Tidman Wings his way to Oswego Glory

Media Contact: Blu Metz 610-217-2593 Blu4a@rcn.com

6/13/2015 Oswego NY:           Ryan Tidman cruised to victory over teammate Joey Bailey and Jon Gambutti. Heat races were won by Tidman and Gambutti. Next up for the ATQMRA is its second consecutive race in New York State at Bethel Speedway. Force moved to the top of the Rookie standings with his eight place finish.

Ryan Tidman swept the days racing at Oswego Speedway by winning his heat race and following that up with a feature victory. It is Tidman's first win of the young season but is his second consecutive win at Oswego after winning the TQ Classic last September at the Steel Palace.

A front row of Geoffrey Sutton and Matt Roselli brought the field to the green with Roselli taking the early lead with Tidman following into second. While Roselli looked strong early Tidman was able to take the top spot by lap five after Roselli spun in the fourth turn. It looked as if Tidman would be able to cruise to victory in the 25 lap event but a late race caution tightened up the field and gave Current Point leader and Teammate in the Boyd Racing camp Joey Bailey a shot at Victory. On the restart Bailey tried to muscle his way past Tidman but had to settle for second followed across the line by Hotrod Jon Gambutti in the Alan Mollot 51 Lindblad Badger.

The Battle for Rookie of the Year honors heated up Saturday at the Steel Palace when two of the contenders Patrick Force and Mike Glaser tangled battling for position late in the race. Entering the third turn Glaser attempted to make a move under Force but climbed his left rear and locked the two together and both went sliding to a stop in the grass that surrounds the infield portion of the track. Force was visibly upset with loosing the opportunity to earn his best finish of the season. Glaser was able to continue and finished seventh.

Tidman and Gambutti won their respective heat races while current point leader had a DNF in his heat but recovered to earn his third podium finish of the season and the second consecutive sweep of the top two spots by the 1B and 02 cars that operate out of the Boyd Racing Oceanaire Shop in Tom's River NJ.

Bailey maintained the overall points lead but the margin narrowed with Tidman gaining four markers with the win. By virtue of his eighth place finish Patrick Force was able to take the top spot in the Rookie Standings over Avery Stoehr who was busy racing his NEMA Midget at Wiscaset Speedway in Maine. The rookie of the year battle should be a two driver race between Force and Glaser since the two are the only rookies who have declared intentions to run all of the remaining races with the ATQMRA.

On hand to race a TQ at the steel palace was 2009 ATQMRA Championship winning driver Alison Cumens who ran fast laps in her Fiancé's Sload racing 53 in the first round of practice. Cumens was also racing her ISMA Supermodified. The second round of practice was both her best and worst. She was second on the speed chart at close to 146 MPH average Speed but crashed into the outside retaining wall ending her day early. Cumens was shaken but uninjured in the incident but decided not to push her luck and parked the TQ for the day.

Next up for the ATQMRA is its annual trip to Bethel Motor Speedway for some winged racing. The Sullivan County quarter mile always provides ultra competitive racing for the TQ midgets and gives the fans and drivers a dose of short track racing unique to the TQ midgets. Also on the card that night will be the Vintage TQ midgets.

ATQMRA News and Notes:The racing Chiropractor Greg Richardson who resides in Rochester NY fielded his 44 orange peeler machine for his second ATQMRA start but had a litany of mechanical whoa's that hampered his progress. Richardson and his crew didn't get the results they were hoping for but showed true grit in overcoming the problems they encountered to have the car on grid for the feature. Richardson's motivation to race the Steel Palace is that he is an Oswego native. Chad Parks, son of famed Indy Crew chief and AJ Foyt employee Lew Parks debut their brand new Drinan TQ midget.   Parks was working his way up to speed in the feature but his day ended in a DNF of lap 18. 2014 ATQMRA Rookie of the year Geoffrey Sutton lost the power plant in his Metz Racing 46 in the second round of practice and was forced to take over the seat of the Metz Racing 46v that was to be raced that day by Blu Metz. Sutton recovered to finish fifth in the final tally.

