Kris Graver Wins ATQMRA Season Opener at Mahoning Valley

Under clear skies and brisk April temperatures, the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel kicked off their 2018 campaign at the Mahoning Valley Speedway Saturday evening. With excitement in the air, it was Joey Bailey debuting his brand new #51B Yuhas Chassis for Alan Mollot, who set the pace.

Not only did Bailey set quick time in the afternoon practice session, he blistered the field by running lap times close to four-tenths of a second faster than the field in his heat race, earning him a near two and a half second victory over the field in the opening race of the night.

The second heat race of the evening went off without a hitch as #75 Mark Yoder began his 2018 season with a bang capturing the checkered flag. Both heat races ran without incident, meaning both 8-lap races were completed well under two minutes in time.

The top eight feature starting positions were set for redraw per the ATQMRA Rulebook. #51 Matt Janisch, also driving for Alan Mollot, who drew the first pill granting him the pole positon for the 25-lap feature. Heat race winners Mark Yoder and Joey Bailey drew the fourth and seventh feature starting positons respectively. 

It was Janisch who paced the field in the early going of the feature race. However, Kris Graver, who drives the #48 owned by Matt Janisch, stayed within car lengths of his car owner for the first half of the race. Graver, who is a Mahoning Valley Speedway regular, saved his equipment and made a second half charge for the win to the delight of the crowd.

Graver made a power move to the outside of Janisch, bringing the crowd to their feet as he made his pass for the lead on the outside in the first turn just beyond the halfway point of the race. Although both Janisch and heat race winner Joey Bailey made late charges in the closing stages, it was Graver who played his cards right and saved his tires the best to capture the victory at Mahoning Valley Speedway.

Like the heat races prior, the 25-lap feature ran caution free and was completed in an astonishing three minutes and fifty six seconds. Matt Janisch would ultimately finish second to his owned car, with Joey Bailey finishing third. #1B Ryan Tidman brought his Lafler Chassis home in forth and #36 Buddy Sload rounded out the top five in a solid effort for Spitfire Racing.

The Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel takes a week off before heading north to the Waterford Speedbowl, CT for an action-packed day on Saturday, May 5th 2018.

RACE RESULTS

Heat 1 -8 Laps

1.     #51B Joey Bailey

2.     #36 Buddy Sload

3.     #48 Kris Graver

4.     #1B Ryan Tidman

5.     #16 Ronnie Mullen

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Heat 2 -8 Laps

1.     #75 Mark Yoder

2.     #51 Matt Janisch

3.     #20 Jon Keller

4.     #17 Joey Jarowicz

5.     #73x Cole Mullen

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Feature -25 Laps

1. #48 Kris Graver

2. #51 Matt Janisch 

3. #51B Joey Bailey

4. #1B Ryan Tidman

5. #36 Buddy Sload

6. #17 Joey Jarowicz

7. #75 Mark Yoder

8. #20 Jon Keller

9. #73x Cole Mullen

10. #16 Ronnie Mullen

Tidman Takes Turkey Derby

Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic ATQMRA Powered by VP

November 25, 2017 Wall Stadium, NJ Flying Ryan Tidman Parked the Lenny and Donna Boyd 1B Lafler in Victory Lane at the season ending Turkey Derby in an epic battle with second finishing Matt Janisch to close out his Championship season with six feature wins.  26 cars took the green flag for the feature including 11 invaders with Joey Payne topping drivers making their first 2017 start. Janisch sniped fast time on the last lap of knock out time trials for the second year in a row.  With the outdoor season officially at a close the next official ATQRMA activity will be the Motorsports Show, in January as teams gear up for the coming indoor racing series.

For the Turkey Derby the ATQRMA runs a king of the hill style Qualifying format of group qualifying.  The groups are determined by practice times with the fastest cars in the last group.  Joey Bailey was in the third group and put himself at the top of the speed chart.  His time stayed at the top of the scoring pylon until late in the final round when he fell to fourth.  Janisch hovered near the top of the chart with Tidman sitting on top until the final lap when Janisch found a little extra speed to cross the finish line under the checkered flag to put his number to the top of the scoring pylon and assure himself a spot in the redraw.  Tidman was second in time with invading Joey Payne third.  Joey Bailey in the second Boyd Racing entry was fourth quick with Buddy Sload fifth in the Colin Martin Spitfire 36.  Jeff Kot in his Behrent's Performance Badger was sixth followed by Kris Graver in the Alan Mollot 51 Badger with Tim Proctor rounding out the redraw cars, in his 98 Drinan. 

The redraw put a pair of ATQRMA big dogs on the front row with Ryan Tidman starting pole and Matt Janisch outside.  Several cautions flew before lap one was completed. Tim Proctor was the worst off. Before a lap was completed he caught a wheel and flipped on the back stretch.   Proctor walked away unhurt. Don Zrinski and Kris Graver also had their feature end before a lap was completed.  When the first lap was completed Tidman was in the lead followed by Janisch. Jeff Kot would work himself into 2nd place early but contact down the backstretch from Janisch knocked Kot out of contention. After restarting last in the field with a damaged race car, Kot would charge back to a 14th place finish. 

