USAC RACE #378 AT VENTURA FEATURES WESTERN STATES MIDGETS
Ventura (Calif.) Raceway holds the distinction of having hosted more USAC events than any other “active” USAC track and Saturday night’s USAC Western States Midget race will be the track’s 378th USAC offering.
The seaside facility didn’t join the USAC fold until 1986, so all of those events have occurred in the last 30 years!
In November, the storied “Turkey Night Grand Prix” Midget classic returns to Ventura after a 19-year absence and Saturday night’s race could offer a glimpse of the excitement which awaits race fans.
Three-time, defending series champion Ronnie Gardner leads the standings as he eyes a record fourth-consecutive title. Gardner, of Corona, California, was victorious in three of the four Midget races held at Ventura in 2013! Gardner was only denied once that season three years ago on the 1/5-mile, dirt bullring, finishing second to local hero Cory Kruseman.
Gardner leads Michael Faccinto by 18 points in the 2016 tally and is undefeated so far this year. He captured races at Placerville, Calif. in March and Bakersfield, Calif. in April. Faccinto has finishes of fifth at Placerville and second at Bakersfield thus far in 2016.
Kruseman has five career Ventura wins to his credit, but the all-time Ventura king was Sleepy Tripp, who scored 18 victories there!
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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: Front gates open: 3pm. Qualifying starts: 3:30pm. Racing starts: 5:30
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. (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 FEATURE WINS:
1. (2) Ronnie Gardner (Placerville Speedway on March 23 & Bakersfield Speedway on April 30)
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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.