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“TNT” TIM TANNER GETS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON AT BRIDGEPORT

BRIDGEPORT, NJ... Tim Tanner Jr., of Doylestown PA, won his first victory of the season Saturday night at Bridgeport Speedway, finally breaking the bad-luck streak that has been haunting him this past year. Tanner, who started on the outside pole, grabbed the lead on lap three, and fled quickly from the rest of the field, showing all that he was the man to beat that night. Mike Haggenbottom and Adam Carberry who were putting on a show battling for the runner up spot, finished second and third, while Eddie Wagner and Tommy Carberry rounded out the top five.

“I didn’t really see anybody after Rick Stief, but I was just running as hard as I could, hoping that we could come out on top this time. I just lost my Grandfather last week, and it’s been a real tough time for me,” said an emotional Tanner during his victory lane celebration. “I spent forty years with him, and everyone knows that I started racing here at Bridgeport with him when I was just 18 years old, and the car was just flawless because he was riding in the cockpit with me tonight”.

Rick Stief and Tim Tanner Jr. set the pace for the 20 lap event, and Stief took the initial lead entering the first turn on the bottom, with Tanner entering right alongside him on the top.

“I tried to get around Rick on the outside, but there was just nothing up there, so I said to myself ‘We’re not going to try that again!’ After that I just tried my hardest to get my car to run on bottom, and when the car finally stuck, we were just amazing, it took off like a rocket ship,” stated Tanner about his early exchange for the lead on lap three.

Once the Tanner Bros. Dairy Store number 18 gained control over the top spot, he took off running, increasing his lead by over a straight away over second place running Adam Carberry, who inherited the position from Stief on lap seven. For 9 laps, Tim Tanner ran a smooth, consistent line around the inside perimeter of the race track, keeping a large distance between him and the rest of the field.

“I have never really had the opportunity to lead here at Bridgeport with a Sprint Car, but when the car is out in clean air it just feels so amazing. On Tuesday night, when we ran against the 360’s, we learned some things and we changed the set-up and it seemed to help us out here a lot for tonight,” explained Tanner.

Tim caught up to lapped traffic by the half way point, but even the slower traffic was no threat to Tim, who maneuvered nicely through the field, still maintaining that nice low line around the track. On lap twelve, just passed the half way mark, Zack Burd brought out the first caution after spinning in turn 2.

With the field now bunched back together, Tanner’s massive lead was potentially up for grabs, with hard charging Adam Carberry and Eddie Wagner, a two time victor this season at the 5/8th mile oval, sitting closely behind. Once again however, Tanner took off as the green flag waved, leaving Carberry and Wagner in the dust.

Mike Haggenbottom, who was running in sixth at the time of the caution, advanced two positions on the restart, after dive bombing into turn one, running right through the middle of the race track as all the others went single file into the turn on the bottom.

“We were trying to run the top like we were on Tuesday with the URC car, but that wasn’t working here tonight, so we lost some positions here in the beginning,” explained Haggenbottom. “Finally the yellows started working toward our advantage, and there was something up high going into one and we were able to scoot around everybody up there, and then slip back into line coming off of two”.

Another caution was displayed on lap fourteen for Dave Brown who rolled to a stop on turn four. On the restart, it was like déjà vu, with Tanner taking off and Haggenbottom advancing two more positions, stealing second from Carberry, just as he did to laps before. Carberry did not go without a fight nonetheless, racing Haggenbottom down the back stretch and into turn three with Carberry on the bottom and Haggenbottom running through the middle. The number 24 found some unexpected bite upon exiting turn four that allowed him to pull off the pass, to which he said was “uncharacteristic especially with how dry the track surface was”.

Even with one more caution in the way of Tanner reaching victory lane, it could not stop him from continuing the impeccable performance he was pursuing all throughout the night. When the checkered flags waved, Tim Tanner would take the win over a sixth place starting Mike Haggenbottom who had nothing to pull out of his hat for the winner in the final laps of the event.

