Sload Wins Waterford, Tidman Tops Season Championship, Gorbatuk ACRO Rookie of the Year

Waterford Ct.  October 21, 2017;  The ATQMRA Points Paying race of the 2017 season at the Waterford Speedbowl was wonby Buddy Sload in the Colin Martin 36 Spitfire.  Flying Ryan Tidman finished third capping the 2017 Championship for himself and car owner’s Lenny and Donna Boyd.  Dave Gorbatuk earned enough points to best ACRO Rookie of the Race Cole Mullen for the 2017 ATQMRA ACRO Rookie of the Year Title in Hoosier TireMid Atlantic Competition at the Waterford Speed bowl Powered by VP.   Next up for the ATQMRA is the fall General Membership Meeting on Sunday November 4th from 3 to 5pm followed by the season ending awards dinner.  The final on track racing action for the TQs will be the Annual Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium on Saturday November 25th.

The front Row of Little Wall Quarter Midget racers Cole Mullen and Joey Bailey brought the field to the Green Flag.  The initial lap wasn’t completed before NEMA Midget Star Avery Stoehr went careening into the first turn wall on the initial Start in the beautifully prepared Phil DiMario 23 car.  He was uninjured in the incident.  A complete restart would see Joey Bailey launch into the lead with heat race winner Mark Yoder in second.  Seventh starting Buddy Sload would methodically work his way into second position by lap fifteen.  Bailey opened up a substantial lead by this time only to fade in the waning laps from a blistered right rear tire.   

Sload would overtake Bailey to lead the 21st lap and not look back.  The 25-lap race was run from green to checker with a fading Bailey hanging on to second at the finish.  Bailey was looking for a comeback victory after a nasty flip at Wall a few weeks ago.  Bailey’s father Russ and the Boyd racing team successfully returned the Zuzzalo 02 to top form for the race on the organization’s fastest track at the Waterford Speed Bowl nearly finding his way to Victory on a track where he has consistently led laps but hasn’t been able to grab the brass ring.  

Flying Ryan Tidman who secured the Championship in the previous round at Wall for himself and Team Owner’s Lenny and Donna Boyd finished third after winning the previous show at Waterford.  Tidman had a five-win season to capture another Championship with the Boyd Racing team.  

Mark Yoder who won his heat in convincing fashion missed out on a podium finish losing the third position to Tidman on the last lap.  Matt Janisch rolled across the line fifth after having a car that was consistently the class of the field in practice.  

ACRO Rookie of the Race Cole Mullen rolled across the line an impressive sixth moving him ahead of his father in the season long Rookie Standings.  Cole fell a few positions short of catching the ATQMRA ACRO Rookie of the Year Dave Gorbatuk who picked up enough points with his 12th place finish in the Metz Racing Driver Development BGF Chassis 2 to earn the 2017 title.  The 2017 ACRO Rookie of the Year Championship chase was one of the tightest in recent memory with Gorbatuk and the father and son team of Ronnie and Cole Mullen all having a realistic shot at the title entering the final round.    

Kot would roll across the line seventh in his Behrent’s Peformance Yuhas 88.  Geoffrey Sutton was 8th with Veteran Dave Williams 9th and Joey Payne III rounding out the top ten.  Ronnie Mullen would be scored 11th with Dave Gorbatuk 12th.  Steve Boland made his second start of the season with the ATQMRA in the Fred Delibero 01 after racing his father’s 19 car at Riverhead earlier in the season.  Avery Stoehr who is a star in the NEMA Midget organization and races regularly at Waterford in the Midgets made his first start in a TQ midget at the Wateroford SpeedBowl.  His feature was over before it started when he crashed on the initial start of the race.  

Next up for the ATQMRA is the Fall Meeting on November 4th where officer elections will take place and rule proposals will be discussed for the upcoming season.  The meeting will take place in the Magnolia Room at the Valley Forge Casino from 3pm to 5pm.  The meeting will be followed by the annual awards banquet to celebrate the 2017 season from 6pm to 10 pm.  The Banquet will take place in the Parkview Ballroom.  All attendees are encouraged to bring an item to be raffled off at the banquet.  Please contact Karen Sload at karensload@yahoo.com to RSVP for the Banquet as well as to let her know what items you will be donating. 

