Staff Report | Monday, November 28th, 2022

Photography Credit: Tommy Lane, Eric Storch, Jack Cromer and Brien Hamer

Turkey Derby XLIX Champion Ryan Tidman in VP Racing Fuels Victory Lane (Tommy Lane Photo)

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ- “Flyin” Ryan Tidman led 29 of the 30 laps in the Hoosier Tire-Mid Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels Turkey Derby XLIX, earning his second career feature victory in the event. This was the first career Turkey Derby Championship for car owner Paul Dodorico and the #99 Dr. Martha Baker D.M.D, CheckerWon Manufacturing team.

A full field of ATQMRA TQ Midgets in front of a full grandstand is a beautiful sight (Tommy Lane Photo)

It was all Tidman, all day. Ryan started off the day earning the Bud Sload Memorial “Quick Time” in morning group time trials setting the fastest lap of the weekend at 13.002 seconds. Tyler Ferris (#33 Hamer Heating and Cooling) earned the second fastest lap time in group time trials with a 13.145 lap time.

#33 Tyler Ferris earned the second fastest lap in time trials before bad luck derailed their feature efforts (Hamer Photo)

After the redraw, both drivers started 4th and 6th respectively in the feature. Steve Craig (#55 Craig Bull Carriers), who was the seventh fastest qualifier, redrew for the pole.

Steve Craig (55) and Buddy Sload (36) lead a tight pack of TQ's in the early stages of Turkey Derby XLIX (Jack Kromer Photo)

A full field of 24 cars honored a capacity crowd of fans with the always popular “4-Wide-Salute” prior to taking the green flag and kicking off the biggest day in racing at Wall Stadium Speedway.

Buddy Sload (#36 Spitfire Chassis) started second and jumped to the lead early, passing Craig on the outside for the lead. However, it did not take long for Tidman to pass Sload on the second lap for the lead.

This would soon lead to a series of cautions within the first 8 laps of the feature. A mechanical issue by Rich Barlow (#09) brought out the first yellow of the day and unfortunately ended his weekend prematurely. Mike Turton (#723) and Brianna Page (#76 Stavola/ A&A Trucking) also went for their respective spins, but both continued in the race.

Two of the pre-race favorites who unfortunately didn't have favorable days, Tyler Wagner (#51) and Brianna Page (#76) go to battle (Eric Storch Photo)

A big moment occurred on the lap 8 restart when two of the pre-race favorites Ferris and Kyle Taraska (#22 Personal Comfort) tangled. A clutch issue essentially stalled the #33 machine of Ferris, and Taraska was trapped behind with nowhere to go. The field jumbled with 3 and 4 wide racing mid-pack. The issue ended Ferris’ afternoon early while the incident pushed Taraska back to the 13th position.

Tensions flared as Joey Bailey (#1B Boyd Chassis) and Jeff Kot (#95 Behrents Performance Warehouse) battled hard for the podium position in the laps to follow. Both drivers banged nerf bars on multiple occasions, but each driver kept it clean and kept their cars straight. Bailey would continue his charge forward from starting 8th as Kot settled into 5th.

While there were many great battles amongst the 24-car field, no one was a match for Ryan Tidman. Tidman dominated the event from start to finish in an impressive performance. The win capped off a strong ending to Tidman’s and Paul Dodorico Racing’s season, winning two of the three features in the RYNO Triple Crown.

#99 Ryan Tidman takes the checkered flag in Turkey Derby XLIX (Tommy Lane Photo)

Buddy Sload started 2nd and finished 2nd, capping off the season with a strong run for his Spitfire Chassis team. Joey rounded out the podium in 3rd.

Matt Janisch (#51J Yuhas Chassis) is another driver to end the year on a strong note, earning a fourth. Jeff Kot rounded out the top-5.

#1B Joey Bailey passed #51J Matt Janisch; both drivers battled hard all race (Eric Storch Photo)

Kyle Taraska recovered from the noted earlier race incident to finish 6th. Mark Yoder (#75 Ames Construction) ran inside the top-10 all afternoon to finish seventh. And Cole Mullen (#73 Toms River Heating and AC, Mullen Garage Services) continued his string of strong runs this year to finish 8th.

