Bailey Prevails in Action-Packed Wall Feature

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Bailey Prevails in Action-Packed Wall Feature

Photo Credits: JJ Lane
Staff Report | Monday, September 23rd, 2019

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ- Joey Bailey acclaimed his series high fifth Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels feature victory this weekend at Wall Stadium Speedway.

In front of a packed grandstand, the ATQMRA hosted their 10th championship race of the season at the historic Wall Township, New Jersey venue. The action and excitement within the 25 lap feature did not disappoint.

Heat Race winners Buddy Sload and Geoffrey Sutton proved their worth early. Sload, who would eventually run the fastest lap of the day at a 12.916 and Geoffrey Sutton, who had momentum on his side coming off a Wall Stadium Feature victory in August.

It didn’t take long for Jeff Kot, and his Behrent Performance Warehouse machine to power past hometown driver Cole Mullen and Mark Yoder. Kot overtook Mullen for the lead in the third turn of the opening lap. By the time the field came back around to complete the second lap, it was Buddy Sload powering past Kot for the lead.

It seemed like it would be Sload’s race to win throughout much of the early going as Kot was in tow with Yoder having a very strong run in third. The field would reset right around the halfway point when Joey Payne III, making his first ATQMRA start of 2019, spun and brought out the first caution of the event. This set up a front row restart featuring championship favorites Sload and Joey Bailey. Bailey entered the event six on-track positions ahead of Sload in standings.

Sload maintained the lead on the first double file restart. A series of restarts would follow, with back-to-back single car incidents featuring Dave Gorbatuk and Anthony Payne. Both drivers were fine from their respective incidents, and each went on the finish the remainder of the event.

The battle for the lead, and the championship for that matter, heated up immensely on the restart. Bailey got underneath Sload for the lead in turn 1. Sload was able to return the favor in turn 1 on the following lap as the leaders sliced and diced for the top spot. The two rubbed rails on both occasions bringing the crowd to their feet.

A multi-car incident involving Cole Mullen and Kyle Taraska slowed the field down again for the fourth time. Bailey was able to retain the lead due to scoring to the last lap completed, which featured Bailey crossing the line ahead of Sload.

One more caution from a single car incident involving Taraska again, slowed the field down for the final time with five laps to go. In the end, it was Joey Bailey who prevailed to claim his fifth ATQMRA feature victory of the season, and second career on Wall Stadium’s inner oval.

Buddy Sload finished 2nd, who will enter Wall Stadium in two weeks 28 points behind Bailey, with two points races remaining on the year.

August Wall Stadium winner Geoffrey Sutton finished in third. Jeff Kot finished a very strong fourth. Mark Yoder and the Ames Construction machine rounded out a very competitive top five.

Other notables include the return of Mike Tidaback to the ATQMRA Pit Area. Mike received a warm welcome this weekend serving as the crew chief for Jeff Kot and his race team. Tidaback also a victory lane appearance with feature winner Joey Bailey. It was great to have Mike Tidaback at the track this weekend and we wish him continued success in his recovery. Please keep Mike in your prayers.

Buddy Sload and Spitfire Racing honored racing legend Mike Stefanik this weekend at Wall Stadium. Sload ran the Stefanik nameplate across the front of his Spitfire Chassis. This of course, was the same nameplate and car Stefanik won in, during the 2009 Coffee Cup Rhode Island Indoor Series Event. On behalf of the ATQMRA at large, we extend our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Mike Stefanik. Mike was a great person, and a great ambassador for Motorsports.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will head back to Wall Stadium in two weeks, on Saturday October 5th, 2019.

