Martin Puts on Cushion Clinic; Wins New Egypt ARDC
New Egypt, N.J. — Andy Martin is the reigning ARDC Champion. Andy Martin is the current ARDC point leader. Andy Martin is called "The Gordonville Flash." Martin showed why he is all three in a perfromance that was nothing short of stunning in the 25-lap feature sponsored by Spike Chassis Saturday night at New Egypt Speedway.
Rookie Bruce Buckwalter and Scott Zipp of Bridgeport, Pa. led te 26 car field to the green flag. Buckwalter was off to a strong start, holding the early lead over Eric Heydenreich and surviving several challenges in the early laps.
While all this was going on up front, Andy Martin was firing out of his 13th starting position and putting on a traction-defying charge around the outer rim of New Egypt Speedway. Without the aid of any caution periods, Martin moved into the top five on lap 5 and then improved his position one spot per lap flying by cars on the outside. Finally, Bruce Buckwalter's number was up on lap 9 when Martin went sailing by and immediately began to open a huge gap on the field.
While Martin was lost in his own Zip Code, the battle for second spot drew the focus of the entusiastic New Egypt crowd. At first it was Buckwalter and Heydenreich battling for the spot. Then modified hot-shoe Ryan Watt who was pulling double-duty this night joined the fray. Watt was behing the wheel of Fred Schell's no. 75 powered by a 25 year old Pontiac motor that has seen many rebuilds. Watt extracted every ounce of power he could out of the aging machine and put on a titanic struggle with Eric Heydenreich for second spot — the pair often swapping the spot several times per lap. Watt finally took the spot for good on lap 17, with Heydenreich nailing down third. Bruce Buckwalter put in one of his strongest runs of the year, finishing fourth and veteran Frank Polimeda finished fifth in his Spike/Mopar no. 44
Martin expressed his affection for New Egypt Speedway in victory lane, "I love this place. Do you think we could pick this track up and move it to Pennsylvania?", he joked. It was hard to believe after the race, but Martin was unsure of his set-up going into the 25-lapper. "The track was slick in spots during the heats. After they worked on the track before the feature we weren't sure what it was going to do." Martin also remembered the race sponsor in victory lane. "We don't run a Spike Chassis, but we've thank them for supporting us here at New Egypt."
Watt was content with his second spot. "I gave it all I had. We had that one restart and I tried the slider in turn one underneath him, but Martin was just too strong. There was a hole in turn 3 I hit a couple of times and that upset the car. I've just got to thank Fred Schell for letting me run this car."
Heydenreich was just happy to finish with all four wheels on the ground. "I guess I did better than when I flipped as high as the light poles and half-killed myself here a couple of years ago."
26 ARDC Midgets signed in for competition. Heat races were won by Phil Meisner, Jr., Scott Zipp and Eric Heydenreich
25-Lap ARDC Midget Feature: 1) 21 Andy Martin 2) 75 Ryan Watt 3) 11 Eric Heydenreich 4) 83 Bruce Buckwalter 5) 44 Frank Polimeda 6) 2 Tracy Readinger 7) 20 Carey Becker 8) 51 PJ Gargiulo 9) 14 AJ Ernesto 10) 54 Ryan Smith 11) 92 Scott Zipp 12) 9 Steve Lenig 13) 46 Brett Arndt 14) 78 Nick Wean 15) 19 Phil Meisner, Jr. 16) 29 Zack Martini 17) 00 Greg Robinson 18) 16 Dave Shirk 19) 27 Randy Monroe 20) 26 Stephanie Stevens 21) 25 Chris Zrinski 22) 64 Brett Conkling 23) 55 Steve Craig 24) 95 Mark Lawshe 25) 6 Ed Stimely, Jr. 26) 34 Frank Cozze
Sources: Mark Kielblock/ARDC