Bailey Adapts Fastest at Wall Hoosier Tire ATQMRA Action

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Joey Bailey was best able to adapt to the Wall Stadium Aero Package sweeping the night winning his heat race and the feature in exciting fashion. Ryan Tidman rolled across second with Geoffrey Sutton third. Sutton won the other heat race. Next up for the ATQMRA is a trip north to the Steel Palace Oswego Speedway on June 13th. 

The day began with a half hour happy hour to give teams an opportunity to adjust to the aero package that is in place for the Wall races. The Alan Mollot 51 driven by Avery Stoehr was the class of the field at that point achieving a balanced setup to click off some impressive lap times. The rest of the field would soon find speed as well. 

The early session was marred by a flipping Jimmy Wolcott who made hard contact with the second turn wall ending his nights racing. He walked away from the incident uninjured but his car was finished for the night. 

The first heat saw 2014 Rookie of the Year Geoffrey Sutton start from the pole and win his first heat with the organization. It wasn't that easy. Avery Stoehr charged into second and dogged Sutton the entire distance looking like he had the speed to put Sutton away but the 51 loosened up toward the end of the 8 lap heat allowing Sutton to pull away. 

The second heat was the beginning of a strong night for 2013 Rookie of the year Joey Bailey. He led every lap to win the second heat run in tight formation with Flying Ryan Tidman in second.

The feature race saw a front row of Geoffrey Sutton and Matt Roselli who were rivals on the dirt at the Lehigh Valley Quarter Midget Track take the green with Sutton winning the drag race into the first turn. Roselli held second until a hard charging Tidman moved into second and began the battle for the lead with Bailey slotting into third by the second lap. The top three cars ran under a blanket until the caution flew on lap nine. 

The restart gave Tidman the opportunity he needed. He was able to complete an outside pass on the restart to move into the lead over Sutton with Bailey following into second. This was only the beginning of the excitement. Bailey, determined to get to the front, moved around on the track looking for a way around Tidman. Bailey moved up the track attempting to set up a cross over move to take the lead and was able to get a run off the fourth turn and get under Tidman with two laps to go winning the race by a mere .211 seconds. The top three were within a half second and the entire field finished on the lead lap. 

Next up for the ATQMRA is a trip to the Steel Palace Oswego Speedway on Saturday June 13th for the first of two trips to the Indy of the East Oswego Speedway. The ATQRMA will be back in action at Oswego for the second time in 2015 once again for Bud Classic Weekend. Oswego is something to be experienced. It's the only paved track in the east that has a true open wheel heritage and a strong contingent of rabid fans who appreciate close open wheel racing. 

Feature Race 20 laps: 1. 02 Joey Bailey 2. 1B Ryan Tidman 3. 46 Geoffrey Sutton 4. 16 Buddy Sload 5. 98 Matt Roselli 6. 53 Alison Cumens 7. 51 Avery Stoehr 8. 39 Ronnie Mullen 9. F8 Mike Glaser 10. 18 Patrick Force 11. 33 Jimmy Wolcott (DNS)

Heat 1. 46 Geoffrey Sutton 
Heat 2. 51 Joey Bailey

ATQMRA News and Notes: 2009 ATQMRA Champion Alison Cumens made a return to the ATQMRA at Wall in her Fiancé Buddy Sload's 53 car rolling across the line in sixth. It was Alison's second race of the weekend after earning a top ten in the ISMA SuperModified opener on Friday night she made the trip to Wall from Delaware Speedway in Ontario in time to compete at Wall Saturday. Buddy Sload raced the potent Colin Martin 16 Spitfire that he raced indoors to a strong fourth place finish. 

The New aero package tightened up the competition keeping all of the finishing cars on the lead lap. The fastest TQ was about a second slower than the TQ midget track record pace. Drivers commented that the cars behaved much like a wingless car. Teams appeared to experience reduced tire wear as a result of the aero package.

Matt Roselli made his second start of the weekend as well after finishing 19th at Kutztown on Wednesday in the West End Rent All 600 Microsprint in competition against a field of 47 cars. Roselli was able to roll across the line with a top five at Wall. 

