BAILEY TAMES EVERGREEN FIELD

May 16, 2022

Staff Report | Monday, May 16th, 2022

Photo Credit: Sean Case, James Gehrold

DRUMS, PA- Joey Bailey (#1B, Boyd Chassis) started 8th and finished 1st, earning the 25-lap feature victory at Evergreen Raceway this weekend! Bailey took the first Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels checkered flag at Evergreen Raceway in a decade.

Bailey’s stellar day started off by winning the first heat race of the afternoon. In only his second career ATQMRA start, rising motorsports star Tanner VanDoren (#12, MJ Motorsports) earned the second heat win of the afternoon.

Buddy Sload (#36, Spitfire Chassis) drew the pole and got a good jump on the field when the green flag flew. Earning equally good starts were Boyd Speed Shop teammates Kyle Taraska (#22 Personal Comfort) and eventual winner Bailey. Both drivers started 6th and 8th respectively, and rounded out the podium by the end of the first lap.

Bailey snuck underneath Taraska in the first turn on the second lap, as Bailey set his eyes on race leader Sload.

Fierce action continued all throughout the field. Rookie VanDoren raced nerf bar to nerf bar with fellow rising star Briggs Danner (#51J, Yuhas Chassis) in the top five.

Throughout the race, you could also throw a blanket over multi-time East Coast TQ Midget Champion Tyler Wagner, and ATQMRA veterans Steven Craig and Mark Yoder. Wagner, was completing the third leg of a triple-duty weekend as he also competed with The Mighty TQ Midgets in Ohio this weekend.

While the racing was tight in the back, the action heated up in the front. As the crossed-flags flew, Bailey had arrived at the back bumper of Sload as Taraska followed closely behind in third.

The legitimate three-car battle for the lead brought the near capacity crowd to their feet, as the leader slipped and slid around the treacherous third mile oval.

With 10 laps remaining, Bailey dropped the hammer and got to the inside of Sload, clearing driver #36 in turn one. Taraska was not too far behind Bailey, making a power move around the outside of Sload in turn four two laps later.

Taraska had one last chance to earn the lead from Bailey in lapped traffic, but failed to capitalize as Joey Bailey set sail to earn his first victory of the 2022 ATQMRA season!

Earning The Boyd Speed Shop the noted 1-2 sweep, Kyle Taraska finished 2nd in his first career Evergreen Raceway start. Buddy Sload rounded out the podium as the championship standings remained tight between these three competitors heading into Wall Stadium next weekend.

Briggs Danner, substituting for Matt Janisch, gave the #51J team a respectable fourth place finish.

Tanner VanDoren continues to impress. After winning his heat race, VanDoren set the Hoosier Hot Lap of the feature (12.774 seconds) en-route to his first career ATQMRA top five finish. VanDoren was also this weekend’s RYNO Rookie of the Race.

Zack Burd (#5z, Burlington Chevrolet) made all the right moves earning a sixth place finish, maintaining his points lead in the RYNO Rookie of the Year Standings.

Mark Yoder (#75 Ames Construction), Steve Craig (#55C, Craig Bulk Carriers) and Tyler Wagner (#51, Lindblad Badger) rounded out the field of running cars.

Mechanical issues plagued Jeff Kot (#95, Behrents Performance Warehouse) and Bill Force Jr. (#26, Force Racing), as neither driver was able to compete in the feature.

After showing great speed all day, an on-track incident in Kot’s heat race derailed their efforts as the team was not able to make the proper repairs prior to the start of the feature. Force Jr. experienced an engine issue in his heat race prior to calling it an afternoon.

Through two events, the ATQMRA continues to produce quality, clean shows, with another wire to wire green flag feature and thrilling on-track action for the lead. This week’s feature duration was just under seven minutes in length as TQ’s circled the raceway nearly one second faster per lap than the tour modifieds which ran earlier in the afternoon.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels returns to Wall Stadium Speedway, this Saturday May 21st for their “Party on the Track” event!

