Cicconi, Shirey, Adams Win Roaring 20s on Friday at AC
Atlantic City, NJ — 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.
*Full Slingshot and Champ Kart finishes to follow.
Sources: Gambler’s Classic PR.