Archive for November, 2015
Rudolph Turkey Derby Champ Bests ATQMRA Field of 35 cars
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TQ's @ Wall (WoS photo)
Belmar, NJ...... Eric Rudolph from Ransomville, NY was not only good but lucky at the 2015 ATQMRA Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium on Saturday. Rudolph led every lap reroute to pocketing the $1,000 winners share in the Mark Lafler owned Lafler House car in his first outing on Wall's inner oval. Matt Janisch set fast time with Matt Roselli earning a B-Main win. Four of the top finishing cars were disqualified following the race by the ATQMRA Officials for a tread width infraction. Next up for the ATQMRA is a General Membership Meeting this coming Sunday at 10:00 am in Fort Washington, Pa.
Ransomville New York's own Eric Rudolph is an accomplished racer in countless divisions beyond the world of TQ midget racing. He has wins in Modified stock cars on pavement and dirt as well as documented success in TQ midgets indoors. He used his talent as a race car driver coupled with a little luck to earn the thousand dollar winners share at the ATQMRA Turkey Derby. Rudolph drove his way into the redraw by turning the ninth fast lap in qualifications and was lucky enough to pull the number one pill that gave him the pole for the scheduled 30 lap race.
2015 ATQMRA Champion and two time feature winner on Wall's flat track as well as track record holder Buddy Sload charged from his fifth starting position to third on the initial race start. Sload worked his way into second by lap five to challenge Rudolph for the lead. A lap 7 restart would send Sload flipping entering the first turn ending his day. Sload was shaken but unhurt following the incident.
The incident put Ryan Flores into second. He would dog Rudolph the rest of the way but was unable to take the lead away from the Ransomville flyer. His chances for getting the win were cut short as a result of the race being shortened due to the impending storm front that was moving in.
The TQ midgets haven't had this strong of a field of cars at the annual Turkey Derby at Wall in many years. With 35 cars on hand and only 26 positions open for the feature it set up a situation where some racers were going to be watching the feature. Qualifications for the race were done by way of European style Time trials where 5 groups of seven cars were given four green flag laps to run their fastest lap. The top twelve would go into a redraw and the next 12 would go into the A-main straight up from time. The final two positions would be the top two finishers in the B-Main.
2014 ATQMRA Champion and the winner of that year's Turkey Derby Matt Janisch would set fast time. Janisch would redraw 7th but would be taken off the track as a result of putting down fluid. Matt Roselli who is normally a strong time trailer had a mechanical issue that relegated him to the B-Main which he won followed by Brett Conklin to advance to the A-Main.
In an unfortunate turn of events four of the top running cars were disqualified for a tread width infraction that was found during post race inspection. This put Ryan Susie in second position followed by Anthony Payne moving into a podium finish of third place in his first race on Wall's inner oval. Tom Fraschetta was fourth with perennial ATQMRA Championship contender Ryan Tidman fifth and 2014 ATQMRA Rookie of the year Geoffrey Sutton sixth. Tim Proctor finished seventh followed by ATQMRA regular Shawn McCaughey, Mark Yoder was ninth with Jeff Kot rounding out the top ten.
A follow up meeting to the October 21st Elections meeting is scheduled for Sunday December 6th at 10am. The meeting will be held at the Best Western Ft Washington, 285 Commerce Drive, Fort Washington, PA. It is located right at the exit from the turnpike. An agenda will be sent out by December 1st. The meeting will give all those with an interest in continuing the growth of the ATQMRA an opportunity to voice their opinions about the direction of the organization.
ATQMRA News and Notes:The ATQMRA Turkey Derby was a who's who of indoor three Quarter midget racing with cars and stars that frequent the indoor events put on by the Sammons family each year. Countless wins were represented in the field with Liquid Lou Cicconi racing the car that Ted Christopher used to win numerous indoor feature events. The team battled gremlins in the engine management system all day. ATQMRA and ARDC Veteran Steve Craig made a return to the ranks of the ATQMRA after a several year absence. Joey Payne III made laps on the day in the Bruce Leote 26 car making his first Turkey Derby appearance in TQ competition and also marking the first time he was on track in competition with his father Joey Jr. and brother Anthony.
ATQMRA Turkey Derby 2015 Results
1. Eric Rudolph $1,000 2. 38 Ryan Susie 3. 45 Anthony Payne 4. 57 Tom Fraschetta 5. 1B Ryan Tidman 6. 46 Geoffrey Sutton 7. 98x Tim Proctor 8. 17v Shawn McCaughey 9. 75y Mark Yoder 10. 95 Jeff Kot 11. 15a Avery Stoehr 12. 27 Mark Rogers 13. 98 Matt Roselli 14. 11 Steve Whitt 15. 64 Brett Conklin 16. 16 Buddy Sload 17. 17 Pat VanVarick 18. 48 Matt Janisch 19. 55 Steve Craig 20. 71 Chris Allen 21. 75 Lou Cicconi 22. 73B Brett Michalski
DQ 15 Ryan Flores 5 Joey Payne 9 Jonathon Reid 07 Patrick Emerling
48 Matt Janisch set fast time
B-Main 1. 98 Matt Roselli 2. 64 Brett Conklin 3. 66 Rob Vivona 4. 39 Ron Mullen 5. 65 Mike Occhopinti 6. 26 Joey Payne III 7. 49 BJ MacDonald 8. F8 Mike Glaser 9. 33 Brianna Page
PREECE AND BLEWETT ARE WALL TURKEY DERBY MOD CHAMPS
Posted by: | CommentsWALL TOWNSHIP, N.J.--- During a weekend that offered as many slow speed track drying laps by safety vehicles and a jet dryer as it did high speed laps by powerful racecars Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct. and Jimmy Blewett of Howell were crowned Modified champions during the 42nd Turkey Derby stock car classic at Wall Stadium. Despite the fact that the third mile paved oval had to be dried on Friday morning, Saturday morning, late Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning all racing events were completed.
In Saturday’s Tour Type Modified 150-lapper Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. led early until slipping into the pit area for tires. Holmdel’s Andrew Krause was then the leader before Dave Sapienza of Riverhead, N.Y. took over the top spot.
On lap 112 late on Saturday afternoon the rain started falling and it was over two hours before the track could be dried. Sapienza was still the leader when the race restarted but his tires were wearing which allowed Preece to take the lead late in the contest. Matt Hirschman came back from his pit stop for second with Doug Coby of Milford, Ct., Matawan’s Anthony Sesely and Ronnie Silk of Norwalk, Ct. wrapping up the top five.
The Wall/SK Modified 100-lapper was pushed back to Sunday after a late Saturday evening rain shower dampened the track. In the Wall/SK race track champion Steven Reed of Jackson was in control through lap 80 when worn tires forced him to spin. Derek Hopkinson of Toms River then moved to the front before Blewett, now an eight-time Turkey Derby winner, took over the lead in the final ten laps.
