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7/11/16 6:53 PM WESTERN STATES MIDGETS TACKLE PETALUMA SATURDAY

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WESTERN STATES MIDGETS TACKLE PETALUMA SATURDAY

Michael Faccinto enters this Saturday night’s USAC Western States Midget race at Petaluma (Calif.) Speedway hoping to repeat last year’s victory at the 3/8-mile dirt oval and close the 32-point gap behind three-time defending series champ Ronnie Gardner in the 2016 standings.

Faccinto has landed “top-five” finishes in all five of his series starts this season.* He beat Gardner at Bakersfield June 4, accounting for Gardner’s lone blemish on his otherwise flawless 2016 resume.

Gardner has been nearly perfect, winning four of five races this season as he seeks a fourth consecutive title.

Third-ranking driver Frankie Guerrini has posted “top-10s” in all five outings, while fourth-ranking Tyler Dolacki has earned four “top-10s.”

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UPCOMING USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:

DATE: Saturday, July 16, 2016

SERIES: USAC Western States Midget Championship (co-sanctioned by BCRA)

TRACK: Petaluma Speedway (Petaluma, California) – 3/8-mile dirt oval

EVENT: USAC Western States Midgets, Winged 360 Sprint Cars, BCRA Hall of Fame: Midgets, Midget Lites and Vintage Midgets

STARTING TIMES: Pit Gates Open: 12:00pm. Mud Packing: 4:00pm. Practice: 5:00pm. Qualifying: 5:30pm. First Race: 6:00

TICKETS: TBA

TRACK ADDRESS: 100 Fairgrounds Dr., Petaluma, CA 94952

TRACK PHONE: (707) 763-7223

TRACK WEBSITE: http://www.petaluma-speedway.com/

MEDIA COVERAGE:

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):

1.** (408) Ronnie Gardner (Corona, CA)

2.** (376) Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA)

3. **(292) Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, CA)

4.** (279) Tyler Dolacki (Fresno, CA)

5.** (269) Cody Swanson (Norco, CA)

6.** (266) Cory Elliott (Bakersfield, CA)

7.** (242) Sean Dodenhoff (Bakersfield, CA)

8.** (239) Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA)

9.** (224) Courtney Crone (Corona, CA)

10. (208) Maria Cofer (Macdoel, CA)

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):

1. **(408) Six8 Motorsports #68

2. **(376) MF Racing #35F

3.** (279) Robert Dolacki #18

4. **(269) Kirk Swanson #71s

5.** (266) Cory Elliott #11E

6.** (246) Frankie Guerrini #63

7. **(242) Sean Dodenhoff #9D

8. **(239) Wally Pankratz #8

9.** (224) Jerome Rodela #25

10. (216) Keith Ford #73

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS:

Mar 23: Placerville, CA - Placerville Speedway

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

Apr 9: Tulare, CA - Thunderbowl Raceway

WINNER: Rained Out

Apr 30: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

May 21: Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

Jun 4: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

WINNER: Michael Faccinto

Jun 25: Hanford, CA - Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds

WINNER: Ronnie Gardner

Jul 16: Petaluma, CA - Petaluma Speedway

Sep 3: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway

Sep 4: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway

Sep 8: Chico, CA - Silver Dollar Speedway

Sep 17: Santa Maria, CA - Santa Maria Raceway

Oct 8: Tulare, CA - Thunderbowl Raceway

Oct 29: Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

Nov 19: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway

Nov 24: ### Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway

**Races noted with ### represent a race with the USAC National Midget Series.

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2016 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS:

1. (4) Ronnie Gardner (Placerville Speedway on March 23, Bakersfield Speedway on April 30, Ventura Raceway on May 21 & Santa Maria Raceway on June 25)

2. (1) Michael Faccinto (Bakersfield Speedway on June 4)

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ALL-TIME USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS:

