BOWER-FUSON USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT BATTLE RESUMES AT VENTURA
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021... The “mighty midgets” of the USAC Western States will invade the Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA), this Saturday, September 11th. Promoted by Jim Naylor, the tenth point race will also feature VRA Senior Sprints, IMCA Mod Lites, WMR Western Midgets, VRA Hobby Stocks, and IMCA Sport Mods. The Pit Gates will open at Noon, the Front Gates open at 3:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 5:30pm at “The Best Little Dirt Track in America.” For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE. For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night’s action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- California state protocol calls for competitors, crews, officials, and anyone on the grounds to practice safe social distancing, proper sanitizing, and follow local regulations regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: B&B: FRAC-0375-S w/side outlet, COAST FABRICATION: 300x625x17-2s, 350x625x17-2s, 400x625x17-2s, EXTREME: 3515-3030 (15” Long 5” round shell with 3”inlet & 3” outlet), 3615-3030 (15” Long 6” round shell with 3” inlet & 3” outlet), 3515-3030-8 (15” Long 5” round shell with 3”inlet & 3” outlet with turnout), 3615-3030-8 (15” Long 6” round shell with 3” inlet & 3” outlet with turnout), FLOWMASTER: (BCRA Approved) 13009130, 13509130, 13509135, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272730-78 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Since May 24, 1986, 150 USAC Western States Midget events have been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Sleepy Tripp claimed the inaugural victory and leads all drivers with eighteen Ventura wins. When the series last visited the seaside oval on June 5th, Ben Worth took the checkered flags. At press time, Johnny Cofer holds the 1-lap qualifying record of 11.675, set on November 18, 1995 and a complete series Ventura win list is at the bottom of this release.
Heading to Ventura, Blake Bower (Brentwood, CA) has a slim seven-point lead over the competition. Driving Tony Boscacci’s #9 Orland Public Auto Auction / Mountain Cascade Inc. Spike, Bower scored fourth at Merced’s “Kevin Triplett Memorial” on August 7th. At press time, Blake has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and 22 feature laps led on the year. The rookie contender will be looking for his first USAC win this Saturday night.
Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) ranks second in the USAC point standings. Racing Rusty Carlile’s #51 RacePa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson ran second to Colby Johnson at Merced. To date, the rookie contender has posted one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Award, three heat race wins, seven top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led on the season. The rookie contender will have his sights on adding a Ventura first place trophy to his collection.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) sits third in the chase for the championship. The pilot of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Spike skipped the USAC/BCRA event at Merced. At press time, the 2018 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, seven top-10 finishes and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. With four career wins, Liggett is a threat to win on any given night.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) is fourth in the championship point standings. Racing his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Clothing Spike, Sarna finished third at the Merced County Fairgrounds. To date, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has two heat race victories, three Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career triumph and will have his sights winning at Ventura Raceway.
Ben Worth (Coalinga, CA) ranks fifth in the championship point standings. The driver of Dean Alexander’s #5K Walker Air Filtration / WFX Spike has missed some races to recover from back pain. At press time, the 2019 Rookie of the Year has posted one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, four top-10 finishes, and 29 feature laps led. Ben has two career wins and it is unknown if he will be in action at Ventura.
While Bower leads the chase for rookie honors, Fuson (Bakersfield, CA), Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA), Tony Gomes (Modesto, CA), Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA), and Colton Raudman (Redding, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are David Prickett, Ron Hazelton, Dylan Ito, “The Panda” Terry Nichols, Kyle Beilman, Randi Pankratz, Robby Josett, Troy Rutherford, and more.
Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $22, General Admission Senior (60 and older), Active Military (ID Required), and Student tickets (with ID) are $18. Kids tickets (12 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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, 2013-Ronnie Gardner, 2014- Ronnie Gardner, 2015-Ronnie Gardner, 2016-Ronnie Gardner, 2017-Ronnie Gardner, 2018-Michael Faccinto, 2019-Robert Dalby, 2020-NO AWARD.