RACE RESULTS:

25 Lap Feature:

1. #1B Joey Bailey

2. #22 Kyle Taraska

3. #36 Buddy Sload

4. #51J Briggs Danner

5. #12 Tanner VanDoren

6. #5z Zack Burd

7. #75 Mark Yoder

8. #55C Steve Craig

9. #51 Tyler Wagner

10. #95 Jeff Kot -DNS

11. #26 Bill Force Jr. -DNS

FEATURE FAST FACTS:

Time of Race: 6:26.365

Leader(s): 2

Lap Leader(s): #36 Sload (15), #1B Bailey (10)

Cautions: 0

RYNO Rookie of the Race: #12 Tanner VanDoren (5th)

Hoosier Hot Lap: #12 Tanner VanDoren (12.774)

VP Hard Charger: #1B Joey Bailey (+7)

Next Race: Wall Stadium Speedway (May 21st)

Heat Race 1 (8 Laps):

1. #1B Joey Bailey

2. #36 Buddy Sload

3. #75 Mark Yoder

4. #95 Jeff Kot

5. #55C Steve Craig

6. #26 Bill Force Jr.

Heat Race 2 (8 Laps):

1. #12 Tanner VanDoren

2. #51J Briggs Danner

3. #22 Kyle Taraska

4. #51 Tyler Wagner

5. #5z Zack Burd

Comment

SLOAD WINS SEASON OPENER AT WALL

May 3, 2022

Staff Report | Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Photos: Ed Malik, EJ O’Rourke

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ- Buddy Sload continued to his winning ways this past weekend, earning the season opening feature victory at Wall Stadium Speedway.

For the first time in several years, the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels opened their championship points season at Wall Stadium Speedway, NJ. With thirteen cars in the pits and a dozen taking the green, the ATQMRA put on a clean, lightning fast feature finishing just shy of six minutes in length.

Prior to the feature, defending and Two-Time Champion Joey Bailey (#1B, Boyd Chassis) won the opening heat of the evening. Jeff Kot (#95, Behrents Performance Warehouse) won the second heat of the afternoon. With the first three points paying events being a full redraw for qualified cars, Kyle Taraska (#22, Personal Comfort) led the field to the point.

Taraska was fast out of the gate, clearing outside pole sitter Mark Yoder (#75, Ames Construction) off of turn two. The #22 machine would try to pull away, but teammate Bailey and Buddy Sload (#36, Spitfire Chassis) battled hard for second, but also kept Taraska honest through the process.

Sload would throw his car in under Bailey entering the third corner; a move that paid great dividends for car #36 as Taraska lost momentum battling lapped traffic. Sload would get a 2-for-1 deal on the Boyd Speed Shop cars grabbing the lead in turn one on the ninth lap of the event. Bailey worked hard to follow Sload through, but a tangle between the #22 and #1B would send Bailey into the gravel exiting the second corner. Bailey never lifted and made a miraculous save to maintain the third position!

While the leaders tangled, Jeff Kot raced wheel to wheel in an intense battle with official ATQMRA sophomores Brianna Page (#76, Stavola) and Tyler Ferris (#33, Hamer Heating & Cooling) for fourth.

Even as Sload earned the lead, he could not really pull away from Taraska. As the top-2 battled, Bailey’s #1B came to life, making up a near two second gap to the leaders with only half the feature remaining.

Bailey gave it everything he had, clearing Taraska for second with two to go. Bailey would reach the back bumper of Sload entering turn three of the last lap! But the bump and run wasn’t enough, as Buddy Sload prevailed returning to a familiar victory lane at Wall Stadium Speedway!

Teammates Joey Bailey and Kyle Taraska would round out the podium respectively. After being the victim of a bad pill draw, heat race winner Kot charged through the field and earned a respectable fourth. Tyler Ferris rounded out the top five in a strong 2022 debut.

2021 RYNO Rookie of the Year Brianna Page finished in sixth, while this weekend’s RYNO Rookie of the Race Zack Burd finished in seventh. The Burd Racing team made great improvements in speed and consistency over two weeks of testing to prepare for opening night.

Mark Yoder, Paul Dodorico and Rich Barlow would respectively round out the top-10 finishers. This was Barlow’s first career ATQMRA top-10 finish in his fourth official start.

Chris Pelcher and Mike Turton, who made his first career ATQMRA start, rounded out the twelve car field.

Steve Craig experienced engine issues in practice disallowing him to take the green flag. Craig will receive last place points for the race as he made an honest attempt to start the event.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA fueled by VP Racing Fuels will return to action on Sunday, May 15th, 2022 as the series makes its anticipated return to Evergreen Raceway in Drums, PA!

