by Lance Jennings
PLACERVILLE, CA – MARCH 30, 2022… Leading all 20-laps, Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA) scored last Saturday’s “Spring Fever Frenzy” triumph at Placerville Speedway. Driving Pete Davis’ #00 Hot Head Competition Heaters / Buchannan Automotive Stealth, Andreotti’s USAC Western States & BCRA Midget victory came over Michael Faccinto, A.J. Bender, fast qualifier “Sugar” Shane Golobic, and Shannon McQueen.
Starting on the outside of the front row, Andreotti faced constant challenges from Faccinto and Golobic. While several caution flags halted the action, track officials had to shorten the main event. With a five lap shootout remaining, Jake hit his marks on the quarter-mile oval and powered to the second USAC Western victory of his career.
Before claiming the season opener, Andreotti qualified fifth overall and won the 10-lap Ammonia Refrigeration Service Heat Race #2. The young driver heads to Tulare’s “Faria Memorial” as the point leader in both the USAC standings and the four-race Elk Grove Ford Mini-Series.
In Woodland Auto Display Time Trials, “Sugar” Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) established a new USAC Western States track record (11.663) and bested the 23-cars in attendance. After breaking Dillon Welch’s 2019 standard, the pilot of the Matt Wood Racing #17W NOS Energy Drink / Elk Grove Ford Spike, Golobic won the 10-lap Jordan Hanni Well Drilling Heat Race #1 and scored fourth in the main event. The versatile driver left ‘Knoxville on the Hill” ranked third in USAC Western points and the Elk Grove Ford mini-series.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) returned to USAC Western States action and won the Wireless 101 Heat Race #3. Racing the family owned Excel Environmental / Liggett Trucking Spike, Liggett was sixth quick in time trials and finished sixth in the 20-lap feature. The former USAC West Coast 360 Champion left Placerville sixth in both the championship points and mini-series.
Sporting a new paint scheme, Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA) earned the night’s Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with an eleventh place run from sixteenth. The driver of the family owned #8 HASA Pool Products / Oreq Corporation Edmunds qualified seventeenth overall and ran fifth in her heat race. The veteran driver heads to Tulare ranked twelfth in series points, mini-series point chase, and is tied for the Passing Master point lead.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Kyle Beilman (Mar Vista, CA) claimed the night’s Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award.” Piloting the Beilman Motorsports’ #31B Dave.com / B.P. Fab Spike, Beilman was fourteenth fast win qualifying and placed sixth in his heat race. The former rookie of the year left the El Dorado County Fairgrounds ranked fourteenth in series and Elk Grove Ford points.
The USAC Western States and BCRA Midgets will return to action this Saturday, April 2, at Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare, CA) for the “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial.”
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks Ammonia Refrigeration Service, AMSOIL, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hanni Well Drilling, Hoosier Racing Tire, Rod End Supply, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, 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 RACE RESULTS: March 26, 2022 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – “Spring Fever Frenzy” / “Elk Grove Ford Mini-Series Round #1” – Co-Sanctioned with BCRA
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATONS: 1. Shane Golobic, 17W, Wood-11.663 (New Track Record); 2. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-11.747; 3. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-11.755; 4. Michael Faccinto, 14J, Brown-11.760; 5. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-11.990; 6. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-12.039; 7. A.J. Bender, 1X, LKK-12.052; 8. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci,-12.086; 9. Colton Raudman, 2C, Schutte-12.155; 10. Dylan Bloomfield, 14JR, Streeter-12.180; 11. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, Buckley-12.268; 12. Danika Jo Parker, 13, Parker-12.296; 13. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.338; 14. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.371; 15. Ben Wiesz, 21W, Weisz-12.508; 16. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.528; 17. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.560; 18. Michael Snider, 6K, Snider-12.610; 19. Anthony Esberg, 1K, Esberg-12.766; 20. Dakota Albright, 6X, Snider-12.835; 21. Floyd Alvis, 18, Champion-12.849; 22. Thomas Esberg, 8X, Esberg-14.329; 23. Beau Lemire, 14, Lemire-14.884.
JORDAN HANNI WELL DRILLING FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Golobic, 2. Faccinto, 3. Bender, 4. Bloomfield, 5. Pankratz, 6. Beilman, 7. Alvis, 8. Albright. NT.
AMMONIA REFRIGERATION SERVICE SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Andreotti, 2. Worth, 3. Weisz, 4. Snider, 5. Buckley, 6. T.Esberg. NT.
WIRELESS 101 THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Liggett, 2. Sarna, 3. McQueen, 4. Sarale, 5. Parker, 6. A.Esberg. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Jake Andreotti (2), 2. Michael Faccinto (3), 3. A.J. Bender (7), 4. Shane Golobic (6), 5. Shannon McQueen (4), 6. Austin Liggett (1), 7. Dylan Bloomfield (10), 8. Blake Bower (8), 9. Travis Buckley (11), 10. Ben Weisz (14), 11. Randi Pankratz (16), 12. Ben Worth (5), 13. Kyle Beilman (13), 14. C.J. Sarna (15), 15. Michael Snider (17), 16. Danika Jo Parker (21), 17. Floyd Alvis (19), 18. Caden Sarale (12), 19. Anthony Esberg (18), 20. Thomas Esberg (20), 21. Dakota Albright (22), 22. Beau Lemire (23). NT
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**Lemire flipped on lap 2 of the feature. Raudman did not start feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Andreotti
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Randi Pankratz (16th to 11th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Kyle Beilman
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Jake Andreotti-80, 2-Michael Faccinto-77, 3-Shane Golobic-75, 4-A.J. Bender-70, 5-Shannon McQueen-68, 6-Austin Liggett-64, 7-Dylan Bloomfield-57, 8-Ben Worth-51, 9-Blake Bower-49, –Travis Buckley-49, –Ben Weisz-49.
ELK GROVE FORD MINI-SERIES POINTS: 1-Jake Andreotti-80, 2-Michael Faccinto-77, 3-Shane Golobic-75, 4-A.J. Bender-70, 5-Shannon McQueen-68, 6-Austin Liggett-64, 7-Dylan Bloomfield-57, 8-Ben Worth-51, 9-Blake Bower-49, –Travis Buckley-49, –Ben Weisz-49.
TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1-Shane Golobic-6, 2-Ben Worth-5, 3-Shannon McQueen-4, 4-Michael Faccinto-3, 5-Jake Andreotti-2, 6-Austin Liggett-1.
PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Randi Pankratz-5, –Danika Jo Parker-5, 3-A.J. Bender-4, –Ben Weisz-4, 5-Dylan Bloomfield-3, 6-Shane Golobic-2, –Travis Buckley-2, –Michael Snider-2, –Floyd Alvis-2.
NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: April 2 – Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, California – “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial” – Co-Sanctioned with BCRA