Blewett then powered to the win with Hirschman posting his second runner-up finish of the weekend. Howell’s Eric Mauriello, Trevor Alspach of Willingboro and Brick’s Shawna Ingraham wrapped up the top five. Reed recovered from a late race pit stop for sixth.
Dirt Modifieds raced in a 50-lapper that saw numerous battles and passes for position. Blewett won this Saturday evening event over Joey Payne, Andrew Krause, Dakota Kessler and Rich Coons.
On Friday afternoon Shannon Mongeau of Manchester won the 50-lapper for the Sportsman cars over Kenny Van Wickle of Manasquan, Andrew Krause, Howell’s Jason Caruso and Holmdel’s Dominic Casola. Mongeau then made it two in a row winning the 40-lap main event for the Factory Stocks. Union’s Joey Helberg, Joe Mongeau of Brick, Rob McCormick and Scott Riggleman wrapped up the top five.
Mike Alcaro of Milford won Friday’s 30-lapper for the Legend Cars over Brad VanHouten, Devin O’Connell, Kyle Ellwood and Joe Ryan Osborne. Also on Friday Brick’s Robert Sutphin won a 40-lap 4 Cylinder Stock race with Howell’s Darren Burdge, Brian Osborne of Brick, Mike Wahl and Christian LaCicero wrapping up the top five.
In a 50-lap Limited Late Model race that was pushed to Sunday by wet weather Shanon Mongeau took his third win of the weekend after a tooth and nail battle with former champion Brian Doyle. Brick’s Marc Rogers, Ray Minieri, John Kopf and Dave Hunt were second through fifth at the finish line.
Also on Sunday Joe Mongeau of Brick won the 50-lap Factory Stock main event over Joey Helberg, Shanon Mongeau, Marty Van Druten and Lee Allen. Brick’s Robert Sutphin won Sunday’s 70-lap 4 Cylinder Stock feature over Darren Burdge, Ronnie Mullen, Chris Thomas and Todd Dige. Sunday’s 20-lapper for the Legend Cars was won by Kyle Ellwood with Kevin Nowak, Brian Kelly, Joe Ryan Osborne and Brendon Bock wrapping up the top five.
Eric Rudolph won the main event for the Three Quarter Midgets.
Wall Stadium Speedway officials are now working on the 2016 schedule with an opening date planned for spring. The speedway is located on Route 34 in Wall Township, N.J., just one mile north of Garden State Parkway exit 98 and Interstate 195 exit 35B. The speedway hotline number is 732-681-6400 and email address is CKMotorsports@aol.com.
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TOUR TYPE MODIFIED – 150 Laps – 1. RYAN PREECE, BERLIN, CT., 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Doug Coby, 4. Anthony Sesely, 5. Ronnie Silk, 6. Steven Reed, 7. Andrew Krause, 8. Shaun Carrig, 9. Brian DeFebo, 10. Austin Kochenash, 11. Woody Pitkat, 12. Dave Sapienza, 13. Max Zachem, 14. Eric Kocher, 15. Cory Midgett, 16. Joey Payne, 17. Keith Rocco, 18. Jimmy Blewett, 19. Jason Treat, 20. Andy Jankowiak, 21. Danny Bohn, 22. Zack Alspach, 23. Shawna Ingraham, 24. Les Hinckley, 25. Eric Mauriello
WALL/SK MODIFIED – 100 Laps – 1. JIMMY BLEWETT, HOWELL, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Eric Mauriello, 4. Trevor Alspach, 5. Shawna Ingraham. 6. Steven Reed, 7. Jason Hearne, 8. Shaun Carrig, 9. Jonathan Mandato, 10. Danny Bohn, 11. Chris Lane, 12. Jason Treat, 13. Justin Gumley, 14. Dom Fattaruso, 15. Michael Gervais, 16. Chas Okerson, 17. Chris Reynolds, 18. Derek Hopkinson, 19. Ken Matlach, 20. Andrew Krause, 21. Zack Alspach, 22. Adam LaCicero, 23. Anthony Sesely, 24. Ron Frees
DIRT MODIFIED – 50 Laps – 1. JIMMY BLEWETT, HOWELL, 2. Joey Payne, 3. Andrew Krause, 4. Dakota Kessler, 5. Rich Coons, 6. Aleia Geisler, 7. Mickey Kessler, 8. Ricky Ross, 9. Jack Ely, 10. Chuck Stone, 11. Jeff Richardson, 12. Bill Briggs, 13. Jason Kosch, 14. Scott Adams, 15. Rick Yetter, 16. Jeff Parker, 17. John Cook, 18 Jeff Sargent
SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 50 Laps – 1. SHANON MONGEAU, MANCHESTER, 2. Kenny Van Wickle, 3. Andrew Krause, 4. Jason Caruso, 5. Dominic Casola, 6. Tyler Truex, 7. Eric Lane, 8. Jarrett DeGiantomasso, 9. Chris Owsik, 10. Robbie Walton, 11. Roland DeMartino, 12. Robert Sutphin, 13. Trevor Alspach, 14. Joe King, 15. Ray Fattaruso, 16. Matt Langbein, 17. Larry Thompson, 18. Scott Brannick, 19. Mike Smith, 20. Rob Silver, 21. Dakota Kessler
1ST FACTORY STOCK FEATURE – 40 Laps – 1. SHANON MONGEAU, MANCHESTER, 2. Joey Helberg, 3. Joe Mongeau, 4. Rob McCormick, 5. Scott Riggleman, 6. Gerry Koenig, 7. Mike Montano, 8. Josh Matthews, 9. AJ Jadacki, 10. Ronnie Mullen, 11. Scott Sipe, 12. Whitey Miller, 13. Tim O’Shea, 14. Bill Stockert, 15. Jason Lane, 16. Tom Rajkowski, 17. Tony Bartone, 18. Animal, 19. Ron Booth, 20. Marty Van Druten, 21. Scott Maher, 22. Lee Allen, 23. Dan Springfield, 24. Brian Brown
2ND FACTORY STOCK FEATURE – 50 Laps – 1. JOE MONGEAU, BRICK, 2. Helberg, 3. Shanon Mongeau, 4. Marty Van Druten, 5. Lee Allen, 6. Mike Montano, 7. Gerry Koenig, 8. Josh Matthews, 9. Neil Rutt, 10. Ron Booth, 11. Whitey Miller, 12. Scott Sipe, 13. Jason Lane, 14. Tom Rajkowski, 15. Matt Badessa, 16. Eric Finkbein, 17. Ronnie Mullen, 18. Tim O’Shea, 19. Bill Stockert, 20. Aaron Leinemann, 21. Brian Brown, 22. Rob McCormick, 23. Scott Riggleman, 24. Scott Maher
1ST 4 CYLINDER STOCK FEATURE – 40 Laps – 1. ROBERT SUTPHIN, BRICK, 2. Darren Burdge, 3. Brian Osborne, 4. Mike Wahl, 5. Christian LaCicero, 6. Jeff Ackerman, 7. Ray Herman, 8. Todd Pilla, 9. Randy Hart, 10. Mike Lavery, 11. Chuck McDonald, 12. Lance Barthelemy, 13. Darianne McLaren, 14. Cody Mount, 15. TJ Graves, 16. Jason Lane, 17. Ronnie Mullen, 18. Matt Wahl, 19. Fred Cannock, 20. JC Duvall