RACE RESULTS:

25 LAP FEATURE:

1. #36 Buddy Sload

2. #1B Joey Bailey

3. #22 Kyle Taraska

4. #95 Jeff Kot

5. #33 Tyler Ferris

6. #76 Brianna Page

7. #5z Zack Burd

8. #75 Mark Yoder

9. #55 Steve Craig

10. #09 Rich Barlow

11. #44P Chris Pelcher

12. #723 Mike Turton

13. #55C Steve Craig -DNS

FEATURE FAST FACTS:

Time of Race: 5:34.120

Leader(s): 2

Lap Leader(s): #36 Sload (17), #22 Taraska (8)

Cautions: 0

RYNO Rookie of the Race: #5z Burd (7th)

Hoosier Hot Lap: #1B Bailey (12.986)

VP Hard Charger: #36 Sload (+5)

Next race: Evergreen Raceway (May 15th)

HEAT RACE 1 (8 LAPS):

1. #1B Joey Bailey

2. #33 Tyler Ferris

3. #75 Mark Yoder

4. #55 Paul Dodorico

5. #5z Zack Burd

6. #723 Mike Turton

7. #55C Steve Craig DNS

HEAT RACE 2 (8 LAPS):

1. #95 Jeff Kot

2. #36 Buddy Sload

3. #76 Brianna Page

4. #22 Kyle Taraska

5. #44P Chris Pelcher

6. #09 Rich Barlow

Comment

DANNER DOMINATES THE DERBY

November 29, 2021

STAFF REPORT | Monday, November 29th, 2021

Photography Credit: Eric Storch, Kristina Cocca, Sean Case

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ- Briggs Danner stole the limelight from Hoosier Tire ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels regulars, earning his first career Turkey Derby Championship in the 48th Annual at Wall Stadium Speedway this weekend.

The afternoon started off looking like it would be 47th Annual Champions day. Kyle Taraska (#22 Chick-fil-A, Personal Comfort), set quick time for the second straight Turkey Derby with a lap time of 13.168 seconds in time trials. Taraska, a fan favorite on this particular day, after his sponsor Chick-fil-A New Jersey Shore Market donated over 1500 coupons for free chicken sandwiches to the fans in attendance.

Taraska edged out reigning ATQMRA champion and teammate, Joey Bailey (#1B, Boyd Chassis) by .007 seconds, earning the Boyd Speed Shop the fastest two times of the day. After the top-12 redraw, Avery Stoehr (#23, Badger) earned the pole position for the DiMario Family. Bailey and Taraska would redraw 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Stoehr led a full field of 25 cars that took the green, in what was the strongest ATQMRA field in any event since 2018.

Stoehr’s time at the top of the scoring pylon was unfortunately short lived. Taraska initiated contact with Stoehr sending him for a spin in front of the field. While Stoehr would recover to round out the top 10, it was not the result they had wished to earn.

On the restart, Bailey began to expand his lead on teammate, Taraska, and third place Brianna Page (#76, Stavola Companies, A&A Truck Parts) as Danner began to make his charge through the field from 8th. Danner led the charge of the outside row from 8th on back, as three of the pre race favorites Joey Payne (#51 Lindblad Badger), Buddy Sload (#36, Spitfire Chassis) and Jeff Kot (#95, Behrents Performance Warehouse) favorites followed in suit- eventually charging to the top-5. Payne however, experienced some tough luck getting tangled in a lapped traffic incident, none of his doing, causing Payne to fall to the back half of the top-10.

Danner got underneath Page for third, and took advantage of a near spin by Taraska trying to get through lapped traffic for second, before a caution for Chris Allen’s (#19M, Malik Racing) motor expired in turn two.

On the ensuing restart, Bailey and Danner put on a show for the ages! Danner jumped to the inside of Bailey for the lead, and Bailey banged nerf bars with Danner sending his left side tires into the infield grass in turn 2. Danner would hang tough in a wheel to wheel drag race down the backstretch. While the leaders dueled, Sload, Taraska and Kot kept them honest with the top-5 on track positions all within a half a second. Danner earned the lead at the right time, as Tyler Wagner (#32, Bettinger Built Products), went for a solo spin in turn 4.

With the caution coming out just past the halfway mark, Danner led the field down to a single file restart. Bailey would give Danner one last shot on the restart. However, Danner’s Yuhas Chassis was too much of a match for Bailey and the field. Briggs Danner would go on to not only his first career victory in the ATQMRA, but his first career Turkey Derby victory as well.

