BAKERSFIELD SERVES UP USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS THIS SATURDAY
Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway hosts the penultimate USAC Western States Midget race of the 2016 campaign this Saturday night, Nov. 19.
The race serves as the Western contingent’s final tune-up before the Thursday, Nov. 24 “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway.
Both series point leader Ronnie Gardner and runner-up Michael Faccinto are anxiously awaiting their returns to Bakersfield. Gardner won there in April and Faccinto won in June. In each race, the roles were reversed as Faccinto finished second to Gardner in April while Gardner finished second to Faccinto in June.
Add USAC National Midget series regular Chad Boat from Phoenix into the mix for Saturday. Boat has won thrice this season in the National series, including a sweep of the “Belleville Midget Nationals” in August. Chad’s father, Billy Boat, was victorious seven times at Bakersfield between 1994 and 1997.
Gardner is on the verge of a record fourth consecutive series championship. Only Sleepy Tripp has won three straight titles (1990-1992).
Including Gardner and Faccinto, the last eight Western States races have produced seven different winners. The others have been Alex Schutte (twice), Tanner Thorson, Cody Swanson, Chris Windom and Robby Josett.
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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:
DATE: Saturday, November 19, 2016
SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship
TRACK: Bakersfield Speedway (Bakersfield, California) – 1/3-mile, dirt oval
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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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (922) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)
2. (801) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)
3. (717) Cory Elliott (Bakersfield, CA)
4. (676) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)
5. (620) Courtney Crone (Corona, CA)
6. (564) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)
7. (531) Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)
8. (523) Maria Cofer (Macdoel, CA)
9. (521) Robert Dalby (Anaheim, CA)
10. (420) Tyler Dolacki (Fresno, CA)
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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (922) Six8 Motorsports #68
2. (801) MF Racing #35F
3. (717) Cory Elliott #11E
4. (628) Frankie Guerrini #63
5. (620) Jerome Rodela #25
6. (564) Kirk Swanson #71s
7. (531) Wally Pankratz #8
8. (523) Cofer Racing #57
9. (521) Robert Dalby #4D
10. (420) 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
WINNER: Robby Josett
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) Robby Josett (Ventura Raceway on Oct. 29)
(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, Robby Josett, Ryan Kaplan, Thomas Meseraull, Frank Pedregon, Chris Rahe, Keith Rauch, Jerome Rodela, Johnny Rodriguez, Shane Scully, Ricky Shelton, Tanner Swanson, Brad Sweet & Billy Wease
72. [3 wins] Ryan Bernal, Bobby Boone, Mario Bringetto, Jr., Danny Ebberts, Shane Golobic, Jeff Gordon, Scott Hansen, Alex Harris, 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.
