Boardwalk Hall Wrap-up
Atlantic City, NJ — Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, NY took down the win in the 40 lap TQ Midget feature at Boardwalk Hall Saturday night. Ryan Flores of Davidson, NC came in second with Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ third, Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, NY fourth and Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, NY rounding out the top five.
Emerling led the field to the green. Rudolph took the lead from Emerling on lap 27. Rudolph led the final 13 laps to take down the win. Rudolph won the TQ Midget championship for the overall indoor series. Rudolph and Flores were tied, but with Rudolph having a win at Trenton last month. “Three or four years ago, we were able to win this race and the championship all in one year,” Rudolph said. “Last couple of years we have been coming and we have been fast, but luck has not been on our side. This year things fell into place to get the championship and the win tonight. It’s real special.”
The cautions did not help Rudolph as he felt he was gaining on Emerling for the lead. “I was gaining on him (Emerling),”Rudolph said. “Then the yellow came out. I was stuck in second and third for a while. I was kind of getting a little impatient. I was able to set him (Emerling) up and make a move on him for the lead. I had to deal with him on the outside on restarts. He hung right in there. I don’t know what happened to him at the end. I thought we were going to finish 1-2.”
The TQ Midget that Rudolph won with on Saturday night has been sold.
[Jan. 30 Photo Gallery] by Matt Wiernasz
[Jan. 31 Photo Gallery] by Matt Wiernasz
“We’re happy,” Jankowiak said. “The car was just so good. Wish we could of done a couple things different in that race. Sometimes you catch the breaks. Sometimes you don’t. Last night (Friday) we caught the breaks. Just wasn’t our night but that’s ok it will be our night again soon.”
“I’d set my car up for the first half of the race instead of the second half,” Emerling said. “A little fine tune adjustments and just screwed up there and wasn’t there at the end.”Emerling was happy with how competitive he was. “We had better luck then we did. This is the third time here. First time making the race. Every time we showed up here we were always lightning fast. We had a couple breaks here and there.”
Jankowiak would take down the win in the 30 lap TQ Midget feature Friday night. Jankowiak would take the lead from Matt Janisch and lead all 30 laps. “It means everything just to even compete at Boardwalk Hall in Three Quarter Midgets. Just humbled to win a race. I am a big time history buff, so I know what this place means to indoor racing. Feel honored and privileged. Just awesome.”
Jankowiak will tell you that indoor racing is a lot of luck. “Tonight (Friday night) we fell on a good spot on that restart. Matt Janisch, you know, good clean racer. We could do that start 10 times. He probably beat me 9. We timed it just right and he gave me room. We keep finding ourselves in the right place at the right time. If Erick (Rudolph) is in that position. He is going to capitalize and win the race. We’ll take what we can get and we’re gonna keep going.”
Friday’s runner-up Erick Rudolph started third in the feature. “I knew we were going to have to fight Andy (Jankowiak) for the lead there,” Rudolph said. “Gave everything we had. Just didn’t have the car tonight (Friday night). Track caught us off guard.”
Ryan Flores was happy to take third place, locking in a starting spot for Saturday’s 40 lap event. “We did run third, but it wasn’t close,” Flores said. “Those two (Jankowiak and Rudolph) in front of me were a lot better. I did what I had to do to stay in third. Played what I thought was a smart race knowing that I wasn’t better then Erick (Rudolph). He could get the 49 and maybe they could get into each other, but I stayed where I needed to be and ran a smart race. Just happy to be locked in and a get a payday on Friday night.”
For Flores to race with some of these racers from different series means the world to him. “It’s huge to me just to race with them,” Flores said. “Just to line up with my best friend Jimmy Blewett, and the guy with the credentials of Teddy Christopher, and Anthony Sesley, a kid that I watched growing up racing. I have come here and watched when I was a little kid and watch Liquid Lou (Cicconi) run the top and Joey (Payne) win races and all these guys I idolized.”
For Flores to make the show is big for him and his family as he now lives in North Carolina, but grew up in New Jersey. “To get two podiums in three races is big,” Flores said.
Donnie Nall of Lawsonville, North Carolina took down the win in the 25 lap Champ Kart feature and Jason Hartman of Flemington, NJ won the 25 lap Slingshot Feature.
Other News and Notes:
The indoor racing over the last few years has brought some of the region’s best drivers. Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville, NY made his TQ Midget debut as a teammate to Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT. Bonsignore has been coming to watch indoor racing for the last 10 years. A lot of racers were on hand this weekend from all over to compete in three divisions.
“It’s the who’s who, not just the Northeast and New England,” Bonsignore said. “A lot of Canadian guys here. A lot of good guys here from all different aspects of racing. It’s really cool to see. Definitely gets exciting.”
Bonsignore will be very busy this season as he will return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and compete in the SK Modified division at Stafford Motor Speedway, and in the Sunoco Modified division at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for Art Barry.
