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| Atlantic City Indoor Race 2009Friday, January 16th and Saturday, January 17th, 2009 (Tentative dates)
Tidaback's Lifelong Dream Comes True In 2008 Atlantic City Victory ATLANTIC CITY, NJ -JANUARY 20, 2008 . . . Mike Tidaback could only sum up his "Gambler's Classic" presented by SoBe Life Water victory with three words: "dream come true." Tidaback, who first attended races at Boardwalk Hall at age five back in 1973, etched his name in the prestigious list of race winners on Saturday night, earning $5,000-plus as the victor of the 40- lap M&R Midget (TQ Midget/600cc Micro-Sprint) headliner. In doing so, the ATQMRA regular upheld the honor of the Three Quarter Midget contingent against a talent-laden field of superstars. "We're kind of waving the ATQMRA flag tonight," quipped the Little Falls, N.J., driver after celebrating before a near capacity crowd. Tidaback drove an 18-year-old Lindblad Chassis with a Rudy Boetticher Sr.-built engine. "We're a small team with me and a couple guys," Tidaback, 39, surmised, noting the importance of a victory at Boardwalk Hall. "You run against a lot of the best Northeast guys here. It's big for us. This is kind of our SuperBowl." Tidaback started fifth in his No. 43 and used a spectacular move in lapped traffic to take the lead from Hamilton, N.J.'s Tim Adams at the halfway mark. Adams, who had surpassed Canadian James Michael Friesen for the top spot on a lap-four restart, was momentarily boxed in behind slower traffic through turns three and four. Jumping to the outside, Tidaback pulled event at the center of turn three, nosing ahead on the frontstretch. The cars momentarily tangled, with Tidaback's car jumping sideways. Both drivers regained control before entering turn one. "I stuck it on the outside," he recalled. "We came off turn four side-by-side and I think Timmy (Adams) gave me a wheel. I was sideways at the start/finish line (to click off lap 20) taking that pass." Tidaback survived a final scrape with Adams on a restart with three circuits remaining for his breakthrough Boardwalk Hall triumph, besting his previous effort of seventh from 2007. Fairlawn, N.J.'s Joey Payne, the '07 "Gambler's Classic" winner, fought hard for a second-place finish. Payne started 13th, pitted to replace a flat tire on a lap-four restart and edged out a spinning Adams for the runner-up spot. Adams, who crashed across the finish line, was credited with third, followed by Bill Davis Development driver Bobby Santos III in Gary King's No. 1K 600cc Micro-Sprint. The Franklin, Mass., driver was the first Micro-Sprint across the line. After winning the C- and B-Mains just to qualify for the feature, Fort Lee, N.J.'s Frank Polimeda charged to fifth. Earlier in the night, Aston, Pa.'s Lou Cicconi Jr. earned $500 as the winner of the 10-lap Behrent's Performance Warehouse Dash-for-Cash. Cicconi's bid for A-Main glory was derailed by two backstretch tangles, the second of which knocked him from the event on lap seven. Versatile Rich "Toby" Tobias Jr. of Annville, Pa., hopped into a borrowed car and authored a stirring drive to victory in th 25-lap Slingshot main event. The creator of the Slingshot division started 22nd, survived a lap-10 spin and charged into the top spot just two circuits from the finish with a bold, turn-three pass of race-long leader Bobby Butler. Tobias, who was driving a No. 64x typically wheeled by his nephew, Paul Lotier Jr., donated his earnings to the National Fragile X Research Foundation. Past race winner Ryan Smith was second, followed by Butler, Bill Van Inwegen Jr. and Steven Intravaia. Pleasant Valley, N.Y.'s Christopher Daley thwarted