Archive for Indoor Racing
Indoor Auto Racing Comes to Allentown this Friday and Saturday!
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Allentown Indoor Race
The TQ Midgets headline the card both nights with racing starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Prior to the start of the event a special memorial tribute to TC, a winner of eight Indoor Series events, will be conducted involving all of the competitors. Saturday’s program begins with a Fan Fest on the speedway to fans who have selected the free ticket option to attend this restricted event.
On Friday, the Champ Karts invade for a complete show. Well over 30 entries have been filed for events sponsored by Hoosier Tire. The Champ Kart Hard Charger will get $150 from E. Schneider & Sons, Inc. Four Hoosier tires will also be given away.
On Saturday, the Slingshot division backed by the Action Track USA at the Kutztown Fairgrounds, will join the TQ Midgets. A full field of over 30 entrants is poised for action. The Slingshot Hard Charger will get $150 thanks to E. Schneider & Sons, Inc.
For choice tickets, contact the PPL Center Box Office by phone at 610-347-TIXX (8499), online at www.pplcenter.com. Those wishing to avoid online fees may purchase directly at the Box Office, but are encouraged to do so in advance to avoid possible box office lines the day of the event.
MARCO ANDRETTI TO TEST THREE QUARTER MIDGET DURING ALLENTOWN INDOOR WEEKEND, JAN. 5-6
Posted by: | CommentsNEWS FROM LEN SAMMONS PRODUCTIONS
2018 INDOOR AUTO RACING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FUELED BY VP RACING FUELS
INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT TRENTON, ALLENTOWN, ATLANTIC CITY AND ALBANY
PROMOTER: Len Sammons (609)888-3618 - MEDIA CONTACT: Ernie Saxton Communications, Inc.
Esaxton144@aol.com – EMAIL ---- 267.934.7286 – Ernie’s CELL PHONE
Release created by Steve Barrick
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ANDRETTI SET TO TEST A THREE QUARTER MIDGET AT ALLENTOWN PPL CENTER
ALLENTOWN, PA December 28, 2017 . . . IndyCar star Marco Andretti will be an interested spectator at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., on Friday, January 5 and Saturday, January 6 when the Ironton Telephone/ Avaya Indoor Auto Racing fueled by VP events are held.
Marco, a third-generation racer from the legendary Andretti family from nearby Nazareth, will be a spectator for the Indoor Auto Racing Series event but plans to test drive a Three Quarter (TQ) Midget during the weekend. The 30 year-old has been offered the chance to drive a car that will be in competition at the event by one of his friends, Kyle Lick of Lehighton, Pa.
While fans won’t get a chance to see him compete against a field of 50 other drivers in the TQ Midget division, they will have an opportunity to get his autograph. Marco has volunteered to join all the weekend competitors to meet fans and sign free autographs during Fan Fest which opens the Saturday evening program from 5:30 to 6:30.
At that time, those with free Fan Fest tickets will allowed on to the racing floor of the center to get a close up look at all the race cars competing that night as well as collect autographs. These free Fan Fest tickets are available by clicking the “Fan Fest option” when ordering tickets on-line or when purchasing them at the box office.
TQ Midget racing and Indoor Auto Racing competition are nothing new to the Andretti family. Marco’s grandfather Mario Andretti won a TQ event inside N.J.’s Teaneck Armory in 1962. He also won in the TQ Midgets outdoors at N.J.’s Pine Brook Stadium before embarking on his legendary, internationally known Hall of Fame career.
Marco began racing in Go-karts at the former Flemington, N.J. Speedway, on an infield road course. He quickly advanced to become the youngest ever IndyCar driver at the age of 19 as a teammate to his father Michael.
Since then, Marco has won two IndyCar events. He’ll be driving again next year for the Andretti Herta Autosports team. While he is restricted by contract not to compete in the TQ Midget events, he is allowed to test that car and is eager for the opportunity.
The January 5-6, 2018 Ironton Telephone Allentown event schedule calls for racing to start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday. TQ Midgets will run a full program of racing with feature events both nights.
On Friday, the Slingshot division backed by the Action Track, USA Kutztown (Pa.) Fairgrounds, will join the TQ Midgets. On Saturday, the TQs will be joined by Champ Karts who will be racing in a complete show.
For tickets, contact the PPL Center Box Office by phone at 610-347-TIXX (8499), online at pplcenter.com. Those wishing to avoid online fees may purchase directly at the Box Office, but are encouraged to do so in advance to avoid possible box office lines the day of the event.
