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Bailey Wins at Bethel; Back to Back 2019 Feature Victories

Staff Report | Monday, June 17th, 2019

Joey Bailey captures the checkered flag and the lead in championship standings by winning at Bethel Motor Speedway’s Pine Brook Reunion Night.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels made a trip to the Catskills to run the fourth event of the season at Bethel Motor Speedway. The theme of the evening was heritage, as the venue hosted their 2nd Annual Pine Brook Speedway Reunion Night. Many were on hand to celebrate the late speedway and those who competed at Pine Brook.

Two heat races kicked off the evening with Geoffrey Sutton and Ryan Tidman earning the victories.

For the first time this year, handicapping would set the line up for the feature race placing Mark Yoder on the pole position.

The racing action picked up quickly with a side by side battle between Yoder and Ryan Tidman. Tidman would eventually overtake Yoder, charging to a demanding lead. 

However, it would not take long for Wall Stadium Feature Winner, Joey Bailey, to chase down Tidman setting up a multi-lap battle for the lead.

As the race approached the halfway point, the loan caution of the feature was flown when Paul Dodorico and Ronnie Mullen came together in a racing incident, spinning Dodorico in turn 2. While there was no major damage on either vehicle, the incident would ultimately end the night for Dodorico.

On the restart, a fierce side-by-side battle between Tidman and Bailey took place, with Bailey eventually earning the top spot. Joey Bailey would command the field for the remaining 10 laps of the race, earning him and co-owner’s Alan Mollot and Russ Bailey their second consecutive feature win on the season. 

After a strong showing Ryan Tidman would finish second, with Geoffrey Sutton finishing a season high third. Buddy Sload and Tim Proctor would round on the top-5 finishing positions respectively.

Jake Nelke made his impressive ATQMRA debut this weekend after finishing fourth in the first heat race and sixth in the feature. Nelke was a late entrant of the event, subbing for Mike Glaser in the #02 after Glaser became ill early Saturday morning. We wish Mike Glaser a speedy recovering and look forward to having him back at the track soon.

Cameron and Tim Ruggiero made the trip from Western New York for their 2019 debuts as well, both of which rounded out the top 10 of the running order finishing 9th and 10th respectively.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will be in competition at Mahoning Valley Speedway this Saturday, June 22nd, 2019. Joey Bailey will be the points leader by a slim margin over Buddy Sload heading into the event. Sload won at Mahoning this past April.


Race Results 

Heat 1

  1. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  2. #51B Joey Bailey 

  3. #55 Paul Dodorico

  4. #02 Jake Nelke

  5. #62 Cameron Ruggiero 

  6. #16 Kyle Taraska

  7. #39 Ronnie Mullen

Heat 2

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #75 Mark Yoder

  4. #98 Tim Proctor 

  5. #73 Cole Mullen

  6. #01 Tim Ruggiero 

Feature 

  1. #51B Joey Bailey 

  2. #1B Ryan Tidman

  3. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  4. #36 Buddy Sload

  5. #98 Tim Proctor 

  6. #02 Jake Nelke

  7. #75 Mark Yoder

  8. #73 Cole Mullen

  9. #62 Cameron Ruggiero 

  10. #01 Tim Ruggiero 

  11. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  12. #55 Paul Dodorico 

  13. #16 Kyle Taraska DNS

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Bailey Sweeps at Wall; Earns First Feature Victory of 2019

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Bailey Sweeps at Wall; Earns First Feature Victory of 2019

#51B Joey Bailey Takes Wall Stadium Feature

WALL, NJ- Joey Bailey earned his first Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels feature victory of 2019 this weekend at Wall Stadium Speedway. Bailey dominated the day by winning his heat, drawing the pole starting position for the feature, and ultimately win the 25 lap main event.

This was the second race in as many weeks for the ATQMRA, after many teams experienced a quick turnaround after racing in Bethel, NY last weekend. 

While Joey Bailey won the first heat race of the evening, his teammate Geoffrey Sutton earned his first heat win of 2019 in second preliminary race of the event. The second heat race was slowed by one caution for debris, which was the only instance a yellow flag was thrown for the duration of the evening.

Photo Credit: Sean Case

With Bailey drawing the pole for the feature, the competition knew there was a lot of work to be done to get around the #51B to earn a potential victory. 

Buddy Sload, two-time feature winner in 2019, kept Bailey honest all night. However his efforts fell just short of winning his third consecutive feature of the season, bringing his Spitfire Chassis home in second. Sload will leave Wall Stadium with a slim 4 point margin in championship standings over Bailey. 

Ryan Tidman rounded out the podium yet again. Tidman’s consistency has earned him three, third place finishes through three races this season. Heat race winner Geoffrey Sutton would finish 4th. Kyle Taraska in the Berkeley College entry had a nice run finishing 5th. 