Race Results:

Heat 1:

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #51B Joey Bailey

  3. #12 Anthony Payne

  4. #67 Joey Payne III

  5. #75 Mark Yoder

  6. #98 Tim Proctor

  7. #Ronnie Mullen

Heat 2:

  1. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  2. #95 Jeff Kot

  3. #73 Cole Mullen

  4. #1B Ryan Tidman

  5. #02 Kyle Taraska

  6. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

Feature:

  1. #51B Joey Bailey

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  4. #95 Jeff Kot

  5. #75 Mark Yoder

  6. #1B Ryan Tidman

  7. #12 Anthony Payne

  8. #98 Tim Proctor

  9. #02 Kyle Taraska

  10. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  11. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  12. #73 Cole Mullen

  13. #67 Joey Payne III

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Buddy Sload Wins Inaugural ATQMRA Chapel Hill Event

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Buddy Sload Wins Inaugural ATQMRA Chapel Hill Event

Staff Report | Monday, September 9th, 2019

GREAT VALLEY, NY- Buddy Sload held off championship points leader Joey Bailey in a 30 lap thriller at Chapel Hill Raceway this weekend.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels sanctioned their first ever event at Chapel Hill Raceway taking part in the “TQ Madness” program. The ATQMRA joined forces with the NYPA, where each division hosted a 30-lap, championship points paying feature.

After handicapping, heat race winners Mark Yoder and Ryan Tidman started 3rd and 6th respectively. Ronnie Mullen led the field to the green.

Mark Yoder made a daring move on Mullen, squeezing underneath him heading into the first turn.

The action remained heated up early as Mike Glaser made contact with the outside barrier ending his afternoon prematurely. This incident brought out the first and only caution of the evening

On the restart, Mark Yoder led the field to the green and held off the leaders in the proceeding laps. Sload would ultimately make the same move on Yoder, as Yoder did on Mullen, finding just enough space to get underneath Yoder in first turn. Bailey would soon move past Yoder as well, as battle brewed between two of the championship favorites.

Sload and Bailey pulled away from the field. While Sload dominated leading lap after lap, Bailey kept him honest. At one point, Sload pulled Bailey to a near four car length lead. However, it wasn’t long before Bailey hunted Sload back down and came within inches of Sload’s rear bumper.

Alas, Joey Bailey was no match for Buddy Sload, who went on to earn his third feature victory of the 2019 season, tying Bailey in sanctioned victories to-date.

Bailey’s teammate, Geoffrey Sutton rounded out the podium. Ryan Tidman and Tim Proctor rounding out the top-5 respectively.

After leading early, Mark Yoder finished sixth. Andy Jankowiak made his 2019 ATQMRA debut coming home in 7th.

Ronnie Mullen and Mike Glaser rounded out the field respectively with both of their days ending earlier than they had hoped.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will race at Mahoning Valley Speedway, on Saturday September 14th, 2019. This will be the third and final time the organization races in Eastern Pennsylvania this season.

Race Results:

Heat 1:

  1. #75 Mark Yoder

  2. #51B Joey Bailey

  3. #36 Buddy Sload

  4. #01 Andy Jankowiak

  5. #39 Ronnie Mullen

Heat 2:

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  3. #98 Tim Proctor

  4. #16 Mike Glaser

Feature:

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #51B Joey Bailey

  3. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  4. #1B Ryan Tidman

  5. #98 Tim Proctor

  6. #75 Mark Yoder

  7. #01 Andy Jankowiak

  8. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  9. #16 Mike Glaser

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Sutton Wins ATQMRA Cliff Krause Memorial

Staff Report | Monday August 26th, 2019

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ- Geoffrey Sutton made his triumphant return to Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic powered by VP Racing Fuels victory lane Saturday night in the 27 lap Cliff Krause Memorial at Wall Stadium Speedway.

During a night designed to honor the legacy of the late Cliff Krause, no one disappointed as the ATQMRA put on a clean and green 27 lap feature from start to finish in front of a packed house.

Bethel winner Ryan Tidman picked up right where he left on winning the first heat race of the evening. Buddy Sload went on to win the second heat race. The drivers would start 5th and 6th respectively due to handicapping. Kyle Taraska and the Berkeley College entry would start on the pole

For the early stages of the race, it appeared to be Kyle Taraska’s night who was seeking his 2nd career ATQMRA victory. However, after leading the first 15 laps, he was no match for Geoffrey Sutton. Sutton made a daring move to Taraska’s inside in turn 3 to capture the lead and ultimately never look back.

