The famed Bay Cities Racing Association will be continuing its 65th season of racing this Saturday, August 23 in the performance.com “California Midget Clash” at the smooth and fast 3/8-mile King’s Speedway in Hanford, CA. Creating one of the strongest contingent of Midgets on the West Coast all year, the race will be co-sanctioned with the USAC-Western States Midgets.
Among the stellar BCRA entries will be a bevy of BCRA Midget champions and multiple-time feature victors including reigning BCRA champion and most recent race winner (Petaluma 8/16) “Golden Child” Justin Grant wheeling the #17 Dave & Wendy Thurston Racingforthetroops.com Spike/Esslinger, 1999 BCRA Midget champion and recent race winner (Placerville August 9) Matt Streeter aboard his #14jr Delta Demolition/T&T Trucking Spike/Ed Pink Chevy, 7-time BCRA champion “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis piloting his #18 “Yellow Chicken” Stealth/Gaerte, two-time BCRA Midget champion John Sarale aboard the #32 Sarale Farms/Early Bird Produce Stealth/Riolo Chevy and multiple-time BCRA Midget winner Jimmy Christian aboard his #16 Stealth/Riolo Chevy.
Grant won a BCRA Midget race at King’s Speedway in April, while Streeter was triumphant in a USAC-Western States Midget race at King’s Speedway last year. Grant also scored three third-place finishes at King’s in BCRA action in 2007, as well as a seventh-place run.
With over a dozen total Midget championships and over 300 career feature victories represented this Saturday at King’s Speedway, current BCRA points leader Scott Nail will be hoping to maintain his slim lead over “Young Lion” Nick Foster, Jr., and seven-time BCRA champion “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis in pursuit of the 2008 BCRA Midget championship. Nail will be piloting Stu Donaldson’s #8x Stealth/Pontiac, while Foster will be chauffeuring Jim Fowler’s #24 Beast/Esslinger. Currently, the Visalia veteran Nail leads the San Jose Young Lion by only 18 points, with Alvis sitting comfortably in third, only 36 points back from Foster.
Other BCRA entries joining the fray include 2007 BCRA Midget third-place driver David Prickett campaigning the Neverlift Motorsports #15 TCR/Van Dyne, who has scored five Top-five runs this year and is vying to capture his first career BCRA Midget victory, Steve Roza aboard Bob Roza’s #20 Beast/Esslinger, Dave Stoltz in his #77 Pacific Flyer/Range Rover V6, Cole Peard aboard the Peard Trucking #58 Twister F5/Fontana, Midget veteran Pete Davis aboard the Hothead Engine Heaters #00 Stealth/Esslinger, Pismo Beach’s Mike Gehringer in his own #27 Jack Rich/Arias and Clovis’ Dallen McKenney manning the cockpit of his #88 TCR/Goewens Mopar, seeking his first-career Dirt Midget victory. McKenney placed third at King’s in April in BCRA competition, as well as picking up a trio of BCRA victories at Madera --- twice this year and once last year. McKenney also finished sixth at King’s on day one of the Tachi Palace Open Wheel Spectacular in 2007.
17-year-old Michael Faccinto of Hanford, a BCRA and USAC standout who claimed victory on the second night of BCRA’s two-day Tachi Palace Open Wheel Spectacular at King’s Speedway in September of last year, as well as scoring three BCRA fast-time awards and seven BCRA top-five runs in 2007 will be a strong contender, piloting the Gary Scelzi Racing Village Tire #41 Spike/Mopar.
Tehachapi’s Shannon McQueen, who competes in both BCRA and USAC events is expected in her #7 Spike/Esslinger. McQueen claimed a BCRA victory at Lakeport in June and also became the first female victor in USAC-Western States Midget competition at Madera last year.
USAC and BCRA hardcharger Scott Pierovich joins the fray in Lance Pierovich’s #35 Stealth/Bob Wirth Mopar, vying to catch current USAC-Western States points leader Nic Faas. Pierovich has a second and two thirds in USAC-Western States competition this year, while Faas has placed in the Top three in his last five USAC-WS Midget appearances. Faas will be competing in the Western Speed Racing #40 Spike/Toyota. Pierovich was the 2007 USAC-Western States second-place pointsrunner. Paul Zimmerly will be piloting the #60 Western Speed Racing #60 Spike/Toyota. Zimmerly claimed a USAC-WS victory in April at Altamont.
Other USAC drivers expected to be competing include third-place C.J. Sarna who claimed a USAC-WS win this year at Altamont, fourth-place Ford Focus Midget graduate Robby Josett who claimed a USAC victory at Ventura in May, second-generation racer Randi Pankratz, Ernie Bartley III, Allan Ballard, Rob Ely, Joey Fabozzi, Quintin Crye and 2008 Chili Bowl prelim winner and three-time 2008 USAC-WS Midget feature victor Josh Ford. Crye claimed his first career Midget victory earlier this year at a Placerville BCRA race. 1998 USAC-WS Midget champion Rick Hendrix is also expected in his #12 entry.
The race will be the eighth of ten total BCRA dirt races and is the only BCRA/USAC co-sanction of the year, the first since July 2007. Garrett Hansen claimed that win at Santa Maria over multiple-time BCRA and USAC winner Robby Flock and Josh Lakatos.
Joining the Midgets on Saturday will be the IMCA Modifieds and Hobby Stocks.
