Clickthrough some of the ATQMRA’s long history below. We will continue to add to this historical page.

Please submit any pictures or video you’d like to see included!

Other great historical sources:

Mario Andretti

It was a night that the ATQMRA was on the card as well, so it was a reunion of sorts – Mario Andretti won his first race of any significance with the ATQMRA in the Teaneck Armory, and went on to win at Pine Brook before climbing the racing ladder to the very top -- Daytona 500 winner, Indy 500 winner, Formula One World Champion.
In this snapshot from Dorney Park that day, Mario poses with driver Mark Pritchard’s mother, along with Pritchard (right) and Tim Adams (rear).

Chocolatetown

In this photo from the ATQMRA races at Hershey now some 30 years ago, a remarkable seven cars are crammed into a small portion of the otherwise spacious Hershey track. Click the photo for a larger view, and count cars. There are eight if you include the tiny tiny piece of one just entering the frame from the right.

Sal Gamby

50 years ago Sal was a feature race winner at Pine Brook twice, claiming victory in the first race of the year on May 17, 1963, and then repeating on June 21. In the first race, finishing second to Gamby was another young driver by the name of Mario Andretti. Andretti would go on to win his first and only Pine Brook race on July 5 of 1963.

Parade Lap

The "parade lap" before the start of a Pine Brook main event, circa 1970. We guess 1970 because Larry Michaels' car (#39, outside of the third row) has a roll cage, while no other car in the shot is so equipped. Roll cages were being phased in at the time.

An Anniversary to Note

Pine Brook Stadium operated for 28 summers, 1962 through 1989. But it has now been gone longer than it was there. It’s final race came 30+ years ago, on Friday night, October 6, 1989.

Long Before Digital Photography

The only car recognizable is Jim Gosford’s 61. The rest of them are pure art. A greatphotograph from a time when you did not know what kind of shot you had until you went home and into the darkroom to develop the film and print the image.

Bulldog Racer

Here’s Leigh Earnshaw, Jr., in Rex Green’s “Mack Special” in Atlantic City’s Convention Hall in 1969. (Click the photo for an enlarged view.)

A memorable Night

In this Dave Innes photo at Pine Brook on July 24, 1970, Phil Davoulas and the Bob Pouleson #7o7 are upside down against the backstretch fence at the far left as Bing Metz (33), Doug Craig (55), Frank Holz (41), and Joe Lacy (18) pass the accident scene. Paul Weisel is facing the wrong way in Don Crabtree's #71, which had served at the launching pad for Davoulas.

Under the Lights

A neat photo taken by Ed Smizer at a Vintage Club event at Oswego Speedway in 2013. Those of us who have been around racing for decades understand the appeal of race cars under the lights as the sun sets and daylight fades...

A Common Link

Four guys with the ATQMRA in common. This photo, taken at the Pocono Raceway when the IndyCars were there for a test session earlier this year, includes (left to right) Mario Andretti, Ace Lane Jr., Jim Maguire, and Gary Mondschein. All four of these men raced with the ATQMRA.

While the precise origins of TQ racing in the East are somewhat sketchy, it can be safely stated that the beginnings of the American TQ Midget Racing Association date back to 1950, when TQ racing made its first organized East Coast debut under the sanction of the Tom Thumb Midget Association.

The Tom Thumb Midget Association was formed at a meeting in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in late 1949. TQ racing under the sanction of the Tom Thumb Midget Association made its debut at the Uline Arena in Washington, DC, on November 20, 1950, where Tony Bonadies was the winner. A second event, on the next day, saw Wayne Selser emerge victorious.

Prior to the formation of the Tom Thumb Midget Association, in the years immediately after World War II, hobbyists in the Morristown, New Jersey, area, as well as in Connecticut and in Staten Island, New York, built what were termed "midget-midget" racers. These were tiny cars, powered by Indian or Harley-Davidson motorcycle engines, and were raced by their builders at such places as the Morristown Airport. While these cars are very certainly the first of what we now call TQ racers, it was not until that first Tom Thumb Midget Association race took place in 1950 that TQ racing became at all formalized.