Lapped traffic would play a factor in the race as the leaders sliced and diced through the field to earn positioning and track position. Front runners Jeff Kot and Joey Bailey had a race long battle for position. Richie Davidowitz had a strong showing in his 2nd ATQMRA start of the season finishing 7th. Joey Payne making his first ATQMRA start of the season finished in 8th. The top 8 finishers ran fastest laps within nearly one tenth of a second of each other in an highly competitive field.

The remainder of the competitive field included former ATQMRA Rookie of the Year Dave Gorbatuk, NEMA invader Avery Stoehr, TQ Midget veteran’s Steve Craig and Mark Yoder. Furthermore, the hometown favorites of Ronnie and Cole Mullen were in adding to the excitement as well.

Both Buddy Sload and Ryan Tidman would make a late race charge for the lead. However, their track position was too much to overcome as Geoffrey Sutton would go on to win the feature.

Sutton is now the eight different winner in the last eight ATQMRA Wall Stadium Feature events, dating back to November of 2017. This is also the 2nd year in a row owner Alan Mollot won the Cliff Krause Memorial in his legendary #51 Linbald Badger. Mollot won the event in 2018 with Joey Payne.

Although the points gap closed, Joey Bailey remains the leader in championship standings heading into the next event.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will take Labor Day weekend off, before returning to action in Chapel Hill, NY for the “TQ Extravaganza” on Saturday September 7th, 2019.

Race Results:

Heat 1:

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  3. #75 Mark Yoder

  4. #12 Joey Payne

  5. #55C Steve Craig

  6. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  7. #39 Ronnie Mullen

Heat 2:

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #16 Kyle Taraska

  3. #95 Jeff Kot

  4. #51B Joey Bailey

  5. #25 Richie Davidowitz

  6. #73 Cole Mullen

  7. #23 Avery Stoehr

Feature:

  1. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #1B Ryan Tidman

  4. #51B Joey Bailey

  5. #16 Kyle Taraska

  6. #95 Jeff Kot

  7. #25 Richie Davidowitz

  8. #12 Joey Payne

  9. #73 Cole Mullen

  10. #75 Mark Yoder

  11. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  12. #23 Avery Stoehr

  13. #55C Steve Craig

  14. #39 Ronnie Mullen

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Bailey Declared Winner at Rain Shortened Pocono

Staff Report | Monday, August 19th, 2019

Long Pond, PA- Joey Bailey was declared the winner of the 3rd Annual Tricky Triangle Challenge at Pocono Raceway, sanctioned by Classic Racing Times.

In a bizarre turn of events, for what seemed like a beautiful Saturday evening in the Pocono Mountains, Mother Nature had other plans dropping a severe thunderstorm over the raceway just prior to 9:00 PM local time. Due to the intensity of the weather with safety in mind, both Pocono Raceway and ‘CRT’ officials declared the event official before the feature was even ran.

After storming from last to first in a 10 lap thriller, Joey Bailey earned his overall victory per the sanctioning body’s rule, by winning the first heat race of the evening. Buddy Sload, who sliced and diced his way from 4th to 1st on the opening lap of the second heat race, earned the victory in his qualifier was well. This, resulted in an overall 2nd place finish after racing was cancelled for the remainder of the evening.

The overall finishing order for all competitors was based on the finishing orders of each heat

With everyone earning equal “show-up” points, the event will have no affect on the championship outcome for those drivers who entered the event.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels returns for a regularly sanctioned this Saturday, August 24th, 2019 at Wall Stadium Speedway, NJ.

