Archive for Midgets
USAC PARTNERS WITH ARDC FOR 19-RACE EASTERN REGIONAL MIDGET SLATE IN 2017
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USAC-ARDC Midget Series
USAC PARTNERS WITH ARDC FOR 19-RACE EASTERN REGIONAL MIDGET SLATE IN 2017
The United States Auto Club and the American Racing Drivers Club have announced a partnership that begins in 2017 with a 19-race slate scheduled at a bevy of traditional stops for midget racing in the east.
The USAC Eastern Regional Midget Series presented by ARDC will ensure that midget racing remains a stronghold in the east. The clubs are two of the most storied in the history of midget auto racing with ARDC's roots dating back to 1940 and USAC's to 1956.
The USAC Midgets' renewed presence in the east over the last couple of seasons has created new opportunities for the famed series to add on to its long-standing Western States Midget Championship with the Midwest Midget Championship, which debuted last year, and its new partnership with ARDC in the east.
"I am thrilled that we are partnering with an organization with the legacy of ARDC," USAC National Series Director Levi Jones said. "By partnering with ARDC, it solidifies the presence of USAC Midget racing across the United States' landscape from the West Coast to the Midwest to the East Coast, in addition to the USAC Midget National Championship. I am really looking forward to working with (ARDC President) Wayne Lesher, the drivers and teams of ARDC for the 2017 season and beyond."
"Everyone involved with the ARDC is very excited of our partnership with USAC," Lesher stated. "USAC gives the ARDC a national platform and ARDC gives USAC a regional presence on the east coast. Both organizations have a common goal of promoting midget racing, so it wasn't a hard decision for either side to make."
ARDC's 75th year of competition is highlighted by high-profile events including six that share the stage with USAC's national series. In fact, the series will share the event card with all three of the national divisions in 2017.
On June 15 and 16, the USAC/ARDC Midgets will race on back-to-back nights at the historic Williams Grove Speedway half-mile in Mechanicsburg, PA. The first of the two events, which are both part of the 11th annual Eastern Storm, takes place on Thursday, June 15 with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship. The following night, Friday, June 16, the midgets compete on a docket that also features the USAC Silver Crown Championship's "Horn-Schindler Memorial" 100-lapper.
Amid the month of August, the third edition of Pennsylvania Midget Week comes to the Keystone State for four races at four different tracks in a span of five nights in a battle for territorial supremacy with the USAC Midget National Championship.
York Haven's Susquehanna Speedway kicks the week off on Sunday, Aug. 13 with races at Spring Run's Path Valley Speedway Park (Aug. 14) and Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Newmanstown on the two following nights. A one-day break for rest or a possible rain date (if needed) is slated for Aug. 16 with the week concluding at a yet-to-be-determined venue in Pennsylvania on Aug. 17.
The remainder of the 2017 schedule will be showcased at a variety of familiar stops, including four dates at Linda's Speedway in Jonestown, PA on Mar. 31, May 5, June 30 and Sept. 29; three races on tap at Lanco on Apr. 1, Jul. 1, Aug. 15; four at Susquehanna on Apr. 29, May 20, Jul. 29 and Aug. 13; and a pair at Big Diamond Speedway in Pottsville, PA on May 19 and Jul. 21. Additionally, two TBA dates are slated for Sep. 8-9.
ARDC is the longest, continuously-operating midget racing series in the United States, crowning its first champion, Bill Schindler, after the 1940 season. In 2016, Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA, a veteran of both ARDC and USAC for several seasons as well as the winner of a Chili Bowl Midget Nationals preliminary feature win, earned the title.
The lineage of ARDC champions includes some of the most legendary and successful names in midget auto racing history including Henry Banks, Dutch Schaefer, Mike Nazaruk, Jiggs Peters, Len Duncan and Ray Bull. Plus, Nick Fornoro Jr. and Sr., Johnny and Joey Coy, Bob and Lou Cicconi, Jr., Steve and Tim Buckwalter as well as Bryan and Trevor Kobylarz.
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USAC EASTERN REGIONAL MIDGETS PRESENTED BY ARDC 2017 SCHEDULE
Mar 31: Linda's Speedway (Jonestown, PA)
Apr 1: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Newmanstown, PA)
Apr 29: Susquehanna Speedway (York Haven, PA)
May 5: Linda's Speedway (Jonestown, PA)
May 19: Big Diamond Speedway (Pottsville, PA)
May 20: Susquehanna Speedway (York Haven, PA)
Jun 15: Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Jul 16: Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Jun 30: Linda's Speedway (Jonestown PA)
Jul 1: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Newmanstown, PA)
Jul 21: Big Diamond Speedway (Pottsville, PA)
Jul 29: Susquehanna Speedway (York Haven, PA)
Aug 13: (N) Susquehanna Speedway (York Haven, PA)
Aug 14: (N) Path Valley Speedway (Spring Run, PA)
Aug 15: (N) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Newmanstown, PA)
Aug 17: (N) TBA
Sep 8: TBA
Sep 9: TBA
Sep 29: Linda's Speedway (Jonestown, PA)
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(N) represents a race with the USAC Midget National Championship during Pennsylvania Midget Week
United States Auto Club, 4910 West 16th Street, Speedway, IN 46224
RUDOLPH AND RAISNER INDOOR FEATURE RACE WINNERS AT TRENTON, NJ
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INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT TRENTON, ALLENTOWN, AND ATLANTIC CITY
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News release written by Steve Barrick
RUDOLPH WINS BATTLE OF TRENTON INDOOR THREE QUARTER MIDGET FEATURE; CO-FEATURE FOR SLINGSHOT RACERS IS CLAIMED BY ANTHONY RAISNER
TRENTON, NJ December 10,2016 . . . Erick Rudolph passed Jimmy Blewett for the lead on the sixth lap of the 40-lap feature and raced on to victory Saturday night in the Battle of Trenton Len Sammons Motorsports Productions (LSMP) TQ Midget feature at Sun National Bank Center.
“We come to these races with the best car Mark Lafler car build and set it up the best way he knows how to,” Rudolph said. “And once I got the lead, lapped traffic was the only thing I had to worry about.”
The win was the sixth LSMP Indoor TQ victory in Rudolph’s career, second only to Ted Christopher’s standard of seven.
Ryan Flores passed Blewett on lap 19 to gain second spot and stayed there with Blewett finishing third, Zane Zeiner was fourth and Scott Kreutter ran fifth.
“He (Rudolph) was a little better than us so I have to work on it harder and get better,” Flores said. “We’re gaining on it. This is the second fifth place finish I have had in one of these races.”
Blewett said simply of third place, “the car got tight”.
The race was an attrition-plagued affair with only half of the twenty four starters taking the checkered flag at the end of forty laps.
Two red flags, bringing a stop to the action, were flown during the race.
The first red came after Joey Payne, who had started last in the race but had been moving forward, slammed into the first turn concrete Jersey barrier at top speed and flipped several times. After anxious moments, Payne was assisted from his car and walked across the infield to the plaudits of the fans.
The second red flag, on lap thirteen, occurred after Ted Christopher’s car flared up in spectacular fashion after an oil line broke and spilled fluid on the hot engine. Christopher was not hurt.
