Bailey Earns Third 2018 Feature Win at Mahoning Valley

Sunday, September 16th, 2018

LEIGHTON, PA- For the second time this season, Joey Bailey and his Alan Mollot owned Yuhas Chassis claimed victory at the Mahoning Valley Speedway. Overall, this was Bailey’s third victory in 2018, in the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel, as he continues to scratch and claw towards the top of the championship standings with only a handful of races remaining in the 2018 season. 

For the second ATQMRA event in a row, Jeff Kot, driving the #17 Hyper 600 entry for Spitfire Racing, claimed victory in his heat race. Kot, who claims Mahoning Valley Speedway as his home track, put on a great show all night for the hometown crowd. 

Kot would start from the pole and lead the most laps of the 25 lap feature. At one point opening up a large lead. Kot held off continuous battles from both eventual winner Bailey and ATQMRA championship points leader Matt Janisch. However, both would ultimately pass Kot in the closing stages and Kot settled for a strong third place finish, after blistering his right side tires.

Bailey and Kot would swap the lead and race wheel to wheel for much of the event. Bailey looked to be in trouble when he got sideways exiting turn two but made a great save and continued the battle with Kot.

ATQMRA front runners Ryan Tidman for the Boyd Racing team and Buddy Sload for Spitfire Racing had rather quiet evenings. While finishing fourth and fifth respectively, they will look to regroup and have a much stronger showing at Wall Stadium next weekend. Tidman entered the event second in points behind points leader Matt Janisch.

Kyle Taraska debuted at Mahoning Valley this weekend sporting his usual Berkeley College colors. Taraska experienced a mechanical issue early in the feature event, resulting his race to end after only eight laps. Taraska is expected to come back strong at Wall Stadium this upcoming weekend.

Joey Bailey was sure to thank his car owner Alan Mollot, his father Russ, the Janisch family, and his sponsors Phenomenon Designs, Art’s Radiators, Hoosier Mid-Atlantic and VP Racing Fuel. This has been a career year for the driver from Monroe, NJ as he will work to cap it off with his first career Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA Championship this November. 

The ATQMRA will be racing at Wall Stadium Speedway this upcoming weekend for “Pack the Track Night,” which offers $10 general admission to all fans in attendance.

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Heat Race Results

1. #17 Jeff Kot

2. #51B Joey Bailey 

3. #36 Buddy Sload

4. #48 Matt Janisch 

5. #1B Ryan Tidman

6. #16 Kyle Taraska 

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Feature Race Results 

1. #51B Joey Bailey

2. #48 Matt Janisch 

3. #17 Jeff Kot 

4. #1B Ryan Tidman

5. #36 Buddy Sload

6. #16 Kyle Taraska 

Joey Payne Wins at Wall Stadium

For the third time this season, the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel invaded the Jersey Shore, at the Wall Stadium Speedway. In front of a near capacity crowd, the drivers put on a caution-free event as has become the norm this year on the inner-oval. This news is a true testament to the rule changes enforced during our most recent off season, which includes requiring all drivers to run wings on their TQ Midgets at Wall Stadium.

Heading into the weekend, all eyes were on Ryan Tidman and the Boyd Racing team. Tidman entered Wall Stadium winning the previous two ATQMRA events at both Bethel and Pocono, respectively. 

Hometown driver Ronnie Mullen won the first heat race of the evening, and would later start on the pole for the feature event. Jeff Kot, who was making only his second start of 2018 in the #17 Hyper 600, won the second 8-lap heat race in dominant fashion. Kot would start on the outside pole. 

Once the feature began, “The Jerzy Jet,” Joey Payne made his presence known, making a three-wide move on the front row starters R. Mullen and Kot on the opening lap of the event. To the delight of the packed crowd in attendance, the racing remained tight throughout the top half of the field, with positions second through fifth within a half of a second of each other for the duration of the race. Kot would stalk Payne the rest of the event but Payne would never look back, going on to lead all 25 laps of the feature event. Payne went on to capture his first victory of 2018. This was also the fourth win of the season for team owner Alan Mollot. 