Tidman would lead every lap to earn his sixth win of the 2017 season.  It wasn't quite that easy.  From the onset Janisch was hot in his tail looking for an opportunity to slip past.  In the waning laps of the race that ran the final 18 laps caution free the pair closed in on a group of cars running at the tail end of the lead lap battling side by side for position creating a few nail bighting moments for the veteran racers at the front of the field. Tidman deftly and patiently negotiated the traffic keeping Janisch at bay to earn the right to wear the laurels in Victory Lane at Wall for the second time in 2017 to cap his championship season in style. 

Multi Race Winner Buddy Sload, would roll across the line in third with Super Modified Regular and past ATQRMA Champion Joey Payne fourth. Joey Bailey rounded out the top five. With Western New York's Bobby Holmes finishing sixth. 2016 Rookie of the year Mark Yoder was seventh with invading Brandon Azzalina from Stroudsburg Pa in the George and Marilyn Van Varick Lafler 43posted an 8th place finish. His other start on the season was in the Pocono event when he led until late in the race. Invading Tim Buckwalter in the Cicconi 75 finished 9th in a shake down run in preparation for the indoor season.  Tyler MacLeod rounded out the top ten in the Norm Macleod 32.  

Brandon Azzalina was the highest finishing driver with ACRO Rookie of the Year eligibility for the 2018 season. Tyler MacLeod, Kyle Taraska, Kevin VanValkenburg, Brianna Page, Nascar Modified Superstar Keith Rocco and Kris Graver round out the drivers with 2018  Rookie eligibility among Turkey Derby Competitors. Brett Michalski was the Hard Charger and Kevin Vanbalkenburg received the Last Car on Lead Lap Bonus,  from Brice's NAPA.

Heath Hehnley was on hand for the Turkey Derby to give the pavement a try once again in a Hyper Hugger Micro Sprint. The team struggled to find the speed they needed to run up front. Hehnley is a past Turkey Derby Champion winning the race on Wall's High banks driving the iconic Colin Martin 36. This was his first start on Wall's flat inner oval. 

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ATQMRA Turkey Derby Feature 20 laps  1.  1B Ryan Tidman  2.  48  Matt Jansich  3.  36 Buddy Sload  4.  83 Joey Payne  5.  22  Joey Bailey  6. 21  Bobby Holmes  7.  75 Mark Yoder  8.  43 Brandon Azzalina 9.   75  Tim Buckwalter  10.  32 Tyler MacLeod  11.  73b Brett Michalski  12.  39 Ronnie Mullen  13.  2 Kyle Taraska 14. 95  Jeff Kot  15.  20 Kevin VanValkenburg  16.  711  Mike Iles  17.  6  Bill Force  18.  F8 Mike Occhipinte  19.  45 Anthony Payne  20.  01 Brianna Page  21. 1 Keith Rocco  22.  73c Cole Mullen  23.  11k  Heath Hehnley 24  Don Zrinski  25.  98 Tim Proctor  26.  51  Kris Graver

Bailey to Debut New Chassis at Turkey Derby XLIV

Lenny Boyd, Ryan Tidman, Joey Bailey, Donna Boyd

This past weekend ATQMRA regular Joey Bailey returned to Wall Stadium for the first time since his horrifying wreck in turn 1 in September. However, fans noticed Bailey wasn’t flying his usual #02 colors.

Bailey will be debuting a new, spitfire chassis Thanksgiving weekend, now as driver #22. But how “new” is this chassis?

Bailey on the throttle.

“This is the same car my teammate Ryan Tidman won his championships in from 2011-2013,” said Bailey. “The opportunity to drive this chassis actually started the day of my now infamous accident… We have been struggling with the #02 all year and as a team we felt like this would be the best opportunity to capture a checkered flag before the season ends.”

Now racing with 13” wheels, Joey found more comfort in his new chassis right off the bat compared to his former 10” wheel chassis.

“I never raced 13” tires before, so adjusting to the bigger brakes took a round of practice to get used to. It was nice being in a car with that much stopping power, compared to the 10” tires there was a lot of gliding around. The brakes are so important on Wall’s inner oval, so I find this to be a huge advantage for us heading into Turkey Derby.”

The car will have a throwback feel to it as well, with a paint scheme designed after owner Lenny Boyd’s asphalt modified from the 1990’s. Bailey, of Monroe, NJ felt it would be a great honor to represent all of Boyd’s success over the course of his career at New Jersey’s biggest motorsport event of the year.

This weekend, Joey and the rest of the ATQMRA are expected to tune on their cars one last time ahead of final preparation for Turkey Derby XLIV.

