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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Honda USAC Western Midget Series
#19 Richard Vander Weerd & Car Owner Mike Sala in Santa Maria victory lane. Photo by Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.
RICHARD VANDER WEERD CLAIMS SANTA MARIA’S “DOUG FORT MEMORIAL”
By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – JULY 6, 2014... Powering past Terry Nichols on lap 11, Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd claimed Saturday’s “Party at the Coast” / “Doug Fort Memorial” at Santa Maria Speedway. For Vander Weerd, the 30-lap triumph was his first career Honda USAC Western Midget victory. Ronnie Gardner, Shannon McQueen, Heath Duinkerken, and Randi Pankratz followed Richard to the checkered flags.
Racing Mike Sala’s #19 Vander Weerd Construction / Weldway Inc. Spike, Richard Vander Weerd charged from seventh to claim the main event win. Earlier in the program, the 2011 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Champion qualified tenth out of the twenty cars in the pit area and won the night’s first 8-lap heat race. Richard also raced in the companion USAC/CRA Sprint Car main event and scored a tenth place finish.
Ronnie Gardner of Norco raced from thirteenth to take second in the “Party at the Coast.” Driving the Six8 Motorsports’ #68 Baldozier Racing / Esslinger Engineering Stewart, Gardner was fourth quick in time trials and scored seventh in his heat race. Heading to Lemoore on July 19th, the defending champion is third in the overall points and second in the dirt series with two fast time awards, four top-10 finishes, and 12 feature laps led.
Tehachapi’s Shannon McQueen ran third in the “Doug Fort Memorial” after starting fifth. Piloting the McQueen Racing #7 Lucas Oil / Simpson Race Products Spike, McQueen qualified seventh overall and ran second to Randi Pankratz in her heat race. To date, the 2012 Champion is seventh in the overall points and fifth in the dirt series with two top-10 finishes on the season.
Heath Duinkerken of Laton made his first start of the season and placed fourth in the Santa Maria feature. Racing Steve Watt’s #81 Christian Stover Foundation / Steve Watt Enterprises Stealth, Duinkerken was sixth fast in time trials and placed fourth in his heat race.
Atascadero’s Randi Pankratz scored fifth in the “Party at the Coast” after starting eleventh. Driving the Wally Pankratz owned #8 HASA Pool Products / Trench Shoring Edmunds, Randi qualified seventeenth overall and won the program’s second 8-lap heat race.
Scott Pierovich of Alamo earned his first fast time award of the 2014 campaign. Piloting the family owned #35 Mid-Coast Trans / Good Guys Spike, Pierovich ran third in his heat race and scored eighteenth in the main event. The veteran driver ranks ninth in both the overall and dirt series points with one heat race win and one top-10 finish on the season.
Orange’s Jarid Blondel earned his first “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with an eighth place run from twentieth. Racing his #98 G&J Aircraft / Repair Service Edmunds, Blondel was twentieth quick in time trials and scored sixth in his heat race. The overall series point leader sits third in the dirt standings with five top-10 finishes in the campaign.
“The Wild Child” Chris Ennis of Bakersfield took the victory in the program’s third 8-lap heat race. Driving the family owned #86 Sidewaze Designs / Young’s Commercial Trucking Spike, Ennis qualified eighteenth overall and claimed thirteenth in the main event. To date, the 2001 Co-Rookie of the Year is tenth in the overall points and sixth in the dirt series with one hard charger award and two top-10 finishes in 2014.
This Saturday, July 12th, the Honda USAC Western Midgets will tackle the pavement of Madera Speedway for the annual “Gerhardt Classic.” Located on the Madera County Fairgrounds in Madera, California, the co-sanctioned BCRA Midget showcase will also feature the Super Modified vs. Wing Sprints, USAC HPD Midgets, BCRA Vintage Cars, Vintage Super Modifieds, and the Twisted Tea Modifieds. For more information, visit www.racemadera.com or call 559.673.RACE.
The Honda USAC Western Dirt Midgets will invade Lemoore Raceway for the first time in series history on July 26th. Located in Lemoore, California at 1750 Highway 41 (at the corner of Highway 41 and Idaho Avenue), the event will also feature Micro Sprints. For more information, visit www.lemooreraceway.com or call 559.924.2536.
The Honda USAC Western Midget Series thanks Hoosier Tire, DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Rugged Radios, VanLare Steering Repair, and Western Performance Parts for their support. In addition, series officials would like to thank VanLare Steering Repair for sponsoring Santa Maria’s “Party at the Coast.”
For more information on the series, visit www.usacracing.com or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/usacwsmidgets), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/USAC_WSMIDGET).