Bailey would finish 2nd. Buddy Sload, the winningest driver and VP Checkered Flag Award recipient for the 2021 season, rounded out the podium.

Kyle Taraska ended his 2021 season with another top-5 in fourth, and hard charger Jeff Kot rounded out the top-5 in fifth, after starting in 12th.

The Jerzy Jet, Joey Payne, hung in there all day and recovered from a near mid-race disaster to finish 6th. 2021 RYNO Rookie of the Year Brianna Page finished a strong 7th.

Paul Dodorico (#55, Martha Baker D.M.D) had a great run in 8th. Dodorico, had one of his best runs in a TQ Midget in sometime, after hanging tough in the top-10 all day after making the redraw in morning time-trials.

3X ATQMRA Champion Matt Janisch made his return to the division for the first time since 2018, to finish in 9th. However, Janisch’s proud moment of the day was to be the winning car owner for Briggs Danner.

As noted, Avery Stoehr remarkably rounded out the top-10 recovering from an early on-track incident where he was spun from the lead. Stoehr have the DiMario’s #23 Badger a great run to end the 2021 season. Tyler Ferris (#33, Hamer Heating and Cooling), rounded out the lead lap finishers in 11th.

On a somber note, earlier this week the ATQMRA lost one of their own, with the passing of Johnny Coy Jr. at the age of 72. Tolerico Motorsports #83 with driver Ryan Tidman ran a commemorative logo on the wing of their TQ Midget to honor Coy. Tidman earned a 12th place finish in the event.

The ATQMRA would like to thank title sponsor Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic and Precise Racing Products, and presenting sponsor VP Racing Fuels for their unwavering support of The Premier TQ Midget Racing Division. The ATQMRA would undoubtedly not be as strong as it is today without the support of these brands.

The ATQMRA would also like to thank new sponsor, RYNO Classifieds, for sponsoring our Rookie Class of 2021. The ATQMRA also recognizes the continued support of associate sponsors M.N.O, Racing with Jesus Ministries, and Ames Construction.

The ATQMRA also thanks Turkey Derby monetary bonus sponsors Lisa Brice (highest former 1/4 midget driver finisher *Briggs Danner*), NAPA Auto Parts -Brice Auto Supply and owner Bill Brice (lap 28 leader *Briggs Danner*) and Jim Murdoch of Big Jim’s Videos (7th place finisher *Brianna Page*)

Last but not least, thank you to our drivers, car owners, officials and fans for being apart of a very successful 2021 season. Together, we are not only preserving, but continuing to add to the history of a racing division that has been in competition since it’s inception in 1956.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will return in 2022. We congratulate Turkey Derby XLVIII Champion Briggs Danner, and ATQMRA Champions Joey Bailey with Team Owner’s Donna and Lenny Boyd on their successes this season.

Race Results:

Time Trials (Redraw):

1. #22 Kyle Taraska 13.168 (3)

2. #1B Joey Bailey 13.175 (2)

3. #51 Joey Payne 13.182 (7)

4. #95 Jeff Kot 13.257 (12)

5. #48 Briggs Danner 13.319 (8)

6. #36 Buddy Sload 13.335 (10)

7. #76 Brianna Page 13.488 (4)

8. #55 Paul Dodorico 13.546 (11)

9. #23 Avery Stoehr 13.565 (1)

10. #66 Ryan Flores 13.619 (9)

11. #33 Tyler Ferris 13.620 (6)

12. #73 Cole Mullen 13.623 (5)

13. #55C Steve Craig 13.709

14. #51T Matt Janisch 13.737

15. #83 Ryan Tidman 13.792

16. #75 Mark Yoder 13.893

17. #27 Robert Willis 13.976

18. #32 Tyler Wagner 13.996

19. #39 Ronnie Mullen 14.223

20. #98 Zack Burd 14.240

21. #91 Bobby Watkins 14.284

22. #09 Rich Barlow 14.346

23. #19M Chris Allen 14.350

24. #9C Sean Case 14.413

25. #26 Bill Force Jr. 14.418

30-Lap Feature:

1. #48 Briggs Danner

2. #1B Joey Bailey

3. #36 Buddy Sload

4. #22 Kyle Taraska

5. #95 Jeff Kot

6. #51 Joey Payne

7. #76 Brianna Page

8. #55 Paul Dodorico

9. #51T Matt Janisch

10. #23 Avery Stoehr

11. #33 Tyler Ferris

12. #83 Ryan Tidman

13. #73 Cole Mullen

14. #75 Mark Yoder

15. #55C Steve Craig

16. #32 Tyler Wagner

17. #27 Robert Willis

18. #39 Ronnie Mullen

19. #26 Bill Force Jr.

