Flying Ryan Tidman Sweeps Wall Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic VP Racing Fuels

Saturday May 6, 2017 Wall Township NJ;    Flying Ryan Tidman from Levittown, Pa swept the nights racing in ATQMRA action on Wall Stadium's flat inner oval in his Boyd Racing Lafler Chassis 1b.  Joey Bailey was second with Geoffrey Sutton rounding out the podium.  Tidman and Jeff Kot earned heat race victories.    The ACRO Rookie of the Race was Ronnie the Rocket Mullen.  Next up for the ATQMRA is the first event of the season at Bethel Motor Speedway in a twin bill with the Vintage TQ Midget organization.  The TQs will race without the wing at Bethel. 

By the luck of the draw the front row saw Buddy Sload and Rob Vivona take the green with Sload launching into the lead followed by Tidman.  Before a lap was completed a snake bitten Joey Payne III was collected by Kerry Irwin damaging the left front of Payne's Drinan car ending a promising day early.  The restart was much the same with Sload powering into the lead.

Ryan found his opportunity to take the lead on lap 4 and never looked back.  Sload held onto the second position attempting to mount a challenge when contact from the Matt Roselli driven 98 Lafler sent Sload's Spitfire into a spin where he was struck by another car ending his day on lap 14.  Roselli was sent to the rear for the incident. 

This put Joey Bailey into second position for the single file restart but he was unable to make a move on Tidman after patiently picking his was to second from his seventh starting position.  Geoffrey Sutton moved into the third position in his Metz Racing 461 BGF Chassis.  That's how they would finish the race.

Brett Michalski rolled across the line fourth.  Unfortunately, a whirlwind of a day and a solid finish would be for naught.  Michalski's 600 Micro Sprint was disqualified for being too wide in post-race tech.  Michalski's day started out with the team planning to run the URC Sprint Sanctioned race in Delaware but rain would foil that plan.  Their alternate plan was to trailer to Selinsgrove Speedway to race the sprinter.  Once again that plan was foiled by the weather.  Their last effort was to roll the 600 into the trailer to run with the ATQMRA. 

The DQ would move everyone up one spot giving last week's runner up Rob Vivona a fourth-place finish with a resurgent Matt Roselli charging back to finish fifth. 

Ronnie the Rocket Mullen would roll across the line sixth in his best effort of the season in his brand new BGF Chassis 39 car.  Mullen was the highest finishing ACRO Rookie of the Race followed across the line by fellow Rookie of the year candidate, the always exciting Dave Gorbatuk in the Spitfire 32 car.  Gorbatuk also earned the Advance Racing Shocks contingency award.  Kerry Irwin would rebound to post his best finish to date in TQ Midget action in the Metz Racing F8 with an 8th place finish after a race long battle with Gorbatuk.  Rookie Kyle Taraska in the Fred Delibero 01 BGF Chassis scored a ninth-place finish. 

The hard luck driver of the race was Matt Janisch in the Alan Mollot 51 Lindblad Badger.  After a solid run in his heat the car's power plant would develop a miss as the cars formed up for the parade lap and would not clear.  Jansich left the track and went to the pit area and failed to take the green for the feature earning the Razor Sharp Hard luck award. 

The MNO $100 went to 12th finishing Jeff Kot who looked to be his best outing of the season after being near the top of the speed charts in practice and winning his heat convincingly in his Behrent's Performance Lindblad Badger only to have his clutch started slipping in the feature. 

Next up for the ATQMRA is a trip into the Catskill Mountains to race on the ultra-competitive Bethel Speedway on Saturday May 20th in wingless competition for the first time after several years of winged racing there.  Also on the card that night will be the season opening event for the Vintage Three Quarter Midgets.   The next event following Bethel is also in New York for the organization's return to Long Island after a long absence to the Riverhead Speedway for the running of the Pete Petraitis Memorial. 

