From Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – JUNE 5, 2021… Racing past Shannon McQueen on the fourth lap, Ben Worth (Coalinga, CA) held off all challengers to take the feature win at Ventura Raceway. For Worth, his second career $1,200 USAC Western States Midget victory marked the 150th appearance for the series at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Hard charger Robby Josett, Shannon McQueen, Brody Fuson, and Blake Bower chased the 2019 Rookie of the Year to the checkered flags.
Point leader Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) opened the night by earning the Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award by clocking in with a time of 12.521 of the 15-car roster. The 2018 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion ran seventh in his heat race and flipped in the main event, resulting in a tenth place finish. Liggett heads to Merced’s July 9th event with a 36-point lead over the competition.
Starting fourteenth on the field, Robby Josett (Santa Clarita, CA) scored the night’s Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award / Best Passing Job honors with a second place finish in the feature. The veteran driver qualified fourteenth overall, placed third in his heat race, and ranks twenty-first in points after his first start of 2021.
Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA) claimed the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award with a thirteenth place finish in the main event. The rookie contender was sixth quick in time trials, took seventh in his heat race, and sits fifteenth in the standings despite running a limited schedule.
The 10-lap heat race victories went to C.J. Sarna (Extreme Mufflers First Heat), and Dylan Ito (Competition Suspension Incorporated / Rod End Supply Second Heat). Sarna, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year, qualified seventh overall and scored eighth in the feature. Ito was twelfth fast in time trials and finished seventh at his home track.
After a break in the schedule, the USAC Western States Midgets will travel to Merced Speedway (Merced, CA) on Friday, July 9th, followed by an event at Placerville Speedway (Placerville, CA) the following night. The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars will share the spotlight at both shows.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing.com, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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.
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.
USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 5, 2021 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATONS: 1. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-12.521; 2. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.669; 3. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.937; 4. Mike Leach Jr., 33P, Leach-13.075; 5. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-13.107; 6. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-13.347; 7. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-13.378; 8. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-13.392; 9. David Prickett, 1NP, Nichols-13.486; 10. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.509; 11. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-13.628; 12. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-13.629; 13. Kaleb Montgomery, 1X, LKK-13.732; 14. Robby Josett, 73B, Ford-13.733; 15. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sarna, 2. McQueen, 3. Worth, 4. Gardner, 5. Prickett, 6. Montgomery, 7. Liggett, 8. Hazleton. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ito, 2. Bower, 3. Josett, 4. Fuson, 5. Pankratz, 6. Leach, 7. Soares. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions) 1. Ben Worth (4), 2. Robby Josett (14), 3. Shannon McQueen (1), 4. Brody Fuson (6), 5. Blake Bower (2), 6. David Prickett (11), 7. Dylan Ito (7), 8. C.J. Sarna (3), 9. Randi Pankratz (12), 10. Austin Liggett (8), 11. Ronnie Gardner (5), 12. Ron Hazelton (15), 13. Jarrett Soares (10), 14. Mike Leach Jr. (9), 15. Kaleb Montgomery (13). NT.
—————————-
**Hazelton flipped during qualifications. Leach flipped on lap 10 of the feature. Liggett flipped on lap 29 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 McQueen, Laps 4-30 Worth
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Robby Josett (14th to 2nd)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Jarrett Soares
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Austin Liggett-356, 2-Shannon McQueen-320, 3-Blake Bower-308, 4-Brody Fuson-285, 5-David Prickett-279, 6-Ben Worth-254, 7-C.J. Sarna-241, 8-Dylan Ito-190, 9-Terry Nichols-173, 10-Maria Cofer-159.
NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: July 9 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California