20. #98 Zack Burd

21. #09 Rich Barlow

22. #66 Ryan Flores

23. #19M Chris Allen

24. #9C Sean Case

25. #91 Bobby Watkins

Comment

BAILEY ATQMRA CHAMP; SLOAD FEATURE WINNER; PAGE ROTY Bethel 11-6-21

November 9, 2021

Staff Report | Monday, November 8th, 2021
Photo Credit: Sean Case

BETHEL, NY- Joey Bailey is your 2021 Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels Champion, his second consecutive. Buddy Sload charged from the back of the pack to win his seventh feature of the season. Brianna Page earned the season long RYNO.co Rookie Contender’s title.

It was a long, cold November night at Bethel Motor Speedway this Saturday, but it was well worth the wait as the stars of the ATQMRA shined in treacherous racing conditions.

The evening of racing kicked off very similar to how it ended, with Joey Bailey (#1B, Boyd Chassis) and Buddy Sload (#36, Spitfire Chassis) earning their respective heat victories. Through the handicapping system, Mark Yoder (#75, Ames Construction) led the field to green for the 30 lap feature.

Sload, from eighth, jumped to third by the time the field crossed the line to complete the first lap, while the championship contenders battled with three wide action throughout the top-5.

The hard charging Jeff Kot (#95, Behrents Performance Warehouse) charged a little too hard battling with ‘Flyin’ Ryan Tidman (#51T, Yuhas Chassis) when he not only saved his car but saved his season after getting extremely loose off of turn 4 in the opening laps. However, Kot kept his car straight, clean and competitive as he continued and went the distance.

Tidman looked to take advantage of the opportunity to jump ahead of friendly rival, Kot, on the track and in the points in the final stages of the 2021 season.

While Yoder gave up the lead early to Sload, he held his own strong in second throughout the early stages, with RYNO.co Rookie Contender Brianna Page (#76, Stavola Companies/ A&A Trucking) in third.

Kyle Taraska (#22, Chick-fil-A/ Personal Comfort) would soon enter the conversation with teammate and championship leader Bailey in third. Taraska nearly forced a three wide scenario to overtake both Page and Tidman in a battle for third, prior to overtaking Mark Yoder for second.

For much of the middle stages of the race, Sload led the field with Taraska in second, and Bailey in third. Taraska would have contact with lapped-car Chris Pelcher (#44P), as Bailey took advantage of the opportunity to jump into second.

Bailey made a late charge to get Sload, but Buddy Sload would hang on to earn his seventh victory of the season.

After dominating the 30 lap feature that went clean and green wire to wire, Sload was quick to dedicate the victory to the Brice and Erm Families, and all of those impacted in the the tragic passing of Shawn Erm earlier this week.

Joey Bailey’s Motorsports resume continues to blossom by earning his second consecutive Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels Championship. In a “dream come true” season, Bailey earned 2 victories (Bethel 7/10, Waterford 10/16) and an average finish of 2.4. While this may be Bailey’s second championship as a driver, this is his first racing for the Boyd Family. Donna and Lenny Boyd are once again car owner champions in the ATQMRA for the fifth time, and the first time since 2017.

Brianna Page and Tyler Ferris took it down to the wire in the season long RYNO.co Rookie Contender Standings. Ultimately, a broken front axle derailed the super-fast Ferris (#33, Hamer Heating and Cooling) while running second in his heat race. Ferris did an amazing job to keep his car off the wall, but it was a long trip back to New Jersey for the #33 team with their Rookie Championship run ending prematurely.

Ferris’ issues opened the door wide open for Page. Brianna progressed nicely over the course of the season running more and more competitive towards season’s end. After winning the strongest ATQMRA rookie class in years, Page will look to end her year strong at Turkey Derby XLVIII later this month.

Back to the action from the 30-lap feature at Bethel- Sload as noted earned his seventh victory of the season.

Joey Bailey clinched his championship by taking the green flag, but made another statement run by finishing 2nd. Kyle Taraska rounded out the podium earning the Boyd Speed Shop a 2-3 finish. Taraska carries a lot of momentum into Wall Stadium to defend his Turkey Derby XLVII championship.