Feature Race 25 laps 1.  36 Buddy Sload 2.  02 Joey Bailey3.  1B RyanTidman4.  75 Mark Yoder5.  51 Matt Janisch 73cCole Mullen 7.  88 Jeff Kot8.  461 Geoffrey Sutton9.  11 Dave Williams10.  67 Joey Payne III11.  39 Ron Mullen12.  2 Dave Gorbatuk13.  01 Steve Boland14.  23 Avery Stoehr

Heat 11.  36 Buddy Sload2.  02 Joey Bailey3.  88 Jeff Kot4.  461 Geoffrey Sutton 5.  39 Ron Mullen6.  67 Joey Payne

Heat 21.  75 Mark Yoder2.  51Matt Janisch 3.  1B Ryan Tidman   4.  73 Cole Mullen 5.  11 Dave Williams6.  2 Dave Gorbatuk7.  01 Steve Boland

Sload Leads Every Lap to Win Wall

Wall, NJ September 30, 2017

Buddy Sload picked up his third win of the season in the penultimate round of competition solidifying Colin Martin's hold on the runner up position in the car owner points standings.  4-time winner Matt Janisch finished second with Flying Ryan Tidman rounded out the Podium all but clinching the 2017 Championship heading into the ATQRMA Points season Finale at the Waterford Speed Bowl on Saturday October 21st.  Ronnie the Rocket Mullen tightened the gap in the ACRO Rookie of the Year Standings with his sixth-place finish.  Joey Bailey, who went for a nasty tumble in the first turn on lap 18 that ended the race, reported that he was treated and released from the hospital.  

The day at Wall started out as most do with a round of practice for the TQ Midgets on the inner flat oval that was followed quickly by rain.  With all seven of Wall's regular divisions on hand competing for in the track's points finale the pits were crowded and time was short to get in all of the racing.  Wall's management made the deft decision to run the event Features only for all divisions.  The lineup for the TQs was set by handicap because no heats were run.  After the Wall track crew and the 4-cylinder Stocks dried the lower flat track for the TQs it was feature time for the wingless TQ Midgets.

A front row of the Father and son team of Ronnie and Cole Mullen took the green flag with fourth starting Buddy Sload sliding into the lead.  The initial start was aborted twice for cars spinning but the result remained the same with Sload taking the lead and opening a gap on second.  Matt Janisch who won both features on the double feature night at Wall on September 9th made quick work of the competition quickly moving from his 10th starting position to second.  

As the leaders were negotiating lapped traffic third running Joey Bailey tangled with the Eric Corum Driven F8 sending Bailey into a series of flips in the middle of the first and second turn.  Bailey was shaken up in the incident and transported to the hospital for evaluation.  With the lateness of the event due to the earlier rain the feature was checkered at the conclusion of lap 18 and Buddy Sload earned his third win of the season in the Colin Martin 36 Spitfire.  

Second finishing Janisch was joined on the podium by the presumptive ATQRMA Champion Flying Ryan Tidman.  Jeff Kot was strong in his Behrents Performance Warehouse 95 and Geoffrey Sutton rounded out the top five.  Mark Yoder crossed the line ahead of the 75z of Don Zrinski making his first start of the season charging from his 14th starting position to finish a solid 8th.  Bailey was credited with 9th and Rookie Cole Mullen tenth

Ronnie the Rocket Mullen who has a victory in every division at Wall with the exception of the TQs was again the ACRO Rookie of the race finishing sixth and is making his BGF Chassis mount quicker every week.  Son Cole was the second highest finishing Rookie in tenth followed by Kyle Taraska with the ACRO Rookie of the Year Points leader Dave Gorbatuk 12th.  The Rookie Championship will come down to the season finale at Waterford SpeedBowl on Saturday October 21stwhere point leader Gorbatuk and the are in contention for the Coveted Rookie Championship.  Unofficially Ron is 8 positions on track behind Gorbatuk with Son Cole trailing by 9 positions heading into the season finale.  