2ND 4 CYLINDER STOCK FEATURE – 70 Laps – 1. ROBERT SUTPHIN, BRICK, 2. Darren Burdge, 3. Ronnie Mullen, 4. Chris Thomas, 5. Todd Dige, 6. Mike Lavery, 7. TJ Graves, 8. Fred Cannock, 9. Matt Wahl, 10. Ray Hernan, 11. Darianne McLaren, 12. Jeff Ackerman, 13. Brian Osborne, 14. JC Duvall, 15. Chuck McDonald, 16. Rich Massaro, 17. James White, 18. Cody Mount, 19. Jason Lane
1ST LEGEND CARS FEATURE – 30 Laps – 1. MIKE ALCARO, MILFORD, 2. Brad VanHouton, 3. Devin O’Connell, 4. Kyle Ellwood, 5. Joe Ryan Osborne, 6. Mitchell Dowd, 7. Rich Davidowitz, 8. Robert French, 9. Kevin Nowak, 10. Jim Sylvester, 11. Vinny Delaney, 12. Todd McCollum, 13. Gillian Kirkpatrick, 14. Greg Harris, 15. James Van Wickle, 16. Josh Andrews, 17. Don Deibert, 18. Casey Robicheau, 19. Luck Marzano, 20. Lowbed Johnson, 21. Vinny Colletti, 22. Chris Gall, 23. Brendon Bock, 24. Kyle Dealaman
2ND LEGEND CARS FEATURE – 20 Laps – 1. Kyle Ellwood, 2. Kevin Nowak, 3. Brian Kelly, 4. Joe Ryan Osborne, 5. Brendon Bock, 6. Kyle Dealaman, 7. Greg Harris, 8. John O’Sullivan, 9. Vinny Delaney, 10. Jordan Churchill, 11. Eugene Drew, 12. Todd McCollum, 13. Chris Gall, 14. Mitchell Dowd, 15. Steven Woytysiak, 16. Joe Fresco, 17. Jim Sylvester, 18. Devin O’Connell, 19. Rob McCormick, 20. Ricky Collins, 21. Rich Davidowitz, 22. TJ Thompson, 23. Gillian Kirkpatrick, 24. James Van Wickle, 25. Brandon Oltra, 26. Josh Andrews
LIMITED LATE MODEL – 50 Laps – 1. SHANON MONGEAU, MANCHESTER, 2. Marc Rogers, 3. Ray Minieri, 4. John Kopf, 5. Dave Hunt, 6. Chris Turbush, 7. Brian Doyle, 8. Mike Tillett, 9. John Parker, 10. Brandon Turbush, 11. Rob McCormick, 12. Jim Moorman, 13. Bill Frisbie, Jr., 14. Howie Conk, 15. Wayne Coury, 16. Brian Midgett, 17. Dave Roys, 18. Daryn Miller, 19. Tom Catanzaro, 20. Chris Halstead, 21. James White, 22. Greg Miranda, 23. Greg Gastelu.
MODIFIED STOCK CAR LEGEND WILL CAGLE ENTERS IRONTON TELPHONE INDOOR RACE
Posted by: | CommentsNEWS FROM LEN SAMMONS MOTORSPORTS PRODUCTIONS
INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT ALLENTOWN, ATLANTIC CITY AND TRENTON
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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IRONTON TELEPHONE SIGNS ON AS TITLE SPONSOR OF INAUGURAL ALLENTOWN INDOOR AUTO RACE; PLANS FOR TWO CAR TEAM LEAD BY VETERAN DRIVER WILL CAGLE
ALLENTOWN, PA – Ironton Telephone Company with Avaya has signed to become the title sponsor of the inaugural running of the Allentown Indoor Auto Race to be held at the PPL Center on January 2, 2015 in Allentown, PA.
In addition to Ironton’s title sponsorship, company executive Rick Harring has decided to field a two-car Three Quarter (TQ) Midget team for the race bearing his firm’s name. The drivers named are versatile auto racing legend Will Cagle of Tampa, Florida and SpeedSTR, Late Model and Legends driver Steven Nederostek, of Walnutport, Pa.
Known as ‘The Tampa Terror’ during his four decades of racing Modifieds in the northeast, Cagle, 77, last drove in competition in 2012, in a Legends car.
Cagle counts among the many tracks where he has won features as the Allentown Fairgrounds, in 1966.
“I got the jump on Frankie Schneider on a restart,” Cagle said. “I knew he was mad that I got by him so I had to pull away so he wouldn’t spin me.”
Nederostek, an accomplished Legends and Dirt Late Model driver, dedicated most of his racing attention this past year to weekly competition in a SpeedSTR at the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
The excitement surrounding the Ironton Telephone Allentown Indoor Race continues to ramp up with the addition of Cagle and Nederostek to the entry list, now at capacity with 80 drivers registered to compete in the one-day event.
Tickets available at www.pplcenter.com are selling a rapid pace and those looking for premium front row or lower level reserved seats are urged to purchase tickets now before they sell out.
In addition to the support Ironton Telephones, Future Homes has signed on as a presenting sponsors of the inaugural event. With additional support coming from associate sponsors All American Property Maintenance and Bob Hilbert Sportswear.
Ironton Telephone Company, is a reliable telecommunications staple that has served in the Lehigh Valley since 1909. Avaya is a recognized innovator and leading global provider of solutions for customer and team engagement.
Tickets for the event are selling at a rapid pace and available exclusively through PPLCenter online, by phone at 610-347-TIXX, or in person at the Mealey’s Furniture Box Office located on 7th & Hamilton St. at PPL Center.
When the green flag drops, the powerful open-wheel Three Quarter (TQ) Midgets with drivers from throughout the Northeast and Canada competing will be the headline division. Slingshots, identically built cars that resemble Modified stock cars, will also compete in the one-day event.
The Allentown event is the first race of the race Indoor Racing Series fueled by VP Racing Fuels planned for this winter. Following the inaugural event in Allentown the series will head to Atlantic City, NJ on January 29 and 30th for the 14th running the NAPA AUTO PARTS Gambler’s Classic and conclude with the 3rd Annual Battle of Trenton on February 26 & 27 at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ.
LSMP is currently seeking additional marketing partners for this exciting first time event. Contact 609-888-3618 or visit www.aarn.com for more information.
ERNIE SAXTON COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Public Relations, Sponsorship Consultant
Journalist - Announcer - Publisher
www.saxtonsponsormarket.com
215.752.7797 & 267.934.7286
Esaxton144@aol.com
CLAUSON STOPS NATIONAL CHAMPION BALLOU FOR WESTERN WORLD CROWN
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The United States Auto Club.