The Tom Thumb group was taken over by the American Racing Drivers Club in 1952, and under the wing of this full midget club and with the guidance of "Dutch" Schaefer, the TQs enjoyed their first sustained success. A summer season of over a dozen races followed an indoor season of over a dozen races as well, and late that year the TQs even traveled to Florida to stage a series of races.

The American Automobile Association was the next to enter the picture by sanctioning a series of indoor races during the winter of 1953-1954, while the ARDC continued to sanction TQ events both indoors and out through 1954.

In order to further organize and coordinate East Coast TQ racing, the present-day American TQ Midget Racing Association was formed in 1956 at a meeting in Trenton, New Jersey. Norm Smizer, a car owner and driver, was elected to be the first ATQMRA president. Smizer, whose long career as a top-flight mechanic continued through the 1970s despite the loss of his eyesight in 1967, held the presidency of the ATQMRA for two years, during which time the TQs raced at such diverse locations as Lebanon and Bowling Green, Pennsylvania, Peekskill and Islip, New York, and even Raleigh, North Carolina.

For the 1958 season, industrialist Bill Mildern was elected president of the ATQMRA, a position he held for nearly a decade. During his first term the ATQMRA raced in the Teaneck, New Jersey, Armory, as well as Riverhead and Middletown, New York, Wilmington, Delaware, and many other locations.

In 1959 the TQs were again showcased in the Teaneck Armory, as well as in a series of races in the Rhode Island Auditorium. Among the outdoor tracks visited in 1959 was the Old Bridge, New Jersey, facility, and the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown, New York.

As Mildern continued as ATQMRA president into the sixties, one of the young drivers coming up through the ranks was Mario Andretti. And in 1962, the TQs got their first custom-built track, the Pine Brook, New Jersey, Stadium. Built in just one month by businessman Dick Marlow, the track continued to operate every summer, featuring the ATQMRA, through 1989.

More information about Pine Brook is available here.

In 1965 the ATQMRA began a new chapter in its history by appearing in Atlantic City's Convention Hall, under the promotional direction of George Stockinger. Convention Hall was not only the largest indoor track for the ATQMRA, it was larger than several outdoor tracks! Winter racing took place in the boardwalk arena through 1981. TQ racing returned to the building, now remodeled and named Boardwalk Hall, in 2003, albeit on a track considerably smaller than before.

ATQMRA Drivers Champions

1956

1957, Ray Lacy

1958, Al Charnock

1959

1960, Fred Clifton

1961, Bobby Albert

1962, Al DeAngelo

1963, Ernie Borelli

1964, Joe Kidd

1965, George Sweeten & Jerry Wall (co-champions)

1966, Doug Craig

1967, Joe Lacy

1968, Doug Craig

1969, Doug Craig

1970, Doug Craig

1971, Tony Romit

1972, Tony Romit

1973, Jack Bertling

1974, Johnny Coy

1975, Larry Michaels

1976, Jack Bertling

1977, Jack Bertling

1978, Johnny Coy

1979, Will Ford

1980, Dave Thompson

1981, Dave Thompson

1982, Joey Coy

1983, Joey Coy

1984, Joey Coy

1985, Mike Osite

1986, Randy VerHoest

1987, Lenny Boyd

1988, Nick Fornoro, Jr

1989, Randy VerHoest

1990, Joe Payne, Jr

1991, Randy VerHoest

1992, Joe Payne, Jr

1993, Don Adams

1994, Don Adams

1995, Don Adams

1996, Mike Tidaback

1997, Mike Tidaback

1998, Jon Gambuti

1999, Don Adams

2000, Don Adams

2001, Don Adams

2002, Don Adams

2003, Don Adams

2004, Don Adams

2005, Don Adams & Mike Tidaback (co-champions)