The win for Rudolph came in the first of three Indoor Auto Racing Series Fueled By VP Racing events staged by LMSP. The second is slated for the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., on December 30-31 and the third and concluding Series event is inside Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on January 27-28, 2017.
Finishing sixth through tenth in the 40-lap feature were Andy Jankowiak, who went to the rear on lap ten after spinning, Chris de Ritis, Tim Buckwalter, Brandon Azzalina and Richie Pratt, Jr..
In the 20-lap Slingshot co-feature, Anthony Raisner, driving a car usually driven by Dylan Hoch, led all the way to win the race, hounded from start to finish by Kurt Bettler. Seth Spayd was third, Gary Hieber fourth and Kyle Herve fifth.
Danny Buccafusca, Nick Shaw, Hoch (owner of the winning car driven by Raisner), Dillon Steuer and Cole Hentschel wrapped up the top ten finishers from the twenty starters.
The top eight starting spots in the TQ Battle Of Trenton were determined by the finishes of the top eight time trialers in Friday time trials in a five lap Dash. Jimmy Blewett led from start to finish with Zane Zeiner, Erick Rudolph, Scott Kreutter, Ted Christopher, Tim Buckwalter, Tommy Catalano and Ryan Flores following.
TQ Midget qualifying heat races on Saturday night were won by Andy Jankowiak, Chris de Ritis, Anthony Sesely and teammates Mike Iles and Richie Pratt, Jr.
The second heat win by de Ritis was a thriller in that it came down to a three wide battle involving de Ritis, Rob Neely and Shawn Nye to determine the final outcome.
Jonathan Reid claimed the TQ B-Main and Geoffrey Sutton the TQ C-Main.
Slingshot heat races were won by Danny Buccafusca, Kyle Herve and Dylan Hoch.
Battle Of Trenton TQ Midget Feature (40 Laps): 1. Erick Rudolph, 2. Ryan Flores, 3. Jimmy Blewett, 4. Zane Zeiner, 5. Scott Kreutter, 6. Andy Jankowiak, 7. Chris de Ritis, 8. Tim Buckwalter, 9. Brandon Azzalina, 10. Richie Pratt Jr., 11. Mike Iles, 12. Josh Dalrymple, 13. Ted Christopher, 14. Anthony Sesely, 15. Matt Janisch, 16. Shawn Nye, 17. Joey Payne, 18. Jason Rochelle, 19. Matt Roselli, 20. Jonathan Reid, 21. Tommy Catalano, 22. Ryan Tidman, 23. Rob Neely, 24. Aaron Bartelemy.
Slingshot Feature (20 Laps): 1. Anthony Raisner, 2. Kurt Bettler, 3. Seth Spayd, 4. Gary Hieber, 5. Kyle Herve, 6. Danny Buccafusca, 7. Nick Shaw, 8. Dylan Hoch, 9. Dillon Steuer, 10. Cole Hentschel, 11. Kevin VanValkenburg, 12. Dan Morgiewicz, 13. Nick DelCampo 14. Matt Miller. 15. Chris Kurtz, 16. Matt Langbein, 17. Matt Lapicki, 18. Steve Svanda, 19. Joe Toth, 20. Ed Stangle.
ERNIE SAXTON COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
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FULL RESULTS FROM FRIDAY INDOOR TRENTON RACING; ACTION RETURNS TONIGHT
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INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT TRENTON, ALLENTOWN, AND ATLANTIC CITY
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News release written by Steve Barrick
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ERICK RUDOLPH, TED CHRISTOPHER AND RYAN FLORES TAKE NIGHT ONE BATTLE OF TRENTON TRIPLE TWENTIES INDOORS FOR THREE QUARTER MIDGETS; CALE ROSS WINS CHAMP KART MAIN EVENT; TQ MIDGET MAIN EVENT AND SLINGSHOT RACES SET FOR TONIGHT
TRENTON, NJ DECEMBER 10, 2016 . . . Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., Ted Christopher of Plainville, Ct., and New Jersey native Ryan Flores, who lives in Cornelius, N.C., shared the glory on Night One of the fourth annual Battle of Trenton Indoor Auto Racing program. Each of the trio won a 20-lap Three Quarter (TQ) Midget feature in the first events of the 2016-2017 Indoor Auto Racing Championship Fueled By VP Racing Fuels.
The events served as a lead-in to tonight's full slate of qualifying events leading up to the 40-lap TQ Midget feature, 'The Battle Of Trenton'. Slingshots will be the support class.
Rudolph took the lead midway through the first race with a daring outside pass of race leader Earl Paules on a restart. Rudolph, a five time career Series feature winner, then led the rest of the way to outrun Zane Zeiner, Tommy Catalano and Paules.
“This is the same car we ran last year and it's just as good as it was,” Rudolph said. “Making an outside pass is something that can be done with a car as good as this one.”
Jonathan Reid led the first half of the race before his car's engine flamed out directly in front of Paules, who leapfrogged over Reid's flaming car but continued on.
In the second lapper, Christopher, the most prolific winner in the history of Len Sammons Motorsports Promotions (LSMP) with seven checkered flags, drove to the win in a car owned by Trey Hoddick. All of Christopher's prior wins came in cars of his own design.
“This was a rough race,” Christopher said, surveying a winning car that has a left front wheel lug nut severed, the left side bodywork in front of the 750cc Suzuki engine bent inward and a rear bumper that was misshapen. “A bunch of people ran into me, but that's indoor racing.”
Jimmy Blewett came from the rear of the field after involvement in an early race accident to f9inish second followed by top performing 600cc Micro Sprint driver Kyle Lick, who led the race with seven laps to go. Mike Iles recovered from an early race spin to run fourth and Steve Kemery was fifth, and second 600cc Micro finisher.
Flores made a successful inside pass stick against race leader Joey Payne in the third TQ twenty lapper, keeping control even after contact caused anxious moments for both while racing for the lead in front of the pack. Andy Jankowiak, who had previously driven the car Ted Christopher is running in this year's Indoor Series, finished second in a car owned by Bobby Holmes. Tim Buckwalter was third, three time career Indoor feature winner Anthony Sesely fourth and Scott Kreutter was fifth.
In the afternoon time trial session, Kreutter set fastest time among the fifty-two entrants.
Cale Ross, a youthful driver whose recent credits include winning the 2016 New Egypt Speedway Rookie Sportsman championship on dirt, proved his versatility by winning the 20-lap Champ Kart feature on the Sun Bank Center concrete. Ross, of Lambertville, N.J., edged John Berger, Dalton Rovira, Tim Gregory and DJ Doyle to take the top prize.
Action continues tonight for the Three Quarter Midgets and Slingshot racers. Check in for more information at www.indoorautoracing.com.
First TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Erick Rudolph, 2. Zane Zeiner, 3. Matt Janisch, 4. Tommy Catalano, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Ryan Tidman, 7. Chris DeRitis, 8. Tim Nye, 9. Ryan Krachun, 10. Jesse Maurer, 11. Bruce Leote, 12. Anthony Payne, 13. Kyle Hieber, 14. Dakota Kessler, 15. Geoffrey Sutton, 16. Jonathan Reid, 17. Zach Bealer, 18. Ronnie Mullen.