Joey Payne is now the seventh driver in nine events this season to win an ATQMRA feature, making 2018 one of the most competitive seasons in the series storied history. 

Jeff Kot edged out Ryan Tidman for second in a photo finish, which separated them by one-one hundredth of a second. Joey Bailey went on to finish forth, while championship points leader Matt Janisch rounded out the top-5.

Buddy Sload brought home his Spitfire Chassis in sixth, previous Wall Stadium feature winner Cole Mullen finished in seventh, and Kyle Taraska with his Berkeley College sponsored entry finished in a respectable eighth. Mark Yoder finished 9th and Rookie of the Year candidate Paul Dodorico rounded out the top 10. 

Mechanical issues plagued both Ronnie Mullen and Joey Payne III, who rounded out the field in 11th and 12th respectively. It was a special night for “JP3”, while not only being able to make his 2018 ATQMRA debut in his favorite childhood race car, he was able to be on-hand for the on-track victory lane ceremony with his father during the post race celebration. 

The Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel will be off the next few weeks prior to invading the Appalachian Mountains and the Mahoning Valley Speedway on September 15th, 2018. 

Race Results

Heat 1

1. #39 Ronnie Mullen

2. #51 Joey Payne

3. #36 Buddy Sload 

4. #51B Joey Bailey 

5. #16 Kyle Taraska

6. #75 Mark Yoder

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Heat 2

1. #17 Jeff Kot

2. #48 Matt Janisch 

3. #73x Cole Mullen

4. #1B Ryan Tidman

5. #55 Paul Dodorico

6. #67 Joey Payne III

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Feature

1. #51 Joey Payne

2. #17 Jeff Kot

3. #1B Ryan Tidman

4. #51B Joey Bailey

5. #48 Matt Janisch 

6. #36 Buddy Sload

7. #73x Cole Mullen

8. #16 Kyle Taraska

9. #75 Mark Yoder

10. #55 Paul Dodorico

11. #39 Ronnie Mullen

12. #67 Joey Payne III

Cole Mullen Earns Emotional First Career Win

Wall Township, NJ – For the sixth event this season, the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel invaded Wall Stadium Speedway. This was the second of five scheduled events at the historic facility in 2018. 

The first of two heat races saw a thrilling battle between Mark Yoder and red hot Joey Bailey, who made a last lap pass to claim the victory. Bailey, of Monroe, NJ, entered this weekend’s race winning back to back feature events at Bethel Motor Speedway and Mahoning Valley Speedway.

The second heat race was won by “Flyin’” Ryan Tidman. Tidman, who won the 2017 running of the Turkey Derby last November at Wall Stadium, came to the Jersey Shore this weekend hoping that he could return to the track to earn his first feature win of the season.

The feature event went off without a hitch. The hometown kid, Cole Mullen of Brick, NJ, led the field to green for the 25-lap feature. Mullen would lead the opening laps of the event before being overtaken by Buddy Sload on the third lap.

Sload would go on to lead the next 22 laps and would take the white flag as the leader prior to a controversial race to the checkered flag. Entering the third turn of the final lap, a hard charging Matt Janisch made a daring move for the lead. However, this move resulted in contact with Sload, cutting Sload’s left rear tire down ruining his opportunity to win the race.

Although Matt Janisch was the first driver to cross the start finish line, a two-position penalty was issued due to his turn three maneuver, resulting in the pole sitter Cole Mullen earning his first career ATQMRA victory. The emotional victory lane featured both Cole, his father and fellow competitor Ronnie, and entire family and crew were on hand to take part in the celebrations. Cole has spent much of his racing career on the Wall Stadium property, earning a phenomenal reputation at “Lil” Wall, the Quarter Midget track located behind the pit area of the speedway. 

Joey Bailey finished second in the event, finishing just one position short of earning a three-peat. Janisch would officially be scored in third after the issued penalty from Race Control. Sload would ultimately end up forth and Ryan Tidman rounded out the top five.