Momentum is building toward the first running of the Tricky Challenge at Pocono Raceway presented by the Vintage Racing Times on August 18th and 19th.  Numerous teams filled out their applications for the race and are excited about the opportunity to race at Pocono Raceway in conjunction with the modern and vintage Indy cars. 

Heat 1

1             1b                          Ryan Tidman

2             2                            Joey Bailey

3             46                          Geoffry Sutton

4             51                          Matt Janisch

5             75                          Mark Yoder

6             32                          Dave Golbatuk

7             73b                       Brett Michalski

8             1                            Kyle Taraska

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Heat 2

1             95                          Jeff Kot

2             36                          Buddy Sload

3             98                          Matt Roselli

4             46                          Rob Vivona

5             73                          Cole Mullen

6             67                          Joey Payne III

7             f8                          Kerry Irwin

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Feature

1             1b                          Ryan Tidman

2             2                            Joey Bailey

3             46                          Geoffry Sutton

4             46                          Rob Vivona

5             98                          Matt Roselli

6             39                          Ronnie Mullen

7             32                          Dave Golbatuk

8             f8                          Kerry Irwin

9             1                            Kyle Taraska

10           36                          Buddy Sload

11           75                          Mark Yoder

12           95                          Jeff Kot

13           67                          Joey Payne III

14           73                          Cole Mullen

15           51                          Matt Janisch                                        

DQ         73b                       Brett Michalski

Sload Back to Back in ATQMRA Action With Wall Win Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic VP Racing Fuels

Wall Township, NJ.  Saturday April 29, 2017, 2015 ATQMRA Champion Buddy Sload has returned to his winning ways in the Colin Martin Spitfire 36 by earning back to back feature victories first at the club opener, then backing it up with a win Saturday at Wall Stadium in wingless competition on Wall's inner oval on Wall Stadium's Fan Fest Night.  Rob Vivona rolled across the line second with Matt Roselli third.  Roselli and Ryan Tidman earned heat race victories.  Ronnie the Rocket Mullen was the highest finishing Acro Rookie of the year candidate.  Fellow Rookie Jon Keller went for a rough ride onto his lid in the feature. The Brice's NAPA Auto Parts Clean Start Buckets were handed out to teams at the event.  

The luck of the draw put Matt Janisch in the Alan Mollot Lindblad Badger along Side Mark Yoder in his Hyper Hugger on the front row.  Janisch was able to power into the lead on the initial start with Joey Bailer following him in Second.  Bailey pressured Janisch for the lead before overtaking him on lap 7.   Bailey opened up a margin on second when the red flag was flown for a tangle between two rookie candidates exiting the fourth turn sending Jon Keller over onto his lid ending his day early.

At the time of the red flag just prior to half way Ryan Tidman and Matt Jansich tangled on the back straight away sending Janisch upside down.  Jansich and Tidman were able to continue.  This put Sload on the outside pole for the restart alongside Bailey.  On the restart, Bailey launched into the lead and held serve until lap 22 when Sload and Bailey made contact entering the third turn in what was deemed a "Racing Incident" bringing out the caution for a spinning Bailey.

Eighth starting Rob Vivona in the lone 600 Micro Sprint in the field slowly picked his way forward to move into the second position for the restart.  Sload was able to maintain the advantage and park the 36 Spitfire in Victory lane for his second feature win in so many races in 2017.  Vivona trailed Sload in Second with a hard charging Matt Roselli rounding out the Podium.  Ryan Tidman rebounded from the lap 12 incident to notch a fourth place finish with Geoffrey Sutton rounding out the top five. 

Mark Yoder Rolled across the line sixth with Janisch rebounding from the earlier flip to finish seventh.  Jeff Kot was eighth in the Behrents Performance Yuhas Chassis 88 with the top Rookie of the race Wall Stadium's own Ronnie the Rocket Mullen ninth.  Austin Fehr rounded out the top ten with Joey Bailey coming back from the late race spin to finish eleventh.   