Second TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Ted Christopher, 2. Jimmy Blewett, 3. Kyle Lick, 4. Mike Iles, 5. Steve Kemery, 6. Rob Neely, 7. Richie Pratt, Jr., 8. Ryan Bartlett, 9. Jeff Kot, 10. Ronnie Flaim, 11. Josh Dalrymple, 12. Glenn Heverin, 13. Tim Proctor, 14. Brett Michalski, 15. Jason Rochelle, 16. Jason Ormsby, 17. Steve Craig.
Third TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Flores, 2. Andy Jankowiak, 3. Tim Buckwalter, 4. Anthony Sesely, 5. Scott Kreutter, 6. Joey Payne, 7. Shawn Nye, 8. Matt Roselli, 9. Brandon Azzallina, 10. Aaron Bartelemy, 11. Marc Rogers, 12. Mark Yoder, 13. Matt Remick, 14. Chad Parks, 15. AJ Hessler, 16. Brent Shearer, 17. Pat Bealer.
Champ Kart Feature (20 Laps): 1. Cale Ross, 2. John Berger, 3. Dalton Rovira, 4. Tim Gregory, 5. DJ Doyle, 6. Stephen Beattie, 7. Gene Gregoric III, 8. Adan Giovanetti, 9. Tom Kelly, 10. Jessica Little, 11. Bryan Sharp, 12. Tyler Tank, 13. Phillip Sabatine, 14. Michael Kormann, 15. Richie Spaide, 16. Chris Kraemer. DNS: Carsten Digiantamasso.
ERNIE SAXTON COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
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2017 USAC NATIONAL SCHEDULES RELEASED
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RIDES INTO THE DESERT AT PHOENIX IN 2017
Phoenix International Raceway, a venue synonymous with USAC Silver Crown racing for more than two decades, returns to the 2017 schedule after an eight-year absence.
The highly-anticipated return of the big cars to the mile in Arizona's Valley of the Sun arrives on Saturday, April 29 on the same bill as the IndyCar Series race later that night.
The roar of champ car engines fell silent at PIR after Cole Whitt's victory in 2009 on the racy, triangular-shaped paved track, but the series is back this season as it embarks on its 47th season of competition with a schedule as balanced as it's ever been. Six dirt and five pavement events are on tap for the 11-race docket for 2017.
The series opens on the dirt at Indiana's Terre Haute Action Track on Apr. 2 for the "Sumar Classic." On May 25, the 63rd running of the "Hoosier Hundred" makes it traditional stop at the Indiana State Fairgrounds mile. In June, amidst the "Eastern Storm" series for the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars, the Silver Crown cars take on Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania's Williams Grove Speedway on June 16.
The series closes out the 2017 calendar with three-straight races on the dirt, beginning with a pair of events on the two legendary mile tracks in Illinois. The "Bettenhausen 100" at Springfield's Illinois State Fairgrounds on Aug. 19 is the longest-running of all Silver Crown events with roots dating back to 1934.
The Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, host of the Sept. 3 "Ted Horn 100," is one of just three racetracks on the series' 2017 schedule to have been on the schedule in every single year of USAC's existence since 1956 (Indiana and Illinois State Fairgrounds).
The season closes with the Sept. 23 "4-Crown Nationals" at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio - the only event in which one can witness all three of USAC's National Divisions (Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget) at the same track on a single night.
The pavement portion of the schedule is an array of flat and high-banked surfaces ranging in size from a half-mile to a full-mile. Phoenix serves as the pavement season opener as well as the series' sole visit to the west on Apr. 29.
Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana is the lone track scheduled to host multiple Silver Crown events this season with the "Carb Night Classic: The Race Before the 500" on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend on May 26 and the "Rich Vogler/Hall of Fame Classic" on July 20.
The final two races hit the high banks of two of the Midwest's most history-rich racetracks in Ohio's Toledo Speedway and Indiana's Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery. Toledo's July 28event honors the city's greatest racing hero and 1973 USAC National Sprint Car champ with the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness "Rollie Beale Classic."
The Silver Crown cars return to Salem for the final round of pavement for the season one year after making their first stop at the .555-mile, high-banked oval since 1988. As it has since 1958, the event honors the lives of National Sprint Car Hall of Famers and Indianapolis 500 veterans Joe James and Pat O'Connor.
2017 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Apr 2: (D) Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, IN)
Apr 29: (P#) Phoenix International Raceway (Phoenix, AZ)
May 25: (D) Indiana State Fairgrounds (Indianapolis, IN)
May 26: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (Brownsburg, IN)
Jun 16: (D) Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Jul 20: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (Brownsburg, IN)
Jul 28: (P) Toledo Speedway (Toledo, OH)
Aug 12: (P) Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery (Salem, IN)
Aug 19: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield, IL)
Sep 3: (D) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds (Du Quoin, IL)
Sep 23: (D) Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)
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(D) represents a dirt event
(P) represents a pavement event
# represents a daytime event
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KNOXVILLE AND WILLIAMS GROVE RETURN TO THE FOLD FOR 2017 USAC SPRINT SEASON
Two of the most storied dirt tracks in the United States return to the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car calendar in 2017.
On June 3, the series invades the legendary half-mile Knoxville Raceway for the first time since 2011. The Saturday night event coincides with National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend at the Iowa dirt oval.
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania's Williams Grove Speedway, the only venue on this year's 47-race slate that was on the Sprint Car schedule in USAC's inaugural year of 1956, will host its first series race since 1996 as part of the 11th edition of "Eastern Storm" on June 15.
In addition, the USAC Sprints call Tri-City Speedway home once again, where the series hasn't visited since 2006. The May 19 date at the Granite City, Ill. track will also feature the USAC Midget National Championship. July 30 marks a return visit to Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri. USAC's lone appearance there came in 1989 when the late Rich Vogler won a rare winged race for Hoffman Auto Racing.
Furthermore, the series will make initial appearances at Indiana's Plymouth Speedway on Apr. 21, Pevely, Missouri's Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 20 and Greenwood, Nebraska's I-80 Speedway on June 2.
Traditional USAC stops on the 2017 horizon include the season-opening "Winter Dirt Games" for three-straight nights at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida. Eldora Speedway's docket features multiple showcase events with back-to-back nights of #LetsRaceTwo on May 12-13 alongside the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars. Fast forward to Sept. 23 when the Rossburg, Ohio half-mile is the showplace for the 36th running of the "4-Crown Nationals" that also features USAC's Silver Crown and National Midget divisions as well as the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions.
Western Indiana's Terre Haute Action Track pays homage to a pair of USAC racing heroes from year's past. The 47th running of the "Tony Hulman Classic" hits the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds half-mile on May 24 while the "Jim Hurtubise Classic" is earmarked for September 15.
The "Eastern Storm" and "Indiana Sprint Week" series have become institutions in their respective regions of the country, annually playing to large crowds and some of the most intense racing seen all year long. It will be no different in the five-race Eastern Storm series that runs from June 13-18 in the "Keystone State." The first two nights will be held at a pair of tracks to be announced at a later date. Williams Grove serves up a feast of racing action on June 15, then a one-day break from action before closing out the mini-series at Port Royal Speedway on the 17th and Susquehanna Speedway on the 18th.
