USAC Western Midgets Have 15 Races On Tap In 2018
USAC Western Midgets Have 15 Races On Tap In 2018
15 races at 7 tracks in 2018 will give California Midget racers a lot of opportunities to catch USAC Western Midget Champion Ronnie Gardner.
The USAC Western Midgets will kick off their 2018 season on March 17 at Bakersfield (CA) Speedway and end it Nov. 22 at Ventura (CA) Raceway. In total, the 36th year of the highly competitive series will host 15 races at seven California tracks.
Bakersfield hosts three of the races and provides virtual bookends to the season with the opener and a final race one week before Thanksgiving on Nov. 17. The track's third date will be run on June 16.
Ventura hosts the most races at four, including dates on June 30, Sept. 15, and Oct. 27. The track wraps up its slate on Nov. 22 with the Turkey Night Grand Prix finale, which was won in 2017 by Christopher Bell.
In between Bakersfield and Ventura, five other courses will see the Midgets in action. Included in the card will be a companion race to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at Placerville (CA) Speedway. Last year Shane Golobic outran Ronnie Gardner in front of packed grandstands waiting for the Greatest Show On Dirt to begin.
Gardner earned a measure of revenge by winning three races during the season to become the only multi-event winner. Two wins at Bakersfield and one at Ventura propelled him to his fifth consecutive title.
While the Western Midgets race on the Left Coast, far away from the traditional Sprint Car and Midget havens of the Midwest, some of the biggest names in the series earned victories in this regional series.
Bell won the Turkey Night Grand Prix, Rico Abreu won a $10,000 race at Calistoga (CA) Speedway last year, and Brady Bacon won at Bakersfield.
Schedule
March 17: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
March 21: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Placerville Short Track Outlaw Showdown)
April 14: Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA
April 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
June 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
June 30: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
July 21: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Jack London Hall of Fame)
Aug. 11: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Bud Stanfield Memorial)
Sept. 1: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
Sept. 2: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
Sept. 15: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
Oct. 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
Oct. 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
Nov. 17: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (November Classic)
Nov. 22: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix)
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