WESTERN STATES MIDGETS AT VENTURA MAY 21; GARDNER STAYS ON TOP WITH BAKERSFIELD VICTORY
Three-time and defending USAC Western States Midget champion Ronnie Gardner, who scored three feature victories at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway in 2013, anxiously awaits the May 21 race at the seaside track. He’ll try to remain undefeated in series competition this year as he goes for his third straight win.
Gardner, of Corona, Calif., caught Michael Faccinto on lap 28 and led the final three laps of Saturday night’s race at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway. Wheeling the Six8 Motorsports Baldozier Racing/Esslinger Engineering Stewart/Esslinger, Gardner increased his lead over Faccinto in the new series standings to 18 points.
Faccinto led the first 27 laps and eventually took second ahead of Terry Nichols, Alex Schutte and Tyler Dolacki, who came from 14th to 5th to win the Keizer Aluminum Wheels/Rod End Supply “Hard Charger” award.
The win was Gardner’s 15th in Western States Midget competition, boosting him into sole position of ninth on the all-time list as he guns for what would be a record fourth consecutive series championship.
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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT
DATE: Saturday, May 21, 2016
SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship
TRACK: Ventura Raceway (Ventura, California) – 1/5-mile, high-banked dirt oval
EVENT: USAC Western States Midgets, Dwarf Cars, IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Focus Midgets & Go-Karts
STARTING TIMES: TBA
TICKETS: TBA
TRACK ADDRESS: 10 W Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001
TRACK PHONE: (805) 985-5433
TRACK WEBSITE: http://venturaraceway.com/
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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINS AT BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY
(After 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) Ronnie Gardner, Steve Paden, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Danny Stratton & Josh Wise
12. (2) Hank Butcher, Bob Davison, Ronnie Day, 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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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET FEATURE WINS AT VENTURA RACEWAY
(Prior to 5/21/2016 Ventura event)
1. (18) Sleepy Tripp
2. (13) Billy Boat
3. (8) Page Jones
4. (7) Garrett Hansen
5. (6) Jimmy Sills
6. (5) Johnny Cofer, Robby Flock & Cory Kruseman
9. (4) Robert Dolacki & P.J. Jones
11. (3) Jay Drake, Ronnie Gardner, Jonathon Henry, Chris Rahe & Tony Stewart
16. (2) Tommy Astone, Tyler Brown, Josh Ford, Dennis Hart, Robby Josett, Brad Kuhn, Frank Pedregon, Jerome Rodela & Chuck West
25. (1) Mike Appio, Wayne Bennet, Bobby Boone, Mario Bringetto, Jr., Hank Butcher, Keith Chrisco, Kevin Doty, Tony Elliott, Nic Faas, Stan Fox, Russ Gamester, Chuck Gurney, Darryl Haugh, Rick Hendrix, A.J. Johnson, Ryan Kaplan, Josh Lakatos, Brad Loyet, Lealand McSpadden, Matt Mitchell, Steve Paden, Rusty Rasmussen, Keith Rauch, Troy Rutherford, Shane Scully, Ron Shuman, Bryan Stanfill & Tommy White
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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
1. (161) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)
2. (143) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)
3. (127) Sean Dodenhoff (Bakersfield, CA)
4. (117) Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)
5. (113) Terry Nichols (Delano, CA)
6. (104) Tyler Dolacki (Fresno, CA)
7. (101) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)
8. (96) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)
9. (82) Maria Cofer
10. (74) Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)
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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
1. (161) Six8 Motorsports #68
2. (143) MF Racing #35F
3. (127) Sean Dodenhoff #9D
4. (117) Wally Pankratz #8
5. (113) Terry Nichols #1p
6. (104) Robert Dolacki #18
7. (101) Kirk Swanson #71s
8. (94) Keith Ford #73
9. (82) Cofer Racing #57
10. (74) Bock Racing #26
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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
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. (2) Ronnie Gardner (Placerville Speedway on March 23 & Bakersfield Speedway on April 30)
FEATURE LAPS LED:
1. (27) Michael Faccinto
2. (22) Ronnie Gardner
3. (9) Shane Golobic
4. (2) Sean Dodenhoff
TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (2) Michael Faccinto & Ronnie Gardner
3. (1) Sean Dodenhoff, Tyler Dolacki, Shane Golobic, Terry Nichols, Alex Schutte & Cody Swanson
TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (2) Sean Dodenhoff, Michael Faccinto, Ronnie Gardner, Frankie Guerrini & Randi Pankratz
6. (1) Brady Bacon, Britton Bock, Tyler Dolacki, Shane Golobic, Cory Kruseman, Terry Nichols, Troy Rutherford, Alex Schutte, Taylor Simas & Cody Swanson
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
1. (1) Michael Faccinto
HEAT RACE WINS: (presented by Extreme Mufflers, DJ Safety, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions and Competition Suspension, Inc.)
1. (2) Ronnie Gardner
2. (1) Brady Bacon, Danny Carroll, Sean Dodenhoff & Darren Hagen
ROD END SUPPLY SEMI WINS:
1. (1) Frankie Guerrini
FEATURE STARTS:
1. (2) Maria Cofer, Courtney Crone, Robert Dalby, Sean Dodenhoff, Tyler Dolacki, Cory Elliott, Michael Faccinto, Ronnie Gardner, Frankie Guerrini, Terry Nichols, Randi Pankratz, Cody Swanson & Nate Waite
14. (1) Brady Bacon, Britton Bock, Danny Carroll, Bryan Clauson, Chris Dyson, Brian Gard, Dustin Golobic, Shane Golobic, Darren Hagen, Jeff Harrington, Dylan Ito, Robby Josett, Cory Kruseman, Shannon McQueen, Troy Rutherford, Alex Schutte, Taylor Simas & Matt Streeter
KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS / ROD END SUPPLY “HARD CHARGER”:
3/23: Placerville Speedway - Tyler Dolacki (11 positions)
4/30: Bakersfield Speedway – Tyler Dolacki (9 positions)
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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. [15 wins] Ronnie Gardner
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 & 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.