The 30th annual "Indiana Sprint Week" series consistently produces as one of the country's premier events. Its schedule of events remains just as consistent. Once again, ISW launches at Gas City I-69 Speedway on July 7 with Kokomo Speedway and Lawrenceburg Speedway rounding out the first weekend of racing July 8-9, respectively. A two-day sabbatical gives way as the action roars back to life for the final four-race stretch of ISW at Terre Haute, Putnamville's Lincoln Park Speedway, Bloomington Speedway and Haubstadt's Tri-State Speedway on July 12-13-14-15.
The sole non-points, special event of the USAC Sprint season occurs on Aug. 23 as a prelude to three more consecutive nights at Kokomo and "Sprint Car Smackdown VI" on Aug. 24-25-26.
Lawrenceburg hosts a duo of events - one in the spring and one in the fall - as does Tri-State. The three-eighths mile Lawrenceburg oval brings the series to town for both the Midwest opener on Apr. 1 as well as the Midwest closer on Sept. 30. Bloomington Speedway's red clay will fly when USAC makes a visit on Apr. 14 which kicks off a double-header weekend that moves to Tri-State the following night at the "Spring Showdown" on Apr. 15 for the first of two shows at the quarter-mile paperclip co-sanctioned by MSCS. The series makes the trek back to Tri-State for the "Haubstadt Hustler" on Sep. 16.
Additional dates include trips to Indiana's Montpelier Motor Speedway and Lincoln Park Speedway on Apr. 22 and June 30, respectively, as well as a date at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kans. on July 29.
The series closes out its campaign with a multitude of events in conjunction with the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Car Championship for a pair of annual events headquartered in the western U.S. First up is the 50th annual "Western World Championships." The golden anniversary of the famed event that has been a staple of the southwest since 1968 takes place at Queen Creek's Arizona Speedway on Nov. 3-4.
The season closes out with the three-night spectacular known as the Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction on Nov. 9-10-11. The 22nd running at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway pits the best from the National and CRA scenes against each other for bragging rights in what is annually the highest-paying purse of the year.
2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Feb 23: Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, FL)
Feb 24: Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, FL)
Feb 25: Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, FL)
Apr 1: Lawrenceburg Speedway (Lawrenceburg, IN)
Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, IN)
Apr 15: (M) Tri-State Speedway (Haubstadt, IN)
Apr 21: Plymouth Speedway (Plymouth, IN)
Apr 22: Montpelier Motor Speedway (Montpelier, IN)
May 6: TBA
May 12: Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)
May 13: Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)
May 19: Tri-City Speedway (Granite City, IL)
May 20: Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 (Pevely, MO)
May 24: Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, IN)
Jun 2: I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, NE)
Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
Jun 13: (E) TBA
Jun 14: (E) TBA
Jun 15: (E) Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Jun 17: (E) Port Royal Speedway (Port Royal, PA)
Jun 18: (E) Susquehanna Speedway (York Haven, PA)
Jun 30: Lincoln Park Speedway (Putnamville, IN)
Jul 7: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway (Gas City, IN)
Jul 8 (I) Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Jul 9: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway (Lawrenceburg, IN)
Jul 12: (I) Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, IN)
Jul 13: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway (Putnamville, IN)
Jul 14: (I) Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, IN)
Jul 15: (I) Tri-State Speedway (Haubstadt, IN)
Jul 28: TBA
Jul 29: Lakeside Speedway (Kansas City, KS)
Jul 30: Randolph County Raceway (Moberly, MO)
Aug 23: (SE) Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Sep 15: Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, IN)
Sep 16: (M) Tri-State Speedway (Haubstadt, IN)
Sep 23: Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)
Sep 30: Lawrenceburg Speedway (Lawrenceburg, IN)
Oct. 6: TBA
Oct. 7: TBA
Nov. 3: (C) Arizona Speedway (Queen Creek, AZ)
Nov. 4: (C) Arizona Speedway (Queen Creek, AZ)
Nov. 9 (C) Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA)
Nov. 10 (C) Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA)
Nov. 11 (C) Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA)
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(M) represents an event co-sanctioned by MSCS
(E) represents an Eastern Storm event
(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event
(C) represents an event with the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Cars
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USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TOUR TRAVELS COAST-TO-COAST IN 2017 CAMPAIGN
Twenty-seven dates in seven states serve as the ingredients for the 2017 USAC Midget National Championship schedule.
Among the events are four distinct tours that make up the bulk of the schedule such as June's "Indiana Midget Week," July's weekend trip to Illinois as well as an August tour of the Heartland of America and "Pennsylvania Midget Week," which offers a total of eight races in a busy Summer stretch.
The 13th annual "Indiana Midget Week" kicks off with the first of six straight nights of racing action on June 6 at Montpelier Motor Speedway, followed by Gas City, Lincoln Park, Bloomington, Lawrenceburg and Kokomo to round out the series that continues to grow in popularity each year since its debut in 2005.
The series resumes with a weekend getaway to the Land of Lincoln on July 1-2-3. First up is Macon Speedway whose roots with USAC date back to Don Branson's victory at the one-fifth mile bullring in 1959. However, the series will make its comeback to the track after a decade absence on the first of July. A date is scheduled for July 2at a track yet to be determined, which will be followed up by the USAC National Midgets' first venture to the one-sixth mile Illinois State Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Arena - an outdoor venue in the capital city of Springfield located on the grounds nearby the one-mile dirt oval that the USAC Silver Crown Championship competes on each August.
The USAC National Midgets' tour of the Heartland kick starts the month of August on the first with "Tuesday Night Thunder" at Nebraska's Jefferson County Speedway followed one night later by the "Chad McDaniel Memorial" at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kans. on Aug. 2. After a single day off, drivers and teams get back at it on the Belleville High Banks in Kansas for the 40th annual "Belleville Midget Nationals" on Aug. 4-5.
Susquehanna Speedway opens "Pennsylvania Midget Week" on Aug. 13 with dates at Path Valley Speedway Park and Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway set for the following two nights on Aug. 14-15. Aug. 16 is a day of rest before the mini-series' final event hits the track at a yet-to-be-determined venue on Aug. 17.
Traditional dates dot the remainder of the series calendar for 2017 with the season set to begin indoors on March 18 at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin. The "Kokomo Grand Prix" in Indiana provides the first multi-event weekend for competitors on Apr. 7-8.
Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois moves to an earlier slot on the schedule - May 19 - for a twin-bill with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.
The ever-popular "4-Crown Nationals" goes into its 36th year at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway as the largest showcase for all three of USAC's national divisions on one card in a single night. The famed event includes the National Midgets, Silver Crown, National Sprint Cars and the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions.
The fifth-annual "Jason Leffler Memorial" at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Illinois provides the largest winner's payday of the year on Oct. 20.
For the second consecutive year, the National Midgets pair with the Western States Midgets to conclude the 2017 USAC outdoor racing season with the 77th running of the prestigious "Turkey Night Grand Prix" oceanside at California's Ventura Raceway.