The ATQMRA was once again part of Wall's popular on track Fan Fest where teams were able to meet and mingle with fans and friends.  For the first time Father and Son Ronnie and Cole Mullen raced on track together with the old man besting the kid in the debut of Ron's brand New BGF Chassis and Motor 39 car. 

Each of the teams received a NAPA Bucket containing hand cleaner carburator cleaner and car polishing products from Brice's NAPA Auto Parts for the third consecutive year.  A special thanks to Bill Brice, The ATQMRA's Race Director, for helping to keep the organization looking good.  

The first heat race was won by Matt Roselli in his family owned Laffler Chassis 98.  The second heat was won by a fellow Laffler Chassis mount the Boyd Racing 1B driven by Flying Ryan Tidman.

The VP Racing Fuel that powers the ATQMRA,s next event at Wall Stadium on This coming Saturday May 6th for round 3 of the season. 
 

Heat 1                                

1             98                          Matt Roselli
2             75                          Mark Yoder
3             36                          Buddy Sload
4             51                          Matt Janisch
5             46v                        Rob Vivona
6             88                          Jeff Kot
7             32                          Dave Golbatuk
8             20                          John Keller
9             39                          Ronnie Mullen

Heat 2                                

1             1b                          Ryan Tidman
2             2                            Joey Bailey
3             46                          Geoffry Sutton
4             73                          Austin Fehr
5             73                          Cole Mullen
6             67                          Joey Payne III
7             f8                          Kerry Irwin
8             1                            Kyle Taraska                                                                                   

Feature                              

1             36                          Buddy Sload

2             46v                        Rob Vivona

3             98                          Matt Roselli

4             1b                          Ryan Tidman

5             46                          Geoffry Sutton

6             75                          Mark Yoder

7             51                          Matt Janisch

8             88                          Jeff Kot

9             39                          Ronnie Mullen

10           73                          Austin Fehr

11           2                            Joey Bailey

12           f8                          Kerry Irwin

13           73                          Cole Mullen

14           32                          Dave Golbatuk

15           67                          Joey Payne III

16           1                            Kyle Taraska

17           20                          John Keller

Sload Parks it at Mahoning Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic ATQMRA

Saturday April 15, 2017, Lehighton, Pa;  2015 ATQMRA Champion Buddy Sload Parked the Colin Martin Spitfire 36 in Victory Lane at the ATQMRA's season opening race at Mahoning Valley Speedway.  Heat Races were won by Sload and Kris Graver.  Dave Gorbatuk was the highest finishing ACRO Engineering Rookie contender.   A total of five 2017 rookie contenders were on hand at the opener.   Next up for the ATQMRA is Wall Stadium on Saturday April 29th for wingless racing on that track's flat inner oval.  

The front row of Joey Bailey and Jeff Kot took the green flag and charged into the first turn .  Buddy Sload took advantage of his fourth starting position to sweep into the lead to be scored the race leader on lap one.  The caution fell for Kyle Taraska on lap 2 when his mount lost power.  The restart saw Sload shoot into the lead and open a gap when the race was slowed for the final time on lap 3 by a slowing Joey Payne III who would return to action.  

Sload again launched into the lead and ran away and hid as Kris Graver worked his way into second on lap six from his 7th starting spot in the Janisch 48 that won the 2017 ATQMRA Championship.  With the speed Graver showed in his heat race he was the odds on favorite heading into the feature.  His fast lap in the heat was nearly 4 tenths faster than the field.  When he worked his way into second he set sail to reel Sload in.  Graver couldn't negotiate lapped traffic as efficiently as Sload and would have to settle for second.  

Sload thanked car owner Colin Martin for allowing him and BJ MacDonald to revitalize the team's Spitfire 36.  They certainly did their job well returning the iconic Spitfire to Victory lane in its first outdoor race since the rebuild.  The car is the very car that NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominee MIke Stefanik raced to his only Victory in his Home State of Rhode Island at the Dunkin Doughnuts Center Indoor Race a number of years ago.

