Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Big Midget Field Expected For November Classic Saturday At Bakersfield

Petry Motorsports teammates #25 Jerry Coons, Jr. and #15 Jason McDougal battle for position during the 2018 USAC P1 Insurance National Midget season. (Photo Courtesy Josh James)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 14, 2018).........An abundance of USAC Midget racing talent will be on display in this Saturday's "November Classic" at Bakersfield Speedway as the P1 Insurance National Midgets clash with the Light Up The World Western States Midgets for the first of two times in 2018.

The field sees four past USAC National Midget champions on board for the November 17 race on the speedy 1/3-mile dirt oval, including Jerry Coons, Jr. (2006-07), Rico Abreu (2014), Tanner Thorson (2016), Spencer Bayston (2017) along with current point leader Logan Seavey.

The stacked lineup also features four additional individuals who've driven to USAC National Midget victory lane in 2018: Tyler Courtney, Brady Bacon, Zeb Wise and Chad Boat. Michael Pickens won a pair with the series in 2017, but will be making his first start of the year this Saturday. C.J. Leary has tallied wins in both the USAC Silver Crown and AMSOIL National Sprint Car series this year, but is on track to make a rare midget start this weekend in search of his first series victory.

Michael Faccinto leads the Western States contingent with a two-point lead over Alex Schutte in the standings. Faccinto was victorious at Bakersfield in June and also won in 2016, while Schutte, the 2010 Western States champ, has won twice at Bakersfield in his career during the 2009 and 2015 seasons. Cody Swanson picked up his first Western States win at Bakersfield in 2013.

Damion Gardner is a seven-time champ in USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, but he's top-flight in a midget as well, with a win under his belt at Bakersfield in 2005. Shannon McQueen and David Prickett, the 2012 overall and 2012 Western States dirt champs, respectively, are also expected entrants along with the driver who swept both nights of the midget portion of this year's "Louie Vermiel Classic" at Calistoga, Shane Golobic.

Pits open at 2pm, gates open at 4pm. Drivers meeting at 4:30pm. Cars on track at 5pm. (Pacific Time) (All Times Subject to Change). Adult general admission tickets are $16, senior and military tickets are $14, kids 6-12 are $8 and kids age 5 and under are FREE! Pit pass are $45 each.

All the action will be live on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/ with live audio for free on the USAC app. As always, all USAC National and Western States events will be available to view within a day following the race on http://www.Loudpedal.TV/.

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BAKERSFIELD "NOVEMBER CLASSIC" EXPECTED ENTRIES:
1p Tristin Thomas/Burlington, WA
3c Tanner Thorson/Minden, NV
4D Robert Dalby/Anaheim, CA
5 Sterling Cling/Tempe, AZ
7 Shannon McQueen/Bakersfield, CA
7BC Tyler Courtney/Indianapolis, IN
8 Randi Pankratz/Atascadero, CA
9D Michael Faccinto/Hanford, CA
9F Frankie Guerrini/San Rafael, CA
15 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK
15x Ashley Heredia/Chatsworth, CA
17BC Cole Bodine/Rossville, IN
17G Dustin Golobic/Fremont, CA
17w Shane Golobic/Fremont, CA
20 C.J. Sarna/Palm Desert, CA
24x David Prickett/Fresno, CA
25 Jerry Coons, Jr./Tucson, AZ
25x Damion Gardner/Concord, CA
27 Tucker Klaasmeyer/Paola, KS
28 Alex Schutte/Redding, CA
31 Kyle Beilman/Mar Vista, CA
35 Holley Hollan/Broken Arrow, OK
39BC Zeb Wise/Angola, IN
57 Maria Cofer/Macdoel, CA
67 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA
67K Holly Shelton/Sacramento, CA
67z Michael Pickens/Auckland, NZ
68 C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN
71 Ryan Robinson/Foresthill, CA
71K Tanner Carrick/Lincoln, CA
71s Cody Swanson/Norco, CA
72 Sam Johnson/St. Peters, MO
76m Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, OK
77 Daniel Anderson/Riverside, CA
84 Chad Boat/Phoenix, AZ
97 Spencer Bayston/Lebanon, IN
97F Jesse Fernandez/Parker, CO
97K Rico Abreu/St. Helena, CA
99 Colton Heath/Marysville, WA
?? Justin Grant/Ione, CA