2017 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Mar 18: (N) Southern Illinois Center (Du Quoin, IL)
Apr 7: Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Apr 8: Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
May 19: Tri-City Speedway (Granite City, IL)
Jun 6: (I) Montpelier Motor Speedway (Montpelier, IN)
Jun 7: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway (Gas City, IN)
Jun 8: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway (Putnamville, IN)
Jun 9: (I) Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, IN)
Jun 10: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway (Lawrenceburg, IN)
Jun 11: (I) Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Jul 1: Macon Speedway (Macon, IL)
Jul 2: TBA
Jul 3: Illinois State Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Arena (Springfield, IL)
Jul 22: TBA
Aug 1: Jefferson County Speedway (Fairbury, NE)
Aug 2: Solomon Valley Raceway (Beloit, KS)
Aug 4: Belleville High Banks (Belleville, KS)
Aug 5: Belleville High Banks (Belleville, KS)
Aug 13: (A) Susquehanna Speedway (York Haven, PA)
Aug 14: (A) Path Valley Speedway Park (Spring Run, PA)
Aug 15: (A) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Newmanstown, PA)
Aug 17: (A) TBA
Sep 23: Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH)
Oct 6: TBA
Oct 7: TBA
Oct 20: (P) Wayne County Speedway (Wayne City, IL)
Nov 23: (W) Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA)
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(N) represents an indoor event
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(A) represents an event with the USAC/ARDC Midgets
(P) represents an event co-sanctioned by POWRi
(W) represents an event with the USAC Western States Midgets
ERICK RUDOLPH LOOKING FOR BIG WIN AT TRENTON INDOOR EVENTS DE. 9-10
Posted by: | CommentsNEWS FROM LEN SAMMONS MOTORSPORTS PRODUCTIONS
INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT TRENTON, ALLENTOWN, AND ATLANTIC CITY
PROMOTER: Len Sammons (609)888-3618
MEDIA CONTACT: Ernie Saxton Communications, Inc.
Esaxton144@aol.com – EMAIL ---- 267.934.7286 – Ernie’s CELL PHONE
News release written by Steve Barrick
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ERICK RUDOPLH LOOKING FOR BATTLE OF TRENTON REENACTMENT ON DECEMBER 9TH AND 10TH INSIDE SUN CENTER
TRENTON, NJ – December 4, 2016 . . . When Erick Rudolph marches back to New Jersey for Three Quarter (TQ) Midget Auto Racing on Friday and Saturday, December 9th - 10th, he’s hoping for a Battle of Trenton Reenactment.
The driving star from Ransomville, N.Y., won the Indoor Auto Racing
Series Fueled by VP finale at the Sun National Bank Center in February
and clinched the championship. Rudolph is hoping for a similar
victory to start the 2016-2017 indoor season.
Rudolph is coming off a career best outdoor season which included 22
victories in dirt Modified competition. He heads to Trenton with the
same winning TQ Midget he drove last year. Mark Lafler, who builds
many of the top TQ Midgets, will act as Rudolph’s crew chief as he has
for the past decade.
Over 50 top drivers from eight states and Canada hope to keep Rudolph
from accomplishing his goals. On top of that list is Len Sammons
Motorsports series all time winner, Ted Christopher of Plainville,
Conn. who will debut with a different winning team this season.
Another pre-race favorite is Howell, N.J.’s Jimmy Blewett who nearly
made the winning pass on Rudolph in February in Trenton to get his
first win on the series.
Anthony Sesely of Matawan, N.J., winner of Atlantic City’s Gambler’s
Classic for the third time last January, will debut as a driver on Lou
Cicconi’s Super Team at Trenton. Cicconi, a four time series winner,
has decided not to race the first two Indoor events to concentrate on
his five car team.
Cicconi’s iconic No. 57 will now be driven by ISMA Super Modified
series champion DJ Shullick of Avon Lake, Ohio. Other Cicconi drivers
include Pa.’s Pat Bealer, N.J.’s Ryan Kratchun and N.Y.’s Shawn Nye.
Ryan Flores of Mooresville, N.C., a member of the Roger Penske team,
excelled on the Indoor Series last year, but was forced to miss the
Trenton finale because of a NASCAR Cup event being held that weekend
in Phoenix, Ariz. Flores is another candidate to take his first
indoor series race win.
Other notables includes Modified standouts Earl Paules, Zane Zeiner,
Richie Pratt and Mike Iles.
As a special preview of the 2016-2017 Indoor Racing Series, general
admission tickets for Friday’s Battle Of Trenton opening night have
been priced at just $10 for adults and $7 for children.
The ultra-quick TQ Midgets will headline both Friday’s opening night
and Saturday’s “Battle Of Trenton” feature event finale. The Friday
night race program, which begins at 7:30 PM, consists of 60 TQ
Midgets split into three 20-lap Qualifier races. A complete program of
heat races and feature event for the Champ Karts is also on the
schedule.
Attendees can get a close up look at a TQ Midgets at Fan Zone located
on the concourse. Top drivers and Ms. Motorsports 2016 Arynne Moody
will be making an appearance at Fan Zone offering autographs and
photos free of charge.
On Saturday the “Battle Of Trenton” 40 lap feature event will be held
after a series of qualifying events for the TQ Midgets. The always
popular and wild Slingshots will also be part of this program
sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts, Oliver Communications in Bordentown,
N.J. and Pete & Elda’s Bar in Neptune City. N.J.
Tickets for Saturday’s races are available starting at $22 for adults
and $7 for children.
Fans can avoid on-line ticketing fees by stopping by the Sun Center
box office.
Fan Fest will be held inside the speedway one hour prior to the 7 PM
starting time. The entire field of race cars competing on Saturday
will be on display during Fan Fest and drivers will be available for
free autographs and photos by their cars.
The Trenton race is part one of a three-race Len Sammons Motorsports
Productions (LSMP) Indoor Series. Other races are scheduled for
December 30-31 at PPL Center in downtown Allentown, Pa., and at
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on January 27-28, 2017.
When indoor racing ends, Rudolph will head south to Florida where
he’ll run Randy Chrysler’s Modified at the DIRTcar Winter Nationals at
the Volusia County Speedway in February. When the northern outdoor
season opens in March, he’ll be driving for Chrysler, his family owned
team and for a new team owned by Ed Briggs.
Trenton Indoor Race tickets are available online at www.sunnationalbankcenter.com
or by phone at 1-800-298-4200. Tickets may also be purchased at the
Sun National Bank Center Box Office on Monday through Friday from 10
AM until 5:30 PM and on Saturday from 12 Noon through 4 PM.
Event and promotional sponsorship information is available at www. IndoorAutoRacing.com.
ERNIE SAXTON COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Public Relations, Sponsorship Consultant
Publisher: Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News
Award winning motorsports journalist
www.saxtonsponsormarket.com
215.752.7797 & 267.934.7286-Esaxton144@aol.com
Esaxton144@aol.com
11/26/2016 --- Matt Roselli used hthe pole position to its fullest advantage and earned his first win of the 2016 season in his Family 98 Lafler chassis mount. Ryan Tidman and Bobby Holmes rounded out the podium. 2016 ATQMRA Season Champion Matt Janisch set fast time in the Formula 1 style qualifying besting Mike Occhipinte and Geoffrey Sutton. The ATQMRA regulars took on all comers and were able to hold serve against a diverse group of many of the northeast's top invaders from pavement and Dirt Modifieds, SuperModified, SpeedSTRs to Midget, Sprint and Micro Sprint racers. They all tried their hands on the Wall Flat track in the race dedicated to the Memory of ATQRMA Friend Chris Zrinski. Additional money was collected from fans and competitors to help sweeten the pot in the feature event.