Engineering Student Joey Bailey would round out the podium in the Zuzzalo 02 with Mike Tidaback finishing fourth in the Alan Mollot 51.  Jeff Kot rounded out the top five in his Behrent's Performance/Janisch/Yuhas Chassis 88 after being near the top of the speed chart all day long.  

The ACRO Engineering Rookie of the Race was Dave Gorbatuk in his Spitfire 32 Putting him at the top of the Rookie Championship Standings.  He also pocketed the Advance Shock Technology contingency award for Sporting Advance Shocks on all four corners of his Spitfrire.  Jon Keller was the second highest finishing Rookie with Cole Mullen making his first laps in a TQ Midget that day at Mahoning with Kyle Taraska being a DNF.  The other Rookie on hand was Ronnie Mullen.  His team's new BGF Chassis mount will be ready for the next show at Wall on the 29th.  

Buddy Sload showed his speed in the heat race and led every lap to earn the win.  Graver was the only racer to dip into the 8 second bracket running an 8.984 second lap to win his heat in dominant fashion. 

The MNO Money's No Object award winner was Joey Bailey.  The MNO award is $100 that is given to a random driver selected at the end of the race donated by the legendary Bob Emmons at each race throughout the season.  

The ATQMRA is raffling off a five gallon pale of the organization's official fuel, VP's popular C12 product.  Jeff Kot's crew girl Macey was holding the winning ticket for this week's raffle.  

The Buzz in the Pits at the season opener at Mahoning was talk about the exciting return of Midget racing to the grounds of Pocono International Raceway on the weekend of August 18 and 19th.  Everyone is excited to be given the opportunity to race at Pocono Raceway and to take part in the TQ Tricky Challenge presented by the Classic Racing Times.  Teams are encouraged to click the following link and print out and send their application in to the Classic Racing Times or bring them to the track and give them to Blu Metz.  http://www.theclassicracingtimes.com/applications

Next up for the ATQMRA is in two weeks at Wall Stadium on Saturday April 29th for the track's Fan Appreciation night.  Teams will have the opportunity to have their cars on track for a Meet and greet with the tracks fans.  Everyone is encouraged to have their hero cards and handouts ready for this night.  

ATQMRA News and Notes:  Long Time supporter of the ATQMRA Joe Csernak is Battling a non Hodgkins Lymphoma.  He is undergoing treatments currently and has a good prognosis.  Joe can use our prayers and well wishes.   Cards can reach him at 739 Point Phillips Road, Bath, Pa 18014.  If anyone has something they would like mentioned in one of our releases whether its a sponsor mention an upcoming birthday wish or a special announcement please let Blu Metz know and I will work to include it in one of our upcoming releases.  

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Feature Race 25 Laps  1.  36 Buddy Sload 2.  48 Kris Graver  3.  02 Joey Bailey  4.  51 MIke Tidaback  5.  88 Jeff Kot  6.  1B Ryan Tidman 7.  75 Mark Yoder 8.  98 Matt Roselli 9.  32 Dave Gorbatuk  10.  461 Geoffrey Sutton 11.  20 Jon Keller 12.  73 Austin Fehr  13.  67 Joey Payne  14.  73c Cole Mullen 15.  01 Kyle Tarasks  16.  DNS 39 Ron Mullen

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Heat Race 1  8 laps  1.  36  Buddy Sload 2.  88 Jeff Kot  3.  75 Mark YOder  4.  1B Ryan Tidman  5.  20 Jon Keller  6.  67 Joey Payne III 7.  01 Kyle Taraska  8.  DNS 73 Austin Fehr

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Heat Race 2  8 Laps  1.  48 Kris Graver 2.  98 Matt Roselli 3.  02 Joey Bailey 4.  51 MIke Tidaback 5.  32 DAve Gorbatuk  6.  461 Geoffrey Sutton 7.  73c Cole Mullen 

ATMQRA 2017 Schedule 

 April 15                      MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY

April 29                       WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY *

May 6                          WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY *

May 20                        BETHEL MOTOR SPEEDWAY *

June 3                          RIVERHEAD RACEWAY *#

June17                        BETHEL MOTOR SPEEDWAY *

June24                        MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY

July 1                           WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY *

July 15                         BETHEL MOTOR SPEEDWAY *

July 29                         CHEMUNG SPEEDROME *

August 12                    NEW LONDON-WATERFORD SPEEDBOWL

Aug 18-19                    POCONO RACEWAY *#

September 9               WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY *

September 16             MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY

September 30             WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY *

October 21 -22            NEW LONDON-WATERFORD SPEEDBOWL

November 25              WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY *#

Non wing *   Indoor Rules Package #

Matt Roselli Wore the Laurels with Turkey Derby Victory In the Chris Zrinski Memorial Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic ATQMRA

$5000 Plus Paid to Competitors
 
11/26/2016 Matt Roselli used hthe pole position to its fullest advantage and earned his first win of the 2016 season in his Family 98 Lafler chassis mount.  Ryan Tidman and Bobby Holmes rounded out the podium.  2016 ATQMRA Season Champion Matt Janisch set fast time in the Formula 1 style qualifying besting Mike Occhipinte and Geoffrey Sutton.  The ATQMRA regulars took on all comers and were able to hold serve against a diverse group of many of the northeast's top invaders from pavement and Dirt Modifieds, SuperModified, SpeedSTRs  to Midget, Sprint and Micro Sprint racers.  They all tried their hands on the Wall Flat track in the race dedicated to the Memory of ATQRMA Friend Chris Zrinski.  Additional money was collected from fans and competitors to help sweeten the pot in the feature event.  
 
Qualifying for the Turkey Derby was done Formula 1 Style with group qualifying against the clock with the top 12 making the feature redraw.  With two to go in the final session Geoffrey Sutton in the brand new Fred Delibero Metz Racing Driver Development BGF Chassis 461 sat at the top of the chart.  At the white Flag Michigan Mike Occhipinte in the 46 car that Sutton raced all season put his number at the top of the pilon only to have Matt Jansich turn the quickest lap of the day coming to the Checkered flag to set fast time.  
 
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.  On this day, Matt Roselli was both.  His ninth-place time trial put him in the redraw and he was lucky enough to pull the number one pill.  Roselli and Occhipinte who races Modifieds in Michigan and Wisconsin would lead the field to the Green flag with Roselli powering into the lead with 2015 NYPA TQ Midget Champion Kyle Hutchinson following him into second.  Hutchinson's carbureted Suzuki challenged from the second position until lap 8 when a bent steering arm slowed his car and ended his race on lap fifteen. 
 
2015 ATQMRA Champion Buddy Sload worked his way into second for a couple of laps before relinquishing the position to multi time Champion Ryan Tidman in the Boyd Racing 1b Lafler. Tidman would charge into the lead moving Roselli into second.  
 
A caution flew on lap 16 when contact from Sutton send Janisch spinning into the third turn.  Sutton would be assessed a 2-position penalty post-race for the incident.  Cautions breed cautions and another caution fell for a 3-car tangle coming out of the fourth turn involving Marc Rogers who raced several divisions in Wall's Turkey Derby, Occhipinte and Tim Buckwalter who is a Grandview Speedway Modified racer as well as a past ARDC Midget Champion and a stand out driver in Micro Sprints and the SpeedSTR division.  Another caution fell for spinning Dirt Modified Superstar Mike Iles.  The final caution of the race was the most consequential.  A jumbled restart behind pole sitter Ryan Tidman led to incidental contact from Kyle Lick that sent Sutton into a spin.  Janisch moved to the outside to go around the spinning Sutton but hooked Sutton's front bumper and tore the entire left side from the Yuhas 48 car ending his day.  
 