Ryan Tidman finished 4th and jumped ahead of Jeff Kot to earn 2nd in championship standings with his finish. After starting on the pole, Mark Yoder earned an extremely respectable fifth place finish.

Jeff Kot recovered to finish 6th, which was enough to edge ahead of Sload and Taraska to finish the season third in overall points.

While many focused on the championship, another major storyline was the ATQMRA debut of Tanner VanDoren for MJ12 Motorsports. VanDoren, at the age of 13, and fresh off his Eastern States Sportsman Championship at Orange County Speedway, jumped up from 14th to 7th in his asphalt debut. VanDoren did not even sit in his #12 Dent Zones, Dave Orange powered TQ Midget until the morning of the race. While VanDoren’s future in TQ Midget’s remains unclear, expect to see VanDoren back behind the wheel in the ATQMRA not before too long after this weekend’s performance.

RYNO.co Rookie Champion Brianna Page earned 8th. Avery Stoehr in Phil DiMario’s #23 Badger finished 9th in his second start of the season, and Paul Dodorico made his return to the ATQMRA to round out the top-10.

Tyler Wagner finished 11th, Steve Craig finished in 12th, Bill Force Jr. finished 13th and Chris Pelcher rounded out the running cars in 14th. Tyler Ferris will be credited with a 15th place finish after failing to take the green in the feature, due to his on-track incident in his heat race.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic powered by VP Racing Fuels will officially conclude its 2021 campaign at Wall Stadium Speedway, for the annual Turkey Derby XLVIII on Saturday, November 27th, 2021. Practice for the non-points event will be held this Saturday, November 13th, from 10:00 AM- 3:00 PM with pits opening at 9:00 AM.

Race Results:

Heat 1:

1. #1B Joey Bailey

2. #75 Mark Yoder

3. #55 Paul Dodorico

4. #23 Avery Stoehr

5. #22 Kyle Taraska

6. #32 Tyler Wagner

7. #26 Bill Force Jr.

Heat 2:

1. #36 Buddy Sload

2. #51T Ryan Tidman

3. #76 Brianna Page

4. #95 Jeff Kot

5. #12 Tanner VanDoren

6. #55C Steve Craig

7. #44P Chris Pelcher

8. #33 Tyler Ferris

Feature:

1. #36 Buddy Sload

2. #1B Joey Bailey

3. #22 Kyle Taraska

4. #51T Ryan Tidman

5. #75 Mark Yoder

6. #95 Jeff Kot

7. #12 Tanner VanDoren

8. #76 Brianna Page

9. #23 Avery Stoehr

10. #55 Paul Dodorico

11. #32 Tyler Wagner

12. #55C Steve Craig

13. #26 Bill Force Jr.

14. #44P Chris Pelcher

15. #33 Tyler Ferris

Comment

Bailey Sneaks Out Big Win in Waterford

October 18, 2021

Staff Report | Monday, October 18th, 2021

Photo Credit: TK Race Photos

WATERFORD, CT- Joey Bailey extended his points lead by earning a huge victory at The New London-Waterford Speedbowl during the Saturday portion of the Speedbowl’s ‘Fall Finale’ weekend.

A dozen of the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel’s finest made the long trek north to Waterford, CT this weekend for the penultimate race in the 2021 championship points paying season. Even with a threatening forecast, a big crowd was able to witness a full card of fast and furious TQ Midget action at the 3/8th mile oval.

Buddy Sload (#36, Spitfire) got the big jump from 5th to 1st to win the opening heat of the afternoon. Jeff Kot (#95, Behrents Performance Warehouse) earned the victory in the second heat.

Heading into the feature, the two story lines involved two major championship points battles. Five drivers were mathematically eligible to win the overall championship, while two drivers remained in a tight battle to earn RYNO.co Rookie Contender Honors.

RYNO.co Rookie Points leader Brianna Page (#76 Stavola Companies, A&A Truck Parts) led the field to green, with rookie contender Tyler Ferris (#33 Hamer Heating & Cooling) started in third. However, it was 5X ATQMRA Champion Ryan Tidman (#51T, Yuhas Chassis) getting the big break out of the 2nd starting position to power to the lead.