Other notables of the event include Dave Gorbatuk and Steve Craig, both making their 2019 debuts. They would finish 10th and 11th respectively.

Joey Bailey’s victory comes after earning two second place finishes through the first two events of 2019. Bailey’s 1.7 average finish through three races makes him a strong favorite to contend for his first ATQMRA championship this season.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will take the next two weekends off, before returning to Bethel Motor Speedway for the annual Pine Brook Reunion on Saturday, June 15th, 2019.

Race Results

Heat 1

  1. #51B Joey Bailey

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #1B Ryan Tidman

  4. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  5. #73 Cole Mullen

Heat 2

  1. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  2. #16 Kyle Taraska

  3. #75 Mark Yoder

  4. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  5. #95 Jeff Kot

  6. #55C Steve Craig 

Feature 

  1. #51B Joey Bailey

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #1B Ryan Tidman

  4. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  5. #16 Kyle Taraska 

  6. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  7. #95 Jeff Kot

  8. #75 Mark Yoder

  9. #73 Cole Mullen

  10. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  11. #55C Steve Craig

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Buddy Sload Dominates Bethel; 2nd Win of 2019

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Buddy Sload Dominates Bethel; 2nd Win of 2019

Photo Credit: Sean Case

Staff Report | May 18th, 2019

BETHEL, NY- Buddy Sload wins at Bethel Motor Speedway after leading wire to wire to claim his second feature victory of 2019.

After nearly a one month break, the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels held its second event of the season the 1/4 mile oval of Bethel Motor Speedway.

Photo Credit; Sean Case

Two clean heat races started off the evening where both Joey Bailey and Ryan Tidman claimed victory respectively. Tidman’s heat was won in his newly built in-house chassis by the Boyd Family, which has shown great speed throughout the early stages of 2019. The top-4 finishers from each heat would redraw for position, shaking up the top-8 positions for the feature line up. After the redraw, Tim Proctor who was making his first start of 2019 drew the pole.

Bethel’s Scout Night was honored by a beautiful National Anthem Ceremony performed by various troops from the area. The ceremony also featured the ATQMRA starting line up displayed on the speedway’s front stretch in front of a near capacity crowd. It didn’t take long to receive the command to fire engines prior to taking the green flag. 

At the drop of the green flag, points leader and third place started Buddy Sload wasted no time powering to the inside of pole sitter Tim Proctor, making a clean pass for the lead in turn 1. 

In the opening laps of the feature, the event featured its only caution as Geo Sutton spun off the exit of turn 2. Sutton would immediately return to the racing action and recover for a respectable 6th place finish. Sload would lead the field back to green during the event’s only restart. 

Much like the opening round at Mahoning, Buddy Sload established himself as the hunted. However, it was Joey Bailey yet again establishing himself as the hunter. Bailey methodically worked his way up through the field from the 8th place starting position, making daring moves all along the way. Although he nearly reached the rear bumper of Sload on the final lap, it simply wasn’t enough to pass him for the victory.

Buddy Sload is now two for two this season winning back to back feature victory’s at Mahoning and Bethel, establishing himself as a championship favorite early in 2019.

In victory lane, Buddy Sload dedicated his victory to the mother of former ATQMRA Rookie of the Year and current Spitfire Racing team member Mike Glaser. Mike’s mother, Micki, unfortunately passed away early Thursday morning. On behalf of the entire ATQMRA, we extend our sincere condolences to the Glaser family and will keep them in our thoughts during this difficult time.

Other notables in the event should include the finishes of Tim Proctor and Richie Davidowitz, who finished 4th and 5th respectfully in their first starts of the season. 

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels heads to New Jersey’s Wall Stadium Speedway this Saturday, May 25th for a Memorial Day Weekend shootout at the shore.


Photo Credit: Sean Case

Heat 1 Results 

  1. #51B Joey Bailey

  2. #75 Mark Yoder

  3. #98 Tim Proctor 

  4. #36 Buddy Sload 

  5. #39 Ronnie Mullen 

  6. #73 Cole Mullen

Heat 2 Results

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  3. #25 Richie Davidowitz 

  4. #95 Jeff Kot

  5. #55 Paul Dodorico

  6. #16 Kyle Taraska 

Feature Results 

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #51B Joey Bailey 

  3. #1B Ryan Tidman

  4. #98 Tim Proctor 

  5. #25 Richie Davidowitz 

  6. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  7. #95 Jeff Kot

  8. #75 Mark Yoder

  9. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  10. #55 Paul Dodorico

  11. #73 Cole Mullen

  12. #16 Kyle Taraska

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Photo Finish Decides ATQMRA Mahoning Opener; Sload Victorious

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Photo Finish Decides ATQMRA Mahoning Opener; Sload Victorious

Staff Report | Monday, April 22nd, 2019 

Buddy Sload claimed victory at the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels 2019 season opening event at Mahoning Valley Speedway in a photo finish. The margin of victory over Joey Bailey was .007 seconds, resulting in the closest finish in ATQMRA history during the electronic scoring era.