“I’d like to thank all of my sponsors, everyone who has stuck by me during the hard times this year,” Tanner said. “All of my sponsors, Tanner Brother’s Dairy Stores, Scarlet Oaks Wholesale Nursery, Champion Tire, Bethman Auto Center, Martelli’s Metal Fabrication, PWD Lubricants, Richboro Beer & Soda, & Adriana’s Italian Restaurant. Everyone chips in at the beginning of the season to help us out and all of my guys that come to the track every week and help me out especially Paul Gold who does all of my engine tuning and adjustments to make this number 18 go fast. I can’t thank everyone enough for all they do”.

Saturday night was the fourth Bethman Auto Center/Champion Tire/Bruce’s Speed Shop/Thayer Performance Poker Series event race. With Tim Tanner winning the race, he was dealt an “Ace” card to go with his three 9’s he earned in previous events before. Mike Haggenbottom received a “King”, and Adam Carberry added a “Queen” card to his hand. The next and last Poker Series event for the TSRS 305 Series will be on Saturday, August 29th. In addition to the winner with the best hand being crowned the Poker Series Champion, Thayer Performance will reward the “lucky” driver with the worst hand, meaning the cards that amount the least valuable, a full set of brand new Hoosier Racing Tires.

The heat race events were won by Keith Anderson and Joe Lord. Bob DeVault, who finished sixth advanced thirteen positions after starting back in nineteenth, won the Bruce’s Auto Body/Thayer Performance Hard Charger award. Along with the $25 cash bonus provided weekly by Bruce’s Auto Body, DeVault earned the TiLube $100 gift certificate courtesy of Thayer Performance.

Feature (20 Laps): Tim Tanner Jr., Michael Haggenbottom, Adam Carberry, Eddie Wagner, Tommy Carberry, Bob DeVault, Ryan Stillwaggon, Joe Lord Jr., Keith Anderson, Zack Burd, Jason Rochelle, Harris Kohen, Joe Kay, Bryant Davis, Pat U’Selis, Rick Stief, Karl Fryer, Dave Brown, Gabe Fox DNS: Samantha Leiberman

#99 Stefanie Palmai (WoS photo)

Bridgeport, NJ..... After six years of trying, Stefanie Palmai of Allentown, NJ won her very first feature event Saturday at Bridgeport Speedway with the Tri-State Racesaver Series.  Palmai, who has been running with the series since the very beginning, has come very close multiple times with visiting victory lane, finishing as the runner up on many occasions in her career.  She led the race wire to wire, out-doing series point leader and three time champion Mike Haggenbottom, third place finishing Jeff Geiges, John Barnett who came in fourth, and Tim Tanner who rounded out the top five.  

There were 17 cars in attendance with Mike Haggenbottom and Adam Carberry winning the two qualifying heat races. This was the second Poker Series event of the season for the 305's which is hosted by Bridgeport Speedway and sponsored by Bethmann Auto Center, Champion Tire, Bruce's Speed Shop and Thayer Performance.  The driver with the "best hand" at the end of the series will receive a cash prize of $900, with the drivers with the second and third best hands receiving $500 & $350 as well. Ken Jones and Gary Thayer of Thayer Performance, which is located in Mercerville, NJ, decided to up the ante for the driver earning the "worst hand" with a reward of a complete set of Hoosier Racing Tires as well as a $100 TiLube product gift certificate to the hard charger of each Poker Series race.   

Rookie John Barnett and Stefanie Palmai started on the front row, with Palmai taking the lead immediately as the green flag waved.  On the move was Mike Haggenbottom, who was up four spots to fifth after starting in ninth on lap one.  
"On the original start, going into two, somebody got together, and it slowed up the first group of cars, and I just had a run around the bottom," says Haggenbottom about his advancement on the first lap.
The first caution was brought out by Bob DeVault Jr.'s number 10, after his car came to a rolling stop in the first turn of lap one.  A second caution was brought out a lap later for Zack Burd who spun in turns one and two.  A single file restart was implemented with Palmai bringing the field to the green once again.  
Stefanie had a strong lead, pulling a straightaway distance away from second place running Jeff Geiges.  Mike Haggenbottom, who was up to third place by lap five worked on Geiges, and exchanged positions with him a lap later.  Haggenbottom, now sitting in second, continued to charge to the front, catching Palmai by the halfway point.  