Kyle Taraska made his second start of the ATQMRA season finishing sixth. Taraska, sported new colors this weekend earning sponsorship support from his educational institution Berkeley College.

ATQMRA veteran Joey Payne debuted in 2018 finishing in the seventh position. Mark Yoder, Joey Jarowicz, Paul Dodorico and Ronnie Mullen would round out the finishing order respectively. 

Through six events, the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA has featured five different winners. The series will be taking a weekend off before returning to Bethel Motor Speedway for the second time in 2018, on Saturday July 21st. 
 

Race Results

Heat Race #1
1.    #51B Joey Bailey
2.    #75 Mark Yoder
3.    #16 Kyle Taraska
4.    #36 Buddy Sload
5.    #51 Joey Payne
6.     #39 Ronnie Mullen

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Heat Race #2
1.    #1B Ryan Tidman
2.    #73X Cole Mullen
3.    #48 Matt Janisch
4.    #17 Joey Jarowicz
5.     #55 Paul Dodorico

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Feature
1.    #73X Cole Mullen
2.    #51B Joey Bailey
3.    #48 Matt Janisch
4.    #36 Buddy Sload
5.    #1B Ryan Tidman
6.    #16 Kyle Taraska
7.    #51 Joey Payne
8.    #75 Mark Yoder
9.    #17 Joey Jarowicz
10.  #55 Paul Dodorico
11.  #39 Ronnie Mullen

Joey Bailey tops Mahoning TQ field…first to repeat in ‘18

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By DINO OBERTO

(LEHIGHTON 6-30-18) It seems of late whenever the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel tour rolls in the paved ¼-mile Mahoning Valley Speedway, you can count on hometown , Kris Graver racing for the win which is easy to consider when he has won the past three events dating back to last season.

And so it seemed that would again be the case this past Saturday night when Graver started from the pole. Many felt his Mahoning streak would certainly stay in tack. 

However, Joey Bailey showed that he wasn’t about to take a back seat to his teammate Graver as the Monroe, NJ driver wheeled the Alan Mollet No. 51b to a second straight win and first ever at Mahoning.

Graver did go out and lead the first eight laps but Bailey, who started second, was showing good speed and in a flash zipped past Graver just as lap nine went into the books.

Afterwards there was no denying him of his first visit to Mahoning’s Winner’s Circle.

“First off I can’t thank Alan Mollet, my dad Russ Bailey and Mark and Matt Janisch enough for what they gave me with this new car it’s phenomenal,” said Bailey, who is the first repeat winner this season.

“I wanted this win really bad here. This is the track I made my first TQ start at. I ran good that first time but never really have been able to seal the deal since.”

Bailey knew one of the keys to winning Mahoning was not just have a good car but have the ability to get by Graver who has years of experience and over 50 wins here. It was the first time Graver was passed for the lead in a TQ at Mahoning.

“I knew I needed to get a good start and as soon as we got rolling the car felt really good to me,” said Bailey.

“Someone as legendary at this race track like Kris – it really felt good to get by him. After that I didn’t know who was closing up on me. There is a bunch of stellar drivers.”

Bailey would be credited with the fastest lap of the night also, going 9.170-seconds at 98.146 mph.

Second place went to current point leader Janisch, his fourth runner-up in five starts. Buddy Sload raced home third. Janisch and Sload also copped heat wins.

ATQMRA feature finish (25 Laps): 1.Joey Bailey, 2. Matt Janisch, 3. Buddy Sload, 4. Ryan Tidman, 5. Joey Jarowicz, 6. Cole Mullen, 7. Ronnie Mullen, 8. Mark Yoder, 9. Kris Graver

Birthday Boy Bailey Wins at Bethel

Bethel, NY – This weekend the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel took a scenic trip up to the Catskills, NY for the first event of the year at Bethel Motor Speedway. This was a special night for the ATQMRA, as the history of Pine Brook Speedway was celebrated amongst the pit area.

