
2018: Kyle Beilman & Daniel Anderson
2019: Ben Worth
2020: None
2021: Blake Bower
2022: A.J. Bender
2023: Ben Covich