a late charge in the form of North Carolina's Bob Baker to win the 25-lap Champ Kart main. Baker was a close second. After a successful event, plans are already in the works for the 2009 running of the "Gambler's Classic" event by Len Sammons Motorsports Productions. M&R Midget Feature Finish: Mike Tidaback, Joey Payne, Tim Adams, Bobby Santos III, Frank Polimeda, Jack Spence, Steve Smith, Rob Vivona, Mike Lichty, Tim Proctor, Billy Pauch Sr., James Friesen, Chris DeRitis, Jeff Heotzler, Jeff Kot, Johnny Payne, Danny Shirey, Greg Cable, Donald Zrinski, Lou Cicconi Jr., Matt Janisch, Erick Rudolph, Mike Iles, Pat Bealer, Stewart Friesen, Monnie Wonder. M&R Midgets D-Main No. 1 - Phil Dimario M&R Midgets D-Main No. 2 - Marco Michetti M&R Midgets C-Main No. 1 - Frank Polimeda M&R Midgets C-Main No. 2 - Jack Conover M&R Midgets B-Main - Frank Polimeda George Stockinger Gambler Consolation Sponsored by Dr. Lowe $500 - Joey Payne C&B Race Products, RTS Chassis, Hyper Racing First 600 in Feature - $600 - Bobby Santos III First TQ In Feature - $200 - Mike Tidaback M&R Midgets Triple 20's Hard Luck Award - Frank Polimeda Cargo Trailer Sales Long Haul - Bob Baker - Lexington, N.C. Nick Fornoro Staff Member - Robert "Smitty" Smith Slingshot Feature Finish: Rich Tobias, Ryan Smith, Bobby Butler, Bill Van Inwegen Jr., Steven Intravaia, Matt Carman, Jamie Yannone, Bill Van Inwegen Sr., Ron Smykla, Joel Smith, Ray Woodall Jr., Marc Daniels, Gary Hieber, Mike Carman, David McCullough, Mark Hartman, Michael Glass, Scott Goodrich, Vernon McLaughlin III, C.J. Faison, Tiffany Wambold, Kyle Rohner, Jeff Hartman, Kevin Van Valkenburg, Rob Marino. Champ Kart Feature Finish: Chris Daley, Bob Baker, Nick Herriven, Timmy Solomito, Shawn Solomito, Ron Midford Jr., Cale Reigle, Anthony Colandro, Andrew Hutchinson, Andrew Swisher, George Bark, Mark Lawshe Jr., Rich Kuiken Jr., Tom Kelly, Tom Ervin, Jon Meyer, Jon Stewart, Alan Purser, Steven Hricko, Larry Stolzenberg, John Hillman, Nic Davidson, Vinny Delaney, Matthew Remick, Coby Cressinger, Andy Burkholder, Merl Brehm, Ken Andreas, Tammy Smith, David Pantanella. 
Cicconi, Shirey, Adams Win Roaring 20s On Friday At AC ATLANTIC CITY, NJ, JANUARY 18, 2008 . . . Lou Cicconi Jr. showed he is poised to better his 2007 runner-up finish by one position this time around. Cicconi took the checkered first in the final M&R Midget 'Roaring 20' Friday night at Boardwalk Hall during 'A-1 Racing Products presents Qualifying Night,' a prelude to the "Gambler's Classic" presented by SoBe Life Water to be contested on the hall's concrete floor on Saturday (Jan. 19). Cicconi was second to Joey Payne in the race's '07 running. Tim Adams and Danny Shirey topped the other 20-lap TQ Midget/600cc Micro-Sprint qualifying events run on Friday night. Aston, Pa.'s Cicconi, the 2004 & '06 winner of the "Gambler's Classic," took the lead on the opening circuit of the nightcap and wheeled his Hentrich Bros. No. 75 TQ Midget to a dominant checkered. Central Pennsylvania Sprint Car ace Stevie Smith of New Oxford, Pa., drove to second place in the RAACE Foundation No. 19, a car built by Cicconi. Micro-Sprint ace Pat Bealer of Walnutport, Pa., was third in Jason Van Doren's No. 22, with Bill Davis development driver Bobby Santos III placing fourth in Gary King's No. 1K Micro -Sprint. NASCAR Sprint Cup racer Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo., driving the Alan Mollott No. 51, overturned during a lap-13 frontstretch tangle. Schrader refired the car much to the delight of the crowd, ran a handful of caution laps and retired to the pit area. Late Model star Rick Eckert is slated to take over the car on Saturday. Tim Adams, a law