FACCINTO FLOURISHES, WINS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TITLE #2 IN ‘22
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 13, 2022)………No doubt about it. It’s been a pretty special year for Michael Faccinto.
Late in the season, the Hanford, Calif. native got married and, shortly after, clinched his second career USAC Western States Midget championship aboard his Graunstadt Enterprises/Delta Scrap & Salvage – T & T Trucking/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
Faccinto’s two crowns in 2018 and 2022 put him in elite company as a multi-time USAC Western States Midget champ, becoming only the sixth driver to achieve the feat along with Sleepy Tripp, Robby Flock, Jerome Rodela, Johnny Rodriguez and Ronnie Gardner.
He also accomplished his second championship in a sort of unexpected manner due to having scheduling conflicts with his sprint car and midget rides that would’ve prevented him at making a full run at the USAC Western States title. Following his absence from the second event of the year, Faccinto ultimately devoted himself full-time to the series and a championship run.
Faccinto, along with a crew led by Matt Streeter and crew chief Vince Lattner, picked off two successive May victories at Placerville Speedway and Ventura Raceway, the first of which vaulted Faccinto into the point lead for good after falling to as low as 10th just three races earlier. He then added a third win for good measure in August at Santa Maria Raceway.
For the second straight season, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) finished as the runner-up in the standings, notching a pair of triumphs in April at Thunderbowl Raceway and in July at Petaluma to become the only driver outside of Faccinto to win multiple features. At Thunderbowl, Fuson took Faccinto’s regular ride to the win while Faccinto was absent. Fuson utilized his regular Rusty Carlile machine to grab the win at Petaluma.
Ben Worth (Coalinga, Calif.) added a win en route to a third-place finish in the standings for car owner Dean Alexander, equaling his best career points finish, which he also earned back in 2019. It’s his third-straight season residing in the top-five of the final standings after accruing a victory in late September’s penultimate round at Ventura.
A.J. Bender (San Diego, Calif.) scored Rookie of the Year honors by a narrow three-point margin over Travis Buckley (Auckland, N.Z.). Bender, driving for retiring car owner Randy Wright of LKK Racing, collected a career-best second place result in September at Ventura. Buckley, meanwhile, took a best of fifth on three occasions at Thunderbowl, Petaluma and Ventura in his BSL Racing Esslinger house car.
Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) won the season opener for team owner Pete Davis in March at Placerville Speedway. Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) came in from the USAC National circuit and swept the entire evening in April at Bakersfield by setting fast qualifying time, winning his heat and the feature all in a single night of work for Josh Ford Motorsports. Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) took top honors in Matt Wood Racing’s ride at Merced Speedway in April for his first series win in four years.
Ryan Bernal (Hollister, Calif.) was a series victor for the first time in seven seasons during a June run at Merced for Josh Ford Motorsports. Chase Johnson made it three consecutive seasons with a USAC Western States Midget victory in August at Ventura as he took the Ford car to the winner’s circle with its third different driver this year. Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, Calif.) piloted “Kiwi” Dean Alexander’s second car to the win in the season closer for his first career series win in October at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park).
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1. 854 Michael Faccinto, Hanford, Calif.
2. 745 Brody Fuson, Bakersfield, Calif.
3. 708 Ben Worth, Coalinga, Calif.
4. 654 (R) A.J. Bender, San Diego, Calif.
5. 651 (R) Travis Buckley, Auckland, N.Z.
6. 563 Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, Calif.
7. 539 Blake Bower, Brentwood, Calif.
8. 397 (R) Caden Sarale, Stockton, Calif.
9. 389 C.J. Sarna, Palm Desert, Calif.
10. 345 Randi Pankratz, Atascadero, Calif.
11. 343 Chase Johnson, Penngrove, Calif.
12. 324 Mike Snider, Kelseyville, Calif.
13. 293 Cade Lewis, Bakersfield, Calif.
14. 286 (R) Anthony Esberg, Kelseyville, Calif.
15. 251 Austin Liggett, Tracy, Calif.
16. 235 Jake Hodges, Camarillo, Calif.
17. 235 Robby Josett, Costa Mesa, Calif.
18. 194 (R) Zach Telford, Middleton, Idaho
19. 161 Terry Nichols, Delano, Calif.