Qualifying for the Turkey Derby was done Formula 1 Style with group qualifying against the clock with the top 12 making the feature redraw. With two to go in the final session Geoffrey Sutton in the brand new Fred Delibero Metz Racing Driver Development BGF Chassis 461 sat at the top of the chart. At the white Flag Michigan Mike Occhipinte in the 46 car that Sutton raced all season put his number at the top of the pilon only to have Matt Jansich turn the quickest lap of the day coming to the Checkered flag to set fast time.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. On this day, Matt Roselli was both. His ninth-place time trial put him in the redraw and he was lucky enough to pull the number one pill. Roselli and Occhipinte who races Modifieds in Michigan and Wisconsin would lead the field to the Green flag with Roselli powering into the lead with 2015 NYPA TQ Midget Champion Kyle Hutchinson following him into second. Hutchinson's carbureted Suzuki challenged from the second position until lap 8 when a bent steering arm slowed his car and ended his race on lap fifteen.
2015 ATQMRA Champion Buddy Sload worked his way into second for a couple of laps before relinquishing the position to multi time Champion Ryan Tidman in the Boyd Racing 1b Lafler. Tidman would charge into the lead moving Roselli into second.
A caution flew on lap 16 when contact from Sutton send Janisch spinning into the third turn. Sutton would be assessed a 2-position penalty post-race for the incident. Cautions breed cautions and another caution fell for a 3-car tangle coming out of the fourth turn involving Marc Rogers who raced several divisions in Wall's Turkey Derby, Occhipinte and Tim Buckwalter who is a Grandview Speedway Modified racer as well as a past ARDC Midget Champion and a stand out driver in Micro Sprints and the SpeedSTR division. Another caution fell for spinning Dirt Modified Superstar Mike Iles. The final caution of the race was the most consequential. A jumbled restart behind pole sitter Ryan Tidman led to incidental contact from Kyle Lick that sent Sutton into a spin. Janisch moved to the outside to go around the spinning Sutton but hooked Sutton's front bumper and tore the entire left side from the Yuhas 48 car ending his day.
The final restart of the race wasn't without incident but no caution was thrown and the race went from that point to the end with Matt Roselli determined to show he wasn't just lucky but good enough to retake the lead and win his first Turkey Derby. After the lap 18 restart Roselli would dog Tidman who was determined to get his first win of the season after finishing second in the ATQMRA Standings. Roselli's opportunity to pounce came on lap 21 to take the lead and never look back winning by 1.047 seconds over Tidman and a hard charging NYPA TQ Midget and Western NY Modified racer Bobby Holmes. 2015 ATQMRA Champion Buddy Sload would finish fourth with ARDC Midget, Micro sprint and SpeedSTR standout Lick crossing the line as the first micro sprint.
The 2016 version of the ATQMRA's Turkey Derby was run to honor the passing of Big Chris Zrinski who recently lost a long battle with cancer in multiple sites in his body. Family friend John Larson had memorial decals made that were distributed to racers and put up a $100 bonus to the highest finisher sporting the decal that was awarded to Flying Ryan Tidman. John and Pat Malik posted a $100 Hard luck award that was awarded to Matt Janisch following the feature. Micky Soto Metz went through the pits and collected $480 from fans and drivers alike to boost the payout to the racers. The Zrinski traditional car numbers are 25 and 75. It was decided to divide the money collected equally between position 2, 5 and 7. Tidman's second place finish netted him a total of $260 above the normal payout with Tim Proctor and Kyle Lick picking up $160 each for finishing in position 7 and 5. Thank you to everyone who donated to help make the Chris Zrinski memorial race special. Special thanks go to the handful of racers and friends who are making private donations to the Zrinski family Foundation. Don, Ken and Big Lou Zrinski were on hand along with Chris Son Will as well as family friend Rich.
A diverse group of racers from varying backgrounds were on hand to test the flat track at Wall in preparation for the indoor season. NYPA TQ racer as well as western NY Modified Standout Bobby Holmes raced the 21 car that he will be racing in the Sammons indoor series made his third ATQMRA start of the season racing at Waterford Speed Bowl and a show earlier in the year at Wall. Kyle Lick will be racing the same Micro Sprint he ran at Wall indoors this winter and spends time behind the wheel of an ARDC Midget SpeedSTR and Micro Sprints. Eighth finishing Joey Payne Jr. was shaking down the Rich Tolerico 5 car for the indoor series. Payne can be found in the summer months behind the wheel of TQ Midgets, Full Midgets, Nema Lites and in the ultra-fast ranks of the Big Block Super Modifieds. Fifteenth finishing Brett Michalski raced the Colin Martin 17 Micro Sprint. Brett has spent time racing Micro Sprints and recently started racing sprint cars. Anthony Payne who was in his family 45 Lafler TQ Midget is a Quarter Midget Graduate who won the Nema Lites Midget Championship in 2015 and continues racing the Lites Midgets as well as a small block Supermodfied.
ATQRMA News and Notes: Last years Turkey Derby Champion Eric Rudolph who won the race int he Mark Lafler house car wasn't on hand to defend his Turkey Derby Crown. Roselli picked up the mantle and earned the second Turkey Derby Victory for in a Potent Lafler Chassis Mount.
Geoffrey Sutton in the new BGF 461 car picked up right where he left off in the old 461 car by racing at the front of the pack and posting times at the top of the speed Chart. While Sutton was running one of the newest cars on the circuit Teammate for the day Occhipinte was taking the Metz Racing Bruce's Chassis car out for its last modern race before being retired to Vintage competition.
Occhipinte did the team proud in his only start of the season picking up where Sutton left off in the car nearly setting fast time only being sniped on the last lap of time trials by the talented Matt Jansich. The Occhipinte car made its first race in 1988 at that year's Turkey derby with Bill Courtwright at the wheel driving for Teddy and Arlene Seiz as a white and Pink number 56 with a Polaris engine. The car would win that year's indoor championship and the last Championship contested at the long shuttered Pinebrook Speedway.
Feature Race (30 Laps)1 98 Matt Roselli 2 1b Ryan Tidman 3 21 Bobby Holmes 4 16 Buddy Sload 5 8 Kyle Lick 6 461 Geoffrey Sutton 7 98 Tim Proctor 8 5 Joey Payne Jr. 9 88 Jeff Kot 10 7b Tim Buckwalter 11 02 Joey Bailey 12 55 Steve Craig 13 f8 Mike Glaser 14 17 Brett Michalski 15 711 Mike Illes 16 67 Joey Payne III 17 46 Mike Occipinti 18 75 Mark Yoder 19 48 Matt Janisch 20 45 Anthony Payne 21 27 Mark Rogers 22 7 Kyle Hutchanson 23 95 Bill Force Jr. 24 1 Patrick Force
Time Trials (Formula 1 Style) 1 48 Matt Janisch 13.285 2 46 Mike Occipinti 13.361 3 461 Geoffrey Sutton 13.422 4 2 Joey Bailey 13.435 5 1b Ryan Tidman 13.556 6 7 Kyle Hutchanson 13.581 7 711 Mike Illes 13.596 8 21 Bobby Holmes 13.697 9 98 Matt Roselli 13.718 10 16 Buddy Sload 13.722 11 7b Tim Buckwalter 13.753 12 27 Mark Rogers 13.842 13 8 Kyle Lick 13.875 14 88 Jeff Kot 13.93 15 98 Tim Proctor 13.94 16 55 Steve Craig 13.985 17 5 Joey Payne Jr. 14.003 18 75 Mark Yoder 14.006 19 67 Joey Payne III 14.059 20 17 Brett Michalski 14.065 21 45 Anthony Payne 14.075 22 f8 Mike Glaser 14.154 23 95 Bill Force Jr. 14.276 24 1 Patrick Force 15.907
LARSON CARVES UP TURKEY NIGHT WIN #2; THORSON TASTES FIRST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TITLE
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
LARSON CARVES UP TURKEY NIGHT WIN #2; THORSON TASTES FIRST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TITLE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ventura, California November 24, 2016 - On the rare occasion that Kyle Larson gets the chance to take the wheel of a midget these days, he certainly makes each opportunity count.
