By Steven Blakesley
VENTURA, CALIF. (June 5, 2021) – Blake Bower of Brentwood topped the largest field in the young history of the Western Midget Racing presented by Masters Design and Construction, winning Saturday’s return to Ventura Raceway in a 20-lap feature. The victory came over an 18-car field and the first event at the 1/5th mile since 2019.
WMR entertained with three heat races, won by Randi Pankratz of Atascadero, Fresno’s David Prickett, and Bower. Santa Paula’s Megan Moorhead lined up on the pole in the #17 Spike Chassis alongside Bower in the #9 Spike Chassis. Bower went around the outside of Moorhead to lead lap one. Prickett lined up third but fell to fourth at the start. He passed Pankratz for third on the outside then moved past Moorhead for second.
Mountain View’s Antonia Boscacci stopped in turn four to require a caution with Peoria, AZ’s Cory Brown narrowly avoiding her. Boscacci then spun in turn two to end her race prematurely on lap five.
Kala Kellinoi and Camarillo’s Joey Bishop got hooked together exiting turn two, sending Kellinoi into a tip over. Both were able to continue.
Bower was able to pull away from Prickett on the restart, taking his second consecutive victory in the championship. Pankratz finished third followed by Brown and Moorhead.
Western Midget Racing continues this Friday night at the Pombo/Sargent Classic, racing with the NARC King of the West 410 Sprint Cars at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.
For more information on Western Midget Racing, visit them at www.WesternMidgetRacing.com or follow them on Facebook!
Western Midget Racing is presented by: Masters Design and Construction, Rockwell Security, Rams Racing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Extreme Mufflers, FTK, King Racing Products, and BR Motorsports.
June 5, 2021 – Ventura Raceway (Ventura, Calif.) Results
HEAT 1 (8 laps) – 1. 11 Randi Pankratz; HEAT 2 (8 laps) – 1. 22q David Prickett; HEAT 3 (8 laps) – 1. 9 Blake Bower
FEATURE (20 laps) – 1. 9 Blake Bower [2]; 2. 22q David Prickett [3]; 3. 11 Randi Pankratz [4]; 4. 29 Cory Brown [9]; 5. 17 Megan Moorhead [1]; 6. 22 Paul Sanders [5]; 7. 6 Brent Curran [10]; 8. 99 Darren Brent [8]; 9. 57 Kyle Huttenhow [15]; 10. 8K Kala Kellinoi [16]; 11. 5 Joey Bishop [13]; 12. 26 Tim Foy [11]; 13. 20 Kyle Hawse [7]; 14. 0FG Brandon Curran [14]; 15. 37 Wally Pankratz [6]; 16. 10 Antonia Boscacci [12]; DNS: 73 Dennis Simunovich; 91 Mike Cook
NEXT RACE: June 11 Ocean Speedway (Watsonville, Calif.)