ATQMRA News and Notes: The Advance Shock award went to Dave Gorbatuk for racing on 4 Advance Shocks.  The Metz Racing Blu Deuce brand new BGF Chassis made its debut at Wall Saturday.  A total of four BGF Chassis mounts were on hand Saturday at Wall.  Bill Force Jr was back in competition and ran a competitive race.  Steve Kemery made his debut with the ATQMRA in his number 69 600 Micro sprint and worked to be ready for the indoor season.  

Feature (25 laps)

1             36           Buddy Sload       

2             51           Matt Janisch       

3             1b           Ryan Tidman      

4             95           Jeff Kot                

5             461         Geo Sutton         

6             39           Ronnie Mullen   

7             75           Mark Yoder         

8             75           Don Zrinski          

9             02           Joey Bailey          

10           73           Cole Mullen        

11           01           Kyle Taraska       

12           32           Dave Golbatuk   

13           6             Bill Force Jr.        

14           f8            Eric Corum          

15           69           Steve Kemery     

16           2             Blu Metz           

Graver 2 for 2 at Mahoning

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Lehighton, Pa.  9/16/2017Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified Division Point leader Kris Graver backed up his June TQ feature win with a second victory in the Matt Janisch Yuhas Chassis 48 after starting shotgun on the field in the caution free 25 lap barn burner of a feature.  Buddy Sload would finish second followed by Jeff Kot.  Heat Races were won by Graver and Sload.  Graver was also the ACRO Rookie of the Race.   Next up for the ATQMRA is a trip to Wall Stadium for the penultimate round on September 30th with the season finale taking place at the Waterford Speedbowl the weekend of October 21st.

The front row of Buddy Sload and Cole Mullen took the Bobby Stull Green Flag with Sload shooting into the lead.  Sload would set sail and open a substantial lead on the pack as they diced for position.  Janisch starting sixth methodically picked his way into second by lap five and set sail to run down Sload.  As the laps wound down Janisch was able to close on Sload when he was negotiating lap traffic.  Janisch in the Alan Mollot Lindblad Badger would take advantage of Sload’s tight condition and take the lead on lap 21.  As has been the case many times in 2017 for the Janisch Mollot Combination his time in front was short lived as a right rear wheel failure sent Janisch to the infield a lap later.  

When Janisch dropped from the lead his car driven by Kris Graver took over after riding the high side around the competition to sweep into the lead from his last starting position.  Graver turned the fastest lap of the race at 9.200 seconds and won by over 2 ½ seconds over a fading Sload.  Jeff Kot, 3rd in points, in the Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Badger would score another podium finish in third. Kot and Graver had a wild 5 lap battle for position that had fans on the edge of their seat.  Point leader Ryan Tidman finished fourth with Mark Yoder fifth.  Second in points Geoffrey Sutton was sixth followed across the line by Briggs Danner who was making his first TQ start in the Jansich 48x ten-inch car after spending the season racing the Ricky Harring Ironton Telephone SpeedSTR after moving up from Quarter Midget Competition.  2017 ACRO Rookie contenders Ronnie Mullen was followed across the line by Dave Gorbatuk who earned the Advance Suspension award with Rookie Jon Keller rounding out the top ten.  

Graver’s second win of the season gives Janisch his sixth combined win in 2017 with the ATQMRA as both a car owner and driver.  This is the fourth win for Janisch 48 two wins for Graver at Mahoning.  Janisch won the pair of open races at Riverhead and Pocono International Raceway as well as a pair fo wins in the Mollot Badger at Wall.  

Heat Races were won by Kris Graver and Buddy Sload.  The first and second heat were separated by a considerable amount of time since light rain started to fall as the first heat finished.  Mahoning Valley Management did a great job battling the light rain that was falling on and off all night.  

Saturday night at Mahoning Valley word reached the teams of the untimely passing of Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT in a plane crash while on his way to a tour race at Riverhead Raceway.  TC is familiar to everyone in the Three Quarter Midget world after racing with him during the Sammons Indoor series of races in the winter.  Ted made a pair of starts with the ATQMRA in recent years once at Chemung Speedrome and last fall at Stafford Speedway.  The ATQMRA wishes to extend their most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ted Christopher on his untimely passing.  ATQMRA Racer Kyle Taraska will have TC Commemorative Decals available at Wall on the 30th for $5.00 a piece with all proceeds going to the Christopher family.  