“I had no idea how far behind anyone was from me, all I kept thinking was nail the restarts,and just keep the car straight,” explains Palmai about her lead.  Stefanie faced a similar situation just two weeks before at Bridgeport, when she led up until the halfway point before Eddie Wagner took the lead from her on a restart. She would end up finishing third in that race.  “The track was drying out quick, and I felt the back end of the car get a little loose sometimes, so I was just focused on making my laps as smooth and straight as possible”.
With track conditions becoming drier and the bottom groove seeming to be the place to run, Haggenbottom continued to chase the leader, but was unsuccessful in attempting to pass Palmai who was running around the very bottom of the race track.

“I did not need the yellows because the car was stumbling real badly on restarts.  It’s tough here when the track gets to be this way,” explained Haggenbottom.  “She had the clean air which was helping her, and at one point she tried to run the top in three and I said to myself ‘Yeah, stay up there!’  But Stef was smart and moved her line back down to the bottom.  She did a really good job at hitting her marks from then on”.  
With no battle in site, and with heavy concentration, Stefanie Palmai took the checkered flag over a “veteran” top five of Haggenbottom, Geiges, Barnett, and Tanner.  
Third place finisher Jeff Geiges, who is a tough competitor of the series, and a driver who also is a “pioneer” TSRS member, won the very first TSRS championship back in 2010 while driving a team car for Tony Pietrofitta along with former teammate and feature winner Stefanie Palmai.

“We started in third tonight, and we had a bit of an incident coming into turn one on the start, and we got shuffled back to seventh but we worked our way back up to third,” says Geiges.  “We’ve been struggling during the beginning of the year so we’re happy that we can be competitive a couple of weeks in a row finally”.  
During her victory lane celebration, Palmai had a lot of fans, family and crew members who joined her in festivities due to her long awaited feature win.  

“This is a really memorable win for me, because it’s not only my first win, but for the first time, I didn’t make my same mistake of losing the race on a restart. It feels especially cool that I beat Mike Haggenbottom who is a three time champion in our series, and Mike is usually one of the harder guys to beat.  I appreciate him coming up to me and congratulating me after the race and telling me that he had nothing for me, which makes me feel pretty good!  We all have been racing together since the series started, and they are all just great drivers and great people to be around every weekend,” recounts Stefanie.

“I want to thank first and foremost my Dad, my Mom, my sister Erika, my brother Nandi and my Grandpop for just supporting me and working hard to allow me to do this every weekend. I want to thank my crew guys, Anthony DePiano of AFD Performance for building me a killer motor, my crew chief Rich Kraft, Ed Hughes, Henry Seip, Mike Calla from Wheelsofspeed.com, and my boyfriend Tommy Carberry, as well as my sponsors, A Cut Above the Rest Trucking & Excavating, Erb’s Garage, Lawrence Collison, Malik Racing, Medford Speed, Hamill Flooring, E&G Auto Center, and everyone else who pitches in to help us get on the track every week.”     

FEATURE (20 laps): Stefanie Palmai, Mike Haggenbottom, Jeff Geiges, John Barnett, Tim Tanner Jr., Adam Carberry, Rick Stief, Bob DeVault Jr., Eddie Wagner, Joe Lord, Tommy Carberry, Jon Haegele, David Bonner, Karl Fryer, Bryant Davis, Zack Burd, Jason Rochelle
 
Thayer Performance & Bruce’s Auto Body Hard Charger Award : Mike Haggenbottom (+7)

Poker Hand #2 This Saturday at Bridgeport for the Hillborn TSRS 305 Sprints

The 2015 Bethman Auto Center/Champion Tire/Bruce's Speed Shop, Thayer Performance 305 Sprint Poker Series will see their drivers try and better their 'playing hands' on Saturday, June 6. The Sprint Car Poker Series will follow the same guidelines as all the other Poker Series at Bridgeport. The winner of each race will receive an 'Ace', while the second place finisher takes home a “King,” and so on, all the way down to the thirteenth place driver who will earn a “2”.

