By Lance Jennings
PETALUMA, CA – JULY 18, 2020… After a hard fought battle with Austin Liggett, Alex Schutte (Redding, CA) sailed to the USAC Western States and BCRA Midget victory at Petaluma Speedway. Piloting the Schutte / McElwee #28 Proficio / Aircraft Electrical Components Spike, Schutte claimed the non-point “West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Classic” triumph over Liggett, Cory Elliott, fast qualifier Ben Worth, and hard charger C.J. Sarna. The 30-lap victory marked the ninth career win for the 2010 USAC Western States Champion.
Sarna, the 2007 USAC Western Co-Rookie of the Year, earned the night’s Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award / Best Passing Job honors with a fifth place run from fourteenth.
2019 Rookie of the Year, Ben Worth opened the night by earning his first career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award by posting a time of 15.699 over the 19-car roster.
The eight-lap heat race victories went to rookies Scotty Farmer (Extreme Mufflers First Heat) and Brody Fuson (Competition Suspension Incorporated Second Heat), along with Liggett (Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat).
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.
For more information on the series, visit 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.
USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 18, 2020 – Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, California – “West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Classic” – co-sanctioned with BCRA
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-15.699; 2. Cory Elliott, 11E, Elliott-15.715; 3. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-15.796; 4. Colton Raudman, 28C, Schutte/McElwee-15.825; 5. Alex Schutte, 28, Schutte/McElwee-15.844; 6. David Prickett, 15DJ, Neverlift-15.918; 7. Scotty Farmer, 68, Six8-15.943; 8. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-15.991; 9. Terry Nichols, 1NP, Nichols-16.164; 10. Sparky Howard, 17, Thurston-16.373; 11. Brendan Ruzbarsky, 14JR, Streeter-16.430; 12. Mike Leach Jr., 33P, Leach-16.553; 13. Frankie Guerrini, 63, Guerrini-16.585; 14. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-16,671; 15. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-16.702; 16. Robert Carson, 99, Segur-16.800; 17. Floyd Alvis, 18, Champion-17.001; 18. Ben Wiesz, 21, Wiesz-17.589; 19. Blake Bower, 10, Walker-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Farmer, 2. Guerrini, 3. Worth, 4. Raudman, 5. Howard, 6. Carson, 7. Bower. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Fuson, 2. Elliott, 3. Schutte, 4. Sarna, 5. Ruzbarsky, 6. Alvis. NT
ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Liggett, 2. Nichols, 3. Prickett, 4. Leach, 5. Hazelton, 6. Wiesz. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions) 1. Alex Schutte (2), 2. Austin Liggett (4), 3. Cory Elliott (5), 4. Ben Worth (6), 5. C.J. Sarna (14), 6. Terry Nichols (9), 7. Mike Leach Jr. (12), 8. Robert Carson (16), 9. Ben Wiesz (18), 10. Floyd Alvis (17), 11. Frankie Guerrini (13), 12. Brody Fuson (8), 13. Ron Hazelton (15), 14. Scotty Farmer (7), 15. David Prickett (1), 16. Colton Raudman (3), 17. Sparky Howard (10), 18. Brendan Ruzbarsky (11), 19. Blake Bower (19). NT
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**Farmer flipped on lap 6 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Liggett, Laps 8-30 Schutte.
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: C.J. Sarna (14th to 5th)