2014 Rookie of the Year Geoffrey Sutton won his first heat race in ATQRMA competition and earned his first podium finish on a big track with the club leading nine laps in route to the third place finish. Teamed up with Sutton in the Metz Racing Stable was Wall Stadium's most Popular Driver and multi Division Champion Ronnie the Rocket Mullen and NHRA Drag Racer Mike Glaser. Mullen posted an eighth place finish in the renumbered 39 car staying on the lead lap in the TQ feature. Mullen shot out into the lead and pulled his Factory Stock into Victory lane in that division's feature. His bid to earn two features in one night was cut short when the 4 cylinder race was rained out. Glaser made his season debut in the Metz Racing f8 after running a handful of races in 14 at Borgers Speedway and has his eyes on the ATQRMA rookie of the year trophy.

The hard charging Avery Stoehr ran the fastest laps of the day with the new aero package but missed the handle for the feature struggling with a loose handling car to a seventh place finish in the final tally.   

Patrick Force is working hard to gain experience running as high as seventh in the main before dropping from competition on lap 13.

ATQMRA Introduces a New Aero Package for Wall Stadium (Images included)

With the speeds of the TQ Midgets at Wall Stadium ever increasing the ATQRMA in cooperation with the management of Wall Stadium is implementing a new Aero Package designed to slow the cars on the high banks of Wall with the hope of improving safety and increasing competitiveness. Rather than removing the wings from the cars they will remain in place but teams will be required to ad a "Spoiler" to both the top and bottom of the wing to reduce the down force and create drag while still keeping the wing atop the car to help absorb energy in case of a rollover. Additionally a Spec throttle stop has been developed to limit the throttle opening reducing the available horsepower from the engine. For the upcoming race at Wall teams will be allowed to ad three tires to their tire bank.

Each year the lap times go down and the speed of the cars goes up. As with everything a correction was needed. An aggressive package to reduce the speed of the cars on Wall's High banks has been developed. Several teams tested a number of methods to slow the cars at Wall across the last several weeks. ATQMRA President Buddy Sload commented, "It's much easier to make a car go faster than it is to figure out a way to make them slower."

A name synonymous with going fast at Wall Stadium in everything from a TQ Midget to a Modified, Lenny Boyd came forward with a proposed aerodynamic solution to slow down the cars.   Boyd, Owner of Oceanaire in Tom's River NJ certainly knows aerodynamics and has a long history of winning races in TQ midgets, Midgets and Modified Stock cars. Boyd's concept was fairly simple and straight forward. He tested the addition of a spoiler both on top of, and under the wing in a strategic location coupled with a shallow wing angle and no rear wicker bill.  This made the cars drive much like a car with no wing. The biggest benefit of slowing the cars in this way is that it keeps the cushion the aluminum wing provides atop the car while allowing it to race much like a wingless car while still having the straight line stability the side boards provide.

To further reduce the speed of the cars a spec throttle stop has been developed and tested.   The stop reduces the throttle opening a specified amount that will be equal for each car and can easily be checked.

The first race with the new package in place will be the ATQMRA's next scheduled event at Wall Stadium on May 16th. A strong field of cars was on hand at Mahoning Valley for the club's opener on April 25th and nearly all of those teams are planning to run at Wall with the addition of a handful of others coming into the fold.

Following the heavy tire wear experienced at Mahoning Valley teams will be allowed to ad three tires to their bank at the race at Wall on the 16th.

What follows is the rules package that has been adopted for the races at Wall. Please direct any questions to ATQMRA President Buddy Sload 484-880-0907 or any of the club officers. The ATQMRA will have the equipment and ability to help anyone struggling with their spoiler installation available at Wall on the 16th.

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Wall Speedway Rules Package

This rules package is in effect for all races at Wall Speedway in 2015.

Wing Spoilers

All cars will have aerodynamic spoilers affixed to the upper and lower side of the wing. These spoilers will be constructed of 2" aluminum angle with a minimum thickness of .0625 inches (1/16). Spoilers must be located at 33% of the chord line measurement of wing measured from the front edge both top and bottom and should extend the full width of the airfoil.