The series moves next to the NAPA Auto Parts Indoor Auto Racing Weekend at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. For tickets, contact Ticketmaster, the Boardwalk Hall Box Office, or the Area Auto Racing News office at 609-888-3618.
The finale will be a first annual event in New York State, on February 9-10, 2018 in the Times Union Center in downtown Albany, N.Y. For choice tickets, contact the Times Union Center Box Office, charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000, or visit online at ticketmaster.com.
Information including ticket and hotel links is available at www.indoorautoracing.com.
BELL BLOWS OUT THE CANDLES ON 2017 WITH “KNEPPER 55” TRIUMPH
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
BELL BLOWS OUT THE CANDLES ON 2017 WITH "KNEPPER 55" TRIUMPH
Christopher Bell at speed on his way to the 'Junior Knepper 55' USAC Midget Special Event victory Saturday at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin. (Neil Cavanah Photo)
Du Quoin, Illinois.........Christopher Bell celebrated his 23rd birthday in grand style Saturday night at the Southern Illinois Center after taking the lead with four laps remaining to win the third annual "Junior Knepper 55" USAC Midget Special event at the indoor, one-sixth-mile dirt oval in Du Quoin.
Rarely has the 2013 USAC National Midget champion from Norman, Oklahoma not been at the top of his game when he's behind the wheel of a midget, but 2017 saw him take it up another notch with 10 wins in just 13 Midget starts, an incomparable 77% average.
After wrapping up a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title, Bell has been two-for-two in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb Records - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota, concluding USAC's National Midget points season in November with his second career "Turkey Night Grand Prix" victory at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway and following it up by delivering his team their first victory at the Southern Illinois Center.
"To be able to win the last race of the year like that is pretty cool," Bell said. "I've been pretty close and really fast here in the past, but I just haven't been able to win. The team's always been really good here too, but finally, it all came together tonight."
Bell would start third in the feature behind a front row occupied by Trey Marcham and Chad Boat. As Marcham rode near the mountainous berm on the bottom, Boat and Bell swarmed high and low a car length behind. The high line eventually paid off for Boat as he rode the rim to the lead around Marcham off the fourth turn on lap 18.
Bell taste-tested the high side as well to make his way around Marcham between turns three and four a lap later. Once he did, Zeb Wise snookered both on the bottom to go from fourth to second. Meanwhile, Boat opened up a two-plus second lead before a Shane Golobic spin put things at ease momentarily.
"At the beginning of the race, I was really good, but was kind of biding my time," Bell recalls. "Once Chad got the lead, I was really struggling. (Justin) Grant got by me, then Zeb got by me. I was just trying to figure out what I could do to make something happen. I remember Bryan (Clauson) was always really good at sliding himself here. That was something I started doing and I'm like, 'man, I'm making up time here' and that seemed to be the key."
Early in the second half of the 55-lapper, new second-place runner put the chase on Boat through lapped traffic. As lappers Justin Peck and Tyler Nelson swapped sliders, Boat took matters into his own hands and dove under Nelson in turn three on lap 41 to gain the slightest bit of a separation. Moments later, disaster nearly struck Boat as Shane Cottle spun right in front him between turns three and four. Boat took evasive action and avoided any carnage.
On the restart with 13 laps to go, Boat and Grant lined up nose-to-tail with the lapped car of Nelson as a buffer between third-running Bell. Bell instantly went to work with a turn three slider on Grant for second on lap 44. Grant vetoed that notion and slid past Bell in turn one to retake second. Bell put the tussle to rest in turn three as he dove to the bottom and snared the runner-up position from the March Du Quoin winner.
'Junior Knepper 55' winner Christopher Bell (middle) is joined in victory lane by 2nd place finisher Chase Briscoe (left) and 3rd place Shane Golobic (right).
(Neil Cavanah Photo)
While Bell was attacking, Tyler Courtney was hustling. Courtney had entered the top-three with seven to go after starting shotgun on the field via promoter's option. Things got interesting when one wondered what was in store with Bell and Courtney next to each other after multiple on-track excursions between the two in their qualifying race earlier in the night.
Yet, with five to go, before Courtney was close enough to make a move, the 2017 USAC Most Improved Driver and 2016 "Knepper 55" winner looped his ride in turn one on the cushion, erasing one of the hardest charges witnessed all season.