20. 159 (R) Braden Chiaramonte, El Cajon, Calif.
21. 133 (R) Dylan Bloomfield, Oakley, Calif.
22. 111 Steve Paden, Downey, Calif.
23. 110 Cody Williams, Corona, Calif.
24. 104 Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, Calif.
25. 103 Kyle Beilman, Los Angeles, Calif.
26. 101 (R) Colton Raudman, Cottonwood, Calif.
27. 99 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz.
28. 99 (R) Racin Silva, Henderson, Nev.
29. 98 Steve Hix, Ventura, Calif.
30. 92 Daniel Whitley, Ferndale, Calif.
31. 92 Mike Leach Jr., Foothill Ranch, Calif.
32. 84 Mitchel Moles, Fresno, Calif.
33. 81 (R) Sage Bordenave, French Camp, Calif.
34. 68 Troy Rutherford Ojai, Calif.
35. 62 (R) Beau Lemire, Camino, Calif.
36. 60 Jake Morgan, Elk Grove, Calif.
37. 60 (R) Kevin Gray, Yuba City, Calif.
38. 55 Dylan Ito, Ventura, Calif.
39. 42 Billy Rayburn, Denver, Colo.
40. 36 Dale Curran, Bowmanville, Ont.
41. 31 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:
1. 935 Graunstadt Enterprises, Oakley, Calif. (#14J)
2. 661 Dean Alexander, Visalia, Calif. (#5K)
3. 654 LKK Racing, Atascadero, Calif. (#1x)
4. 651 BSL Racing, Glendora, Calif. (#7NZ)
5. 646 Josh Ford Motorsports, Oxnard, Calif. (#73x)
6. 569 Matt Streeter, Lodi, Calif. (#14JR)
7. 389 C.J. Sarna, Brea, Calif. (#20)
8. 339 Six8 Motorsports, Burbank, Calif. (#68)
9. 324 Lauren Snider, Lakeport, Calif. (#6K)
10. 92 Ted Finkenbinder, Fairfield, Calif. (#3F)
11. 79 Dean Alexander, Visalia, Calif. (#101)
12. 60 Gary Morgan, Elk Grove, Calif. (#45)
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS:
Mar 26: Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA
WINNER: Jake Andreotti (Pete Davis #00)
Apr 2: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Graunstadt Enterprises #14J)
Apr 16: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Mitchel Moles (Josh Ford Motorsports #73x)
Apr 23: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA
WINNER: Shane Golobic (Matt Wood Racing #17w)
May 7: Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA
WINNER: Michael Faccinto (Graunstadt Enterprises #14J)
May 21: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Michael Faccinto (Graunstadt Enterprises #14J)
Jun 18: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA
WINNER: Ryan Bernal (Josh Ford Motorsports #73x)
Jul 23: Petaluma Speedway - Petaluma, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Rusty Carlile #51)
Aug 13: Santa Maria Raceway - Nipomo, CA
WINNER: Michael Faccinto (Graunstadt Enterprises #14J)
Aug 27: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Chase Johnson (Josh Ford Motorsports #73x)
Sep 24: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Ben Worth (Dean Alexander #5K)
Oct 15: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Cade Lewis (Dean Alexander #101)
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINS:
3-Michael Faccinto (May 7 at Placerville Speedway, May 21 at Ventura Raceway & Aug 13 at Santa Maria Raceway)
2-Brody Fuson (Apr 2 at Thunderbowl Raceway & Jul 23 at Petaluma Speedway)
1-Jake Andreotti (Mar 26 at Placerville Speedway)
1-Ryan Bernal (Jun 18 at Merced Speedway)
1-Shane Golobic (Apr 23 at Merced Speedway)
1-Chase Johnson (Aug 27 at Ventura Raceway)
1-Cade Lewis (Oct 15 at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park)
1-Mitchel Moles (Apr 16 at Bakersfield Speedway)
1-Ben Worth (Sep 24 at Ventura Raceway)
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE LAPS LED:
87-Michael Faccinto
56-Brody Fuson
47-Ben Worth
27-Chase Johnson
26-Jake Andreotti
24-Shane Golobic
20-Austin Liggett
18-Travis Buckley
15-Ryan Bernal
13-Cade Lewis
8-Mitchel Moles
2-Dylan Ito