AMSOIL USAC SPRINT CAR NATIONAL & CRA CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 21, 2015 - Tucson, Arizona - USA Raceway - "Western World Championships"
Tucson, Arizona…….In a duel for the ages in Saturday night’s 48th “Western World Championship” at USA Raceway, Bryan Clauson held off AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Robert Ballou for the season-ending victory. The pair of 26-year-olds swapped the lead with less than ten laps to go, and Clauson held off a last-corner slider attempt from Ballou for the .753-second win in the B&H Contractors – Dooling Machine #63 Spike/Fisher.
“It was a lot of fun to race like that. I thought once he got out front, it would be tough to do anything, but as the top got a bigger ledge and we got into traffic, our car being so maneuverable helped get us into the battle. We cleared him at one point and he got back around us, and we were just battling for every inch, and I think he biked up there and I was able to get away. Towards the end, I was just trying to do things different and not give him a clean look, and keep lapped cars in the way so he couldn’t do much with us. You’ve got to be smart and not make mistakes if you want to beat a guy like him. My car owners Joe Dooling and Brodie Hayward obviously did a great job putting this together, and I have to thank my dad (Tim) and Tyler Ransbottom for all their work, and Mike Martin for loaning us this engine we’ve used the past four races,” Clauson said.
Tracy Hines, making his final start as a full-time National Sprint Car competitor, led from the pole before Dave Darland circled him for the lead on lap two. The next lap, Kevin Thomas, Jr. slowed with a flat left-rear tire, bringing out the first caution.
On the restart, Ballou and Brady Bacon blitzed Hines for the second and third spots, with Bacon tracing the bottom berm through turns three and four. On lap four, Danny Faria, Jr. flipped in turn-two to bring out a red flag. Before the race resumed, Thomas Meseraull retired to the infield after going from 17th to 10th in the first three laps.
Once the race resumed, Ballou started to pressure Darland for the lead, while Clauson used a turn-one slider to take fourth from Hines on lap six. Two laps later, he used a slider on the opposite end to take third from Bacon.
Meanwhile, Ballou was using the bottom to work underneath Darland for the lead by .041 seconds on lap nine, using his head of steam to slide up in front of him as they hit turn one. By lap 13, Clauson had caught Darland for second and tried to beat him into turn-one, but had to fall in behind him.
Just a lap later, Clauson used the bottom of turn-four to move in front of Darland for the second spot and set his sights on Ballou. The leader hit traffic on lap 17 and Clauson was closing. With Ballou bottled in up high, Clauson nailed the bottom on lap 19 to edge in front by .059 seconds at the line. It remained close as they both negotiated traffic with Clauson sticking more to the bottom and Ballou using the top.
Ballou got his lead back on lap 21 and appeared to again be in control, running the top to work through slower cars. Clauson hung right there, though, and capitalized on lap 24 when Ballou caught the turn-two cushion and bicycled. Ballou would not go quietly, and came storming back at Clauson. He attacked the cushion and closed to just a car length at the end of lap 27.
Clauson used traffic over the final few laps to try to keep Ballou behind him, but Ballou had a run and went to the bottom on the final lap with a chance to shoot underneath with the lead. He clipped the berm on exit of turn-two as Clauson shot off the cushion and down the backstretch, clearing Ballou’s final attempt with ease on his way to the third win of the season and 34th of his decorated career.
Ballou, who started the night by peeling off the “2” decals from his car to just run the #1, was obviously dejected after his second-place run but celebrated his first USAC championship after an incredible season in the Pacific Grass & Turf – Blakesley Auto Maxim/Ott.
“It’s really been an unbelievable ride. I never would have thought we could have accomplished what we have. Obviously, it’s frustrating to be so close to that fourteenth win (to tie the all-time single-season record set by Tom Bigelow), but we just got beat by an incredible race car driver in Bryan Clauson. This year has been something that’s come from years of work and struggle. I’m really proud of Derrick Bye and myself for getting our program to this point, and I again have to thank all the people who have helped in any way to get us here,” said Ballou, who finished with 13 wins, 26 top-fives, and 35 top-tens in 39 events this season, while leading 226 laps in feature competition.
2014 National Sprint Car Champion Brady Bacon rounded out the podium in the Hoffman Auto Racing – Mean Green #69 Triple X/Williams Mopar.
“We got a great track for tonight’s feature – it just got better every night, really. We were able to work our way forward but just didn’t have enough to compete with those two for a win. We had a good weekend and finished our season strong, so we’ll try to roll that into next year, and I’m looking forward to getting back with the Hoffmans for another one,” Bacon said.
Darland wound up fourth in the Phillips/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Trench Shoring #71P DRC/Foxco, and Richard Vander Weerd in the Vander Weerd Construction – Stone Gate Development #10 Maxim/Shark.
Damion Gardner finished 12th and completed his third USAC/CRA Series championship.
“This was a tough season, especially after last season was basically a dream with winning so many races and not having many bumps in the road. I’ve never been one to wish a season over, but I really just wanted to win this championship and have it done. We lost my good buddy Jeff Stich this year, and it’s definitely not the same without him, but I’m glad we were able to come from behind and close strong to get this title,” Gardner said.
AMSOIL USAC SPRINT CAR NATIONAL & CRA CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 21, 2015 – Tucson, Arizona – USA Raceway – “Western World Championships”
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (8 laps) 1. Richard Vander Weerd (#10 Vander Weerd), 2. C.J. Leary (#30 Leary), 3. Mike Spencer (#50 Chaffin), 4. Jon Stanbrough (#81 Stanbrough), 5. Justin Grant (#5 Baldwin), 6. Chad Boespflug (#04G Cook), 7. Austin Williams (#2 Jory), 8. Nick Parker (#94 Morales). NT
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (8 laps) 1. Chase Stockon (#32 32/TBI), 2. R.J. Johnson (#51 Martin), 3. Ryan Bernal (#56 Phulps), 4. Danny Faria, Jr. (#17v Bowman), 5. Jake Swanson (#92 Sertich), 6. Brady Short (#19 Underwood), 7. Logan Williams (#5x Jory), 8. Robert Bell (#71 Bell). NT
THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (8 laps) 1. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#20N Nolen), 2. Chris Windom (#21x Pollock), 3. Thomas Meseraull (#66 Amati), 4. Matt Rossi (#02 Rossi), 5. Brody Roa (#48 Leonard), 6. Cody Williams (#44 Jory), 7. Mike Martin (#16 Martin), 8. Colby Copeland (#74 Williams). NT
DASH: (6 laps) 1. Tracy Hines (#4 THR), 2. Dave Darland (#71p Phillips/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Robert Ballou (#1 Ballou), 4. Aaron Farney (#15F Farney), 5. Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics), 6. Bryan Clauson (#63 Dooling/Hayward), 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#17RW Dutcher), 8. Damion Gardner (#4x Alexander). NT
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Stanbrough, 2. Short, 3. Faria, 4. Roa, 5. Grant, 6. Swanson, 7. Boespflug, 8. Rossi, 9. A. Williams, 10. Copeland, 11. L. Williams, 12. Bell, 13. C. Williams, 14. Martin. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Richard Vander Weerd, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Jerry Coons, Jr., 10. Chris Windom, 11. Ryan Bernal, 12. Damion Gardner, 13. R.J. Johnson, 14. Brody Roa, 15. Chase Stockon, 16. Brady Short, 17. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Aaron Farney, 20. Mike Spencer, 21. Austin Williams, 22. Jake Swanson, 23. Thomas Meseraull, 24. Danny Faria, Jr. NT
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**Parker flipped during the first qualifying race. C. Williams flipped during the semi. Faria flipped on lap 4 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Hines, Laps 2-8 Darland, Laps 9-18 Ballou, Laps 19-20 Clauson, Laps 21-23 Ballou, Laps 24-30 Clauson.