On Thursday night in the centerpiece of the USAC National and Western States Midget calendar, Larson cooked up one of his patented performances, holding off a furious late-race rally from early leader Brady Bacon to win his second career "Turkey Night Grand Prix" in the 76th running of the prestigious event at California's Ventura Raceway.
Larson, of Elk Grove, Calif., started from the outside of the front row in his Keith Kunz - Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Bullet/Speedway Toyota alongside Bacon. Larson fought his way to the lead on lap 21 with a turn two outside pass of Bacon. Larson then navigated through numerous bouts with lapped traffic as Bacon rapidly closed to mount a serious challenge on Larson for the victory in the final laps. Larson weathered the storm and sped off to grab the 0.303 second victory over Bacon, Carson Macedo, Rico Abreu and Damion Gardner.
Larson became the 18th driver to win "Turkey Night" twice during his career and also joins Mel Kenyon, Ron Shuman, Stan Fox, Billy Boat and Dave Darland as one of six drivers to claim a "Turkey Night" victory at two different tracks after also winning in 2012 at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
"I had a good qualifying run and started second," Larson explains. "I was able to get by Brady (Bacon) fairly early and got through traffic. I tried the bottom early on, but it still felt like the top was better, so I went back to the top. I could see he was closing in on me a little bit more on the bottom and I knew I just had to get around that one lapper. I was running the top and could see Brady running to my inside. I knew eventually I'd have to get down to the bottom and I knew if I could clear him, I could run a better pace around the bottom. As soon as I cleared the lapper, I got down just in time to hold onto the lead. Once I cleared him, I ran the bottom even though I still went to the top a couple times in (turns) three and four and Brady was still right there. The white flag was not too far after that. A 98-lap race is a long time, but it felt pretty short for me."
A successful NASCAR Cup season that saw Larson score his first career series victory at Michigan in August concluded with the 14th win of his USAC National Midget career on a playground that he doesn't get to visit as much any longer, but cherishes every opportunity he gets.
"I enjoy running on the dirt every chance I get since I don't get to do it a whole lot anymore," Larson admits. Anytime I can do it, run up front and get wins, it's a lot of fun. I can't wait for the rest of the offseason, so I can run some more stuff on the dirt and get some more wins."
A melting pot of 52 midget drivers from coast-to-coast filled the pit area at Ventura in the event's largest car count since Larson's first victory in 2012.
The event was whittled to 29 for the 98-lapper at the one-fifth-mile dirt oval by the beach, but the action was quickly halted with Gage Walker's flip on the first corner of the first lap. He walked away unscathed.
Following the complete restart, Bacon and the FMR Racing/Beast/Toyota backed up the speed shown by recording the fastest laps in two of the three sessions in Wednesday night's practice and Thursday's ProSource/Woodland Auto Display fastest qualifier, proving to be the strongest combination early on after rocketing away to a half-straightaway lead.
By the 13th lap, Bacon was steadfast on the bottom as Larson made waves up on the cush. After slipstreaming through Bacon's wake, Larson charges right to the tail of the leader. On lap 21, Larson ripped around the outside of Bacon in turn two for the race lead. As the pair entered turn three, Larson slanted down from the top, cutting in front of the nose of Bacon just before the apex of the turn to take the bottom line, and the race lead, away just prior to meeting the tail-end of lapped traffic.
Meanwhile, the table was set for a heated battle for the USAC National Midget title. Separated by a mere nine markers coming into "Turkey Night," point leader Tanner Thorson ran eighth and teammate Spencer Bayston 11th just prior to the midway point.
On lap 42, Bayston and Frankie Guerrini were involved in a turn four tangle. The move was disastrous for Bayston as he lost pivotal track position that relegated him to the 23rd position for the restart.
Larson appeared to establish himself in a class of his own as he built his very own half-straightaway lead. However, multiple yellow flag periods would evaporate those leads. With 26 laps to go, Larson and Bacon, running one-two, were separated by the lapped car of Holly Shelton on the restart. It would take a couple of laps before Bacon would manage to slip by Shelton, using a turn one slide job on lap 74 to put Larson back within a clear view of out of the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's helmet visor.
Larson went topside while Bacon remained on the chalk-lined bottom berm as the two entered the green room of lapped traffic. Bacon steadily reeled in Larson, but swiftly as Larson went high, low, anywhere he could go to find daylight.
With seven laps remaining, Bacon edged ahead of Larson on the bottom for the lead, briefly, off turn two. Yet, Larson found an avenue back to the front moments later by sneaking back down to the bottom in front of the lapped car of Nick Chivello to create separation between he and second-running Bacon.
With three laps remaining, Larson and Bacon swapped lines with Larson now down low and Bacon up top. Bacon appeared to have found the top to his liking soon after, but was unable to get off the corners as strongly as Larson who commandeered the point as Bacon lost precious ground.
Larson withstood a heady drive by Bacon, the two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ, to seal the deal in the final laps for his second USAC National Midget win of the year in just his third start.
Minden, Nevada's Thorson would leave the "Turkey Night Grand Prix" a happy man for the second straight Thanksgiving night after winning last season's diamond jubilee. By virtue of his sixth-place finish in his Keith Kunz - Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/TRD - JBL Audio/Bullet/Speedway Toyota in Thursday night's feature, the 20-year-old Thorson was crowned as 2016 USAC National Midget champion.
"I went into this race set on winning," Thorson assured. "I didn't think about points all year until this race, so I wasn't trying to make it a big deal to myself because it can get you worked up and it doesn't allow you to perform your best. I just went out there to win the race."
Thorson's teammate and fellow championship combatant Bayston recovered from a spin just before halfway to finish ninth after restarting from the tail. It was an impressive feat in its own right to respond to adversity, but it would not warrant enough points for Bayston to surpass Thorson who became the first Nevada native to claim the series title.
"I saw Spencer get tangled up and it was really unfortunate," Thorson recalls. "You never want to see a teammate go out like that. It was unfortunate for him, but it worked in our favor. This whole team and our sponsors are what make this deal what it is. We have two of the best in the business in Keith (Kunz) and Big Al (Scroggins) who always put awesome cars underneath us."
