PLACERVILLE, Calif. — Winning at California’s Placerville Speedway is meaningful in so many ways to Justin Grant.
Located just a half hour away from his Ione, Calif. home, Placerville is where he fell in love with racing and it’s the place where he decided he wanted to become a race car driver.
In 2021, Placerville became the home of his most lucrative victory during the Hangtown 100 Presented by Matt Wood Racing, a race in which he tracked down the lead just 14 laps from the finish to score a monumental 100-lap victory in front of a standing-room only crowd.
For Grant, the victory was worth a cool $20,000, and this year, he aims to become the event’s first repeat winner when more than 50 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship drivers and cars arrive at Placerville’s quarter-mile dirt oval for three consecutive nights on Thursday-Friday-Saturday, November 17-18-19.
A POSSIBLE $42,000 WEEKEND?
The three-night event will pay $5,000-to-win on each of the two preliminary night features on Thursday and Friday while the 100-lap main event on Saturday will pay $20,000-to-win. In addition, another $12,000 will be awarded to the overall Hangtown 100-point champion throughout the three nights.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) collected the 2021 Hangtown 100 overall points title by virtue of three top-10 finishes, with a 10th, 8th and 3rd in successive nights. The 2018 USAC National Midget champ opened the inaugural Hangtown 100 in 2019 with a runner-up result on the first night.
TIMMS OF THE SEASON
During the 2021 Hangtown 100 opener, Ryan Timms became the youngest ever USAC National feature winner and doing so in the fastest 30-lap feature run in the now 67-year history of the series with a time of 6:07.97. This year, he looks to strike gold with a $20,000 payday in Saturday night’s main event.
CHAMPIONSHIP ASPIRATIONS
Buddy Kofoid is on the brink of a second consecutive USAC National Midget title and may be able to clinch by the end of the Placerville weekend with a 209-point lead entering the contests.
On Thursday and Friday night at Placerville, every licensed driver and entrant will receive 50 appearance points, regardless of finishing position. On Saturday night, only feature points will be issued with a maximum of 70 up for grabs to the winner down to 23 for last place. All non-feature starters will receive 10 points only on Saturday.
En route to the 2021 title, Kofoid collected a 5th and a 2nd during the Hangtown 100 and led a race-high 66 laps in the 100-lap finale. In 2016, Kofoid became Placerville’s youngest ever sprint car winner at the age of 14.
HANGING CLOSE TO TOWN
Cannon McIntosh flourished on the opening night of 2021, taking a second-place finish. New USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Rookie of the Year Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) was a top-10 runner on all three nights in 2021 with a 5th, 2nd and 8th and led a race-high 14 laps on night two.
Kofoid’s Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate, Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) led a pair of laps and tallied a 3rd on the second night of 2021.
Shane Golobic has won in both a midget and sprint car at Placerville, wining with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars there in late 2019. He also was a victor with the USAC Western States Midgets at Placerville in 2013 and 2017. At his self-described “favorite racetrack in the world,” the 2017 Indiana Midget Week champ was a best of 4th at the Hangtown 100 on night one of 2021 and 5th on night one in 2019.
Golobic’s Matt Wood Racing teammate is Ryan Bernal (Hollister, Calif.) who was a 16th place finisher on night one of the event in 2019 and an impressive 4th on the second of two nights.
Six8 Motorsports captured a USAC Western States Midget feature win with Ronnie Gardner at the helm in 2016. This weekend, Jason McDougal has the wheel at Placerville where he scored a 9th on night one and a 4th on night two, both in 2021.
Chris Windom opened Hangtown 2021 with a 7th in the opener and topped the weekend with a 4th in the finale. The 2020 USAC National Midget champ also led the first five laps on the second night before mechanical problems put an end to his winning bid.
Carson Macedo, the 2016 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year and 11-time 2022 World of Outlaws winner, led a race-high 23 laps in the 2019 WoO feature at Placerville before finishing 2nd behind Golobic. At the Hangtown 100, he collected a 6th and 5th on nights two and three in 2021.