The evening was kicked off with back to back heat races. Joey Bailey captured the first checkered flag of the year in his Yuhas Chassis for car owner’s Alan Mollot and Russ Bailey. The second heat race of the evening was won by Jeff Kot, in his freshly designed Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Hyper Chassis. After the redraw, Cole Mullen earned the pole position for the 25 lap feature. Kot and Bailey would start 5th and 7th respectively.

It did not take long for 4th place starter Buddy Sload to find his way to the lead. Sload would split the front row, passing pole sitter Cole Mullen in turn 1 and second place starter Mark Yoder in turn 3. At one point, Sload had nearly a half-track lead on the field. However, this did not take away from any of the thrilling action witnessed mid-pack throughout the feature event.

After setting the fastest lap of the evening in both the heats and feature, Joey Bailey was a man on a mission starting in 7th place. At one point, you could throw a blanket over drivers Ryan Tidman, Geoffrey Sutton, Jeff Kot and Joey Bailey as the battle for 2nd through 5th heated up. Bailey would eventually muscle his way into the runner up position.

The battle for the lead would soon heat up itself, as a late race caution due to a spin by Cole Mullen in middle of turns 3 and 4 would set up a late race restart with 5 laps to go. While Sload got a great jump, Bailey kept him honest as the field stormed into turn 1.

Sload made it very obvious that he was protecting the bottom, forcing Bailey to move to the outside if he were to attempt to pass. Bailey would attempt that move twice, resulting in fantastic side by side racing on multiple occasions. Sload and Bailey raced nerf bar to nerf bar, for the entire last lap of the race bringing the Mahoning Valley fans to their feet. This thrilling action resulted in a photo finish, which gave Buddy Sload the nod over Joey Bailey, by a mere .007 seconds. Buddy Sload and Spitfire Racing have now won back to back ATQMRA events dating back to Turkey Derby of last November.

Other notables include impressive debuts of different kinds for third place finisher Ryan Tidman and forth place finisher Geoffrey Sutton. Tidman debuted a brand new home built chassis by the Boyd Family, and Sutton raced in his first attempt under the Alan Mollot banner. 

Jeff Kot earned a 5th place finish, backing up his strong showing at Mahoning last September. Mark Yoder and Cole Mullen would finish 6th and 7th respectively. Newly named ATQMRA Vice President Paul Dodorico kept his nose clean in his first attempt at Mahoning Valley Speedway to finish 8th. ‘The Rocket’ Ronnie Mullen finished 9th after being plagued by a mechanical failure during the early duration of the 25 lap feature.

Kyle Taraska and the Berkeley College entry also experienced a mechanical failure during the early practice Saturday afternoon. Although in attendance, the result unfortunately retired the #16 team from the racing action for the remainder of the evening.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will take some time off, before returning to Bethel Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 18th, 2019.

Race Results 

Heat 1

  1. #51B Joey Bailey 

  2. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  3. #73 Cole Mullen

  4. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  5. #16 Kyle Taraska DNS

Heat 2

  1. #95 Jeff Kot

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #1B Ryan Tidman

  4. #75 Mark Yoder

  5. #55 Paul Dodorico

Feature 

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #51B Joey Bailey 

  3. #1B Ryan Tidman 

  4. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  5. #95 Jeff Kot

  6. #75 Mark Yoder

  7. #73 Cole Mullen

  8. #55 Paul Dodorico 

  9. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  10. #16 Kyle Taraska DNS

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Buddy Sload Earns Victory at Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA Turkey Derby XLV

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Buddy Sload Earns Victory at Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA Turkey Derby XLV

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ
Buddy Sload leads Spitfire Racing in a 1-2 finish to earn his first career Turkey Derby victory at Wall Stadium Speedway. 

Sload and Spitfire teammate Jeff Kot were class of the field for much of the morning, earning the fastest two times in the morning group qualifying session. Their efforts guaranteed both drivers to start within the first three rows after the redraw. Sload would draw the 3rd place pill, while Kot drew the 6th place pill. ‘Flyin’ Ryan Tidman drew the pole position and led the field to green for the 30-lap feature. In total the top-10 qualifiers of the 18 car field redrew for starting position.

From third, Sload wasted no time making a daring move to the inside of Tidman for the lead. Sload certainly had his hands full however, as multiple cautions for various on-track incidents preceding to multiple double-file restarts. 