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HONDA USAC WESTERN MIDGET DIRT RACE RESULTS:
July 5, 2014 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Speedway – “Party at the Coast” / “Doug Fort Memorial”
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Scott Pierovich, 35, Pierovich-15.463; 2. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-15.707; 3. Trey Marcham, 73, Ford-15.740; 4. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8- 15.796; 5. Brian Gard, 88, Arata-15.937; 6. Heath Duinkerken, 81, Watt-16.004; 7. Tyler Dolacki, 99, Hokanson-16.042; 8. Terry Nichols, 45, Nichols-16.055; 9. Bruce Douglass, 31, Douglass-16.123; 10. Richard Vander Weerd, 19, Sala-16.248; 11. Kyle Smith, 55, Smith-16.258; 12. Johnathon Henry, 17, Nichols-16.420; 13. Danny Ebberts, 5, Van Dyne-16.446; 14. Terre Rothweiler, 10, Walker-16.460; 15. Jesse Denome, 6, Denome-16.511; 16. Michelle Decker, 7D, McQueen-16.550; 17. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-16.754; 18. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-17.355; 19, Ricky Shelton, 71, Full Circle-17.507; 20. Jarid Blondel, 98, Blondel-19.980.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps)
1. Richard Vander Weerd, 2. Danny Ebberts, 3. Scott Pierovich, 4. Michelle Decker, 5. Ricky Shelton, 6. Tyler Dolacki, 7. Ronnie Gardner. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps)
1. Wally Pankratz, 2. Shannon McQueen, 3. Kyle Smith, 4. Terry Nichols, 5. Terre Rothweiler, 6. Jarid Blondel, 7. Brian Gard. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps)
1. Chris Ennis, 2. Bruce Douglass, 3. Heath Duinkerken, 4. Trey Marcham, 5. Jesse Denome, 6. Johnathon Henry. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps)
1. Richard Vander Weerd (7th), 2. Ronnie Gardner (13th), 3. Shannon McQueen (5th), 4. Heath Duinkerken (3rd), 5. Randi Pankratz (11th), 6. Brian Gard (14th), 7. Trey Marcham (4th), 8. Jarid Blondel (20th), 9. Jesse Denome (18th), 10. Terry Nichols (2nd), 11. Michelle Decker (10th), 12. Ricky Shelton (19th), 13. Chris Ennis (12th), 14. Johnathon Henry (16th), 15. Tyler Dolacki (15th), 16. Terre Rothweiler (17th), 17. Bruce Douglass (1st), 18. Scott Pierovich (6th), 19. Kyle Smith (8th), 20. Danny Ebberts (9th). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Terry Nichols, Laps 11-30 Richard Vander Weerd.
HARD CHARGER: Jarid Blondel (18th to 4th)
USAC WESTERN MIDGET DIRT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Trey Marcham-254, 2. Ronnie Gardner-236, 3. Jarid Blondel-158, 4. Alex Schutte-157, 5. Shannon McQueen-154, 6. Chris Ennis-127, 7. Sean Dodenhoff-109, 8. Tyler Dolacki-106, 9. Scott Pierovich-101, --. Ricky Shelton-101, 11. Jake Swanson-97, 12. Johnathon Henry-90, 13. Terry Nichols-69, --. Chad Nichols-69, 15. Nick Chivello-62, 16. Terry Goodwin-53, 17. Troy Rutherford-50, ---. Steve Davis-50, 19. Barry Pries Jr.-1.
USAC WESTERN MIDGET POINT STANDINGS:
1. Jarid Blondel-267, 2. Trey Marcham-254, 3. Ronnie Gardner-236, 4. Alex Schutte-210, 5. Chad Nichols-202, 6. Nick Chivello-164, 7. Shannon McQueen-154, 8. Jake Swanson-140, -. Scott Pierovich-140, 10. Chris Ennis-127, 11. Darin Snider-116, 12. Sean Dodenhoff-109, 13. Tyler Dolacki-106, 14. Ricky Shelton-101, 15. Johnathon Henry-90, 16. Terry Nichols-70, 17. Terry Goodwin-53, 18. Troy Rutherford-50, ---. Steve Davis-50, 20. Barry Pries Jr.-1.
2014 HONDA USAC WESTERN DIRT MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
July 26: Lemoore, CA – Lemoore Raceway
August 9: *Petaluma, CA - Petaluma Speedway (John Soares Classic)
August 30: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway (Louie Vermeil Classic)
August 31: Calistoga, CA - Calistoga Speedway (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 4: *Chico, CA - Silver Dollar Speedway (Gold Cup Race Of Champions)
September 20: Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Speedway
November 20: #Peoria, AZ - Canyon Speedway Park (Western World Championships)
November 21: #Peoria, AZ - Canyon Speedway Park (Western World Championships)
November 22: #Peoria, AZ - Canyon Speedway Park (Western World Championships)
November 27: #Perris, CA Perris Auto Speedway (Turkey Night Grand Prix)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with BCRA Midgets.
# = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Midgets.
This schedule is subject to change.
2014 HONDA USAC WESTERN PAVEMENT MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
July 12: *Madera Speedway – Madera, CA (Gerhardt Classic 100-laps)
September 13: *Madera Speedway – Madera, CA (Harvest Classic)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with BCRA Midgets.
This schedule is subject to change.
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