Tanner Thorson owns Placerville’s one-lap USAC National Midget track record of 11.397, set during the 2021 Hangtown 100 opener. He also possesses the 12-lap track record as well. His 6th place run on the final night in 2021 is his best performance yet. The 2016 USAC National Midget champ will debut his new Tanner Thorson Racing team in the event.
Another of the USAC Midget champs, Tyler Courtney will step back into a midget this weekend for car owner Tom Malloy. The 2019 USAC National Midget titlist and two-time All Star Circuit of Champions king collected an 8th at Hangtown in 2019.
Fellow series champion Spencer Bayston picked up a 7th and 9th in 2019 at Hangtown. The 2022 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year collected the USAC National Midget crown in 2017. Thomas Meseraull, winner of Tuesday’s western swing opener at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway, scored a 9th on night one of the 2021 Hangtown 100.
Taylor Reimer set quick time for the first time in her USAC Midget career during qualifying on the second night at Hangtown in 2021. That same night, she finished 9th in the feature. KKM teammate Tanner Carrick took 9th on the last night of 2021 and has been a frequent winner at Placerville in winged sprint car competition. He earned an 8th and 3rd on the two nights of the Hangtown 100 in 2019.
Michael Pickens returns to the Hangtown 100 for the first time since 2019 where he finished 10th on night two. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) ran inside the top-10 with a 10th on night two a year ago in 2021.
EXPERIENCED AT THIS PLAC-ERVILLE
Two-time and current USAC Western States Midget champion Michael Faccinto has been a winner in a midget at Placerville already this season. He captured a USAC Western States Midget main back in May and was also 21st on the second night of Hangtown in 2021.
Brenham Crouch has the 10-lap USAC Midget track record in his back pocket at Placerville. His best result came with a 11th on night one in 2021. Kaylee Bryson finished one spot behind Crouch on the same evening, coming home 12th. Colby Copeland ran 13th in the event, his best performance thus far at the Hangtown 100.
Josh Ford Motorsports is bringing two to the battle with Jake Swanson and Chase Johnson in the seats. Swanson was a 20th place finisher on night one in 2019. Johnson, meanwhile, was a Hangtown best of 21st on night two in 2021.
Jade Avedisian will pilot a car from the same team (CB Industries), with the same car number (No. 84), that won the first ever Hangtown 100 feature with driver Gio Scelzi in 2019. Avedisian made one of the first starts of her USAC National Midget career at Placerville with a 21st on night three of 2021. Also competing in the 2021 event and also returning this year are 24th place finisher Hayden Reinbold and Caden Sarale with a 25th.
HANGTOWN DEBUTS
Hangtown 100 debuts come from a varied lot, from Placerville winners to USAC National winners and champions across the board.
Four USAC National Midget feature winners are in this particular group, including top series Rookie and three-time winner Mitchel Moles, two-time winner Daison Pursley as well as one-time winners Jacob Denney and Corey Day. Day captured the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial Sprint Car race at Placerville earlier this year.
Steve Paden, the 2003 USAC Western States Midget champion, is back on track with the series for the first time in nearly two decades. Jake Andreotti notched a Western States feature victory back in March of this year at Placerville.
Blake Bower corralled the 2021 USAC Western States Midget title while Alex Bright has been both a USAC Eastern Midget champ and USAC East Coast Sprint Car titlist in his career.
Chance Crum and Ben Worth have both won features in USAC Regional Midget competition over the past few seasons. They’re joined by KKM Rookies Gavin Miller, Mariah Ede, Dominic Gorden and Cade Lewis.
Fellow first-time Hangtown 100 starting hopefuls in the field belong to Jake Hodges, Lonny Alton, Mike Snider, Travis Buckley, Randi Pankratz, Nathan Byrd, Dylan Bloomfield, Austin Barnhill, Zach Telford, Kyle Beilman and Daniel Whitley.