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Western
Monday, 24 October 2016

TURKEY NIGHT TUNEUP THIS SATURDAY AT VENTURA FOR WESTERN STATES MIDGETS

USAC Western States Midget point leader Ronnie Gardner. USAC Western States Midget point leader Ronnie Gardner. Chuck Fry Photo

TURKEY NIGHT TUNEUP SATURDAY NIGHT AT VENTURA FOR WESTERN STATES MIDGETS

This Saturday night’s USAC Western Midget race at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway will serve as somewhat of a “tuneup” for the November 24 “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at the seaside oval.

Western States Midget point leader Ronnie Gardner posted an earlier 2016 Ventura victory. Gardner also captured a trio of Western States wins there in 2013.

Gardner enjoys a 108-point lead over Michael Faccinto entering the final three Western States point races.

The series concludes with November 19 and 24 races at Bakersfield Speedway and Ventura, respectively.

Cory Elliott (fourth in the standings) and Frankie Guerrini (third in the points) finished second and third, respectively, in the May race at Ventura.

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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:

DATE: Saturday, October 29, 2016

SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship

TRACK: Ventura Raceway (Ventura, California) – 1/5-mile, high-banked dirt oval

TRACK ADDRESS: 10 W Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001

TRACK PHONE: (805) 985-5433

TRACK WEBSITE: http://venturaraceway.com/

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

1.   (842) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)

2.   (734) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)

3.   (665) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)

4.   (645) Cory Elliott (Bakersfield, CA)

5.   (567) Courtney Crone (Corona, CA)

6.   (494) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)

7.   (481) Maria Cofer (Macdoel, CA)

8.   (478) Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)

9.   (476) Robert Dalby (Anaheim, CA)

10. (377) Tyler Dolacki (Fresno, CA)

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

1.   (842) Six8 Motorsports #68

2.   (734) MF Racing #35F

3.   (645) Cory Elliott #11E

4.   (617) Frankie Guerrini #63

5.   (567) Jerome Rodela #25

6.   (494) Kirk Swanson #71s

7.   (481) Cofer Racing #57

8.   (478) Wally Pankratz #8

9.   (476) Robert Dalby #4D

10. (377) Robert Dolacki #18

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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

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

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. (5) Ronnie Gardner (Placerville Speedway on March 23, Bakersfield Speedway on April 30, Ventura Raceway on May 21, Santa Maria Raceway on June 25 & Thunderbowl Raceway on Oct. 8)

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] Ronnie Gardner & Page Jones

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.