“It’s going to be an awesome year,” Bonsignore said. “A lot of racing pretty excited about that. You never know how many years you’re going to be able to do as much I am going to be able to do. Do it while I can. Stafford is going to have a stacked field. Thompson is going to be no slouch either. It’s going to be tough to make the fields and run up front and win the races each week. Want to race as much as possible. Have some fun and hopefully get some trophies along the way.”
Bonsignore will not be defending his Valenti Modified Racing Series title this season. He would not mind making a few starts this season if he could find a deal.
“There is really not to many teams on that series that look for a driver,” Bonsignore said. “A lot of family owned stuff. It’s very far and few. I’d like to make a few starts if I could. At the junction maybe Stafford races, Thompson. I am always willing to listen to see what people have to offer and see if we can work something out.”
Bonsignore would finish 20th Friday night and would not qualify for the feature Saturday. Bonsignore will head down to New Smyrna Speedway for Speedweeks.
Jimmy Blewett will be returning to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this season. Blewett is planning maybe four to five races. It will all depend on how his season is going in dirt. Dirt racing will still be Blewett’s main focus.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed the tour,” Blewett said. “I totally do miss it. You get older. You got family commitments and priorities you gotta put ahead of racing. That’s what I really got going on right now. Eddie and Connie Partridge stepped up and gave me a car to use this season whenever I want to race when I can use it. My grandfather is going to put a new motor in it and help me fund the whole operation.”
Mike Lichty made the long trip from Innerkip, Ontario to race in a TQ Midget. The team has been making trip for a few years now. “We keep coming back,” Lichty said. “Why we don’t know,” he said with a smile.
Lichty has had good success at AC, despite a growing talent pool. Last year he was extremely close and felt he had one of the best cars all weekend. “Year after year it keeps getting better, which is cool,” Lichty said. “Keep getting new people in it and a lot of talent.”
Lichty is planning to run the full ISMA Supermodified schedule and contend for the championship.
Corey LaJoie of Concord, NC was on hand to help Flores this weekend. LaJoie is working hard to finalize a deal for this season. LaJoie wants to be racing a steady amount, even if it’s six, eight, 10, or 30 races.
“The last couple years I haven’t been able to do more than about five a year and that gets really frustrating,” LaJoie said. “Every time you get back into the swing of things. You get right back out of it. You’re sitting on the couch and watch. The guys who I was beating every week when I was racing against them every week. They’ve been racing every single week the last few years where I have only raced 8 times the last few years.”
Mark Lafler, owner of Lafler Chassis, has been busy working on TQ Midget Chassis for the indoor races. “It’s a labor of love first of all, and most of my car owners are friends, which is really how this blossomed into what it is,” Lafler said. “They asked me to do cars and I did it out of friendship mainly.”
Lafler believed he had 16 of his own cars this weekend. Lafler has been surprised at how well indoor racing has been received. Lafler has been coming to Atlantic City for five years and we have seen bigger names enter the indoor racing and treat this as a winter hobby.
“I was lucky enough my first year to have some success,” Lafler said. “I came with a small team. We only had a couple cars. They ran up front. As the big names came in. They saw that and started asking me if I would supply cars and it eventually got to the point where I was able to do that.”
Lafler believes that indoor racing will become a bigger thing. “There is more and more of the big names looking to step up. Even some of the big names that have older cars are talking about newer ones and it just seems to be growing.”
Lafler has refurbished several TQ Midgets for several years. This past year Lafler believes he had refurbished six cars, which included updates and also built five TQ’s. Lafler is a one man operation when working on the TQ’s as he refurbished nine the year before.
“I am not really looking to build a ton of cars. I am looking to supply my friends with what they’re asking for, and to support that with parts and supplies, and having a presence here at AC. It’s just a pleasure to be involved in some way.”
Emerling believes that the competition in the TQ Midgets is getting more competitive. Emerling is planning to run a full schedule on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “We’ve been running better and better,” Emerling said. “Last year, it was a big learning year with Jan Leaty my crew chief. We got our notes and should be pretty good to go this year.”
Emerling is planning to run some modified races at New Smyrna during Speedweeks in just a couple of a weeks.
John Berger of Windham, NH ran in the Champ Kart division. Berger did not qualify for the feature event on Saturday night. Berger made his indoor racing debut in 2012 in the Champ Kart division in Baltimore. He finished eighth in that race. Berger ran the indoor racing last month in Trenton and finished seventh. Berger is planning to race Karts in Connecticut at Pomfret and Stafford.
Zane Zeiner of Bath, PA came to Atlantic City for the second year in a row. On Friday night, Zeiner missed the setup in the race, but is still learning about indoor racing with handling and driving style. Each time as Zeiner went out on the track he thought that he was getting better and better. Zeiner’s racing plans for this season are to pick and choose races to attend. Zeiner finished 14th Friday and 18th Saturday.
Joe Ryan Osborne made the trip up from North Carolina to race in the TQ Midgets. Osborne thought it was the most intense racing he has ever done. He had some issues with the car as he did not qualify for both feature events. Osborne ran the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour last season. Last season, Osborne went for rookie of the year. Towards the end of last season, Osborne broke his wrist and could not race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Osborne currently has no plans for the 2015 season.
