Staff Report | Monday, May 16th, 2022
Photo Credit: Sean Case, James Gehrold
DRUMS, PA- Joey Bailey (#1B, Boyd Chassis) started 8th and finished 1st, earning the 25-lap feature victory at Evergreen Raceway this weekend! Bailey took the first Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels checkered flag at Evergreen Raceway in a decade.
Bailey’s stellar day started off by winning the first heat race of the afternoon. In only his second career ATQMRA start, rising motorsports star Tanner VanDoren (#12, MJ Motorsports) earned the second heat win of the afternoon.
Buddy Sload (#36, Spitfire Chassis) drew the pole and got a good jump on the field when the green flag flew. Earning equally good starts were Boyd Speed Shop teammates Kyle Taraska (#22 Personal Comfort) and eventual winner Bailey. Both drivers started 6th and 8th respectively, and rounded out the podium by the end of the first lap.
Bailey snuck underneath Taraska in the first turn on the second lap, as Bailey set his eyes on race leader Sload.
Fierce action continued all throughout the field. Rookie VanDoren raced nerf bar to nerf bar with fellow rising star Briggs Danner (#51J, Yuhas Chassis) in the top five.
Throughout the race, you could also throw a blanket over multi-time East Coast TQ Midget Champion Tyler Wagner, and ATQMRA veterans Steven Craig and Mark Yoder. Wagner, was completing the third leg of a triple-duty weekend as he also competed with The Mighty TQ Midgets in Ohio this weekend.
While the racing was tight in the back, the action heated up in the front. As the crossed-flags flew, Bailey had arrived at the back bumper of Sload as Taraska followed closely behind in third.
The legitimate three-car battle for the lead brought the near capacity crowd to their feet, as the leader slipped and slid around the treacherous third mile oval.
With 10 laps remaining, Bailey dropped the hammer and got to the inside of Sload, clearing driver #36 in turn one. Taraska was not too far behind Bailey, making a power move around the outside of Sload in turn four two laps later.
Taraska had one last chance to earn the lead from Bailey in lapped traffic, but failed to capitalize as Joey Bailey set sail to earn his first victory of the 2022 ATQMRA season!
Earning The Boyd Speed Shop the noted 1-2 sweep, Kyle Taraska finished 2nd in his first career Evergreen Raceway start. Buddy Sload rounded out the podium as the championship standings remained tight between these three competitors heading into Wall Stadium next weekend.
Briggs Danner, substituting for Matt Janisch, gave the #51J team a respectable fourth place finish.
Tanner VanDoren continues to impress. After winning his heat race, VanDoren set the Hoosier Hot Lap of the feature (12.774 seconds) en-route to his first career ATQMRA top five finish. VanDoren was also this weekend’s RYNO Rookie of the Race.
Zack Burd (#5z, Burlington Chevrolet) made all the right moves earning a sixth place finish, maintaining his points lead in the RYNO Rookie of the Year Standings.
Mark Yoder (#75 Ames Construction), Steve Craig (#55C, Craig Bulk Carriers) and Tyler Wagner (#51, Lindblad Badger) rounded out the field of running cars.
Mechanical issues plagued Jeff Kot (#95, Behrents Performance Warehouse) and Bill Force Jr. (#26, Force Racing), as neither driver was able to compete in the feature.
After showing great speed all day, an on-track incident in Kot’s heat race derailed their efforts as the team was not able to make the proper repairs prior to the start of the feature. Force Jr. experienced an engine issue in his heat race prior to calling it an afternoon.
Through two events, the ATQMRA continues to produce quality, clean shows, with another wire to wire green flag feature and thrilling on-track action for the lead. This week’s feature duration was just under seven minutes in length as TQ’s circled the raceway nearly one second faster per lap than the tour modifieds which ran earlier in the afternoon.
The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels returns to Wall Stadium Speedway, this Saturday May 21st for their “Party on the Track” event!
RACE RESULTS:
25 Lap Feature:
1. #1B Joey Bailey
2. #22 Kyle Taraska
3. #36 Buddy Sload
4. #51J Briggs Danner
5. #12 Tanner VanDoren
6. #5z Zack Burd
7. #75 Mark Yoder
8. #55C Steve Craig
9. #51 Tyler Wagner
10. #95 Jeff Kot -DNS
11. #26 Bill Force Jr. -DNS
FEATURE FAST FACTS:
Time of Race: 6:26.365
Leader(s): 2
Lap Leader(s): #36 Sload (15), #1B Bailey (10)
Cautions: 0
RYNO Rookie of the Race: #12 Tanner VanDoren (5th)
Hoosier Hot Lap: #12 Tanner VanDoren (12.774)
VP Hard Charger: #1B Joey Bailey (+7)
Next Race: Wall Stadium Speedway (May 21st)
Heat Race 1 (8 Laps):
1. #1B Joey Bailey
2. #36 Buddy Sload
3. #75 Mark Yoder
4. #95 Jeff Kot
5. #55C Steve Craig
6. #26 Bill Force Jr.
Heat Race 2 (8 Laps):
1. #12 Tanner VanDoren
2. #51J Briggs Danner
3. #22 Kyle Taraska
4. #51 Tyler Wagner
5. #5z Zack Burd