2006, Don Adams

2007, Bob Watkins, Jr

2008, Ryan Tidman

2009, Allison Cumens

2010, Ian Cumens

2011, Ryan Tidman

2012, Ryan Tidman

2013, Ryan Tidman

2014, Matt Janisch

2015, Buddy Sload

2016, Matt Janisch

2017, Ryan Tidman

2018, Matt Janisch

2019, Joey Bailey

2020, Points not scored due to Global COVID-19 Pandemic*

2021, Joey Bailey

2022, Kyle Taraska

ATQMRA Car Owner Champions

1956

1957, Ed Selquist

1958, Bob Pouleson

1959

1960

1961, John Dini

1962, Bob Pouleson

1963, Pete Petraitis

1964, Audie Boyd

1965, Herb Sweeten

1966, Doug Craig

1967, Ray Scigowski

1968, Doug Craig

1969, Doug Craig

1970, Doug Craig

1971, John Wehrle

1972, John Wehrle

1973, John Little

1974, Ted Seiz

1975, Ted Seiz

1976, Alan Mollot

1977, Alan Mollot

1978, Alan Mollot

1979, Alan Mollot

1980, Harry Thompson

1981, Harry Thompson

1982, Jon Petraitis

1983, Jon Petraitis

1984, Jon Petraitis

1985, Pete Petraitis

1986, George VerHoest

1987, Alan Mollot

1988, Jon Petraitis

1989, Ted Seiz

1990, Matt Vuolo

1991, Jerry Morese

1992, Tim Yarger

1993, Alan Mollot

1994, Alan Mollot

1995, Alan Mollot

1996, Bob Tidaback

1997, Bob Tidaback

1998, Bob Tidaback

1999

2000, Tom Williams

2001, Alan Mollot

2002, Jamie Colucci

2003, Joe Zuzzolo

2004, Don Adams

2005, Bob Tidaback

2006, Colin Martin

2007, BJ MacDonald & Alan Mollot (co-champions)

2008, Dan DeRitis

2009, Robin Johnston

2010, Brent Cumens

2011, Donna & Lenny Boyd

2012, Donna & Lenny Boyd

2013, Donna & Lenny Boyd

2014, Matt Janisch

2015, Colin Martin

2016, Matt Janisch

2017, Donna & Lenny Boyd

2018, Matt Janisch

2019, Alan Mollot & Russ Bailey (co-champions)

2020, Points not scored due to Global COVID-19 Pandemic*

2021, Donna & Lenny Boyd

2022, Russ Bailey

ATQMRA Presidents

Norm Smizer; 1956-1957

Bill Mildern; 1958-1963; 1965-1966

Bob Pouleson; 1964

Jim Yates; 1967-1969; 1971 & 1976

Joe Gimpel; 1970

Bob Watkins; 1972-1973

John Little; 1974

Ed Enes; 1975-1977

Luke Lydon; 1978

Bruce Jones; 1979-1980

Sonny Cooke; 1981-1982

Mike Sheehan; 1983

Ed Hawkins; 1984-1985

Bob Berry; 1986-1989

Carl Storero; 1990-1992

Colin Martin; 1993-1994

Bob DeBois; 1995-1997

Ken Zrinski; 1998

Glen Halbing; 1999

Art Lawshe; 2000-2005

John Leombruno; 2006

Blu Metz; 2007-2009

Mike Roselli; 2010-2014

Buddy Sload; 2016-2022

Kyle Taraska; 2023

The information shared on this page was collected and made exclusively by TQ Midget Racing Historian Bob Marlow and TQVintage.com. To learn more about the history of the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuels and TQ Midget Racing as a whole, visit the TQVintage website.

HISTORICAL STATS

ATQMRA Drivers Champions

ATQMRA Car Owner Champions

ATQMRA Presidents