On the lap 51 restart, Boat went back to the top lane as Bell tucked in on the low line. By the time the two hit the start/finish line at the completion of the lap, the two were in a dead-heat, Polaroid moment with Boat credited as the leader by the narrowest of margins. But Boat's lead wasn't long for this world as Bell roped him in and lassoed the spot for good exiting turn two as Briscoe ducked underneath for second after starting 19th!
"I was pretty much determined to go where he wasn't," Bell surmised. "He was kind of a sitting duck out there. This place, once it gets so far around the top, you can make up time there whenever you can get your momentum built up, but you're so vulnerable, especially on restarts. The door is wide open and it's so easy to throw a slider here. Whenever he opened up the inside like that, I knew I had to take advantage of it."
The duel was now on between the two dirt track stars who stood out in NASCAR's Truck Series this season with the champ (Bell) battling the Rookie of the Year (Briscoe) for Southern Illinois racing supremacy on this night. With two to go, though, Shane Cottle's loose left rear wheel jettisoned toward the turn four wall, necessitating a yellow and setting up one final restart. The position at the front of the field that Boat once found himself in as a "sitting duck" was now occupied by Bell.
"A little bit, but I was in that situation behind Chad too," Bell explains. "I was able to use that and learn from it to know how to be better for the next restarts. It was all up to me to protect the bottom. Whenever I saw Briscoe was behind me, I knew that he was going to run the bottom. At that point in time, I knew I just had to protect."
On the ensuing green, Briscoe was ruled to be out of line, the penalty of which is being docked one spot. That returned Boat to second and relegated Briscoe back to third. When racing resumed, Briscoe quickly got back by Boat, yet Bell remained just out of reach. Bell went the distance, leading the final four laps for a .295 second victory over Briscoe, Shane Golobic (from 20th after spinning at the halfway point), Boat and Grant.
Bell's had midget seasons of glory in the past, including a pair of seven-win campaigns in 2013 and 2014, but this year was simply phenomenal with five wins in eight USAC Midget starts, plus 10 out of 13 across all his combined midget starts. It's a success he attributes to the miles he's trekked in stock cars and trucks that he's been able to translate to his time in the driver's seat of a midget.
"Going to NASCAR has made me a better racecar driver just because it's taught me things I didn't learn here on the dirt," Bell said. "That's something I've been able to find that when you run these really long races, you learn that you don't have to lead lap five. You don't have to lead lap 10. You only have to lead the last lap. That's something I've really tried to apply in midget racing and it seems to have worked."
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USAC MIDGET "SPECIAL EVENT" RACE RESULTS: December 16, 2017 - Du Quoin, Illinois - Southern Illinois Center - "Junior Knepper 55"
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery), 3. Christopher Bell (#21 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Shane Golobic (#17w Clauson-Marshall/Wood), 5. Colten Cottle (#5c Cottle), 6. Joey Moughan (#29 Casson), 7. Kevin Woody, Jr. (#0 Buckwalter), 8. Derek Hagar (#9JR Hagar-Proctor). 1:37.54
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Jody Rosenboom (#14R Rosenboom), 2. Chris R. Andrews (#91A Thomas), 3. Tim Crawley (#4J James), 4. Brian Shirley (#3s Neuman), 5. J.D. Black (#7JR Blackened), 6. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (#17BC Clauson/Marshall), 7. Austin Blair (#3B Neuman), 8. Chase Briscoe (#5 Briscoe). 1:40.09