Feature (25 Laps)  1.  48 Kris Graver  2. 36 Buddy Sload  3. 95 Jeff Kot4. 1B Ryan Tidman 5. 75 Mark Yoder 6. 461 Geoffey Sutton 7. 48X Briggs Danner 8. 39 Ronnie Mullen    9. 32 Dave Gorbatuk  10. 20 John Keller11.  51 Matt Janisch12. 73c Cole Mullen13. (DNS) 11 Dave Williams  

Heat Race 1 (8Laps) 1. 48 Kris Graver2.  73c Cole Mullen3. 461 Geoffrey Sutton 4.  51 Matt Janisch 5. 75Mark Yoder 6. 20 John Keller 7.  39   Ron Mullen8.  11 Dave Williams

Heat Race 2(8Laps)  1. 36 Buddy Sload2. 95 Jeff Kot3.  48X Briggs Danner4. Ryan Tidman 5. Ronnie Mullen 6. Dave Gorbatuk  
 

Janisch Goes to Pocono Victory Lane In the Tricky Challenge presented by Classic Racing Times

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Long Pond, Pa; Matt Janisch of nearby Nazareth, Pa made history becoming the first driver to park a Modern TQ Midget in Victory Lane at Pocono International Speedway on Saturday night on a temporary fifth mile oval on the track’s front straight away.  Janisch and Tim Procter were heat race winners with Fellow Lehigh Valley Quarter Midget Graduate Geoffrey Sutton finished second with Ryan Tidman third.   The Acro Rookie of the race was Ronnie the Rocket Mullen in fourth with substitute driver Liquid Lou Cicconi fifth.    Blu Metz winning the companion Vintage 4 stroke race and Mark Pritchard won the Vintage 2 stroke feature.  Next up for the ATQMRA is a trip to Wall Stadium for wingless action on that track’s flat inner oval.  
The luck of the draw set up a front Row of Brandon Azzalina in the George and Marilyn VanVarick 43 Lafler along Side Ronnie the Rocket Mullen in his BFG 39.  Azzalina gained the edge at the drop of the Tom Arntz Green Flag but the caution would fly as the cars entered the third turn with Buddy Sload being the first casualty on the day with left front suspension damage.  

Numerous cautions slowed the race with drivers charging hard from the back of the pack not being patient on the tight confines of the Pocono Layout.  

Matt Janisch and Geoffrey Sutton started the race from the 4th row and quickly put themselves into contention with Janisch slotting himself into second with Sutton Third.  Azzalina held off their charges through numerous restarts when a lap 20 caution slowed the race and officials saw the muffler hanging loose sending Azzalina to the pits.  This put Janisch in front with Sutton and Tidman in his tracks.   When the checkered flag flew Janisch was the winner over a hard charging Sutton followed closely by 5 timer series feature winner and point leader Ryan Tidman.  Ronnie Mullen rolled across the line 4th as the ACRO Rookie of the race in his best finish to date.  Liquid Lou Cicconi who was substituting for Matt Roselli who had to go to a wedding adapted to the tight track and charged to a fifth-place finish after starting shot gun on the field.  

Rookie Cole Mullen posted his best feature finish in sixth at the end him and his father raced side by side with racing legend Cicconi who was the only racer in the field who raced on Pocono’s long shuttered ¾ mile oval in a midget.  Cicconi was the meat in the Mullen Sandwich after charging from the rear twice to post a top five.  

Mark Yoder was seventh with the lone 600 in the field Jesse Mauer rolling across the line 8th with Austin Fehr 9th and Heat Race winner Tim Procter rounding out the top ten.  
The event was a success on all fronts.  The setup of the temporary oval went smoothly with the cooperation of the Classic Racing Times Yellow Shirts and the Logistics Staff at Pocono battling a tight time frame to get the TQ races in on a rain shortened weekend with a tremendous amount of on track activity scheduled for the weekend.  