Kyle Taraska (#22 Chick-fil-A, Personal Comfort) rolled from 4th to 2nd on the start behind Tidman, before his teammate Joey Bailey (#1B, Boyd Chassis) crossed over Taraska down the backstretch and into turn 3 on the opening lap. For much of the early stages, Tidman led the way with Bailey and Taraska rounding out the podium.

By the end of the third lap, both Sload and Kot made big moves through the field to move up to 4th and 5th respectively. The championship five were nose to tail with much of the feature remaining.

An intense rookie battle through the one third mark of the feature shaped up between points leader Page, championship competitor Ferris, and fellow RYNO.co Rookie Contender Tyler Wagner.

While Wagner is not mathematically eligible to earn Rookie honors this season, Wagner had a big day not only making his debut at Waterford, but also in Alan Mollot’s #51 Badger.

As the rookies battled hard from sixth through eighth, the first caution of the evening came out on lap 8 for debris from Cole Mullen (#73, Geese Patrol). This unfortunately ended Mullen’s afternoon early. The former ATQMRA feature winner was making his 2nd start of 2021.

Back to the green flag, Sload made an outside power move on Taraska for third, while Tidman kept his nose clean and remained the leader ahead of Bailey.

Tidman, looking to earn his first feature victory since November of last year, drove a hard race managing his equipment and lapped traffic.

A major shake up in the points rookie battle occurred with four laps to go when Brianna Page made contact with the outside wall in turn 3. The driver was ok. However, the car was too damaged to finish the race. This opened the door for a big points opportunity for Ferris, and another big opportunity for Bailey to get one more shot at Tidman for the lead.

Speaking of that opportunity, Bailey took full advantage as he pounded up through the gears one more time on the restart, and powered past Tidman on the inside heading into turn 1 on the restart. In what became a total heartbreak for Tidman and the #51T team, Bailey went on to win in thrilling fashion, to earn his 2nd victory of the season by leading the final 3 laps at Waterford.

Ryan Tidman would finish in 2nd. Buddy Sload and Kyle Taraska entered turn 3 on the final lap side by side, but Sload was able to hang on to round out the podium. Taraska would finish in 4th. RYNO.co Rookie Tyler Wagner had a fantastic Waterford debut to round out the top-5.

Jeff Kot 6th, and Tyler Ferris finished 7th in his Waterford debut.

Steve Craig (#55C, Craig Bulk Carriers) put another solid top-10 run together bringing his TQ Midget home in 8th.

Chris Hirt (#97) made his first ATQMRA start of the season and brought his car home in 9th. It was great to have Chris representing the “New England Invaders” this weekend.

Ronnie Mullen (#39, Geese Patrol) made the long trek up north, kept his car clean, and finished a respectable 10th. This was Mullen’s first official start of the season.

With their noted issues, Brianna Page and Cole Mullen rounded out the field in 11th and 12th.

Joey Bailey’s victory capped off an afternoon full of racing, where he successfully made a triple-duty attempt between NEMA Midget, NEMA Lites, and the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA. His second victory of the season is timely, as he extended his championship points lead to 56, heading into Bethel Motor Speedway on November 6th.

Brianna Page leads Tyler Ferris by 32 points heading into Bethel in the RYNO.co Rookie Contender Standings.

The Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels will be off for 2 weekends, before returning to action on Saturday November 6th, at Bethel Motor Speedway for the 2021 ATQMRA Championship finale.

The 2021 ATQMRA season will officially conclude on Saturday, November 27th for the non-points, Turkey Derby XLVIII at Wall Stadium Speedway.

Race Results:

Heat 1:

1. #36 Buddy Sload

2. #51T Ryan Tidman

3. #1B Joey Bailey

4. #22 Kyle Taraska

5. #55C Steve Craig

6. #39 Ronnie Mullen

Heat 2:

1. #95 Jeff Kot

2. #33 Tyler Ferris

3. #51 Tyler Wagner

4. #76 Brianna Page

5. #97 Chris Hirt

6. #73 Cole Mullen

Feature (25 Laps)

1. #1B Joey Bailey

2. #51T Ryan Tidman

3. #36 Buddy Sload

4. #22 Kyle Taraska

5. #51 Tyler Wagner

6. #95 Jeff Kot

7. #33 Tyler Ferris

8. #55C Steve Craig

9. #97 Chris Hirt

10. #39 Ronnie Mullen

11. #76 Brianna Page

12. #73 Cole Mullen

Comment