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Zeb Wise (#39 Clauson/Marshall), 2. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson/Marshall), 3. Tanner Berryhill (#17B Tucker/Boat), 4. Justin Peck (#7K Irwin), 5. Tony Roney (#1T Roney), 6. Kyle Schuett (#9K Schuett), 7. Dylan Peterson (#25p Peterson), 8. Danny Frye, Jr. (#5x Frye). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Parker Price-Miller (#9p PPM), 2. Dillon Welch (#99p PPM), 3. Josh Most (#92m Most), 4. Alex Watson (#3 3W), 5. Alex Schriever (#25s Peterson), 6. Brent Beauchamp (#11 B & B), 7. Terry Babb (#88 Babb), 8. Nick Drake (#55D Cline). NT
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Chad Boat (#84 Tucker/Boat), 2. Trey Marcham (#32 Marcham), 3. Tyler Nelson (#91 Harris), 4. Jake Neuman (#3N Neuman), 5. Gio Scelzi (#7 Clauson/Marshall), 6. Chris L. Andrews (#95 Miller), 7. Clayton Christensen (#1cc Rosenboom), 8. Thomas Meseraull (#66 Amati). NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Justin Grant (#39BC Clauson/Marshall), 2. Tony Bruce Jr. (#18 One Eight), 3. Riley Kreisel (#93K DKR), 4. Daniel Adler (#50 Adler), 5. Jacob Patton (#D33 Davis), 6. Lee Lengel (#21LL Lengel), 7. Tyler Robbins (#35 Robbins), 8. Chris Urish (#77u Casson). NT
SEVENTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Billy Wease (#12w Wease), 2. Mark Chisholm (#56x Fifty6x), 3. Shane Cottle (#1s Saucier/Hmiel), 4. Matt Crafton (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Nick Hamilton (#32x Hamilton), 6. Howard Moore (#41 Chappue), 7. Brad Kraus (#6B Kraus), 8. Don Dawson II (#6D Dawson). NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps) 1. Briscoe, 2. Moughan, 3. Blair, 4. Peterson, 5. Hagar, 6. Meseraull, 7. Moore, 8. Dawson, 9. Drake, 10. Lengel, 11. Kraus, 12. Woody, 13. Robbins, 14. Frye. NT
FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Boat, 2. Wise, 3. Robinson, 4. Kreisel, 5. Price-Miller, 6. Schuett, 7. Scelzi, 8. Crafton, 9. C. Cottle, 10. Wease. 2:08.87
SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Marcham, 2. Welch, 3. Grant, 4. Neuman, 5. Peck, 6. Golobic, 7. C.R. Andrews, 8. Patton, 9. Black. NT
THIRD QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Bell, 2. Crawley, 3. Adler, 4. Bruce, 5. Schriever, 6. Stenhouse, 7. Chisholm, 8. Shirley, 9. C.L. Andrews, 10. Courtney. NT
FOURTH QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Nelson, 2. Roney, 3. Berryhill, 4. S. Cottle, 5. Carrick, 6. Hamilton, 7. Most, 8. Watson, 9. Babb, 10. Rosenboom. NT
B-MAIN #1: (15 laps) 1. Robinson, 2. Crawley, 3. Peck, 4. Briscoe, 5. Kreisel, 6. Blair, 7. Wease, 8. Most, 9. Hagar, 10. Watson, 11. Babb, 12. Shirley, 13. Schriever, 14. Scelzi, 15. Hamilton, 16. Black. NT
B-MAIN #2: (15 laps) 1. Neuman, 2. Berryhill, 3. Stenhouse, 4. Golobic, 5. Chisholm, 6. Patton, 7. Schuett, 8. Meseraull, 9. C. Cottle, 10. C.L. Andrews, 11. Adler, 12. Moughan, 13. Crafton, 14. Peterson, 15. C.R. Andrews, 16. Rosenboom. NT
FEATURE: (55 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Chase Briscoe, 3. Shane Golobic, 4. Chad Boat, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Dillon Welch, 7. Tanner Berryhill, 8. Parker Price-Miller, 9. Tanner Carrick, 10. Tyler Courtney, 11. Tony Bruce Jr., 12. Daniel Robinson, 13. Tim Crawley, 14. Zeb Wise, 15. Trey Marcham, 16. Tyler Nelson, 17. Shane Cottle, 18. Justin Peck, 19. Tony Roney, 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 21. Jake Neuman. NT
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**Christensen flipped during the fifth heat. Urish flipped during the sixth heat. Black flipped during the first B-Main.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Marcham, Laps 18-51 Boat, Laps 52-55 Bell.
WILL YOUTH BE SERVED? SEVEN ASPIRING TEENAGE INDOOR THREE QUARTER MIDGET DRIVERS SET TO CHALLENGE FOR VICTORY AT ALLENTOWN JANUARY 5-6,2018
ALLENTOWN, PA December 15, 2017 . . . Eight talented teenagers are among the 50 TQ Midget competitors who have entered the 2018 Indoor Auto Racing Series fueled by VP that will begin it’s season on Friday and Saturday, January 5th and 6th inside Allentown, Pa.’s PPL Center.
Each of these young drivers are confident of success - despite what is certain to be the toughest competition they will have yet faced in their budding careers.