The final restart of the race wasn't without incident but no caution was thrown and the race went from that point to the end with Matt Roselli determined to show he wasn't just lucky but good enough to retake the lead and win his first Turkey Derby.  After the lap 18 restart Roselli would dog Tidman who was determined to get his first win of the season after finishing second in the ATQMRA Standings.  Roselli's opportunity to pounce came on lap 21 to take the lead and never look back winning by 1.047 seconds over Tidman and a hard charging NYPA TQ Midget and Western NY Modified racer Bobby Holmes.  2015 ATQMRA Champion Buddy Sload would finish fourth with ARDC Midget, Micro sprint and SpeedSTR standout Lick crossing the line as the first micro sprint.  
 
The 2016 version of the ATQMRA's Turkey Derby was run to honor the passing of Big Chris Zrinski who recently lost a long battle with cancer in multiple sites in his body. Family friend John Larson had memorial decals made that were distributed to racers and put up a $100 bonus to the highest finisher sporting the decal that was awarded to Flying Ryan Tidman.  John and Pat Malik posted a $100 Hard luck award that was awarded to Matt Janisch following the feature.  Micky Soto Metz went through the pits and collected $480 from fans and drivers alike to boost the payout to the racers.  The Zrinski traditional car numbers are 25 and 75.  It was decided to divide the money collected equally between position 2, 5 and 7.  Tidman's second place finish netted him a total of $260 above the normal payout with Tim Proctor and Kyle Lick picking up $160 each for finishing in position 7 and 5.   Thank you to everyone who donated to help make the Chris Zrinski memorial race special.  Special thanks go to the handful of racers and friends who are making private donations to the Zrinski family Foundation.  Don, Ken and Big Lou Zrinski were on hand along with Chris Son Will as well as family friend Rich.  
 
 A diverse group of racers from varying backgrounds were on hand to test the flat track at Wall in preparation for the indoor season.  NYPA TQ racer as well as western NY Modified Standout Bobby Holmes raced the 21 car that he will be racing in the Sammons indoor series made his third ATQMRA start of the season racing at Waterford Speed Bowl and a show earlier in the year at Wall.  Kyle Lick will be racing the same Micro Sprint he ran at Wall indoors this winter and spends time behind the wheel of an ARDC Midget SpeedSTR and Micro Sprints.  Eighth finishing Joey Payne Jr.  was shaking down the Rich Tolerico 5 car for the indoor series.  Payne can be found in the summer months behind the wheel of TQ Midgets, Full Midgets, Nema Lites and in the ultra-fast ranks of the Big Block Super Modifieds.  Fifteenth finishing Brett Michalski raced the Colin Martin 17 Micro Sprint.  Brett has spent time racing Micro Sprints and recently started racing sprint cars.  Anthony Payne who was in his family 45 Lafler TQ Midget is a Quarter Midget Graduate who won the Nema Lites Midget Championship in 2015 and continues racing the Lites Midgets as well as a small block Supermodfied.
  
ATQRMA News and Notes:  Last years Turkey Derby Champion Eric Rudolph who won the race int he Mark Lafler house car wasn't on hand to defend his Turkey Derby Crown.  Roselli picked up the mantle and earned the second Turkey Derby Victory for in a Potent Lafler Chassis Mount.

Geoffrey Sutton in the new BGF 461 car picked up right where he left off in the old 461 car by racing at the front of the pack and posting times at the top of the speed Chart.  While Sutton was running one of the newest cars on the circuit Teammate for the day Occhipinte was taking the Metz Racing Bruce's Chassis car out for its last modern race before being retired to Vintage competition. 

Occhipinte did the team proud in his only start of the season picking up where Sutton left off in the car nearly setting fast time only being sniped on the last lap of time trials by the talented Matt Jansich.  The Occhipinte car made its first race in 1988 at that year's Turkey derby with Bill Courtwright at the wheel driving for Teddy and Arlene Seiz as a white and Pink number 56 with a Polaris engine.  The car would win that year's indoor championship and the last Championship contested at the long shuttered Pinebrook Speedway.      

