By Steven Blakesley
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA (June 23, 2024) – Logan Mitchell of Santa Cruz steered his No. 96x Western Midget Racing entry to his fourth win of the season against one of the strongest fields of the year on a foggy Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. Mitchell’s win boosts his championship lead to an eight point advantage over 2023 champion Bryant Bell of Oakley with the series’ biggest weekend looming large for the Howard Kaeding Classic in July.
Lodi’s Nate Wait and Sacramento’s Isaiah Vasquez split the eight-lap heat races. Mitchell and season-opening Ventura winner Anthony Bruno of San Jose shared the front row for the 20-lap feature. The field of 14 Midgets served as a the main event of the night at the dirt track along the Pacific Ocean.
After a quick caution at the start of the race, trouble struck for Bruno from second on the following restart. Bruno stumbled on the restart with his teammate Bell and Wait spinning in the ensuing melee in turn four. Bell was relegated to restarting from the rear of the field because of the incident.
Mitchell paced the field the rest of the way with Micro Sprint standout Teddy Bivert of Idaho making a strong debut in second. Bell was the hardest charger of the evening, putting on a valiant effort to drive back into third. Vasquez and Las Vegas’ Kyle Hawse rounded out the top-five finishers.
Western Midget Racing heads to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville on July 12 and 13 for one of its signature events with the two-day Howard Kaeding Classic. They will be the support division for the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series.
For more information visit www.WesternMidgetRacing.com
RESULTS: Ventura Raceway June 22, 2024
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 96X-Logan Mitchell[1]; 2. 11-Teddy Bivert[5]; 3. 09-Bryant Bell[4]; 4. 4-Isaiah Vasquez[6]; 5. 20-Kyle Hawse[8]; 6. 35W-Nate Wait[7]; 7. 15-Adam Weisberg[13]; 8. 18-Todd Hawse[3]; 9. 31-Shane Linenberger[9]; 10. 1K-Terry Nichols[12]; 11. 68-Marvin Mitchell[10]; 12. 57-Ray Richards[11]; 13. 1T-Jimmy Voitel[14]; 14. 9B-Anthony Bruno[2]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 35W-Nate Wait[3]; 2. 11-Teddy Bivert[6]; 3. 18-Todd Hawse[5]; 4. 96X-Logan Mitchell[4]; 5. 31-Shane Linenberger[1]; 6. 57-Ray Richards[7]; 7. 15-Adam Weisberg[2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Isaiah Vasquez[1]; 2. 09-Bryant Bell[6]; 3. 9B-Anthony Bruno[2]; 4. 20-Kyle Hawse[3]; 5. 68-Marvin Mitchell[7]; 6. 1K-Terry Nichols[4]; 7. 1T-Jimmy Voitel[5]