Staff Report | Monday, June 6th, 2022
Photography: Eric Storch, Sean Case
WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ- Buddy Sload earned a clean sweep of the field by winning both Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels features at Wall Stadium Speedway this weekend.
Under unique circumstances, fourteen of the best in TQ Midget competitors competed under a Twin-20 Feature format for this weekend’s Garden State Classic. Under the format, no heats were run and the first feature was lined up by pill draw based on owners points.
Jeff Kot (#95 Behrents Performance) drew the pole for the first feature race and stormed off to an early race lead. Kot’s fortune quickly turned into misfortune. Joey Bailey (#1B Boyd Chassis) entered turn one hot, spinning both himself and Kot in an early, intense battle for the lead.
Bailey and Kot would both regroup, charge through the field, but it wasn’t enough to make up the time lost to eventual winner Buddy Sload (#36 Spitfire Chassis).
From victory lane, Sload picked pill six, signifying a top-six invert for the second feature. In what had quickly become a race of redemption, Jeff Kot would one again be on the pole after the invert.
On the start, Sload looked like he was shot out of a cannon from the outside of row three. Sload quickly made up ground lost in the invert and jumped from sixth to second by the end of lap one.
Kot would not be denied out of the lead, challenging Sload nerf bar to nerf bar down the backstretch. Impressively, Sload would eventually grab the lead and run away from the field. However, this did not deny fans of intense racing throughout the remainder of the field.
Brianna Page (#76 A&A Truck Parts, Stavola) continues to come into her own. While Page consistently ran in the top-5 in both features, a long lasting battle between Kyle Taraska (#22 Personal Comfort) and Mark Yoder (#75 Ames Construction) brought the fans to their feet in a tight fourth place battle in the second feature.
While the two and sometimes three wild battle for fourth took place, newly initiated rivals Kot and Bailey put on a show for second. If Kot gave it a 100% effort to hold off Sload, he gave 110% effort to hold off Bailey after their recent on-track incident. Kot was ultimately able to hold off Bailey in a “photo finish” for second in the final feature of the evening.
In a thrilling evening of tight racing and a unique format, Buddy Sload continued his reign on Wall Stadium picking up his second and third feature victories of the 2022 Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels season. Sload has also regained the points lead in a tight battle with Kyle Taraska. Sload will enter the JJ Lane Memorial, a race he is the two-time defending champion of, with a four point lead over Taraska.
The 3rd Annual JJ Lane Memorial returns to Wall Stadium Speedway on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. The ATQMRA looks to honor the legacy of not only the late photographer, but of those who we have recently lost within our racing community.
The event will be highlighted by a 30 lap feature and a time trial format to set the starting line up. The stars of the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels will host an autograph session to all fans in attendance on the concourse, prior to the feature race.
RACE RESULTS:Wall 6-4-22
FEATURE 1 (20 LAPS):
1. #36 Buddy Sload
2. #1B Joey Bailey
3. #22 Kyle Taraska
4. #76 Brianna Page
5. #75 Mark Yoder
6. #95 Jeff Kot
7. #5z Zack Burd
8. #55cSteve Craig
9. #73 Cole Mullen
10. #39 Ronnie Mullen
11. #19m Chris Allen
12. #09 Rich Barlow
13. #723 Mike Turton
14. #44P Chris Pelcher
FEATURE FAST FACTS:
Time of Race: 7:25.792
Leader(s): 2
Lap Leader(s): #36 Sload (18) #95 Kot (2)
Cautions: 1
RYNO Rookie of the Race: #5z Zack Burd (7th)
Hoosier Hot Lap: #1B Bailey 13.150
VP Hard Charger: #36 Sload (+5)
FEATURE 1 (20 LAPS):
1. #36 Buddy Sload
2. #95 Jeff Kot
3. #1B Joey Bailey
4. #22 Kyle Taraska
5. #76 Brianna Page
6. #75 Mark Yoder
7. #55C Steve Craig
8. #5z Zack Burd
9. #73 Cole Mullen
10. #39 Ronnie Mullen
11. #19m Chris Allen
12. #09 Rich Barlow
13. #44P Chris Pelcher
14. #723 Mike Turton
FEATURE FAST FACTS:
Time of Race: 4:26.597
Leader(s): 2
Lap Leader(s): #36 Sload (15) #95 Kot (5)
Cautions: 0
RYNO Rookie of the Race: #5z Zack Burd (8th)
Hoosier Hot Lap: #22 Taraska (13.067)
VP Hard Charger: #36 Sload (+5)
Next Race: Wall Stadium June 25th (3rd Annual JJ Lane Memorial)