FINAL AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT POINTS: 1-Ballou-2274, 2-Darland-2187, 3-Stockon-2092, 4-Bacon-2085, 5-Stanbrough-1788, 6-Thomas-1771, 7-Windom-1602, 8-Leary-1494, 9-Hines-1483, 10-Grant-1282.
FINAL AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: 1-D. Gardner-1358, 2-R. Vander Weerd-1292, 3-Spencer-1276, 4-Swanson-1083, 5-A. Williams-1059, 6-Roa-1040, 7-Matt Mitchell-799, 8-C. Williams-787, 9-L. Williams-678, 10-Bernal-661.
BACON BOLTS TO WESTERN WORLD NIGHT 2 WIN; 100TH USAC NATIONAL VICTORY FOR HOFFMANS
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
Tucson, Arizona.......Brady Bacon capped Friday's "Western World Championships" preliminary night at USA Raceway with his seventh win of the season in AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition. The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driver took charge just past halfway and held off Bryan Clauson to win by .377-seconds, making it the 100th USAC National feature victory for his Dynamics, Inc. - Hoffman Auto Racing team.
Matt Rossi got the jump from the pole and led Tracy Hines early in the 30-lapper. Hines started to get a rhythm using the bottom after a few laps and reeled in Rossi. Hines crossed just behind Rossi on lap eight, but Rossi was still up to the challenge running the high side. The race's only stoppage came on lap ten when Cody Williams flipped in turn four. He was unhurt.
Hines was on the attack at the restart, nailing the bottom through turns one and two to edge past Rossi and into the lead at the end of lap ten, but Rossi would not go away easily as he hammered the high side to shoot back past Hines for the lead. Meanwhile, Robert Ballou was looking to sew up his National Championship after having problems early in the night and starting 17th. He worked into the top-ten at lap twelve.
On lap thirteen, Rossi jumped the cushion between turns three and four just as Bacon snuck under Hines for the second spot. Rossi recovered momentarily, but Bacon was hot on his trail, flashing less than a car length back on lap sixteen.
Bacon went to the lead on lap 17, and just two laps later Clauson worked past Rossi, as well, as Hines, Kevin Thomas, Jr., and Dave Darland were also coming fast. Ballou was running them down as he passed Rossi for seventh with less than ten laps to go.
Up front, Clauson had caught Bacon but lost a little ground as he had to work to the outside of a lapped car. He came charging again on the white flag lap and had a clear lane on the bottom of turns one and two on the final lap, but Bacon ran the cushion to hold him off and move into a tie for 29th all-time with his 15th career win in the Hoffman Auto Racing - Mean Green #69 Triple X/Williams Mopar.
"Getting 100 wins and ten championships, it's cool to be in the seat and get those milestones for them. It's an honor to drive their car. I didn't know what was gonna happen with those two up front, so I had to take my time. The top was curby and it was hard to carry speed, but we were able to roll the bottom to get to the front. I tried to keep a decent pace through lapped cars and didn't really make any big mistakes. I knew somebody had to be close back there, and if you messed up, it was gonna be a big effect," Bacon said.
Clauson improved one spot from opening night and finished second in the B&H Contractors - Dooling Machine #63 Spike/Fisher.
"It was gonna be tough to complete anything there at the end. I could maintain through one and two, but he was a bit better up top. He was good enough on the other end to take the lane up. Track position was the biggest hindrance for us, and he just didn't make any mistakes at all. I had to slow up just a bit too much on entry to one on the last lap to have a shot at him. I felt like we were a tick better, but he wasn't gonna give us a chance to take it," Clauson said.
Hines continued his strong West Coast trip with a podium finish aboard his The Carolina Nut Company - MPHG Promotions #4 DRC/Stanton Chevy.
"I knew what the Hoffmans had on the 69 car, and I knew pretty early that we weren't quite gonna be tight enough. We went a little safe just in case we were gonna have to run the cushion. We're solid and locked in for tomorrow, so we'll see what happens with our last race. I feel better now and am not hurting now after the injuries in the middle of the season, and there's no braces or anything while I'm racing, and we're back to running well again," Hines said.
Ballou's incredible run from 17th ended with a fourth-place finish for the Pacific Turf & Grass - Blakesley Auto #12 Maxim/Ott, and the Rocklin, California driver will clinch the AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship on Saturday. Kevin Thomas, Jr. rounded out the top-five in the Griffin's Propane - Bakken Concrete #17RW Maxim/Fisher.
Damion Gardner finished tenth and will also celebrate a championship on Saturday, as he takes another USAC/CRA Sprint Car title.
Bacon, Clauson, Hines, Ballou, Darland, Thomas, Gardner, and Aaron Farney are locked into Saturday's dash to determine to first four rows of the night's 40-lap championship feature.