Local driver Briggs Danner, 16, of Allentown parlayed a Quarter Midget driving career into a fourth place finish in his rookie season at Kutztown’s Action Track, USA in the tough SpeedSTR class. The third generation driver also made his debut this year in the Sportsman division at nearby Grandview Speedway.
Danner, with support from Ironton Telephone, the sponsor of the Allentown Indoor race, will be making his first ever start indoor and in a TQ Midget.
Cerubic Andrew Molleur, at age 15, is even younger. Molleur also graduated from Quarter Midgets. The Shelton, CT high-school student moved into the the asphalt SK Modified division this season at Waterford Speedbowl where he was a three time feature winner and just missed out on the championship.
Tyler Thompson, 17, from Fulton, N.Y., spent the 2017 season racing dirt Sportsman cars throughout New York State and at Canada under the Team Tapout Race Team auspices. Thompson made a late season start at N.J.’s Bridgeport Speedway and was a contender for victory. Thompson’s family has purchased the second of two Jimmy Blewett Lafler chassis cars for hisTQ debut. Thompson was fast in his indoor series debut last January in a Champ Kart inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
Cole Mullen, 17, was a contender for the 2017 ATQMRA Rookie of the Year honors during the outdoor season. The second-generation driver from Brick, N.J. finished one spot behind the top rookie in the tenth spot in the standings. Cole finished one position ahead of his father, Ronnie, who was also an ATQMRA rookie this past year.
The Catalano brothers, Tommy. 19 and Timmy. 17, are third generation runners out of Ontario N.Y. The brothers compete weekly during the outdoor season against their mother Amy in asphalt Modified competition in western New York. Tommy, a regular on the Race of Champions series, won the Spencer and Holland Speedway track championships this season.
Tommy nearly won the 2017 Ironton Telephone Allentown TQ Midget race before settling for a hard earned podium finish. Timmy made his debut in the 2017 Atlantic City event and proved to be a quick study.
Another second generation entrant, Anthony Payne 18. of Fair Lawn, N.J., also has prior Indoor Auto Racing Series experience. As an entrant in the 2017 races, Payne learned the intracacies of driving TQ Midgets on tight concrete courses from his father Joey, an accomplished TQ Midget and Full Size Midget multi-time champion.
The Paynes, father-and-son, are a formidable team. Joey Payne, in fact, is a two-time Indoor Auto Auto Racing Series winner, in the Atlantic City Gambler’s Classic (2004, 2007).
For one of the teenage-sensations to win on the series they’ll have to beat experienced, proven winners including defending series champion Ryan Flores of Mooresville, N.C. who won both events in Allentown last year. Erick Rudolph, whose 2017 Atlantic City win gave the Ransomville, NY driver a series high eight indoor victories can never ben counted out. His win total also includes a win in Allentown the previous season.
Anthony Sesely, three time Atlantic City winner, will return to his own No. 16 full-time this season.
Canadian Super Modified ace Mike Lichty is a former series winner who rejoins the series this year with a brand new car. Tim Buckwalter of Royersford, Pa. comes to Allentown after winning both the SpeedSTR and 600cc Micro Sprint title in 2017 at the Kutztown Action Track.
Top asphalt Modified drivers entered includes local favorites Earl Paules and Zane Zeiner. Nationally known drivers in the field includes Conn. NASCAR stars Ryan Preece, Justin Bonsignore and Keith Rocco as well as New York star Andy Jankowiak.
Preece, a NASCAR Xfinity series winner this year for Joe Gibbs Racing, wlll be driving the same car that was designed and built by Donnie Preece and the late Ted Christopher. It will be repainted white and will carry the same number 6 that Preece for Ed Partridge to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Touring Series car owner title. Bonsignore finished second to the team in the NASCAR standings.
Dirt Modified racing will be well represented as well. New York state DIRTcar drivers Ryan Bartlett, Mike Maresca and Billy Whittaker. New Jersey dirt Modified driver Danny Bouc, a winner at New Egypt Speedway this year, will be moving up indoors from Champ Kart to TQ Midget competition. Mike Iles, a former series winner, will also be full-time in his always sharp No. 711.
The Ironton Telephone Allentown event schedule calls for racing to start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Three Quarter (TQ) Midgets will run a full program of racing with feature events both nights. Champ Karts will be racing in a complete show on Friday night, with the Slingshots on Saturday night.
For choice tickets, contact the PPL Center Box Office by phone at 610-347-TIXX (8499), online at pplcenter.com. Those wishing to avoid online fees may purchased directly at the Box Office, but are encouraged to do so in advacen, the 2016 event was a sell-out.
