By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 19, 2020… This Saturday, October 24th, the “mighty midgets” of the USAC Western States and Bay Cities Racing Association will return at Petaluma Speedway for a special non-point event. Promoted by Rick Faeth, the final round of the “West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame Challenge” mini-series will also showcase the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Cars, WMR Western Midgets, and 600 Micro Sprints. The Pit Gates will open at noon, the GRANDSTANDS ARE CLOSED, Practice starts at 5:00pm, and Racing at “The Fastest 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval in Northern California” will begin at 6:00pm. For event information, visit the track’s website at petaluma-speedway.com or call 707.763.7223 (RACE). Floracing.com will broadcast a pay per view live stream over the internet.
Extra prize money will be up for grabs to the top-five drivers in the “West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame Challenge” point chase. Tallied from the October 17th and 24th events at Petaluma, the mini-series will pay $1,000-to-win, $700-for-2nd, $500-for-3rd, $350-for-4th, and $250-for-5th. To be eligible, racers must be members in good standing with either USAC or BCRA. Ties will be broken by the October 24th qualifying times and if that show is cancelled, the prize money will be halved and awarded by the October 17th points. A special thanks goes to the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, Ken Clapp, and everyone behind the scenes for their generous support. For more information on the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, visit westcoaststockcarhalloffame.com.
Series officials are looking for sponsors to add bonuses and increase the night’s purse. As this writing goes to press, Saturday’s event will pay $600-to-win, $300-for-2nd, $250-for 3rd, $200-for-4th, $150-for 5th, and $100-to-start. To limit person to person contact during the night, all USAC racers must purchase their license / membership ahead of the event at usacracing.com or usaclicense.com. In addition, the entry fee will be taken from the night’s winnings.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
– ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM.
– 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.
– PETALUMA SPEEDWAY HAS A MANDATORY COMPETITOR COVID-19 WAIVER FORM AT petaluma-speedway.com/covid-waiver.
– 2020 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 & DRAG LINK STRAPS ARE MANDATORY.
– PETALUMA TARP RULE: Tarps are mandatory at Petaluma under all race cars in the pit area. The tarps must stick out at least one foot on each side.
Since October 6, 2012, the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds has hosted eleven USAC Western States Midget races and five different drivers have claimed victory. Ronnie Gardner and Alex Schutte lead all drivers with three wins with Gardner, the five-time champion, setting the 1-lap track record of 14.200 on October 5, 2013. The series win list at Petaluma Speedway is at the end of this release.
Last Saturday, second generation driver, Maria Cofer (Macdoel, CA) raced the family owned #57 Tule Vista Ranches / Bell Helmets Spike to the second USAC triumph of her career. Frankie Guerrini, Scotty Farmer, Kyle Beilman, Brody Fuson, Randi Pankratz, Sparky Howard, Floyd Alvis, Blake Bower, and C.J. Sarna chased the former BCRA Champion to the checkered flags.
With a slim one-point lead, Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA) sits atop the “West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame Challenge” point standings. Piloting the family owned #63 F&F Racing / Davis Motorsports Spike, Guerrini leads Maria Cofer, Placerville winner Scotty Farmer, former Rookie of the Year Kyle Beilman, and young Brody Fuson in the mini-series.
Petaluma Speedway is located on the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California at 100 Fairgrounds Drive. Due to the local health department regulations regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus, the GRANDSTANDS ARE CLOSED for the event. For more information, visit the track’s website at petaluma-speedway.com or call 707.763.7223 (RACE).
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. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.
For more information on the 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.
FloSports has USAC Western States Midget live videos and on demand coverage available for purchase at floracing.com.
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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 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 1-Maria Cofer, 1-Scotty Farmer, 1-Alex Schutte.
PETALUMA USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 3-Ronnie Gardner, 3-Alex Schutte, 2-Maria Cofer, 2-Michael Faccinto, 1-Shane Golobic.
WEST COAST STOCK CAR / MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME CHALLENGE POINT STANDINGS: 1. Frankie Guerrini-80, 2. Maria Cofer-79, 3. Scotty Farmer-74, 4. Kyle Beilman-69, 5. Brody Fuson-66, 6. Randi Pankratz-61, 7. Blake Bower-58, 8. Sparky Howard-56, 9. Floyd Alvis-53, 10. David Prickett-48, 11. C.J. Sarna-46, 12. Britton Bock-42, 13. Jarrett Soares-10, —. Robert Carson-10.