enforcement officer in Hamilton, N.J., waits all year to compete in Boardwalk Hall. His effort paid off with a victory in the first M&R Products 20-lapper. Adams's No. 9 inherited the lead when Fort Lee, N.J.'s Frank Polimeda, who led laps 2-17, headed to the pit area. Adams led the rest of the way to take the checkered first over dirt Modified racer Mike Iles of Medford, N.J., who surged into second on lap 18. Ransomville, N.Y., teenager Erick Rudolph, a Western New York asphalt Modified standout, was third and Mike Tidaback was fourth. Oberlin, Ohio's Danny Shirey, a 17-year-old Supermodified racer, took the victory in the second 20-lap event driving a Micro-Sprint he has run indoors on both dirt and pavement, including the recent Fort Wayne (Ind.) event. Shirey took command moments after a multi-car frontstretch crash that collected a half-dozen cars, then fended off a mid-race charge from James Michael Friesen to keep his No. 16 out front. Friesen, of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., settled for second. Johnny Payne of Milford, Pa., and Jack Spence of Bear, Del., took fourth. The top-four finishers in the 'Roaring 20s' transferred into Saturday night's 40-lap A-Main. Dirt Modified legend Billy Pauch of Frenchtown, N.J., set fast time with a lap of 9.217 seconds, besting fellow dirt Mod racer/past event winner Jeff Heotzler (9.236 seconds). 2007 race winner Joey Payne of Fairlawn, N.J., was third quick (9.353 seconds), the final time-trialer to be locked into the A-Main field. In Slingshot action, Matt Carman of Flemington, N.J., fended off defending race winner Ryan Smith to take the checkered in the first of the 'Dirty Dozen' 12-lap qualifiers. In the second 12-lap event, Gary Hieber, 18, of Langhorne, Pa., led from start to finish from the pole. The final 12-lap 'Dirty Dozen' Slingshot event featured a crowd-pleasing victory for Nazareth, Pa.'s Tiffany Wambold. The 16 -year-old thwarted a final-lap bid from Jeff Hartman of Flagtown, N.J. In the four 12-lap Champ Kart qualifiers, Timmy Solomito of Islip, N.Y., Coby Cressinger of Selinsgrove, Pa.; Lockport, N.Y.'s Larry Stolzenberg; and Tammy Smith of Binghamton, N.Y., were victors.Racing continues on Saturday night (Jan. 18) with the second night of the Len Sammons Motorsports Productions "Gambler's Classic" featuring the 40-lap M&R Midget A-Main and 25-lap mains for the Slingshots and Champ Karts and the Behrent's Performance Warehouse Dash for Cash. A pair of TQ C-Mains and a TQ B-Main will complete the program. The on-track Fan Fest begins at 6:30 p.m., with pre-race ceremonies at 7 p.m. and racing at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are still available. Visit: www.aarn.com . M&R MIDGETS ROARING 20 RACE No. 1: Tim Adams, Mike Iles, Erick Rudolph, Mike Tidaback, Cody Darrah, Kyle Newcomb, Rob Vivona, Chris DeRitis, Billy Pauch, Sr., Tim Proctor, Frank Polimeda, Billy Pauch, Jr., Bill Unglert, Brett Conkling, Jonny Mannis, Frank Fischer, Mike Fedorcak, Ken Hirt, Ryan Smith, BJ Mac Donald. M&R MIDGETS ROARING 20 RACE No. 2: Danny Shirey, James Michael Friesen, Johnny Payne, Jack Spence, Donald Zrinski, Jeff Kot, Bruce Leote, Jesse Council, Ginny Quinones, Stewart Friesen, Daniel Clover, Ted Christopher, Jack Conover, Jeff Heotzler, Jr., Neal Blatt, Billy Murphy, Jeff Heotzler, Bob Watkins, Jr., Joey Mongeau, Glenn Heverin. M&R MIDGETS ROARING 20 RACE No. 3: Lou Cicconi, Jr., Steve Smith, Pat Bealer, Bobby Santos, Greg Cable, Mike Lichty, Shane Braxton, Rudy Boetticher, Joey Payne, Monnie Wonder, Ken Schrader, Matt Janisch, Willy Decker, Tim Behmer Jr., Mark Yoder, Mike Osite, David Williams, Richie Coy, Matt Seavey, Jimmy Broderick.  |