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AMSOIL USAC SPRINT CAR NATIONAL & CRA CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 20, 2015 - Tucson, Arizona - USA Raceway - "Western World Championships"
QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Stockon, 32, 32/TBI-15.446; 2. Bryan Clauson, 63, Dooling/Hayward-15.627; 3. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-15.691; 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 17RW, Dutcher-15.715; 5. Dave Darland, 71p, Phillips/Curb-Agajanian-15.717; 6. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.719; 7. Tracy Hines, 4, THR-15.294-15.802; 8. Jerry Coons, Jr., 20N, Nolen-15.835; 9. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-15.836; 10. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-15.854; 11. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-15.911; 12. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-15.968; 13. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-15.993; 14. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-15.996; 15. Justin Grant, 5, Baldwin-16.003; 16. Chris Windom, 21x, Pollock-16.025; 17. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-16.026; 18. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.044; 19. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.059; 20. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.085; 21. Brady Short, 19, Underwood-16.109; 22. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.141; 23. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.167; 24. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-16.178; 25. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-16.191; 26. Casey Shuman, 42, Cheney-16.197; 27. Danny Faria, Jr., 17v, Bowman-16.197; 28. Logan Williams, 5x, Jory-16.206; 29. Chad Boespflug, 04G, Cook-16.334; 30. Brody Roa, 48, Leonard-16.476; 31. Colby Copeland, 74, Williams-16.588; 32. Nick Parker, 94, Morales-16.761; 33. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-17.252.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Bernal, 2. Darland, 3. Rossi, 4. Stockon, 5. Short, 6. C. Williams, 7. Faria, 8. Roa. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Vander Weerd, 2. Swanson, 3. Bacon, 4. Clauson, 5. Spencer, 6. Copeland, 7. Hodges, 8. Shuman. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. A. Williams, 2. Leary, 3. Gardner, 4. Hines, 5. Grant, 6. Farney, 7. L. Williams, 8. Parker. NT
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Ballou, 2. Windom, 3. Johnson, 4. Stanbrough, 5. Boespflug, 6. Thomas, 7. Coons, 8. Bell. NT
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Thomas, 2. Farney, 3. Coons, 4. Spencer, 5. Grant, 6. Boespflug, 7. Faria, 8. L. Williams, 9. Roa, 10. Short, 11. Copeland, 12. Parker, 13. C. Williams, 14. Bell. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 6. Dave Darland, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Jerry Coons, Jr., 9. Aaron Farney, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Richard Vander Weerd, 13. Matt Rossi, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Mike Spencer, 16. R.J. Johnson, 17. Justin Grant, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Thomas Meseraull, 20. Jake Swanson, 21. Chad Boespflug, 22. Logan Williams, 23. Austin Williams, 24. Cody Williams, 25. Ryan Bernal. NT
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**Hodges and Shuman flipped during the second heat. C. Williams flipped on lap 10 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Rossi, Lap 10 Hines, Laps 11-16 Rossi, Laps 17-30 Bacon.
NEW AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT POINTS: 1-Ballou-2217, 2-Darland-2136, 3-Stockon-2069, 4-Bacon-2031, 5-Stanbrough-1771, 6-Thomas-1752, 7-Windom-1569, 8-Leary-1449, 9-Hines-1444, 10-Grant-1240.
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: 1-D. Gardner-1358, 2-Spencer-1263, 3-R. Vander Weerd-1244, 4-Swanson-1070, 5-A. Williams-1046, 6-Roa-1015, 7-Mitchell-799, 8-C. Williams-786, 9-L. Williams-677, 10-Bernal-630.
NEXT AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT RACE: November 21 - USA Raceway - Tucson, Arizona - 48th "Western World Championships"
THE PIT BOARD:
Miscellaneous stats from Thursday night's "Western World Championships" Night 2 at USA Raceway - Tucson, Arizona
**Brady Bacon moved into 29th on all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list with his 15th career series victory. That ties him with Bobby East, Damion Gardner, Cory Kruseman, Jud Larson & Brian Tyler.
**The legendary Hoffman family team won their 100th USAC National feature Friday night (92 Sprint, 7 Silver Crown, 1 Midget). The Hoffman's first USAC National victory came in a 100-lap Midget race at Dayton (OH) Speedway on June 24, 1956 with Eddie Sachs behind the wheel. The Hoffman's first USAC National Sprint Car feature win came on June 18, 1961 at Salem (IN) Speedway with Jim Hemmings driving to victory in the 30-lapper.
**With 7 USAC National wins in 2015, this has been the Hoffman's most successful year racing with USAC, surpassing their previous record of 5 wins set in 1989, 1993, 1995, and 1999.
**Friday night, Brady Bacon became the driver with the most USAC National wins in a Hoffman-owned car with 13, surpassing Tracy Hines and Jerry Coons, Jr. who have won 12.
**Ballou's charge from 20th to 4th made him the hardest charging driver during Friday night's 30-lap feature. He was able to advance the most positions during the feature for the 6th time this season. Ballou has been the "hard charger" in 6 of the last 14 USAC National Sprint Car features.
**Bacon won his 2nd career feature at USA Raceway Friday night after capturing the "Copper on Dirt" USAC/CRA Sprint Car event in March of this year.
**Brady Bacon is having the most winningest season of his USAC National Sprint Car career, scoring 7 features in 2015. His previous most prolific season was his championship season in 2014 in which he won 4 feature events.
**Matt Rossi led the first laps of his career in USAC National Sprint Car competition, taking the lead on two different occasions for a total of 15 laps. Rossi was the 2014 "Western World" Sprint Car feature winner when it was a USAC Southwest/West Coast event.
**The winners of the last 6 "Western World" sprint car features were at the forefront of Friday night's feature. 2014 winner, Matt Rossi, led 15 laps. 2009 & 2010 winner Brady Bacon was Friday night's winner while 2012 & 2013 winner Bryan Clauson finished 2nd and 2011 winner Tracy Hines finished 3rd.
**Tracy Hines led his first lap in a USAC National Sprint Car feature since the April 26th event at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
**Chase Stockon earned his 8th ProSource fast qualifying time of the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car season Friday night at USA Raceway. The achievement clinched a $2,500 bonus for posting the most fast qualifying times in USAC National competition throughout the 2015 season.
**All four heat race winners on Friday night are natives of California: Ryan Bernal (Hollister), Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia), Austin Williams (Yorba Linda) & Robert Ballou (Rocklin).
**Robert Ballou won his 15th USAC National Sprint Car heat race of the year (ranks 2nd) and Ryan Bernal won his 3rd. Austin Williams and Richard Vander Weerd each won their first National Sprint heat races of 2015.
**Kevin Thomas, Jr. won his 4th semi-feature of the season, placing him in a tie for first with Jon Stanbrough.
LUCKY NUMBER THIRTEEN FOR BALLOU ON WESTERN WORLD OPENING NIGHT
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
Tucson, Arizona.......The dream season for Robert Ballou continued on Thursday night at USA Raceway on the first night of the "Western World Championships." His drive on this night from 14th to win was his biggest charge of the year en route to a win, making it 13 AMSOIL National Sprint Car victories on the season to tie J.J. Yeley's incredible 2003 season for the second-most in history.
"It's definitely been a fun season. I have to thank the people who got me going: my parents and then when they could no longer do it, Dallas Mulvaney and Jim Plew. We have worked really hard to turn this program into something like what J.J. had with Tony Stewart Racing, and it's cool to put up a big number like this. We obviously still have a couple things left to do. So many people have helped us make this happen, and I can't express enough gratitude to all of them, especially Derrick Bye for all of his hard work to keep us going," Ballou said.
Damion Gardner led from the pole and brought third-starting hometown driver Jerry Coons, Jr. along with him, as Bryan Clauson settled into third. Coons cut the bottom underneath Gardner to lead lap two, but all eyes were on Ballou's charge from row seven into the top-five in just a few laps. Ballou used the extreme high side as he carved his way to second, but Coons was way out front.