Wicker Bills

No wicker bills will be allowed as part of this rules package.

Wing Angle

All cars will have a maximum wing angle limit of 2.0 degrees. This measurement will be taken along the chord line of the wing at the centerline and will be checked during post-race inspection.

Throttle Stops

All cars must install a .250 throttle stop at the current factory throttle stop at the throttle body. These stops will be supplied by the ATQMRA and returned after each race.

Wall Speedway reserves the right to increase speed restrictions as they see necessary.

Janisch Wins Hoosier Tire ATQMRA Opener

2014 ATQMRA Champion Matt Jansich started his title defense the same way he clinched it. By Winning. It was the third consecutive opening night victory for the TQ veteran at Mahoning Valley. A strong contingent of Rookie drivers were on hand with young Avery Stoehr at the head of that class. Heat races were won by Avery Stoehr and Matt Roselli. The next event on the schedule for the ATQMRA is the independent sanction $1,000 to win race at Chapel Hill Speedway in New York on May 2 followed by the next Points paying race at Wall Stadium on Saturday May 16th.

The ATQMRA opened its 59th season of racing at the fabled Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton, Pa. For the third consecutive year Matt Janisch parked a white and orange 48 in Victory Lane.

The Feature race started out with a Metz Racing front Row of Rob Vivona and Geoffey Sutton taking Bobby Stull's green flag. Vivona looked like he was shot from a cannon on the start Jumping out to the early lead. Vivona lead teammate Geoffrey Sutton for the first pair of circuits before perennial Mahoning contender Matt Roselli moved into second. Vivona opened a lead on second place until the caution flew on lap ten.

The restart put the trio of Janisch, Roselli, and Tidman on Vivona's bumper. Vivona

held the lead on the restart only to complete a lap before another quick caution flew. This was the deciding restart where Janisch rocketed into the lead followed into second by 2013 Rookie of the year Joey Bailey.

The restart from the lap 16 caution put Ryan Tidman and Roselli to the back of the pack. Apparent contact between Tidman and Stoehr on the restart sent Tidman spinning with Roselli taking evasive action to avoid a collision. The pair would charge back through the field to finish fifth and seventh.

Once out front Janisch was never seriously threatened. Top finishing Rookie Avery Stoehr finished second with Joey Bailey earning a podium finish in third. The versatile Rob Vivona rolled across the line in fourth following up his second place finish Friday night at Bridgeport in his Dirt 600. A resurgent Tidman was fifth.

Winner of the last ATQMRA race at Mahoning Valley, Buddy Sload was sixth followed by Matt Roselli.

Rookie Alex Greenzweig was the second highest finishing rookie in the race in eighth followed by his car owner and fellow ATQMRA Rookie Pat VanVarick. Greenzweig was impressive in his first TQ midget start adapting quickly to the powerful TQ midgets. His car owner Pat VanVarrick who is hardly a rookie in racing was the highest finishing 600 micro sprint of the day. VanVarrick had numerous wins in his Hyper Hugger 600 at Borgers Speedway in 2014 and brings a wealth of racing experience to the ATQMRA.

Geoffrey Sutton had a disappointing night at Mahoning. In the final tally he finished ninth but posted the fifth fastest lap in the feature race but fell victim to a blistered right rear tire. Kurt Bettler was driving the other VanVarick 600 in the field racing the George and Marilyn Manieri/VanVarrick 600. The team struggled getting the car hooked up but learned some lessons to carry forward.

Rookie of the year hopeful Patrick Force made steady gains all day earning valuable experience that only seat time can provide. He was teamed with his brother Bill Force Jr. who's 26 car was plagued with an engine gremlin that kept him from getting up to speed.

This win was the third consecutive Season opening Victory for Janisch at Mahoning Valley. It also marked the debut of Janisch's 13 inch tire Yuhas Chassis car and was the first outdoor race for the car. Builder Jimmy Yuhas made his first trip to Mahoning Valley a good one by visiting the Hoosier Tire ATQMRA Victory Lane to see the car he constructed for Janisch take the checkered flag. This marked Jansich's fifth victory at Mahoning in four different TQ midgets.