Eddie Wagner brought home an 'Ace' with his win back on May 2. The remaining Poker Races all take place on Saturdays (June 20, July 11, July 25, and August 29). Last year, Bobby DeVault was crowned the 2014 Poker Champion, while Tim Tanner placed 2nd, Jeff Geiges 3rd, and Adam Carberry earned the 'Worst Hand'.

Lin Bethman & Sons Auto Center has returned once again as the title sponsor of the series for 2015. Joining Bethman Auto Center once again is Bruce's Speed Shop, and Thayer Performance.

Located in Newtown, PA, Bethman Auto Center is a full-service organization, offering complete maintenance and support for all vehicles. All mechanics are bumper to bumper certified and ASA. Bethman's Auto also offers 24 hour towing & road service along with enhanced emission testing and state inspection. For more information you can visit their website at www.bethmansauto.com or call them at 215-968-3712.

Bruce's Speed Shop is located in Rockaway, NJ. There, you can find his store full of parts and accessories. Whether you're looking for race, street, truck, or sport compact parts, they have everything. You can visit their website at www.brucesspeed.com or give Bruce a call at 973-664-0192.

Last but certainly not least, Thayer Performance located in Mercerville, NJ, (609-586-5147) has once again jumped on board to help sponsor the 2015 Poker Series. Ken Jones of Thayer Performance has upped last year's ante and will be donating a full set of Hoosier tires to one lucky driver come August. What ever driver possesses the worst hand at the end of the series will receive the full set of front and rear Hoosier Tires. The 'Worst Hand' will basically go to whoever earns the most playing cards that amount to the least. Jones will also be handing out 5 $100 gift certificates over the next five events. The 'Hard Charger' from each race will take home a $100 gift certificate in TiLube prodcuts in stock. You can learn more about their products are www.tilube.com

For more information regarding the TSRS 305 Sprint Series you can visit them online at www.tsrs1.com to learn all about their drivers, schedule, rules, ect. For Bridgeport Speedway fans, please visit their website www.bpspeedway.com or call the track at 856-467-4407 for all the upcoming racing season's information.

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WAGNER BECOMES FIRST TSRS REPEAT WINNER OF 2015 AT BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY

Bridgeport, NJ .......Eddie Wagner became the first repeat winner of the Tri State Racesaver Series 2015 season doubling victories at Bridgeport Speedway Friday Night. Wagner’s first win of the season was on May 9th, when TSRS last visited the South Jersey ⅝ mile, and it was also the first feature completed since that night, making Eddie a back-to-back victor.  Wagner once again fought three time TSRS champion Mike Haggenbottom off for the victory, with Stefanie Palmai, Dave Brown and Jeff Geiges completing the top five.
There were twenty-four TSRS sprints on the roster for Friday’s race, with three heat race victories going to Dave Brown, Tommy Carberry and Mike Haggenbottom.

#99 Stefanie Palmai #70 Eddie Wagner (WoS photo)