That changed with the first caution on lap ten, and Ballou restarted right behind Coons. It seemed inevitable that Ballou would make a move for the lead, but Coons was up to the challenge. Ballou biked hard in turn-one on lap 14 and lost a lot of ground, but he was starting to reel Coons in again with ten laps to go.
Behind them, ProSource/Woodland Auto Display "Fast Time Award" winner Brady Bacon was on the move, rolling the high side past Clauson for third at the halfway mark. Up front, Coons was flawless through the first batch of traffic, navigating his way high and low to actually increase his lead over Ballou.
Coons hit some open traffic before catching cars running the high side as he saw the five-to-go signal. With Ballou bearing down, Coons caught the turn-two cushion and glanced into the backstretch wall, setting him sideways before he barrel-rolled down multiple times. Ballou narrowly missed an in-flight Coons, who emerged from the car unscathed.
With six laps to go, Ballou walked away from the field while growing his point lead to 76 in the Pacific Grass & Turf - Blakesley Auto #12 Maxim/Ott.
"We changed just about everything but the driver's seat tonight, and that's only because I own the car. We just had to get me comfortable to run up there where it was a little chop and tough. We worked all through practice night to get better, and we just weren't very good early in the night. Finally, we had ourselves a lane up high early in the race to get up through there. We were fully committed. I'm not sure we could have gotten Jerry, and I really hated to see that happen to him. He ran a great race through traffic," Ballou said.
Bacon held down the second spot in the Hoffman Auto Racing - Mean Green #69 Triple X/Williams Mopar.
"I kinda wanted to see that thing stay in traffic, because I think I was better than them at rolling the bottom when it was necessary, but at the same time I wanted to get out of it as treacherous as it was getting. Robert is so good on a track like that when it's slick up to a rough and nasty cushion. I felt like we were pretty good, but I think we faded just a bit at the end. The track kept getting better, and I see it getting wider and slicker as it goes, so hopefully that plays into our hands," Bacon said.
Clauson started his weekend much like he did last weekend at the Perris Auto Speedway "Oval Nationals," coming home third in the B&H Contractors - Dooling Machine #63 Spike/Fisher.
"We were pretty committed to the bottom, and it's no secret that a big, nasty cushion isn't necessarily my forte. The track actually cleaned up pretty decent up there, though, and Robert obviously found it quick and Jerry got up there pretty quick, too. It wasn't quite as good below the cushion and down to the bottom as it was up top. I knew once those guys got by me, there wasn't a whole lot I could do. I could stay close for a couple, but they just got away from us, but the longer races and the later in the week, we should get better. I haven't ever been real great here, so hopefully we can keep at it and be in it on Saturday," Clauson said.
Thomas Meseraull came home fourth in the Marion Underground Construction - Zeller Construction #66 DRC/Dynotech, and CRA point leader Damion Gardner finished fifth in the Alexander Racing - Scott Sales Company #4 Spike/J&D, making his lead eighty points going into Friday's second preliminary night.
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AMSOIL USAC SPRINT CAR NATIONAL & CRA CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 19, 2015 - Tucson, Arizona - USA Raceway - "Western World Championships"
QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.275 (New Track Record); 2. Tracy Hines, 4, THR-15.294; 3. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-15.386; 4. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-15.421; 5. Jerry Coons, Jr., 20N, Nolen-15.445; 6. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-15.492; 7. Bryan Clauson, 63, Dooling/Hayward-15.516; 8. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-15.524; 9. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-15.600; 10. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-15.617; 11. Chase Stockon, 32, 32/TBI-15.620; 12. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 17RW, Dutcher-15.622; 13. Dave Darland, 71p, Phillips/Curb-Agajanian-15.628; 14. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.650; 15. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.667; 16. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-15.682; 17. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-15.725; 18. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-15.762; 19. Brady Short, 19, Underwood-15.770; 20. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-15.797; 21. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-15.823; 22. Justin Grant, 5, Baldwin-15.828; 23. Brody Roa, 48, Leonard-15.833; 24. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-15.857; 25. Danny Faria, Jr., 17v, Bowman-15.942; 26. Chris Windom, 21x, Pollock-15.999; 27. Chad Boespflug, 04G, Cook-16.007; 28. Casey Shuman, 42, Cheney-16.015; 29. Colby Copeland, 74, Williams-16.023; 30. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-16.041; 31. Nick Parker, 94, Morales-16.144; 32. Logan Williams, 5x, Jory-16.164; 33. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.408; 34. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-17.002.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Stanbrough, 2. Darland, 3. Bacon, 4. Coons, 5. Vander Weerd, 6. Hodges, 7. Faria, 8. Swanson, 9. A. Williams. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Ballou, 2. Hines, 3. Rossi, 4. Spencer, 5. Grant, 6. Windom, 7. Johnson, 8. C. Williams, 9. Bell. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Clauson, 2. Meseraull, 3. Leary, 4. Roa, 5. Boespflug, 6. Parker, 7. Stockon, 8. Short. NT
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Hodges, 2. Bernal, 3. Thomas, 4. Gardner, 5. Farney, 6. Shuman, 7. Martin, 8. L. Williams. NT
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Farney, 3. Vander Weerd, 4. Windom, 5. Faria, 6. Stockon, 7. Swanson, 8. Shuman, 9. Martin, 10. Parker, 11. A. Williams, 12. C. Williams, 13. L. Williams, 14. Bell, 15. Copeland, 16. Boespflug, 17. Short. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 8. Ryan Bernal, 9. Richard Vander Weerd, 10. C.J. Leary, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Josh Hodges, 13. Danny Faria, Jr., 14. Brody Roa, 15. R.J. Johnson, 16. Matt Rossi, 17. Aaron Farney, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Jake Swanson, 20. Cody Williams, 21. Mike Spencer, 22. Jerry Coons, Jr., 23. Chase Stockon, 24. Chris Windom. NT
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**Swanson went over the turn 3 wall in qualifying. Copeland flipped during the semi. Coons flipped on lap 25 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Gardner, Laps 3-24 Coons, Laps 25-30 Ballou.
NEW AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT POINTS: 1-Ballou-2158, 2-Darland-2082, 3-Stockon-2016, 4-Bacon-1964, 5-Stanbrough-1749, 6-Thomas-1697, 7-Windom-1531, 8-Leary-1417, 9-Hines-1385, 10-Grant-1220.
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: 1-D. Gardner-1319, 2-Spencer-1239, 3-R. Vander Weerd-1207, 4-Swanson-1050, 5-A. Williams-1025, 6-Roa-1014, 7-Mitchell-799, 8-C. Williams-773, 9-L. Williams-664, 10-Bernal-609.
NEXT AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT RACE: November 20 - USA Raceway - Tucson, Arizona - 48th "Western World Championships"
THE PIT BOARD:
Miscellaneous stats from Thursday night's "Western World Championships" Night 1 at USA Raceway - Tucson, Arizona
**Robert Ballou picked up his 13th USAC National Sprint Car feature win of the 2015 season. That ties him with J.J. Yeley (2003) for the 2nd most prolific season in series history. Ballou is just one win away from tying the all-time mark of 14 wins set by Tom Bigelow in 1977.