The heat races were won by Avery Stoehr and Matt Roselli. Stoehr only led one lap in his heat race and it was the lap that counted. He earned a victory in his first outing in the fabled Alan Mollot 51 Lindblad Badger. He was followed across the line by Buddy Sload and Pat VanVarrick. Tidman was followed by Janisch across the line in the second heat.

ATQMRA Rookie Report: Five drivers with Rookie eligibility were in competition on the day.   The top finishing rookie was last years NEMA Rookie of the year and second in points finishing Avery Stoehr in the Alan Mollot 51 Lindblad Badger. Stoehr will be running a handful of races in the Mollot car including the upcoming ATQMRA race at Wall Stadium on May 16th but will see limited time in the TQs due to his NEMA midget schedule. Alex Greenzweig made an impressive debut putting himself in second position early in the ATQMRA Rookie Championship standings. Pat VanVarick was third followed by Kurt Bettler and Patrick Force.

ATQMRA News and Notes:   Jeff Kot was making his return to the track in his Lindblad Badger but suffered a driveline failure that sidelined him in practice. The Brice's NAPA Auto Parts ATQMRA Clean Start Program handed out fourteen buckets of cleaning products to the teams at the show at Mahoning Valley. Each team registering a car for the season received a five gallon NAPA bucket commemorating the Intrepid Fallen Heros Fund that contained cleaning products to help teams to a clean start to the season.   A special thanks to Norm Williamson at Williamsigns in Allentown for quickly producing the Hoosier Tire Victory Lane Banner for the ATQMRA.  Feature winner Jansich tried to double down on the night but came up short in SpeedSTR competition with a 9th place finish. 

Heat 1

1  51  Avery Stoehr  2  53  Buddy Sload  3  17  Pat VonVarick  4  46v  Rob Vivona  5  02  Joey Bailey  6  18  Patrick Force  dns  95  Jeff Kot  

Heat 2

1  98x  Matt Roselli  2  1B  Ryan Tidman  3  48  Matt Janisch  4  17v  Alex Greenzweig  5  46  Geoffrey Sutton  6  43  Kurt Bettler  dns  26  Bill Force Jr  

Feature 25 Laps

1  48  Matt Janisch  2  51  Avery Stoehr  3  02  Joey Bailey  4  46v  Rob Vivona  5  1B  Ryan Tidman  6  53  Buddy Sload  7  98x  Matt Roselli  8  17v  Alex Greenzweig  9  17  Pat VanVarick  10  46  Geoffrey Sutton  11  43  Kurt Bettler  12  18  Patrick Force  13  26  Bill Force Jr  dns  95  Jeff Kot  

Hoosier Tire ATQMRA 2015 Rookie Class

The growth of the ATQMRA comes from the rookies. Last year Geoffrey Sutton earned the coveted ATQMRA rookie of the year honor. A handful of new drivers will be joining the ranks of the ATQMRA for 2015. In addition to the new teams to the circuit a handful of racers from years past will return to competition as well as the invasion of the 600 micro sprints. The ATQMRA kicks off the 2015 season at Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton, Pa on Saturday April 25th.

New to the tour will be Patrick Force in the former Roselli Racing Drinan car that he recently purchased from Paul Lotier Jr. Patrick is the son of ATQRMA Vintage Division President Bill Force Sr. who raced with the organization in the 70s in the same 26 car in vintage competition today that he raced back in the 70s. Patrick will be teamed with his brother Bill Force Jr. in his beautifully prepared 26 car. Bill Force Jr. spent much of the 2014 season on the sidelines but will be back running a part time schedule with the club. 

Patrick Force's car will be numbered 18 and he intends to run all of the shows in 2015 and contend for ATQMRA rookie of the year. Patrick's first racing experience came in the 2 stroke division of the vintage ATQRMA and in the Metz Racing F8 at Borger's Speedway as well as turning laps in his brother's Dart TQ midget. He hopes to learn the ropes with the ATQMRA and hone his driving and setup skills and work toward rookie of the year honors with the organization. Patrick has Victoria Grace Hair to Please and Gotcha Covered Home Services sponsoring his efforts. 

