Erick Rudoplh Looking for Battle of Trenton Reenactment on December 9th and 10th Inside Sun Center
TRENTON, NJ – December 4, 2016 . . . When Erick Rudolph marches back to New Jersey for Three Quarter (TQ) Midget Auto Racing on Friday and Saturday, December 9th – 10th, he’s hoping for a Battle of Trenton Reenactment.
The driving star from Ransomville, N.Y., won the Indoor Auto Racing Series Fueled by VP finale at the Sun National Bank Center in February and clinched the championship. Rudolph is hoping for a similar victory to start the 2016-2017 indoor season.
Rudolph is coming off a career best outdoor season which included 22 victories in dirt Modified competition. He heads to Trenton with the same winning TQ Midget he drove last year. Mark Lafler, who builds many of the top TQ Midgets, will act as Rudolph’s crew chief as he has for the past decade.
Over 50 top drivers from eight states and Canada hope to keep Rudolph from accomplishing his goals. On top of that list is Len Sammons Motorsports series all time winner, Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn. who will debut with a different winning team this season.
Another pre-race favorite is Howell, N.J.’s Jimmy Blewett who nearly made the winning pass on Rudolph in February in Trenton to get his first win on the series.
Anthony Sesely of Matawan, N.J., winner of Atlantic City’s Gambler’s Classic for the third time last January, will debut as a driver on Lou Cicconi’s Super Team at Trenton. Cicconi, a four time series winner, has decided not to race the first two Indoor events to concentrate on his five car team.
Cicconi’s iconic No. 57 will now be driven by ISMA Super Modified series champion DJ Shullick of Avon Lake, Ohio. Other Cicconi drivers include Pa.’s Pat Bealer, N.J.’s Ryan Kratchun and N.Y.’s Shawn Nye. Ryan Flores of Mooresville, N.C., a member of the Roger Penske team, excelled on the Indoor Series last year, but was forced to miss the Trenton finale because of a NASCAR Cup event being held that weekend in Phoenix, Ariz. Flores is another candidate to take his first indoor series race win.
Other notables includes Modified standouts Earl Paules, Zane Zeiner, Richie Pratt and Mike Iles.
As a special preview of the 2016-2017 Indoor Racing Series, general admission tickets for Friday’s Battle Of Trenton opening night have been priced at just $10 for adults and $7 for children.
The ultra-quick TQ Midgets will headline both Friday’s opening night and Saturday’s “Battle Of Trenton” feature event finale. The Friday night race program, which begins at 7:30 PM, consists of 60 TQ Midgets split into three 20-lap Qualifier races. A complete program of heat races and feature event for the Champ Karts is also on the schedule.
Attendees can get a close up look at a TQ Midgets at Fan Zone located on the concourse. Top drivers and Ms. Motorsports 2016 Arynne Moody will be making an appearance at Fan Zone offering autographs and photos free of charge.
On Saturday the “Battle Of Trenton” 40 lap feature event will be held after a series of qualifying events for the TQ Midgets. The always popular and wild Slingshots will also be part of this program sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts, Oliver Communications in Bordentown, N.J. and Pete & Elda’s Bar in Neptune City. N.J.
Tickets for Saturday’s races are available starting at $22 for adults and $7 for children.
Fans can avoid on-line ticketing fees by stopping by the Sun Center box office.
Fan Fest will be held inside the speedway one hour prior to the 7 PM starting time. The entire field of race cars competing on Saturday
will be on display during Fan Fest and drivers will be available for free autographs and photos by their cars.
The Trenton race is part one of a three-race Len Sammons Motorsports Productions (LSMP) Indoor Series. Other races are scheduled for December 30-31 at PPL Center in downtown Allentown, Pa., and at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on January 27-28, 2017.
When indoor racing ends, Rudolph will head south to Florida where he’ll run Randy Chrysler’s Modified at the DIRTcar Winter Nationals at the Volusia County Speedway in February. When the northern outdoor season opens in March, he’ll be driving for Chrysler, his family owned team and for a new team owned by Ed Briggs.
Trenton Indoor Race tickets are available online at www.sunnationalbankcenter.com or by phone at 1-800-298-4200. Tickets may also be purchased at the Sun National Bank Center Box Office on Monday through Friday from 10 AM until 5:30 PM and on Saturday from 12 Noon through 4 PM.
Event and promotional sponsorship information is available at www.IndoorAutoRacing.com.
Sources: Steve Barrick/Ernie Saxton Communications, Inc.