**Ballou has recently set a new all-time record for winning USAC National Sprint features in nine different states during the season (Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin). The previous record of seven was held by Levi Jones in 2010.
**There is only one state in which the USAC National Sprint Cars have competed at in 2015 that Ballou has not won a feature in: Nebraska.
**Ballou's charge from 14th to 1st on Thursday night at USA Raceway was the furthest back any driver has started and won during the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car season.
**Thursday night marked just the second time this season that the feature's "Hard Charger" who advanced the most positions during the main event, went on to win the feature. The only other instance that has happened this season: Angell Park Speedway on August 9, also won by Robert Ballou.
**It was the 5th time Ballou has advanced the most positions during a feature event, tying him with C.J. Leary for accomplishing this feat the most during the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car season.
**With Ballou's victory, he moves into a 4-way tie for 21st on the all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list with Rickey Hood, Bubby Jones and Sam Sessions.
**13 drivers attempted double-duty Thursday night by racing in both the USAC National/CRA Sprint event as well as the USAC West Coast/Southwest event at USA Raceway. 10 of the 13 drivers pulling double duty made both features with Brady Bacon having the best average finish of 2nd after finishing in the runner-up spot in both features.
**It was the USAC National Sprint Car series' second ever visit to USA Raceway in Tucson. The only other visit for the series was a feature won by Levi Jones on February 21, 2010.
**Ballou's current point lead of 76 points is his largest point margin over 2nd place since August 27 when he held a 94-point advantage.
**Brady Bacon's new one-lap track record during qualifying netted him his 6th fast qualifying time of the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car season, which ranks second in the series behind Chase Stockon's 7.
**Ballou has now led 213 laps on the season, 80 more than his closest competitor: Brady Bacon.
**Ballou won his 14th heat race of the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car season (ranks 2nd), while Jon Stanbrough won his 5th, Bryan Clauson won his 3rd, and Josh Hodges won his 2nd.
**R.J. Johnson won his first USAC National Sprint Car semi-feature of the season.
ALL-STAR FIELD EXPECTED FOR WALL TURKEY DERBY
Posted by: | Comments
Turkey Derby XLII
ALL-STAR FIELD EXPECTED FOR WALL STADIUM TURKEY DERBY
WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. .... If the quality and quantity of race cars at the November 14 Turkey Derby practice and the interest of other Modified stock car drivers can be any indication the 42nd running of the Turkey Derby stock car classic at Wall Stadium Speedway will feature an all-star field. The event is presented on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend and set during the daylight hours.
On hand for the November 14 practice and turning fast times were Tour Type Modified standouts Keith Rocco of Berlin, Ct., Nick Ladyga of Voluntown, Ct., Max Zachem of Preston, Ct., Austin Kochenash and Eric Kocher, both of Danielsville, Pa., Dave Sapienza of Riverhead, N.Y., Howell speedsters Jimmy Blewett and Eric Mauriello, Brick’s Shawna Ingraham and Shaun Carrig of Little Falls. Although not practicing on November 14 hot shoes Anthony Sesely of Matawan, Ryan Preece of Berlin, Ct., Woody Pitkat, Ken Darch, Matt Hirschman, Les Hinckley, David Calabrese, Andy Jankowiak, and Doug Coby of Milford, Ct. have all expressed an interest in entering the 150-lap Tour Type Modified event.
The speedway’s own Downs Ford Modifieds were also well represented at the November 14 test session as newly crowned champion Steven Reed of Jackson, Freehold’s Chas Okerson, Andrew Krause of Holmdel, Ken Matlach of New Hyde Park, N.Y., Zack Alspach of Willingboro, Justin Gumley of Howell, Jason Hearne of New Egypt, Jonathan Mandato of Toms River, Jackson’s Jason Treat, Howell’s Chris Reynolds and Sesely were all turning laps at top speeds preparing for the 100-lap feature.
Among the drivers contemplating entering both Modified races are Blewett, Mauriello, Ingraham, Carrig, Sesely, Hirschman and Alspach.
One more paid practice session will be held this Saturday November 21. Grandstand admission is free for the session, which will run from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Pit area gates will open at 9:00 a.m.
On Friday, November 27, day one of Turkey Derby, pit area gates will open at 6:30 a.m., practice will begin at 8:30 a.m. and grandstand seating will open at 9:30 a.m. Qualifying is set for 12:15 p.m. with feature racing scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. The Snap-on Sportsman cars will compete in a 50-lap main event, the Green Flag Driving Experience Legend Cars will battle in a 30-lapper and the O’Shea’s Auto Repair Factory Stocks and the Green Monster Insulation 4 Cylinder Stocks will each battle in 40-lap races.
On Saturday, November 28, the pit area will again open at 6:30 a.m. with practice at 8:30 a.m. and grandstands opening at 9:30 a.m. Qualifying will start at 11:00 a.m. with main events set for 1:00 p.m. The Tour Type Modifieds are set for a 150-lap, $5,000 to win feature race while the speedway’s Down Ford Modifieds will compete in a 100-lap feature race that also offers $5,000 to the winner. Dirt Modifieds will also be on the Saturday card in a 50-lap feature, as will the Elite Maintenance Limited Late Models and the open cockpit Three Quarter Midgets. The TQ Midgets will race on the inner oval.
The Turkey Derby weekend will then wrap up on Sunday, November 29, with pit gates opening at 10:00 a.m., practice starting at 11:00 a.m., qualifying at noon and main events set for 1:00 p.m. The Legend Cars will be competing in a 40-lapper and the Factory Stocks racing in a 50-lapper. The 4 Cylinder Stocks are set for a 60-lapper on Sunday and Trucks are returning to the speedway for a 25-lap main event. A Demolition Derby will cap off Sunday’s action.
S&D Bodyline is among those offering contingency awards for the weekend as are Driven Racing and Brice’s NAPA Auto Supply. Downs Ford is sponsoring a portion of the Wall Modified purse while lap sponsorships for the weekend are still available by calling the speedway office.
A special commemorative Turkey Derby 42 sweatshirt will be available during the weekend and fans are reminded to bring small headset type radios to listen to the live call of the race events over the track’s 90.1 FM frequency. Campers are welcome but they are urged to call the speedway office prior to the event to make mandatory reservations.
Fans are also reminded that speedway sponsor Woody’s Roadside Tavern in nearby Farmingdale will host the popular Victory Lane Radio program on Friday evening with many of the racing stars stopping by for interviews.
Turkey Derby rules, registration forms, ticket purchase forms and more detailed information are all available on the speedway website at wallspeedwayracing.com.
Wall Stadium Speedway is located on Route 34 in Wall Township, N.J., just one mile north of Garden State Parkway exit 98 and Interstate 195 exit 35B. The speedway hotline number is 732-681-6400 and email address is CKMotorsports@aol.com.