Feature Race (30 Laps)1 98 Matt Roselli    2 1b Ryan Tidman 3 21 Bobby Holmes 4 16 Buddy Sload 5 8 Kyle Lick 6 461 Geoffrey Sutton 7 98 Tim Proctor 85 Joey Payne Jr.  9    88 Jeff Kot 10 7b Tim Buckwalter11 02 Joey Bailey 12 55Steve Craig 13 f8 Mike Glaser 14 17 Brett Michalski15 711 Mike Illes 16 67 Joey Payne III 17 46 Mike Occipinti 18     75 Mark Yoder 19 48 Matt Janisch 20 45 Anthony Payne 21 27 Mark Rogers 22 7 Kyle Hutchanson 23 95 Bill Force Jr. 24 1 Patrick Force
 
Time Trials (Formula 1 Style)  1 48 Matt Janisch 13.285 2 46 Mike Occipinti 13.361 3 461 Geoffrey Sutton 13.422 4 2 Joey Bailey 13.435 5 1b Ryan Tidman 13.556 6 7 Kyle Hutchanson 13.581 7 711 Mike Illes 13.596 8 21 Bobby Holmes  13.697 9 98 Matt Roselli 13.718 10 16 Buddy Sload 13.722 11 7b Tim Buckwalter 13.753 12 27 Mark Rogers 13.842 13 8 Kyle Lick 13.875 14 88 Jeff Kot 13.93 15 98 Tim Proctor 13.94 16 55 Steve Craig 13.985 17 5 Joey Payne Jr.  14.003 18 75 Mark Yoder 14.006 19 67 Joey Payne III 14.059 20 17 Brett Michalski 14.065 21 45 Anthony Payne 14.075 22 f8 Mike Glaser 14.154 23 95 Bill Force Jr. 14.276 24 1 Patrick Force    15.907

Bailey Parked It in Victory Lane at Stafford Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic ATQMRA

October 8, 2016, Stafford Springs Ct.: Joey Bailey from Monroe Township NJ put his name in the history books by winning the first TQ Midget race run at the historic Stafford Motor Speedway. Bailey swept the day by winning his heat race and parking the Zuzzolo, Arts Radiator, Joie of Seating, Phenomenon Designs 02 TQ in Victory lane in the 30 lap feature using an ATQMRA legal engine package against the open indoor engines. The other heat race was won by Geoffrey Sutton of East Stroudsburg, Pa. 2016 series Champion Matt Janisch finished second with Ryan Tidman rounding out the podium finishers in the feature. Local Superstar Ted Christopher from Plainville CT had a strong run going when he was crashed from the lead on lap nine. The ATQMRA Fall Rules Meeting for the election of officers will take place on Sunday October 16th from 9 to noon in Fort Washington, Pa.

The front row of pole Sitter Ryan Tidman and Joey Bailey took the green with Bailey taking the lead on the initial lap with Matt Janisch close in tow. Bailey would lead until lap seven when he was involved in a tangle relegating him to the rear of the field. Ted Christopher assumed command of the race and lead lap nine when the battle for the lead with Janisch heated up entering the third turn. As the cars exited the cloud of dust Christopher was turned around and was piled into by several competitors ending his and their days.

The lap ten restart had Ryan Tidman on the pole with Sutton to his right. Sutton was able to power past Tidman on the restart and take the lead entering the first turn. Janisch would follow Sutton past Tidman into second and a classic battle for the lead would ensue. Sutton opened up a slight gap on Janisch but that was only short lived as Janisch started closing in. Janisch threw a cross over move on Sutton in an attempt to take the lead entering the first turn only to have Sutton cross him over exiting the second turn. Sutton would continue to fight off Janisch swapping the lead several times before he would loose the lead on lap 19. In the mean time Bailey was picking his way back into contention.

Bailey would make the decisive move of the race to take the lead for good from Janisch on lap 22 and start opening a gap on the two time champ. Bailey would cruise to nearly a 2.5 second victory over Janisch with Flying Ryan Tidman rounding out the podium. Sutton would fall to a fourth place finish with Mike Glaser of Jackson NJ rounding out the top five.