TQ Racers Eric Corum, Austin Fehr, Chad Parks and Mark Yoder took advantage of Pocono’s ride around program where they were able to take their TQ Midgets for a lap around Pocono’s 2 ½ mile Tricky Triangle.  Close to fifty TQ Midgets were on hand for the event including the modern TQs of the ATQRMA as well as both the 2 and 4 stroke TQ divisions as well as a strong number of TQs that were on display in the car show.  

In a special moment racing legend and ATQMRA alum Mario Andretti became acquainted with the modern TQ midget of Lenny and Donna Boyd following the 2-seater Indy car on track sessions.  Mario graciously sat in the teams 1B car and talked about old times racing TQ Midgets and talked with Lenny about how his Father Audie and uncle Howard helped keep the Triumph in the Andretti Duce running.  

The top two finishers in the TQ feature both had a history at Pocono Raceway.  They are both graduates from the Lehigh Valley Quarter Midget Club that’s on the grounds of Pocono Raceway and won countless races on that Dirt Tri-oval.  It was certainly a strong motivator to both drivers to get another win at Pocono.  

Blu Metz raced the Robert Noll owned Whehrle Slingshot 02 to victory in the First feature race that was run on Saturday in the Vintage 4 Stroke race.  The regular driver in that car is Midget Racing Legend Drew Fornoro who won the last midget race on the long gone ¾ mile oval that hosted races through the late 80s.  Hank Rogers Jr also a veteran of the ¾ mile oval was second followed across the line by Midwest USAC Midget and Sprint veteran Roy Caruthers.  

Mark Pritchard was the winner of the 2 stroke feature race in the Dick Peterman 98 followed across the line by a Billy Hughes and Jason Hentrich who was able to race with his mentor and hero Hughes for the first time.   It was as stellar day for the Metz Racing Driver Development team with Blu winning the 4 stroke race and Pritchard in the team 98 car.  Geoffrey Sutton came one position from bringing all three of the beautiful Acrylic trophies back to the Metz Racing Pit.  The commonality of each of the feature winning drivers in the inaugural event at Pocono including Janisch was that they were all mentored by open wheel legend Bing Metz. 

Next up for the ATQMRA is a trip to Wall Stadium for another round of wingless short track racing on Wall’s flat inner oval on September 9th.

A special Thank you goes out to Gary Mondschein and his staff as well as Pocono Raceway for hosting the first Tricky Challenge event on the grounds of the Historic Pocono International Raceway.  

Tricky Challenge 1.  48Matt Janisch 2.  461 Geoffrey Sutton 3.  1B Ryan Tidman4.  39 Ronnie Mullen 5.  98 Lou Cicconi6.  73c Cole Mullen7.  75 Mark Yoder8.  72 Jesse Mauer9.  73 Austin Fehr10.  98t Tim Procter11.  06 Chad Parks12.  F8 Kerry Irwin13.  67 Joey Payne14.  96 Chris Deritis 15.  01 Eric Corum16.  95Jeff Kot17.  43 Brandon Azzalina18.  32 Dave Gorbatuk19.  20 Joe Keller20.  36 Buddy Sload  

Heat Race 1.  98t Tim Procter2.  1B Ryan Tidman3.  98 Matt Roselli4.  36 Buddy Sload5.  43 Brandon Azzalina6.  75 Mark Yoder7.  Eric Corum8.  20 Joe Keller 9.  (DNS)  96 Chris Deritis

Heat Race 2.  1.  48Matt Jansich2.  461 Geoffrey Sutton3.  73 Austin Fehr4.  39 Ronnie Mullen5.  72 Jesse Mauer6.  73 Cole Mullen7.  32 Dave Gorbatuk8.  F8Kerry Irwin9.  Jeff Kot

Tidman Makes it 3 of a Kind Winning Waterford

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New London, CT.  August 12, 2017