The ‘Jerzy Jet’ Joey Payne entered the event as one of the favorites to win it. Two incidents plagued his efforts, one of which was in turn 4 soon bringing out the first caution of the afternoon. The second followed with on-track contact with his son Joey Payne III in turn one, which ultimately ended his afternoon. This was the first event in 2018 that Joey, Joey III and Anthony Payne were on track competing with each other. 

In the meantime, Jeff Kot raced his way into the second position, racing wheel to wheel with Sload on multiple restarts. Just when it looked like it could be Kot’s afternoon after clearing Sload on the high side in turn 2 on the restart, a breathtaking incident took place with Geoffrey Sutton flipping end over end in turn 1. To the delight of everyone in attendance, Sutton walked away unharmed. The incident caused a brief red flag period.

It was determined by race control that Kot and the field did not complete a full lap prior to issuing the red flag. Per the ATQMRA rulebook, the field was reset to the prior lap, earning Sload the first position on the proceeding restart.
On the restart Sload would edge teammate Kot, and never looked back. Sload and Kot would race bumper to bumper all the way to the finish, however Kot would fall just short in earning victory after an impressive outing on his behalf. 

Buddy Sload went on to win Turkey Derby XLV, with Jeff Kot finishing runner up earning Spitfire Racing a dominant 1-2 finish. 2018 ATQMRA Champion Matt Janisch would finish third, followed by 2018 5x ATQMRA feature winner Joey Bailey in fourth, and making is only appearance of 2018 was Briggs Danner rounding out the top-5. 

Finishing behind Danner was fellow invader Kyle Reinhardt who earned a 6th place finish, 5x ATQMRA Champion Ryan Tidman held onto 7th after starting from the pole, Kyle Taraska and the Berkeley College entry finished 8th, while Richie Davidowitz and Cole Mullen rounded out the top-10 respectively. 

Another notables from the event include the mechanical woes of drivers Steve Craig and ‘The Rocket’ Ronnie Mullen. After running a fast enough lap to earn a spot in the final group of qualifying, Craig experienced a mechanical failure, forcing him to not making the grid for the feature event. While Mullen made it out on to the track for pace laps, a rear suspension failure plagued his efforts prior to the drop of the green flag. 

Turkey Derby XLV officially concludes the 2018 ATQMRA season. Through 14 sanctioned events, the series experienced 8 different feature winners and a championship battle that came down to the closing laps of the final points event earlier this season.

The ATQMRA would like to formally thank title sponsor Hoosier Mid-Atlantic and presenting sponsor VP Racing Fuels for their support during our 2018 campaign. Furthermore, we thank associate sponsors Diversified Machines INC, Pastor Bob Menshener of Racing with Jesus Ministries, the RPM Podcast and Bob Emmons of MNO for their contributions as well. Bob is currently recovering from a surgery, and the ATQMRA family looks forward to his return to the racetrack in 2019.

Time Trial Results

  1. #36 Buddy Sload 13.024

  2. #17 Jeff Kot 13.100

  3. #48 Matt Janisch 13.103

  4. #02 Kyle Reinhardt 13.184

  5. #51B Joey Bailey 13.195

  6. #48X Briggs Danner 13.229

  7. #16 Kyle Taraska 13.241

  8. #1B Ryan Tidman 13.292

  9. #51 Joey Payne 13.374

  10. #73C Cole Mullen 13.389

  11. #25 Richie Davidowitz 13.407

  12. #55 Paul Dodorico 13.425

  13. #55C Steve Craig 13.576

  14. #98 Matt Roselli 13.590

  15. #39 Ronnie Mullen 13.632

  16. #12 Anthony Payne 13.637

  17. #461 Geoffrey Sutton 13.702

  18. #67 Joey Payne III 13.751

Top 10 Redraw 

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #48X Briggs Danner 

  3. #36 Buddy Sload 

  4. #48 Matt Janisch 

  5. #73C Cole Mullen 

  6. #17 Jeff Kot

  7. #02 Kyle Reinhardt 

  8. #51 Joey Payne 

  9. #51B Joey Bailey 

  10. #16 Kyle Taraska 

Feature Results

  1. #36 Buddy Sload 

  2. #17 Jeff Kot

  3. #48 Matt Janisch 

  4. #51B Joey Bailey 

  5. #48X Briggs Danner

  6. #02 Kyle Reinhardt 

  7. #1B Ryan Tidman

  8. #16 Kyle Taraska 

  9. #25 Richie Davidowitz 

  10. #73C Cole Mullen 

  11. #67 Joey Payne III

  12. #55 Paul Dodorico

  13. #12 Anthony Payne

  14. #461 Geoffrey Sutton

  15. #98 Matt Roselli

  16. #51 Joey Payne 

  17. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  18. #55C Steve Craig 

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