This was the first race for the lightening fast Three Quarter Midgets at Stafford Motor Speedway. Joey Bailey made history by being the first driver to put his name in the record books as a feature winning driver at the Historic Speedway.

The elated Bailey earned his first victory of the 2016 season and seemed relieved to finally park his 02 Bruce's Chassis mount in victory lane. Bailey was fast on a number of occasions this season only to meet with frustration. Tonight was different. He found the luck necessary to use the speed that was there all season to park it in Victory lane. He made certain to thank his mother, and father Russ Bailey for their support. He went on to thank Alan Mollott and the Boyd Team and Kevin O'toole for all of their support of his racing as well as the Zuzzollo family for providing him with a quality car and his sponsors Arts Radiator, the Joie of Seating, and Phenomenon Designs

The first driver to earn a win in a TQ midget at Stafford in the first heat race was 2014 Rookie of the year was Geoffrey Sutton. He started on the pole by Virtue of the luck of the draw. Sutton took the lead on the start with Janisch in tow leading every lap in the 8 lap qualifier. 2016 Rookie of the year Mike Glaser would work his way into the third position and hold that spot until the white flag when Ted Christopher would overtake him exiting the fourth turn to earn a position in the redraw for the feature.

The second 8 lap qualifier was won by Joey Bailey. He would lead every lap on his way to the heat race win. Brodheadsville, Pa's Matt Roselli finished second with Ryan Tidman earning the last spot in the feature race redraw.

The event's originally scheduled date was the previous Saturday October 1 where a strong field of competitors was planning to take part in Stafford's Fall Final. A number of competitors had commitments that prevented them from making the trip to Stafford for the rescheduled event. The entire Day's racing program was run under threatening conditions with light rain falling throughout the day. The track staff ran a professional and efficient show to get the racing action in before the rains hit.

Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic's Speed Shop Precise Racing Products came on board to sponsor the two open sanction ATQMRA races at Stafford and The Turkey Derby at Wall by providing Gift certificates redeemable for product. Hard luck racers Chris Hirt and Chad Parks were awarded fifty dollar certificates.

The fall rules meeting as well as the election of officers will be held on this Sunday, October 16th, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ft.Washington, 530 Pennsylvania Ave, Fort Washington, PA19034 from 9amto 12pm. Please note that this is a change from where we have held the last two meetings. Everyone is encouraged to submit agenda recommendations to Buddy Sload at Buddysload@gmail.com

The next on track event for the ATQRMA will be at Wall Stadium for the Annual Turkey Derby on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. 

ATQMRA News and Notes: Baiely earned $500 for his win. Motorsports broadcaster Jack Arute spent a large portion of the day hanging out in the ATQMRA Pit area enjoying his time with he open cockpit teams. Arute made a start at the Indoor races in Atlantic City a few years ago. Blu Metz turned laps in the Geoffrey Sutton 461 at Pocono International Raceway this past Thursday to test a temporary front straight away oval that will see both modern and Vintage TQ Midgets racing during the 2017 Indy Race weekend at Pocono. Bill Force Jr. made his first start in the Metz Racing Driver Development 01 owned by Fred Delibero.

TQ Midget Feature 30 laps. 1. 02 Joey Bailey 2. 48 Matt Janisch 3. 1B Ryan Tidman 4. 461 Geoffrey Sutton 5. F8 Mike Glaser 6. 13 Ted Christopher 7. 01 Bill Force Jr. 8. 67 Joey Payne III 9. 97 Chris Hirt 10. Matt Roselli 11. 06 Chad Parks

Heat Race 1. 1. 461 Geoffrey Sutton 2. 48 Matt Janisch 3. 13 Ted Christopher 4. F8 Mike Glaser 5. 67 Joey Payne III 6. 01 Bill Force Jr.

Heat Race 2. 1. 02 Joey Bailey 2. 1B Ryan Tidman 3. 98 Matt Roselli 4. Chris Hirt 5. 06 Chad Pa