With the magic invert number being eleven, Stefanie Palmai of Allentown, NJ and Eddie Wagner would hold the pole positions.  Palmai jumped to the commanding spot when the green flag waved and she held a strong lead on Wagner going down the backstretch on lap one.  Chris Allen would advance two positions by lap two, having started fifth and was now up to third followed by Tim Tanner and Brad Franks.  By lap five, the top five cars were now spread apart with Palmai holding a half a straightaway lead on Wagner.   Mike Haggenbottom, known to always make the race interesting, was advancing quickly from his ninth starting spot and was now sitting in fourth place.  As the halfway point approached on lap ten, lapped traffic was now in the sights of the leader Palmai, who was maintaining her strong lead over Wagner, Allen, Haggenbottom and Dave Brown, who also advanced five positions from his tenth place starting spot.  
“As I reached lapped traffic, all I was thinking about was maintaining a smooth line and keeping the car as straight as possible.  I was trying to read the slower cars in front of me, so that I could see which way they were going, hoping that I could get around them as fast as I could.  It’s all about keeping your momentum at Bridgeport, so my main job was keeping my line smooth and fast,” said Palmai about her lead and approaching lapped traffic.  
The first caution of the night was on lap ten, when Zack Burd spun his number 5Z in turn four.  
On the restart, it was Palmai, Wagner, Allen, Haggenbottom and Brown occupying the top five.  Eddie Wagner went for the lead going down the front stretch and into turn one, with Stefanie determined to retain her position, entering high into the first turn alongside Wagner.  Exiting the corner, it was Palmai and Wagner drag racing down the backstretch with Wagner ultimately taking command of the front running spot leaving turn four on lap eleven.  
On lap twelve, the second caution came out for the number 0 of Harris Kohen. Kohen’s car caught fire due to a hole being put in his oil filter.  Kohen was unhurt and exited his car safely.
Wagner led the field to the green, with Haggenbottom lurking closely behind in third.  Haggenbottom took second from Palmai and began working on the number 70 for the lead.  Mike went to the top of turns three and four in an attempt to advance, but with Eddie holding a strong line coming off the corners low, the 24 car was unable to make the pass. With Wagner running a hard race against the three-time champion, both lanes of the speedway were being used consistently, but the low side seemed to be the quickest way around that night.  
“I had a hard time coming off the fourth turn, because it started to slick off, and Eddie was running the bottom, so low to where I couldn’t get under him,” Haggenbottom explains.  “With the top going away, I tried everything I could, but it didn’t work out.  I’d like to thank my crew, Mach 1 and Speed Equipment Corp. for giving me a good car every week”.  
 On lap fourteen, Zack Burd spun again in turn four, bringing out the third and last caution of the night.  
With the final laps of the feature dwindling down, Wagner restarted the race on lap fourteen.  This time, the AC Racing number 70 held the lead, and began to pull some car lengths on Haggenbottom, making it clear that tonight was once again going to be Wagner’s night.  With a half a straightaway lead and no sign of any challenge, Eddie Wagner took the checkered flag, followed by Mike Haggenbottom, Stefanie Palmai, Dave Brown and Jeff Geiges.  Rounding out the top ten was Chris Allen, Tommy Carberry, Ryan Stillwaggon, Joe Lord, and Brad Franks.            
“It’s a lot less nerve racking trying to pass on the last lap, then trying to hold your lead,” says Wagner, who won his last feature after a final lap exchange for the lead over Dave Brown.  “I heard Mike, I knew he was close, and after I took the lead from Stef, I heard him for like three laps, and I knew he was there.  After that last caution, I just told myself that I was going to drive the car as hard as I could, and if I slipped up and he got by me, it was going to be the end.  I made the track as wide as I could, and I just hit my marks.  I moved up the straight away, to take his wing speed away, and just did all I could to make it into victory lane.”
Wagner, who has had multiple heart breaking finishes in past years at Bridgeport Speedway explained that the track has grown to be one of his favorites to race.  “This place has a little spot in my heart because my family helped build it back in the day.  We were actually really bad here when we first started running on the big track, but over the years, we found something.  Now Bridgeport is by far my favorite place to run”.  
The Tri-State Racesaver Series continues their double header weekend this Sunday at Grandview Speedway for the first time in affiliation with Bob Miller’s “Thunder on the Hill” Series. The TSRS 305 Sprint Cars will run a feature only format, with the top twenty five cars in points attending the invitation only event.  Also on the card are 358 Modifieds, ARDC midgets, Sportsman and Legend cars.  The main grandstand gates open at 5:00pm, and racing begins at 7:30.  Adult admission is $20, ages 6-11 get in for $10, and children under the age of 10 get in for FREE!  
For more information, visit our website www.tsrs1.com or our facebook page to get the lastest details on upcoming events.

FEATURE: Eddie Wagner, Mike Haggenbottom, Stef Palmai, Dave Brown, Jeff Geiges, Chris Allen, Tommy Carberry, Ryan Stillwaggon, Joe Lord, Brad Franks, Bryant Davis, Tim Tanner, Keith Anderson, Randy Wilbert, Pat U’Selis, Zack Burd, Harris Kohen, Karl Fryer, Samantha Lieberman, John Barnett, Adam Carberry
DNS - David Bonner, Brendon Poff
HARD CHARGER - Mike Haggenbottom (+7)
FAST TIME - Stefanie Palmai - 20.368