A buzz was in the air prior to the cars hitting the track, as the news broke Friday afternoon that ATQMRA Champion Mike Tidaback would be in attendance with his wife Renee and son Mikey Jr. Tidaback, who is still recovering from an on-track incident in this year’s annual Gambler Classic in Atlantic City, NJ, was in great spirits at the track this evening. Tidaback, along with his son Mikey not only gave the command to fire engines for the 30-lap feature event, but also enjoyed three parade laps in the speedway’s pace car to the delight of the crowd. Tidaback’s #11 modified which he most recently raced at Wall Stadium Speedway was on hand to pace the field of ATQMRA competitors as well.

The Mullen family, with son Cole led the field to green with his father Ronnie starting on the outside front-row. Heat race #1 winner Matt Janisch started 7th, and heat race #2 winner Joey Bailey started both due to handicapping. 

The action was fierce right from the drop of the green flag as multi-car incident involving the likes of unofficial teammates Kris Graver and Matt Janisch resulted in Graver facing the wrong way in the speedway’s infield just shy of the first corner. Graver would retire from the event as Janisch would continue on. Buddy Sload was plagued with engine issues during his heat race, and the issues continued into the feature. During the caution laps prior to what would be a complete restart of the event, Sload’s Spitfire Chassis would also retire from the event without officially completing a lap.

The drivers did not skip a beat as Brick, New Jersey’s Cole Mullen led the field back to the green flag and showed strength in the early going. However, C. Mullen was no match for both Joey Bailey and Ryan Tidman, who would soon overtake Mullen for the top spot. 

For much of the race, the battle for the lead was between Bailey, Tidman and Janisch. With even times of side by side action for the lead, the leaders put on quite the show as they began to slice and dice through lapped traffic.

The second and final caution of the evening was displayed with seventeen laps remaining, as Dave Williams, making his 2018 ATQMRA debut found himself in trouble in the middle of turns one and two.

This caution would set the stage for a thrilling restart, featuring a drag race between Bailey and Tidman down the backstretch on the first green flag lap following the restart. Bailey would eventually clear Tidman off of turn four and never look back. Janisch would make a late charge for the lead in the closing laps but was no match for Bailey. This would result in the third, second place finish for Janisch in four ATQMRA events this season.

Joey Bailey would ultimately capture an emotional victory on the eve of his 21stbirthday. This was Bailey’s first ATQMRA feature win since his victory at Stafford Motor Speedway in October of 2016. Furthermore, Bailey earned his first trophy racing for Alan Mollot. 

As for other notables from the event, Ronnie Mullen had his most impressive showing of the year as he showed speed throughout the entire day. After finishing second in his heat race, R. Mullen brought his Spitfire Chassis home in sixth, his best finish to date this season.

Mark Yoder returned after a one race absence as he attended the Indianapolis 500 with his family this past Memorial Day. Yoder, who overcame an oil leak during the first practice session, finished a respectable seventh. 

Paul Dodorico made his second start of the season in his home state of New York brought his car home in eighth. Dodorico, showed great improvement from his first career ATQMRA start at Wall Stadium last month as he continues to progress in his first season racing TQ Midgets.

Through four events this year, the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel has featured four different feature winners. The series now heads into the off-week prior to the fifth race on the 2018 calendar at Mahoning Valley Speedway, PA on June 30th, 2018.
 

Race Results

Heat 1

1.    #48 Matt Janisch

2.    #1B Ryan Tidman

3.    #51 Kris Graver

4.    #73x Cole Mullen

5.    #55 Paul Dodorico

6.     #11 Dave Williams

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Heat 2

1.    #51B Joey Bailey

2.    #17 Ronnie Mullen

3.    #48 Tim Proctor

4.    #36 Buddy Sload

5.     #75 Mark Yoder

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Feature

1.    #51B Joey Bailey

2.    #48 Matt Janisch

3.    #1B Ryan Tidman

4.    #98 Tim Proctor

5.    #73x Cole Mullen

6.    #17 Ronnie Mullen

7.    #75 Mark Yoder

8.    #55 Paul Dodorico

9.    #11 Dave Williams

10.  #36 Buddy Sload

11.  #51 Kris Graver