"I came really close to getting the job done last year, but we came up a little bit short," Thorson adds. "This year, we were able to get it done even though we didn't start the season the way we wanted. I remember we were leading the first race during 'Indiana Midget Week' at Montpelier and popped a right rear tire. A few races later, we had an issue at 'The Ditch' (West Memphis, Ark.) and all that led to a not-so-great stretch. I didn't think that we were going to be able to get the job done after those issues. Suddenly, though, we just started clicking. Every time I went out onto the track, I had an awesome car which allowed me to win a lot of races this year. That's really the only thing that saved me this year. We got wins and stayed consistent after 'Midget Week' and it allowed us to get the job done. It's pretty incredible to be the champion. I'm speechless!"
Thirteenth-place finisher Ronnie Gardner would be the first to tell you that his 'Turkey Night' didn't go as well as he had hoped, but despite that one aberration, it was yet another banner season for the Corona, California native who became the first driver in the history of the USAC Western States Midget series to win four consecutive series championships in his Six8 Motorsports/Baldozier Racing - Esslinger Engineering/Stewart/Esslinger.
"My mom and Sleepy Tripp's wife are really good friends," Gardner explains. "I grew up idolizing Sleepy with what he accomplished on the west coast and across the United States in a midget. It's a pretty big deal to actually beat one of his records."
"I was a little disappointed," Gardner laments about Thursday night's race. "I thought we'd stack up a little better, but we kind of went outside the box tonight just trying to be better than we were, but we missed a little bit. I messed up qualifying and that put us mid-pack at the start and that hurt us in the race. Starting from the middle of the field against this competition makes it hard to get up to the front."
Award winners Thursday night at Ventura Raceway included Brady Bacon (ProSource/Woodland Auto Display/Jason Leffler Memorial Fast Qualifier), Jake Swanson (KSE Racing Products/Keizer Wheels/Rod End Supply Hard Charger), Kyle Larson (Light Up the World Beverages Feature Winner) and Carson Macedo (Don Basile Rookie of the Race).
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USAC NATIONAL/WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2016 - Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California - 76th "Turkey Night Grand Prix"
PROSOURCE/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-12.277; 2. Kyle Larson, 71w, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.356; 3. Carson Macedo, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.378; 4. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.387; 5. Michael Faccinto, 35F, MF-12.425; 6. Damion Gardner, 4k, Klatt-12.458; 7. Gage Walker, 7, Walker-12.460; 8. Rico Abreu, 97k, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.476; 9. Cory Elliott, 11E, Elliott-12.543; 10. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.575; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 73T, Ford-12.592; 12. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.595; 13. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-12.602; 14. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.608; 15. Jake Swanson, 17, Swanson-12,614; 16. Colton Hardy, 4H, Lesher-12.624; 17. Michael Pickens, 25p, Rodela-12.639; 18. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Klaasmeyer-12.654; 19. Tyler Nelson, 47, Mason-12.662; 20. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.682; 21. Courtney Crone, 25, Rodela-12.712; 22. Jake Hagopian, 14, Hagopian-12.715; 23. Cory Kruseman, 21k, Kruseman-12.721; 24. David Prickett, 122Q, Nichols/Neverlift-12.733; 25. Ryan Greth, 4, Lesher-12.746; 26. Danny Ebberts, 5, Van Dyne-12.754; 27. Holly Shelton, 67k, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.764; 28. Terry Nichols, 1P, Nichols-12.786; 29. Katlynn Leer, 77K, Leer-12.819; 30. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.827; 31, Nick Chivello, 17k, Morris-12.833; 32. Robert Dalby, 4D, Dalby-12.836; 33. Robby Josett, 2, Josett-12.851; 34. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.852; 35. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-12.879; 36. Austin Brown, 7B, Brown-12.887; 37. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-12.960; 38. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-12.984; 39. Austen Figueroa, 49jr, Bach-13.024; 40. Tyler Seavey, 88, Arata-13.059; 41. Chris Ennis, 288, Ennis-13.061; 42. Kyle Smith, 55, Smith-13.071; 43. Zac Taylor, 12k, Kruseman-13.082; 44. Frankie Guerrini, 63, Guerrini-13.082; 45. Nate Wait, 35w, MF-13.097; 46. Tyler Dolacki, 18, Dolacki-13.110; 47. Dylan Ito, 73F. Ford-13.199; 48. Tim Barber, 3T, Finkenbinder-13.233; 49. Tony Everhart, 5T, Everhart-13.319; 50. Kirk Kubik, 32, Kubik-14.223; 51. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-NT; 52. Troy Rutherford, 73x, Ford-NT.
FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Bernal. 2. Pickens, 3. J.Swanson, 4. Crone, 5. Kruseman, 6. Greth, 7. Chivello, 8. Josett, 9. Shelton, 10. Johnson, 11. Nelson, 12. Deskins, 13. Leer, 14. Taylor, 15. Ito, 16. Figueroa, 17. Ennis, 18. Everhart, 19. Wait. NT
SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Boat, 2. R.Gardner, 3. Robinson, 4. Klaasmeyer, 5. Dalby, 6. Prickett, 7. Hardy, 8. Dolacki, 9. Guerrini, 10. Barber, 11. Smith, 12. Ebberts, 13. Pankratz, 14. Nichols, 15. Brown, 16. Seavey, 17. Hagopian. 18. Cofer. NT
LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER: (15 laps) 1. Josett, 2. Kruseman, 3. Guerrini, 4. Chivello, 5. Dalby, 6. Dolacki, 7. Nelson, 8. Smith, 9. Ebberts, 10. Deskins, 11. Barber, 12. Johnson, 13. Hardy, 14. Prickett, 15. Shelton, 16. Greth. NT
LIGHT UP THE WORLD BEVERAGES FEATURE: (98 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Shane Golobic, 8. Jake Swanson, 9. Spencer Bayston, 10. Cory Elliott, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. Ryan Bernal, 13. Ronnie Gardner, 14. Holly Shelton, 15. Chad Boat, 16. Ryan Robinson, 17. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 18. Robert Dalby, 19. Maria Cofer, 20. Robby Josett, 21. Tyler Dolacki, 22. Courtney Crone, 23. Nick Chivello, 24. Frankie Guerrini, 25. Michael Faccinto, 26. Michael Pickens, 27. Randi Pankratz, 28. Cory Kruseman, 29. Gage Walker. NT
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**Ennis flipped during the first qualifier. Greth flipped during the second qualifier. Hardy flipped during the second qualifier. Walker flipped on lap 1 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Bacon, Laps 21-98 Larson.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/KEIZER WHEELS/ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Jake Swanson (17th to 8th)
DON BASILE "ROOKIE OF THE RACE:" Carson Macedo (3rd)
FINAL USAC NATIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Thorson-1,249, 2-Bayston-1,231, 3-Bacon-1,202, 4-Boat-1,162, 5-Macedo-1,126, 6-Robinson-1,003, 7-Shelton-847, 8-Bryan Clauson-720, 9-Tyler Thomas-714, 10-Greth-582.
FINAL USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-R. Gardner-1,042, 2-Faccinto-873, 3-Elliott-835, 4-Guerrini-772, 5-Crone-713, 6-Cofer-610, 7-Dalby-609, 8-Pankratz-596, 9-Cody Swanson-564, 10-Dolacki-498.