Flying Ryan Tidman won his third race in a row at the Waterford Speedbowl on Wings and Wheels night Saturday.  Under threatening skies Tidman took the feature race win over Matt Janisch with Joey Bailer rounding out the podium.  Geoffrey Sutton and invader Nick Ladyga rounded out the top five.  Mark Yoder and Tidman were the heat race winners.  Next up for the ATQMRA should be a fun racing weekend at Pocono International Speedway for the Tricky Challenge on a temporary fifth mile oval on Pocono's front straight away on Friday and Saturday the 18, and 19th.  Teams can start pitting in on Thursday with practice and qualifying on Friday with feature races on Saturday following Verizon Indy Car Qualifying for the 22 entries and climbing.  A beautiful unique acrylictrophy will be presented to each of the race winners in the Pocono victory Lane following the completion of the modern and Vintage races.  

The feature race saw the front row of Joey Payne III and Ron Mullen bring the field to the green flag.  It was fifth starting Matt Janisch who deftly worked his way to the point to lead the first lap.  Geoffrey Sutton would soon follow into second after Janisch opened up a considerable lead.  Joey Bailey would find himself in second by the half way point in the race with Tidman hot on his tail in third.  The pair would close in on Janisch in the waning laps of the race as Janisch encountered lap traffic.  

Tidman would overtake Bailey and set his sights on Janisch.  Tidman moved around Janisch in the closing laps and walked away to win by 1.287 seconds.  Tidman completed the 25 laps in 6:05 for an average speed of a tick over 92 MPH.    Janisch faced disappointment again in the Mollot red Lindblad Badger 51 car after once again leading laps but failing to pick up the checkered flag.  

Joey Bailey rolled across the line third in the non-stop 25 lapper.  Last years Wings and Wheels Champion Geoffrey Sutton crossed the line fourth with New England's invader Nick Ladyga rounding out the top five after charging from his 10th starting position.  

Jeff Kot in his Behrents performance Badger started last in the feature field after an overheating problem sidelined him in his heat race.  Kot charged to a sixth-place finish without the benefit of a caution.  Mark Yoder followed Kot across the line with the ACRO Rookie of the Race Ronnie Mullen in eighth followed closely by son Cole.  Joey Payne III seems to have turned the corner on his luck finishing tenth in the traditional Payne racing numbered 67 Drinan.  Eric Corum lead Dave Gorbatuk Buddy Sload and Shilo Boyce across the line.  

The first heat race saw Mark Yoder launch in front of the field and get the victory over Joey Bailey and Geoffrey Sutton.  The second heat race victory went to Tidman followed by Janisch with Nick Ladyga in third.

Flying Ryan Tidman in the Boyd Racing 1B was riding a hot streak of two wins in a row and four for the season heading into the first of two races at the Waterford Speedbowl.  His pervious wins in 2017 were all wingless.  The team was winless in winged competition with their Laffler Chassis.  Tidman charged from his 9th starting position to the win in the 25-lap race that went caution free. This gives Tidman a full house of feature wins on the season after having won a pair earlier in the season and adding 3 of a kind leaving Waterford.  Tidman is the odds on favorite heading into the big event at Pocono International Raceway this coming weekend.  

The excitement for the return of Midget style racing at Pocono Raceway is building with the first running of the Tricky Challenge presented by The Classic Racing Times.  22 teams and growing are pre registered for the event.  Teams can start pitting into the Speedway on both Thursday and Friday between 8 am and 4pm.  Teams are encouraged to arrive early Friday to get credentials and move into their put spot that's on a large paved area adjacent to the location of the temporary fifth mile oval that will be set up following the Indy car on track sessions on both Friday and Saturday.  

The mandatory Modern TQ midget Driver's Meeting will be held on Friday at 1 PM.  It is very important for all teams to attend the meeting.  Teams coming to Pocono need to go first to the Credentials office on Long Pond Road.  Please arrive by 12 noon at the latest. Classic Racing Times will be set up to sing in teams in the last building before the tunnel turn.  Signs will be in place to direct teams to the TQ Midget Pit area.   Tickets for fans wishing to see the inaugural TQ Midget Tricky Challenge can purchase Pit/Paddock Passes at the Speedway on race day.  

Additional news can be accessed on facebook.com/ATQMRA and twitter @ATQMRA.