VENTURA USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TRACK RECORD: Johnny Cofer – 11.675 (11/18/95)
VENTURA USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 18-Sleepy Tripp, 13-Billy Boat, 8-Page Jones, 7-Garrett Hansen, 6-Ronnie Gardner, 6-Jimmy Sills, 5-Johnny Cofer, 5-Robby Flock, 5-Cory Kruseman, 4-Robert Dolacki, 4- P.J. Jones, 4-Robby Josett, 3-Jay Drake, 3-Chris Rahe, 3-Tony Stewart, 2-Tommy Astone, 2-Christopher Bell, 2-Tyler Brown, 2-Josh Ford, 2-Dennis Hart, 2-Johnathon Henry, 2-Brad Kuhn, 2-Kyle Larson, 2-Frank Pedregon, 2-Jerome Rodela, 2-Chuck West, 1-Mike Appio, 1-Wayne Bennet, 1-Chad Boat, 1-Bobby Boone, 1-Mario Bringetto Jr., 1-Hank Butcher, 1-Keith Chrisco, 1-Robert Dalby, 1-Kevin Doty, 1-Tony Elliott, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Stan Fox, 1-Russ Gamester, 1-Chuck Gurney, 1-Daryl Haugh, 1-Rick Hendrix, 1-A.J. Johnson, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Ryan Kaplan, 1-Josh Lakatos, 1-Brad Loyet, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Lealand McSpadden, 1-Matt Mitchell, 1-Steve Paden, 1-Rusty Rasmussen, 1-Keith Rauch, 1-Troy Rutherford, 1-Shane Scully, 1-Ron Shuman, 1-Bryan Stanfill, 1-Jake Swanson, 1-Tommy White, 11Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 2-Chase Johnson, 2-Austin Liggett, 1-Maria Cofer, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-Colby Johnson, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Blake Bower ®-589, 2. Brody Fuson ®-582, 3. Austin Liggett-549, 4. C.J. Sarna-501, 5. Ben Worth-351, 6. David Prickett-334, 7. Shannon McQueen-320, 8. Maria Cofer-282, 9. Jarrett Soares ®-278, 10. Chase Johnson-236, 11. Ron Hazelton-217, 12. Mitchel Moles-205, 13. Dylan Ito-190, 14. Tony Gualda ®-184, 15. Terry Nichols-173, ---. Kyle Mentch-173, 17. Colby Johnson ®-172, 18. Kyle Beilman-133, 19. Randi Pankratz-132, 20. Colton Raudman ®-116, 21. Alex Schutte-113, 22. Jake Andreotti ®-77, ---. Shane Golobic-77, 24. Ryan Bernal-75, 25. Robby Josett-73, 26. Davey Ray-72, 27. Michael Faccinto-68, 28. Max Adams ®-65, 29. Troy Rutherford-60, 30. Beau Lemire-58, 31. Floyd Alvis-56, 32. Ashlyn Rodriguez-55, 33. Thomas Esberg-53, 34. Troy Morris III-50, ---. Sparky Howard-50, ---. Ronnie Gardner-50, ---. Robert Carson-50, 38. Ben Wiesz-49, 39. Kenny Welch-46, 40. Mike Leach Jr.-41, ---. Dylan Bloomfield-41, 42. Matt Mitchell-39, 43. Kaleb Montgomery-36, 44. Jake Vermeer-27, 45. Michael Snider-13.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
March 27: #Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 10: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Mitchel Moles)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Maria Cofer)
June 5: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
August 7: #Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Colby Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 11: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 9: #Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Prospector Pandemonium)
October 10: #Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA
October 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 29: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Tom Tarlton Classic)
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# = Co-Sanctioned Event with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA)
This schedule is subject to change.
ATTACHED PHOTOS/IMAGES:
#9 Blake Bower. USAC Western States Midget Point Leader. Photo by Lance Jennings / SCRAFAN.COM.