By Lance Jennings
APRIL 6, 2021… After a hard fought battle at Bakersfield, the USAC Western States and Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets will clash this Saturday, April 10th, at Keller Auto Speedway. Promoted by Peter Murphy, the “Open Wheel Madness” will also feature the winged Kings of Thunder 410 Sprints and the non-winged USAC West Coast Sprint Cars. The Pit Gates open at 1:00pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 5:45pm, Time Trials at 6:00pm, and Racing will start at 7:00pm. Due to local regulations, a limited number of grandstands tickets are available and must be purchased online at market.myracepass.com. Pit passes are available and the event will follow COVID-19 protocols with face coverings required for people on the grounds. Located at the Kings County Fairgrounds at 801 South 10th Avenue, more event information can be found at kellerautospeedway.com or visiting the track’s social media. Floracing.com will be on hand to broadcast a live stream of the races over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
– ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.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.
– 2021 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 ARE MANDATORY.
– ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
– TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
– The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Since June 6, 1986, the Kings County Fairgrounds has hosted 43 USAC Western States Midget races and twenty-nine different drivers have claimed victory. Robby Flock scored the inaugural victory and Carson Macedo topped the last visit on October 30th. Billy Boat leads all drivers with six Hanford triumphs and Ronnie Day set the 1-lap qualifying track record of 15.555 on October 3, 1998. The series win list at Hanford is at the end of this release.
After nearly sweeping the March 27th show at Bakersfield, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) sits atop the point standings. Racing the Six8 Motorsports’ #68 Rockwell Security Stewart, Johnson was the Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier, ran second in his heat race, and led the final three laps of the feature to the checkered flag. The versatile winged and non-winged sprint car driver has two USAC Western States Midget wins to his credit.
Entering the second point race, Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) ranks second in the point chase. Piloting the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services Spike, Liggett was third quick in time trials, claimed second in his heat race, and led three laps of the main event before scoring third. The 2018 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Champion has two series wins and will be looking to add Hanford to his resume.
Davey Ray (Davenport, IA) sits third in championship points. Driving Robyn Morris’ #71R Morris Insurance Agency Spike, Ray qualified seventh overall, ran fourth in his heat race, and led 24 feature laps before taking second at Bakersfield. At press time, it is unknown if the veteran diver will be in action at the Kings County Fairgrounds.
Shannon McQueen (Bakersfield, CA) is fourth in the chase for the championship. Piloting the McQueen Racing #7 Simpson Race Products Bullet, the 2012 Champion was second fast in qualifying, ran fourth in her heat race, and finished fifth in the main event. This Saturday, Shannon will have her sights on her first USAC victory at the Kings County Fairgrounds.
Max Adams (Loomis, CA) ranks fifth in the USAC Western States Midget point standings. Driving the LKK Racing #1X Throttle Muscle Triple X, Adams was the Rod End Supply Hard Charger at Bakersfield with a fifth place run from thirteenth. Now based in Indiana, the 2016 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year qualified eleventh overall and ran second in his heat race. As this writing goes to press, Adams leads the series rookie points and can challenge for a Saturday night victory.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are David Prickett, Blake Bower, Troy Morris III, Brody Fuson, Ron Hazelton, Ben Worth, Dylan Ito, Kyle Beilman, C.J. Sarna, Jarrett Soares, “The Panda” Terry Nichols, “Fireball” Maria Cofer, Jake Vermeer, and more.
Keller Auto Speedway is located at the Kings County Fairgrounds at 801 South 10th Avenue in Hanford, California. For more event information, visit kellerautospeedway.com or the track’s social media.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, 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 USAC Western States Midget 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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-NO AWARD.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 1-Chase Johnson.
HANFORD USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 6-Billy Boat, 4- Robby Flock, 3-Jimmy Sills, 2-Ronnie Day, 2-Alex Harris, 2-Rusty Rasmussen, 2-Ron Shuman, 1-Tommy Astone, 1-Donnie Beechler, 1-Ryan Bernal, 1-Cory Elliott, 1-Mark DeBeaumont, 1-Danny Ebberts, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Joe Gaerte, 1-Ronnie Gardner, 1-Garrett Hansen, 1-Levi Jones, 1-Dallen McKenney, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Andy Michner, 1-Alex Schutte, 1-Ricky Shelton, 1-Tony Stewart, 1-Danny Stratton, 1-Matt Streeter, 1-Sleepy Tripp, 1-Rich Vogler, 1-Josh Wise.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Chase Johnson-83, 2. Austin Liggett-75, 3. Davey Ray-72, 4. Shannon McQueen-71, 5. Max Adams (R)-65, 6. David Prickett-61, 7. Troy Rutherford-60, 8. Blake Bower (R)-57, 9. Troy Morris III (R)-50, 10. Brody Fuson (R)-49, 11. Ron Hazelton-46, 12. Ben Worth-43, 13. Dylan Ito-42, 14. Kyle Beilman-41, 15. Colby Johnson (R)-37, 16. C.J. Sarna-36, 17. Jarrett Soares (R)-33, 18. Terry Nichols-31, 19. Maria Cofer-30, 20. Jake Vermeer-27.