1. [104 wins] Sleepy Tripp

2. [52 wins] Robby Flock

3. [41 wins] Billy Boat

4. [19 wins] Wally Pankratz

5. [18 wins] Page Jones

6. [17 wins] Ronnie Gardner

7. [16 wins] P.J. Jones, Jason Leffler & Rusty Rasmussen

10. [14 wins] Garrett Hansen

11. [13 wins] Jimmy Sills & Tony Stewart

13. [12 wins] Jay Drake & Tommy White

15. [11 wins] Josh Wise

16. [10 wins] Johnny Cofer, Jerry Coons, Jr., Dave Darland, Cory Kruseman & Ron Shuman

21. [9 wins] Bobby East, Tracy Hines, Kasey Kahne & Rich Vogler

25. [8 wins] Stan Fox, Michael Lewis, Steve Paden, Dave Steele & Danny Stratton

30. [7 wins] Rick Hendrix, Chad Nichols & Kody Swanson

33. [6 wins] Rico Abreu, Bryan Clauson, Johnathon Henry, Ken Nichols, Brad Noffsinger & Dave Strickland Jr.

39. [5 wins] Tommy Astone, Christopher Bell, Bob Davison, Ronnie Day, Robert Dolacki, Davey Hamilton, Tony Hunt, Brad Kuhn & J.J. Yeley

48. [4 wins] Tyler Brown, Hank Butcher, Nick Chivello, Marc DeBeaumont, Nic Faas, Josh Ford, Chuck Gurney, Darren Hagen, Jordan Hermansader, Ryan Kaplan, Thomas Meseraull, Frank Pedregon, Chris Rahe, Keith Rauch, Jerome Rodela, Johnny Rodriguez, Shane Scully, Ricky Shelton, Tanner Swanson, Brad Sweet & Billy Wease

69. [3 wins] Ryan Bernal, Bobby Boone, Mario Bringetto, Jr., Danny Ebberts, Michael Faccinto, Shane Golobic, Jeff Gordon, Scott Hansen, Alex Harris, Robby Josett, Trey Marcham, Danny McKnight, Ryan Newman, Johnny Parsons, Scott Pierovich, Troy Rutherford, Alex Schutte & Chuck West

86. [2 wins] Floyd Alvis, Alex Bowman, Rick Bussell, Tony Elliott, Terry Farrar, Mike Figliomeni, Bobby Grewohl, Darryl Haugh, Dennis Hart, Jeff Heywood, Gary Howard, R.J. Johnson, Josh Lakatos, Kyle Larson, Evan Margeson, Matt Mitchell, Rory Price, Stevie Reeves, Bobby Santos, Darin Snider, Michael Snider & Bryan Stanfill

109. [1 win] Mike Appio, Caleb Armstrong, Brady Bacon, Donnie Beechler, Wayne Bennet, Pat Bliss, Garratt Boyden, Greg Bragg, Larry Brown, Keith Chrisco, Michelle Decker, Larry Derwin, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Dale Durbin Jr., Cory Elliott, Bob Ellis, Tommie Estes Jr., Duane Feduska, Billy Felts Jr., A.J. Fike, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Brian Gard, Damion Gardner, Cody Gerhardt, Rick Gerhardt, Frankie Guerrini, Jac Haudenschild, Lloyd Hemman, Nathan High, Rick Hood, Kenny Irwin Jr., A.J. Johnson, Jim Keene, Steve Knepper, Brad Loyet, Dallen McKenney, Shannon McQueen, Lealand McSpadden, Jeff Meyer, Andy Michner, Kevin Olson, Aaron Pollock, David Prickett, Davey Ray, C.J. Sarna, Zach Schiff, Ryan Scott, Jeremy Sherman, Graham Standring, John Starks, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Stockon, Matt Streeter, Cody Swanson, Jake Swanson, Sammy Swindell, Tanner Thorson, Richard Vander Weerd, Eric Wilkins, Rip Williams & Paul Zimmerly

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ALL-TIME 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 (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pave) & David Prickett (Dirt); 2013: Ronnie Gardner (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pave) & Ronnie Gardner (Dirt); 2014: Ronnie Gardner (Overall), Chad Nichols (Pavement), Ronnie Gardner (Dirt); 2015: Ronnie Gardner

**The 1982 Western Midget championship was derived from finishes posted in a number of “west coast” races held under National sanction. These events were NOT promoted, recognized or reported as “western” races and no series standings were generated.