D.J. Shaw was on hand to race in the TQ Midgets for the second time. The defending Pro All Star Series North Super Late Model champion, had problems during practice when he was trying to make his TQ Midget debut in Trenton last month. DJ and his dad Dale Shaw build race cars in their hometown of Center Conway, NH. Shaw and his dad built their own TQ for the indoor races. They also built another TQ which was driven by Chad Jones. Shaw is looking forward to the 2015 PASS North Super Late Model season. Shaw is hoping to make a better stride around Oxford 250 time as the race has been moved from July to August.
“We seem to have a bad string in the summer there and that seems to fall in it,” Shaw said. “Now that it’s later, I am pretty excited. It’s back when we’re usually on the upswing to finish up the season in the last few years. Really looking forward to that and looking forward to Thunder Road also.”
Shaw would finish 23rd in Friday and would not qualify on Saturday night.
Earl Paules of Palmerton, PA was on hand to race in the TQ Midgets. The Rosellis got Paules hooked on it a couple years ago when Paules drove one of their cars. This year the Rosellis sold their cars, so Paules went out and got his own TQ Midget. Paules is planning to return to Mahoning Valley Speedway in Pennsylvania this season. Paules is planning to race in three divisions. He is planning to run in the Modifieds, Late Models, and winged TQ Midgets as time permits. Paules would not make the feature on Friday, but would finish 19th on Saturday.
Former Boardwalk Hall winner Joey Payne of Fairlawn, NJ feels that the competition is great.
“You get drivers from all over the country coming in here to race,” Payne said. “It’s more like cream of the crop. It’s good for the competition and it’s good for the younger kids to get to race with really good drivers.”
Payne is running weekly at Oswego and planning to run one or two NEMA Midget races. Payne will run a NEMA Midget race for Bertrand Motorsports at Oswego on July 11. Payne’s son Anthony will be back running in a NEMA Lite and race some outdoor TQ Midget races.
Anthony Sesley of Matawan, NJ finished 1th on Friday and 17th on Saturday in the TQ Midgets. Sesley won the indoor racing TQ Midget championships in 2013 and 2014. Sesley believes that the indoor racing is as big as it is because of all the names from different series that race indoors.
“That’s what make this indoor deal as big as is the fact you’re racing against guys you normally don’t get to race against,” Sesley said. “You come indoors and you got the best Supermod guys, the best Midget guys. You got the best Modified guys, some of the best dirt guys are involved.”
With two indoor championships, Sesley feels very fortunate.
“I’ve really got a good group of guys and I have a really good group of people who are behind this whole deal that we put together from engine package, injection package, to chassis, to shocks, to tires,” Sesley said.
Sesley started working on his TQ Midget program since the Sunday morning after the Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium. He started building stuff in his garage.
Indoor racing can bring out the best in everyone. With drivers battling on a small track for position putting down eight second laps. Earl Paules feels that since these drivers are going so fast. “Reaction time is nothing,” Paules said. “When somebody gets into somebody, the reaction time ain’t there. You’re going to have accidents.”
Before racing indoors in Atlantic City and Trenton, Joey Payne raced indoors at the old Niagara Falls (NY) Convention Center.
“I raced in Niagara Falls for 13 years and they didn’t tolerate any of this (junk) that goes on here,” Payne said. “If you banged and shoved, you got sent to the back or just sent off the track. The guys respected that. It was a lot of good wheel to wheel racing. No BattleBot racing that goes on here.”
Mike Lichty feels the indoor racing is good on long green flag run. “I get frustrated every time we do these indoor races on how people drive,” Lichty said. “The racing is so good once it goes for a long green flag run. Going two laps and having a caution, that to me is not racing. But when it does go green flag runs, it’s great racing. Where can you go and see indoor racing like that with some of the top drivers around?”
Jimmy Blewett feels that drivers should be less aggressive.
“It’s definitely tight out there,” Blewett said. “There has got to be a little give and take. The guys the past two years haven’t been taking any. They have just been given and given and given. There has got to be a little bit more respect, I think needs to be put on out here. You are going fast and these cars are (a) little more dangerous.”
Some drivers would like to see more races added to the winter schedule, including Anthony Sesley.
“I would love to see two or three events added, Sesley said. “But in all honesty, the amount of work and the amount of effort that goes into Atlantic City. I really felt that having Trenton first kind of hurt preparation for Atlantic City.”
“I think three is probably about the right number,” Andy Jankowiak said. “Four or five that gets to be a lot of money. If they do it will probably be there supporting them. It would be cool if we go to one more though. Two seems to be like a short season for all the effort and money and time that is put into it.”
“I wish we could do a bunch more of these,” Patrick Emerling said. “We have a lot of invested in our cars. I really wish we could bring on a couple more of these races. We have a lot of fun. I definitely wish there was probably five of them during the winter and make more of a series out of it.”
For Mike Lichty to travel to these indoor events, it’s a 10 hour drive from Ontario. “If there was another venue, we definitely (will) be there,” Lichty said.
Sources: Matt Wiernasz/YankeeRacer.com