CODY SWANSON MAKES MOST OF SANTA MARIA RETURN
Taking the lead from Cory Elliott on the twenty-fifth lap, Cody Swanson (Corona, California) scored last Saturday’s feature win at Santa Maria Raceway. For Swanson, the $1,000 USAC Western States Midget triumph was his first victory of the campaign. Fast qualifier Ronnie Gardner, Elliott, Frankie Guerrini, and Shannon McQueen chased Cody to the checkered flags.
Piloting the family owned #71S Marcie Campbell Realtor / Advanced Racing Suspensions Spike, Cody Swanson qualified eighth out of twelve racers and ran second to Cory Elliott in his heat race. Starting fourth in the main event, the former VRA Midget Champion slipped by Ronnie Gardner for second and chased down Cory Elliott for the top spot. Earning the night’s Keizer Aluminum Wheels / Rod End Supply “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors and his second series win, Swanson is seventh in points with five top-10 finishes and 6 feature laps led.
Ronnie Gardner (Corona, California) had a strong night at Santa Maria with a second place run. Driving the Six8 Motorsports’ #68 Baldozier Racing / Esslinger Engineering Stewart, Gardner earned his third Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and won the night’s Extreme Muffler’s Heat Race #1. The three-time champion heads to Tulare with an 82-point lead with four feature wins, eight heat race victories, one Keizer Aluminum Wheels / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 104 feature laps led to his credit.
After leading the first twenty-four laps, Cory Elliott (Bakersfield, California) finished third at Santa Maria Raceway. Racing the family owned #11E FK Indy / Oilwize Spike, Elliott was sixth quick in time trials and won the night’s DJ Safety Heat Race #2. To date, last season’s Rookie of the Year ranks fourth in the point standings with four heat race victories and eight top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, California) scored fourth in the 30-lap main event. Piloting the family owned #63 F&F Racing / Davis Motorsports Spike, Guerrini qualified seventh overall and ran second to Ronnie Gardner in his heat race. Last year’s BCRA Champion left Santa Maria sitting third in the point chase with one heat race victory, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, nine top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led on the year.
Shannon McQueen (Bakersfield, California) had a solid evening with a fifth place finish at Santa Maria Raceway. Driving the McQueen Racing #7 Simpson Racing Products / Lucas Oil Spike, McQueen was fourth fast in time trials and placed third in her heat race. The 2012 Champion heads to Tulare ranked eleventh in points with one heat race victory and three top-10 finishes on the season.
LANCE JENNINGS – USAC MEDIA
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 17, 2016 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Raceway
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-14.322; 2. Michael Faccinto, 35F, MF-14.474; 3. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-14.533; 4. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-14.587; 5. Courtney Crone, 25, Rodela-14.842; 6, Cory Elliott, 11E, Elliott-14.881; 7. Frankie Guerrini, 63, Guerrini-14.883; 8. Cody Swanson, 71S, Swanson-14.943; 9. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-15.358; 10. Tyler Dolacki, 18, Dolacki-15.522; 11. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-18.774; 12. Robert Dalby, 4D, Dalby-NT
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Guerrini, 3. Cofer, 4. Crone, 5. Pankratz, 6. Ito. NT
DJ SAFETY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Elliott, 2. Swanson, 3. McQueen, 4. Faccinto, 5. Dolacki, 6. Dalby. NT
LIGHT UP THE WORLD BEVERAGES FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cody Swanson, 2. Ronnie Gardner, 3. Cory Elliott, 4. Frankie Guerrini, 5. Shannon McQueen, 6. Michael Faccinto, 7. Tyler Dolacki, 8. Courtney Crone, 9. Maria Cofer, 10. Randi Pankratz, 11. Dylan Ito, 12. Robert Dalby. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-.24 Elliott, Laps 25-30 Swanson.
KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS/ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Cody Swanson (4th to 1st)
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Gardner-763, 2-Faccinto-681, 3-Guerrini-589, 4-Elliott-578, 5-Crone-493, 6-Pankratz-433, 7-Swanson-431, 8-Dalby-427, 9-Cofer-418, 10-Dolacki-335.
NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACES: October 8 – Tulare, CA – Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Speedway – “KRC Safety Fall Shootout”