Practice will take place this Saturday, November 18th, from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM est. at Wall Stadium Speedway. Grandstand admission is free to all spectators and pit passes are only $20.00.

For more information, including camping and ticket options for Turkey Derby XLIV, please visit www.wallspeedwayracing.com.

Sload Wins Waterford Tidman Tops Season Championship Gorbatuk ACRO Rookie of the Year

Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic ATQMRA Powered by VP

Waterford Ct.  October 21, 2017;  The ATQMRA Points Paying race of the 2017 season at the Waterford Speedbowl was won  by Buddy Sload in the Colin Martin 36 Spitfire.  Flying Ryan Tidman finished third capping the 2017 Championship for himself and car owner's Lenny and Donna Boyd.  Dave Gorbatuk earned enough points to best ACRO Rookie of the Race Cole Mullen for the 2017 ATQMRA ACRO Rookie of the Year Title in Hoosier Tire  Mid Atlantic Competition at the Waterford Speed bowl Powered by VP.   Next up for the ATQMRA is the fall General Membership Meeting on Sunday November 4th from 3 to 5pm followed by the season ending awards dinner.  The final on track racing action for the TQs will be the Annual Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium on Saturday November 25th.

The front Row of Little Wall Quarter Midget racers Cole Mullen and Joey Bailey brought the field to the Green Flag.  The initial lap wasn't completed before NEMA Midget Star Avery Stoehr went careening into the first turn wall on the initial Start in the beautifully prepared Phil DiMario 23 car.  He was uninjured in the incident.  A complete restart would see Joey Bailey launch into the lead with heat race winner Mark Yoder in second.  Seventh starting Buddy Sload would methodically work his way into second position by lap fifteen.  Bailey opened up a substantial lead by this time only to fade in the waning laps from a blistered right rear tire.   

Sload would overtake Bailey to lead the 21st lap and not look back.  The 25-lap race was run from green to checker with a fading Bailey hanging on to second at the finish.  Bailey was looking for a comeback victory after a nasty flip at Wall a few weeks ago.  Bailey's father Russ and the Boyd racing team successfully returned the Zuzzalo 02 to top form for the race on the organization's fastest track at the Waterford Speed Bowl nearly finding his way to Victory on a track where he has consistently led laps but hasn't been able to grab the brass ring.  

Flying Ryan Tidman who secured the Championship in the previous round at Wall for himself and Team Owner's Lenny and Donna Boyd finished third after winning the previous show at Waterford.  Tidman had a five-win season to capture another Championship with the Boyd Racing team.  

Mark Yoder who won his heat in convincing fashion missed out on a podium finish losing the third position to Tidman on the last lap.  Matt Janisch rolled across the line fifth after having a car that was consistently the class of the field in practice.  

ACRO Rookie of the Race Cole Mullen rolled across the line an impressive sixth moving him ahead of his father in the season long Rookie Standings.  Cole fell a few positions short of catching the ATQMRA ACRO Rookie of the Year Dave Gorbatuk who picked up enough points with his 12th place finish in the Metz Racing Driver Development BGF Chassis 2 to earn the 2017 title.  The 2017 ACRO Rookie of the Year Championship chase was one of the tightest in recent memory with Gorbatuk and the father and son team of Ronnie and Cole Mullen all having a realistic shot at the title entering the final round.    

Kot would roll across the line seventh in his Behrent's Peformance Yuhas 88.  Geoffrey Sutton was 8th with Veteran Dave Williams 9th and Joey Payne III rounding out the top ten.  Ronnie Mullen would be scored 11th with Dave Gorbatuk 12th.  Steve Boland made his second start of the season with the ATQMRA in the Fred Delibero 01 after racing his father's 19 car at Riverhead earlier in the season.  Avery Stoehr who is a star in the NEMA Midget organization and races regularly at Waterford in the Midgets made his first start in a TQ midget at the Wateroford SpeedBowl.  His feature was over before it started when he crashed on the initial start of the race.  

Feature Race 25 laps 1.  36 Buddy Sload 2.  02 Joey Bailey  3.  1B RyanTidman  4.  75 Mark Yoder  5.  51 Matt Janisch 73c  Cole Mullen 7.  88 Jeff Kot  8.  461 Geoffrey Sutton  9.  11 Dave Williams  10.  67 Joey Payne III  11.  39 Ron Mullen  12.  2 Dave Gorbatuk  13.  01 Steve Boland  14.  23 Avery Stoehr

Heat 1  1.  36 Buddy Sload  2.  02 Joey Bailey  3.  88 Jeff Kot  4.  461 Geoffrey Sutton 5.  39 Ron Mullen  6.  67 Joey Payne

Heat 2  1.  75 Mark Yoder  2.  51  Matt Janisch 3.  1B Ryan Tidman   4.  73 Cole Mullen 5.  11 Dave Williams  6.  2 Dave Gorbatuk  7.  01 Steve Boland