Race Results

Heat 1:

  1. #51B Joey Bailey

  2. #75 Mark Yoder

  3. #73 Cole Mullen

  4. #33 Tyler Wagner

  5. #46 Graham Hughes

  6. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  7. #55C Steve Craig

  8. #2 Jasper Zeigafuse

  9. #57 Stefan Nikolof

Heat 2:

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #1B Ryan Tidman

  3. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  4. #95 Jeff Kot

  5. #75z Don Zrinski

  6. #72 Jesse Mauer

  7. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  8. #98 Tim Proctor

Feature*:

  1. #51B Joey Bailey

  2. #36 Buddy Sload

  3. #75 Mark Yoder

  4. #1B Ryan Tidman

  5. #73 Cole Mullen

  6. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  7. #33 Tyler Wagner

  8. #95 Jeff Kot

  9. #46 Graham Hughes

  10. #75z Don Zrinski

  11. #32 Dave Gorbatuk

  12. #72 Jesse Mauer

  13. #55C Steve Craig

  14. #39 Ronnie Mullen

  15. #2 Jasper Zeigafuse

  16. #98 Tim Proctor

  17. #57 Stefan Nikolof

*finishing order determined by rulebook

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Tidman Earns Breakthrough Win at Bethel

Staff Report | Monday August 12th, 2019

BETHEL, NY- Five-time ATQMRA Championship Ryan Tidman earned his first feature victory of the 2019 campaign this weekend at Bethel Motor Speedway.

After a month long hiatus due to unfortunate luck with Mother Nature, the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels hosted their sixth event of 2019 at Bethel Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Ryan Tidman and Buddy Sload won their respective heats to kick off the evening of racing action. Both drivers were looking for a big night to close the points gap on leader Joey Bailey.

After starting third due to handicapping, ‘Flyin’ Ryan Tidman lived up to his nickname wasting no time clearing pole sitter Mark Yoder down the backstretch on the opening lap of the feature. While Tidman looked to put on a clinic, he had to hold off Alan Mollot Racing teammates Joey Bailey and Geoffrey Sutton, who kept Tidman honest throughout the entire length of the race.

A late-race caution set up a green-white-checkered scenario putting Tidman and Bailey head to head for the victory. Alas, Bailey was no match for Tidman as Ryan was able to hold Joey and the rest of the competition in a dominating wire-to-wire victory; his first of 2019.

The victory also marked the first for the newly built Boyd Chassis. This was only the sixth ever race for the chassis, as it debuted in the beginning of this season. Tidman’s victory not only leaves another mark on his storied ATQMRA career, but a mark on Donna and Lenny Boyd’s career within the organization as well.

Joey Bailey and Geoffrey Sutton would round out the podium. Anthony Payne, making his long awaited 2019 debut with car owner Michael Murray ended the feature in a highly-respectable fourth place finish. Kyle Taraska, in a one-off effort with Russ Bailey’s #02 machine rounded out the top-5. Taraska is expected to return to his usual Spitfire Racing #16 machine in two weeks at Wall Stadium.

Mark Yoder would finish 6th, while Avery Stoehr who made his second start of 2019, finished 7th. Buddy Sload would finish in 8th. Sload, who experienced mechanical issues throughout most of the day, salvaged their best finish possible to stay in the championship fight.

In a surprised late-entry, 2007 ATQMRA Champion Bobby Watkins entered his #91 machine this weekend at Bethel. This was Watkins first start in nearly 9 years. Post-race, Watkins was adamant about returning for a few more races prior to season’s end.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels heads to the famous Pocono Raceway this weekend on Saturday, August 17th, 2019 for a marquee event hosted by Classic Racing Times.

Race Results:

Heat 1:

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #51B Joey Bailey

  3. #12 Anthony Payne

  4. #75 Mark Yoder

  5. #23 Avery Stoehr

Heat 2:

  1. #36 Buddy Sload

  2. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  3. #02 Kyle Taraska

  4. #91 Bobby Watkins


Feature:

  1. #1B Ryan Tidman

  2. #51B Joey Bailey

  3. #51 Geoffrey Sutton

  4. #12 Anthony Payne

  5. #02 Kyle Taraska

  6. #75 Mark Yoder

  7. #23 Avery Stoehr

  8. #36 Buddy Sload

  9. #91 Bobby Watkins

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