1-Jake Hodge & Colton Raudman
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES:
11-Michael Faccinto
8-Brody Fuson
7-A.J. Bender
5-Ben Worth
4-Jake Andreotti
3-Blake Bower, Travis Buckley, Chase Johnson & Robby Josett
2-Shane Golobic, Cade Lewis & Austin Liggett
1-Kyle Beilman, Ryan Bernal, Dylan Bloomfield, Dawson Faria, Shannon McQueen, Matt Mitchell & Mitchel Moles
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES:
11-Michael Faccinto & Brody Fuson
10-Travis Buckley
8-A.J. Bender
7-Blake Bower
6-Ben Worth
5-Jake Andreotti, Chase Johnson & Caden Sarale
4-Cade Lewis
3-Braden Chiaramonte, Anthony Esberg, Robby Josett, Austin Liggett & C.J. Sarna
2-Dylan Bloomfield, Shane Golobic, Jake Hodges, Danika Jo Parker, Mike Snider, Zach Telford & Ben Wiesz
1-Floyd Alvis, Kyle Beilman, Ryan Bernal, Nathan Byrd, Thomas Esberg, Dawson Faria, Dylan Ito, Shannon McQueen, Matt Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Jake Morgan, Terry Nichols, Randi Pankratz, Troy Rutherford, Cole Schroeder, Danny Sheridan, T.J. Smith, Daniel Whitley & Brandon Wiley
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE STARTS:
12-Travis Buckley & Ben Worth
11-A.J. Bender, Michael Faccinto & Brody Fuson
10-Jake Andreotti & Blake Bower
9-C.J. Sarna
8-Randi Pankratz, Caden Sarale & Mike Snider
7-Anthony Esberg, Thomas Esberg & Danika Jo Parker
5-Jake Hodges, Chase Johnson, Cade Lewis & Zach Telford
4-Robby Josett, Austin Liggett & Terry Nichols
3-Braden Chiaramonte, Steve Hix, Mike Leach Jr., Steve Paden, Racin Silva & Cody Williams
2-Floyd Alvis, Kyle Beilman, Ryan Bernal, Dylan Bloomfield, Sage Bordenave & Nathan Byrd, Shane Golobic, Kevin Gray, Beau Lemire, Samuel May, Matt Mitchell, Colton Raudman, Dave Stoltz, Daniel Whitley & Ben Wiesz
1-Dakota Albright, Dale Curran, Tres Van Dyne, Greg Edenholm, Tyler Edwards, Dawson Faria, David Gasper, Dylan Ito, Jason McDougal, Shannon McQueen, Mitchel Moles, Jake Morgan, Billy Rayburn, Gage Rucker, Troy Rutherford, Cole Schroeder, Danny Sheridan, T.J. Smith, Jim Vanzant, Nick Velasquez & Brandon Wiley
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
4-Chase Johnson
3-Michael Faccinto
2-Shane Golobic
1-Jake Andreotti, Brody Fuson & Mitchel Moles
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2022 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET HEAT RACE WINS:
7-Michael Faccinto
4-A.J. Bender
3-Jake Andreotti & Brody Fuson
2-Shane Golobic, Austin Liggett, C.J. Sarna & Ben Worth
1-Travis Buckley, Chase Johnson, Jason McDougal, Mitchel Moles, Jake Morgan, Troy Rutherford, Danny Sheridan & Mike Snider
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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, 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-Ryan Bernal, Tyler Brown, Hank Butcher, Nick Chivello, Marc DeBeaumont, Nic Faas, Josh Ford, Brody Fuson, 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
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 & Ben Worth
2-Jake Andreotti, 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, 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, Cade Lewis, Brad Loyet, Carson Macedo, Dallen McKenney, Shannon McQueen, Lealand McSpadden, Jeff Meyer, Andy Michner, Brian Olson, Kevin Olson, Aaron Pollock, David Prickett, Davey Ray, C.J. Sarna, Gio Scelzi, Zach Schiff, Ryan Scott, Logan Seavey, Jeremy Sherman, 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
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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
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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