It is the first of a three-race Indoor Auto Racing Series. The series moves next to the NAPA Auto Parts Indoor Auto Racing Weekend in Atlantic City. For tickets, contact Ticketmaster, the Boardwalk Hall Box Office, or the Area Auto Racing News office at 609-888-3618.
The finale will be a first annual event in New York State, on February 9-10, 2018 in the Times Union Center in downtown Albany, N.Y. For choice tickets, contact the Times Union Center Box Office, charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000, or visit online at ticketmaster.com.
THREE QUARTER MIDGET TEAMS GET READY FOR INDOOR RACING IN ALLENTOWN, PA JANUARY 5-6
Posted by: | CommentsNEWS FROM LEN SAMMONS PRODUCTIONS
2018 INDOOR AUTO RACING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FUELED BY VP RACING FUELS
INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT TRENTON, ALLENTOWN, ATLANTIC CITY AND ALBANY
PROMOTER: Len Sammons (609)888-3618 - MEDIA CONTACT: Ernie Saxton Communications, Inc.
Esaxton144@aol.com – EMAIL ---- 267.934.7286 – Ernie’s CELL PHONE
Release created by Steve Barrick
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THREE QUARTER MIDGET TEAMS, CAR BUILDERS RAMP UP FOR INDOOR SUCCESS: SERIES BEGINS JAN. 5-6 IN ALLENTOWN, PA
ALLENTOWN, PA December 11, 2017 . . . Car owners and Three Quarter (TQ) Midget chassis builders are completing their efforts for the annual Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series Fueled by VP, which kicks off on Friday and Saturday night, January 5th and 6th inside Allentown, Pa.’s PPL Center for the Ironton Telephone sponsored events.
In recent months more new cars have been built and race proven machines stripped and re-engineered than ever before. Every team that doesn’t own a Laffler Chassis, winner of the last three series titles, is out to knock them off the top of the hill.
Heading the list is a new car being built at DART Engineering’s shop in Pipersville, Pa. by BJ McDonald. The car will be driven by Canadian Super Modified standout Mike Lichty.
Lichty, a past TQ Midget winner of Indoor races with the Series, will replace his older, yet tested tough TQ Midget, with the new DART car when he makes his debut with it in Allentown.
The former ISMA champion will then held to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall for the 16th annual NAPA Know How weekend on Friday and Saturday, January 26th and 27th. In his only start with the series last year, Lichty drove a Lou Cicconi owned Laffler Chassis to a fifth place finish at the series finale in Atlantic City so he knows what a Laffler chassis has to offer.
Tim Nye of Troutman, N.C. has built three new cars for the Indoor Auto Racing Series. Two of them will be driven by the Catalano racing brothers, Tommy and Timmy. Nye also has built a new car for his brother Shawn. The three new cars will be powered by 750cc engines while Tim Nye’s older car will continue to go to post with a 600cc motor.
Mark Lafler of Ransomville, N.Y. will be well prepared for the new the competition. Lafler has built nearly 24 cars that have been driven to victory and four Indoor Auto Racing Series championships, three by Lafler’s ‘house car’ driver Erick Rudolph and one last year by Ryan Flores, a Lafler customer. On his route to the title last year, Flores swept both nights in Allentown and Rudolph won the series finale in Atlantic City and the season opener in Trenton.
Lafler will have two of his latest design cars at Allentown, one for Rudolph and another for Joey Payne, who has won two Atlantic City Gamblers’ Classics. While the two new cars are updated models, Lafler has said that the differences in his cars from year to year are subtle, and sometimes, not necessarily desirable, he’s always looking for something new and is not afraid to experiment.
Long time TQ Midget builder Colin Martin has a very fast Spitfire Chassis No. 36 ready for his driver Buddy Sload. The 2016 ATQMRA outdoor series champion was fast at the 2017 indoor series finale in Atlantic City last year and a big outdoor winner outdoors this season.
Lou Cicconi’s No. 75, a car designed for the 2016 series by Super Modified championship car owner/builder John Bodnar, will be driven this year by Tim Buckwalter. This time, Cicconi, has had Clyde Booth, another noted Supermodified builder, revamp the car. The team made its debut outdoors at Wall Stadium’s Turkey Derby at the end of November. It left the track with more design changes planned prior to the indoor opener.