Drag Racer Mike Glaser will be back behind the wheel of the Metz Racing F8 in competition at many of the races with the ATQMRA. Glaser who won NHRA Drag Racing Championships at Englishtown Speedway and spent many years competing in the realm of straight line racing seems to have found a new home at Metz Racing learning the oval track craft. Mike ran the last several races at Borger's Speedway in 2014 and was gaining experience. He now looks forward to improving his oval track skills on the bigger tracks with the ATQMRA.

George and Marilyn VanVarrick will be fielding their 600 at select events with Micro Sprint and Slingshot Hot shoe Kurt Bettler behind the wheel. That car incidentally raced at Hamlin on the dirt and has won indoors at Fort Wayne in winged competition with Matt Janisch behind the wheel and won races at Borger's wingless with Kurt Bettler and Brandon Azzalina at the controls. Billy Pauch Jr. also took a turn behind the wheel of the VanVarrick car at the end of the season. When the club shows up at MahoningValley for the opener it will be Bettler's second time running with the ATQMRA at its MahoningValley opener. Bettler ran the feature event in the Metz Racing F8 at the 2014 club opener. 

Returning to the ATQMRA tour in 2015 will be 2013 Points Runner up Brent Conklin. He will be piloting the Green Flag Driving Experience TQ that he raced in Atlantic City's indoor races this past winter at select races with the organization. 

Micro Sprint stand out Rob Vivona who was Borger's Speedway 2012 Dirt car champion and that same year's Oktoberfest Champion will be running the ATQRMA opener at MahoningValley as well as the $1000 to win TQ Open at Chapel Hill NY Speedway in the Metz Racing 46b. Vivona has been a contending racer at the indoor events since the return of indoor racing to Atlantic City and runs his 600 wingless micro sprint regularly in true outlaw fashion around the northeast. Vivona will be sharing time in the 46b with New York's Shilo Boyce. Boyce is a competitor in the ultra fast 1000cc Lightening Sprints and made a handful of TQ midget starts the last few years.  Kristian Aleixo will be gaining experience in the Metz Racing team cars during the season with the hopes of contending for top rookie honors.

Anthony Payne will be making his debut with the ATQRMA in 2015. Teamed with his father they are putting together the Laffler car that Joey raced in years past indoors. Anthony started his career in the quarter midgets at Little Wall and has been racing a NEMA Light the last couple years. He is looking forward to gaining the experience in the lightening fast TQ midgets following in his father and Uncle Johnny's footsteps.

Ronnie "the Rocket" Mullen will be behind the wheel of a Metz Racing TQ midget for each of the organization's races at Wall this year. Mullen has the distinction of having won in every division that race on the high banks of Wall Stadium. He hopes to gain the experience necessary to put himself in a position to ad a TQ midget win to his impressive Resume. 

Long time ATQMRA racer Jeff Kot will be back in active competition in his 95 Badger TQ midget for the first time in a few years. The car was completely rejuvenated by BJ MacDonald at Classic Competition Specialties in preparation for the coming season in time for the Atlantic City Indoor races. The car was changed over to thirteen inch rubber and a host of other changes were made. Kot will surely be in contention whenever he rolls his Badger out of the trailer at an ATQMRA event. 

The versatile Earl Paules will be running selected events with the ATQRMA in a Laffler TQ Midget. Paules adapted quickly to the Laffler car indoors and hopes to replicate his speed indoors at select events with the club including the races at his home track of MahoningValley where he has won in the past with the ATQMRA. 

Returning to the ATQMRA tour in 2015 will be 2013 Points Runner up Brent Conklin. He will be piloting the Green Flag Driving Experience TQ that he raced in Atlantic City's indoor races this past winter at select races with the organization. 

With all of the new names and a handful of old coming back into the fold, 2015 should be an exciting year for the ATQMRA heading into its 59th season of sanctioning Three Quarter Midget Racing. The Melting pot of diverse experiences should make for interesting competition for top rookie honors. 

The ATQMRA kicks off the 2015 season at Mahoning Valley Speedway in Lehighton, Pa on Saturday April 25th.