WESTERN STATES MIDGETS NOW EYE BAKERSFIELD APRIL 30; WEATHER CLAIMS TULARE MIDGET RACE

The 2016 USAC Western States Midget Series now gears up for an April 30 race at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway after rains forced cancellation of Saturday’s scheduled event at the Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.

Defending series champion Ronnie Gardner enters the Bakersfield race with a four-point lead in the standings after winning the March 23 series opener at Placerville, Calif.

Gardner won last year’s first appearance at Bakersfield in March while Alex Schutte won there later in the season in September.

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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

DATE: Saturday, April 30, 2016

SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship

TRACK: Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare, California) – 1/3-mile, high-banked clay oval

EVENT: USAC Western States Midgets, Hobby Stocks, American Stocks, Mini Stocks, CLS & USAC Micro Sprints

STARTING TIMES: Pit Gate Opens: 2pm. Spectator Gates Open: 4pm.  Hot Laps: 5pm.  Racing: 6pm.

TICKETS: General Admission-Adult: 16.  Seniors (65 and Older): $14.  Military (Military ID Required): $14.  Kids age 6-12: $6. Pit Pass-Bakersfield Speedway Members: $35 (No Other Memberships Honored).  Non-Members: $45.

TRACK ADDRESS: 5001 N Chester Ave Ext, Bakersfield, CA 93308

TRACK PHONE: (661) 393-3373

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

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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS AT BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY

(Prior to 4/30/2016 Bakersfield event)

1.    (8) Robby Flock

2.    (7) Billy Boat & Sleepy Tripp

4.    (5) Jay Drake

5.    (4) Jordan Hermansader

6.    (3) Steve Paden, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Danny Stratton & Josh Wise

11. (2) Hank Butcher, Bob Davison, Ronnie Day, Ronnie Gardner, Garrett Hansen, P.J. Jones, Trey Marcham, Wally Pankratz, Frank Pedregon, Alex Schutte & Shane Scully

22. (1) Bobby Boone, Greg Bragg, Larry Brown, Tyler Brown, Johnny Cofer, Dave Darland, Michelle Decker, Larry Derwin, Danny Ebberts, Nic Faas, Terry Farrar, Billy Felts, Jr., Josh Ford, Stan Fox, Damion Gardner, Scott Hansen, Rick Hendrix, Gary Howard, Page Jones, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Kaplan, Cory Kruseman, Brad Kuhn, Josh Lakatos, Jason Leffler, Thomas Meseraull, Troy Rutherford, Graham Standring, Cody Swanson, Brad Sweet, Rich Vogler & Rip Williams

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

1.   (78) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)

2.   (74) Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)

3.   (69) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)

4.   (67) Sean Dodenhoff (Bakersfield, CA)

5.   (63) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)

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

7.   (60) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)

8.   (54) Britton Bock (Angwin, CA)

9.   (49) Taylor Simas (Capay, CA)

10. (46) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)

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

1.   (78) Six8 Motorsports #68

2.   (74) Bock Racing #26

3.   (69) Kirk Swanson #71s

4.   (67) Sean Dodenhoff #9D

5.   (63) MF Racing #35F

6.   (61) Wally Pankratz #8

7.   (60) Keith Ford #73

8.   (54) Bock Racing #67

9.   (49) Bock Racing #62

10. (46) MF Racing #35s

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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

May 21: Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

Jun 4: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

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

Jul 16: Petaluma, CA - Petaluma Speedway

Sep 3: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway

Sep 4: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway

Sep 8: Chico, CA - Silver Dollar Speedway

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 STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS:

1. (1) Ronnie Gardner (Placerville Speedway on March 23)

FEATURE LAPS LED:

1. (19) Ronnie Gardner

2. (9) Shane Golobic

3. (2) Sean Dodenhoff

TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:

1. (1) Sean Dodenhoff, Michael Faccinto, Ronnie Gardner, Shane Golobic & Cody Swanson

TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:

1. (1) Brady Bacon, Britton Bock, Sean Dodenhoff, Michael Faccinto, Ronnie Gardner, Shane Golobic, Frankie Guerrini, Randi Pankratz, Taylor Simas & Cody Swanson

HEAT RACE WINS:

1. (1) Brady Bacon, Danny Carroll & Ronnie Gardner

FEATURE STARTS:

1. (1) Brady Bacon, Britton Bock, Danny Carroll, Bryan Clauson, Maria Cofer, Courtney Crone, Robert Dalby, Sean Dodenhoff, Tyler Dolacki, Cory Elliott, Michael Faccinto, Brian Gard, Ronnie Gardner, Dustin Golobic, Shane Golobic, Frankie Guerrini, Terry Nichols, Randi Pankratz & Taylor Simas, Matt Streeter, Cody Swanson & Nate Waite

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

9. [14 wins] Ronnie Gardner & 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 & J.J. Yeley

48. [4 wins] Tyler Brown, Hank Butcher, Nick Chivello, Marc DeBeaumont, Nic Faas, 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

69. [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, Alex Schutte & Chuck West

86. [2 wins] Floyd Alvis, Alex Bowman, Rick Bussell, Tony Elliott, Michael Faccinto, 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

109. [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, Tanner Thorson, 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.