Also in this category is Andrew Krause, the asphalt Modified standout from Holmdel, N.J. Krause originally purchased a Drinan car that has been rebuilt at least twice. He’s got more alterations planned for this year’s competition.
Another strong New Jersey entry will come from Anthony Sesely, a three time winner in Atlantic City. Sesely’s No. 16 will again be his race proven Hyper Micro Sprint entry powered by a 600cc engine, rather than a 750. Dirt Sprint car racer Brett Hichalski of Penndel, Pa. will again be following Sesely’s lead using a Hyper with a 600.
Indoor series regulars from New York state and New England are excited about the first ever series event to be held inside Albany, N.Y.’s Times Union Center. This event, set for Friday and Saturday, February 9th and 10th, will be the series finale.
Always exciting Andy Jankowiak of Buffalo, N.Y. will be returning to run the entire series with a car he built and debuted last year in the series finale. The car was blindingly fast in Atlantic City last year, but engine issues hampered his effort.
“I cut the car apart once after I built it new and cut it apart after last year’s races,” Jankowiak said. “It will be a faster race car this winter.”
Jankowiak’s former ride, the Trey Hoddick home-built No. 49, will be returning with Scott Kreutter as the lead driver. Kreutter was teamed last year with Ted Christopher, an eight time indoor series winner who died in a plane crash in September.
While the new cars and redesigned machines might seem to be favored, two top New Englanders will be driving tried and true machines.
Ryan Preece of Berlin, Conn. will be driving the same car that was designed and built by Donnie Preece and the late Ted Christopher. It will be repainted white and will carry the same No. 6 that Preece has run in the Ed Partridge NASCAR Whelen Modified Touring Series.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, Conn. will be driving the car formerly driven by Ryan Preece. Rocco has never raced a TQ Midget indoors. The car was originally built by DART Engineering, but Preece made many changes to it in recent years.
Chad Jones of Quakertown, Pa. was so happy with the performance of his Shaw built TQ Midget for New Hampshire last year that’s he’s purchased a second one which will act as either a back-up ride, or one for another driver this season.
Other drivers are standing pat with existing cars.
Mike Maresca of Hannawra Falls, N.Y. will be driving his Lafler chassis No. 7. Maresca ran this car for the first time last year, at Atlantic City where he finished 13th. Maresca will have a teammate in Central New York car dealer and fellow DIRTcar series driver Billy Whittaker, who will drive a second Maresca owned Lafler.
Justin Bonsignore of New York’s Long Island, second in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points this season, will be back with his tested Lafler chassis. Pa. drivers Earl Paules, ATQMRA 2017 champion Ryan Tidman, Matt Roselli and Micro Sprint expert Brandon Azzalina will also have Lafler chassis race cars. Asphalt Modified expert Zane Zeiner of Bath, Pa. will be returning in a Lafler chassis he’s been tweaking over the years.
A field of over 50 TQ Midgets will do battle at the Ironton Telephone sponsored Allentown events. The schedule calls for two complete shows of TQ racing starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Champ Karts will be racing in a complete show on Friday night along with the TQs, with the Slingshots joining them on Saturday night’s card.
For choice tickets, contact the PPL Center Box Office by phone at 610-347-TIXX (8499), online at pplcenter.com. The 2016 event was a sell-out.
The series moves next to the NAPA Auto Parts Indoor Auto Racing Weekend in Atlantic City on January 26th and 27th. For tickets, contact Ticketmaster, the Boardwalk Hall Box Office, or the Area Auto Racing News office at 609-888-3618.
The finale will be a first annual event in New York State, on February 9-10, 2018 in the Times Union Center in downtown Albany, N.Y. For choice tickets, contact the Times Union Center Box Office, charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000, or visit online at ticketmaster.com.
My take on the Trenton Race.
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Three abreast parade lap salute to the fans. (WOS Photo)
Lawrenceville, NJ December 3, 2017 ... When I first heard of the Trenton race being on dirt all I could think of was an Arena covered in dust. From the cloth seats to the concourse concessions. But after the pounding of 84 cars over 500 laps from Thursday nights practice, Fridays practice and 14 races and the Saturdays practice, “Alphabet Mains” and feature, there was not even a hint of dust ever during the 3 days of the event. This show was great and could be the start of something big that could outgrow the venue. For those that chose not to go because they didn’t want to get dirty talk to someone who went. Next year mark it on your calendar as a must go to race. You will not be disappointed.