Zack Bealer (#12 Dent Zones LLC) in the MJ12 Motorsports Entry finished 9th after a solid but quiet afternoon.

#27c Craig Pellegrini on his way to earn an impressive top-10 finish in his first career ATQMRA start (Eric Storch Photo)

Craig Pellegrini (#27c RaceQuip) impressed many this weekend, finishing 10th in his first career ATQMRA start. Pellegrini is expected to race full-time for championship points and rookie honors in 2023.

Tyler Wagner (11th), Avery Stoehr (12th), and Steve Craig (13th) rounded out the lead lap finishers.

Thank you all for an incredible year! (Tommy Lane Photo)

The Hoosier Tire-Mid Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels thanks all competitors, fans, speedways and partners for their support of another incredible season.

The ATQMRA will celebrate the 2022 season on Saturday, January 21st, 2023 during an awards ceremony at The Motorsports Trade Show in Oaks, PA. The organization will prepare for the 2023 season with the annual rules meeting taking place at the venue on the same day. More details to come at a future date. Happy Holidays to all!

FEATURE RESULTS:
1. #99 Ryan Tidman
2. #36 Buddy Sload
3. #1B Joey Bailey
4. #51J Matt Janisch
5. #95 Jeff Kot
6. #22 Kyle Taraska
7. #75 Mark Yoder
8. #73 Cole Mullen
9. #12 Zack Bealer
10. #27c Craig Pellegrini
11. #51 Tyler Wagner
12. #23 Avery Stoehr
13. #55 Steve Craig
14. #76 Brianna Page
15. #39 Ronnie Mullen
16. #24 Kyle Herve
17. #723 Mike Turton
18. #2 Mike Glaser
19. #44P Chris Pelcher
20. #9c Sean Case
21. #2F Bill Force Jr.
22. #19M Chris Allen
23. #33 Tyler Ferris
24. #09 Rich Barlow

TIME TRIAL RESULTS (Redraw):
1. #99 Ryan Tidman 13.002 (4th)
2. #33 Tyler Ferris 13.145 (6th)
3. #1B Joey Bailey 13.159 (8th)
4. #22 Kyle Taraska 13.242 (9th)
5. #51 Tyler Wagner 13.248 (12th)
6. #73 Cole Mullen 13.312 (11th)
7. #55 Steve Craig 13.349 (1st)
8. #95 Jeff Kot 13.371 (5th)
9. #75 Mark Yoder 13.382 (10th)
10. #12 Zack Bealer 13.392 (7th)
11. #23 Avery Stoehr 13.399 (3rd)
12. #36 Buddy Sload 13.438 (2nd)
13. #51J Matt Janisch 13.533
14. #39 Ronnie Mullen 13.605
15. #27c Craig Pellegrini 13.638
16. #76 Brianna Page 13.662
17. #723 Mike Turton 13.853
18. #24 Kyle Herve 13.888
19. #19M Chris Allen 13.892
20. #9c Sean Case 13.999
21. #44P Chris Pelcher 14.378
22. #2F Bill Force Jr. 14.494
23. #2 Mike Glaser 14.509
24. #09 Rich Barlow No Time

FEATURE FAST FACTS:
Time of Race: 14:36.255
Leader(s): 2
Lap Leader(s): #99 Ryan Tidman (29), #36 Buddy Sload (1)
Cautions: 3
RYNO Rookie of the Race: #12 Zack Bealer (9th)
Hoosier Hot Lap: #99 Ryan Tidman (13.052)
VP Hard Charger: #1B Joey Bailey & #27c Craig Pellegrini (+5)
Next Event: 2022 Championship Awards Ceremony and Annual Rules Meeting, Saturday, January 21st, 2023

TIDMAN "FLYS" TO ATQMRA TURKEY DERBY XLIX CHAMPIONSHIP