Ryan Tidman to Race for Richie Tolerico for First Time in Indoor Racing Series
Multi-time Outdoor Three Quarter (TQ) Champ has two Chances to Snare First Indoor A-Main Win at Allentown
ALLENTOWN, PA December 30, 2019 . . . ‘Flyin’ Ryan Tidman has done everything in Indoor Auto Racing Series TQ Midget racing action over the years except win one. The Holland, PA driver hopes to accomplish that goal when the Indoor Auto Racing Series Fueled By VP Race Fuels opens its 2020 season this weekend, Friday and Saturday, January 3-4, 2020 inside the PPL Center in downtown Allentown, PA.
“I’ve come close lots of times, won some 20-lap qualifying races and set fast time, but still am looking for my first big Indoor race win. I hope this year will be different,” said the 32-year-old driver.
Tickets for the fifth annual Ironton Telephone sponsored Allentown two day event are on sale at the PPL Center box office, on-line at pplcenter.com or by calling 610-347-TIXX.
Tidman’s assault in 2020 will be with a new team. After spending most of his TQ Midget racing career racing for Lenny and Donna Boyd, Tidman will be driving Indoors for Richie Tolerico of Pompton Lakes, NJ.
The car, a Mark Lafler engineered chassis powered by a Dave Pippard engine, was formerly wheeled by Tony DiMattia. That’s the same engine and chassis combination Erick Rudolph used to win last year’s Indoor Auto Racing Series title, his fourth in the Series.
“Lenny and Donna (Boyd) decided to step away from Indoor racing this year and when they did, I had to either find a ride or sit out the Series,” Tidman explained. “I called Richie when I found out his car might be available and we struck a deal.”
Tidman stressed that he will still be driving the Boyd TQ in 2020 on the outdoor circuit. As a team, the pairing has won five ATQMRA series title.
Tidman is coming off a 2019 outdoor TQ season that saw him finish a close second in points with one win in 12 races, at Bethel, NY.
Tidman will have the capable assistance of John Smith in the pit area. Smith has worked on Tolerico’s cars previously. Tidman’s parents, Albert and Linda, Mike Glaser and Tidman’s girlfriend Erica Weinelt also will be in the pit area assisting.
To put it all together, Tidman enlisted the support of several sponsors.
They include Insinger Machine Company of Philadelphia, Anes Construction, a business operated by fellow race entrant Mark Yoder, and Small Business Funding Group, Inc.
Tidman, a York College graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, brings his own skills set to the table as well.
The one thing Tidman was unable to do was practice the Tolerico No. 83 in advance.
“The first laps I get in Allentown will be my first in the car,” Tidman revealed. “I wanted to try to have the car ready for one of the Wall Stadium Turkey Derby practices but ran out of time.”
The untested car in Tidman’s hands should be mitigated by the fact among the three Indoor Auto Racing Series tracks, the PPL Center in Allentown is among his favorites.
“Allentown is one of the best tracks we go to,” Tidman said. “There is more passing there and at Atlantic City. I like tracks that have the most passing opportunities.” he shared.
Though Tidman has never won a Series A-Main, he did come close, in the 2016 Gambler’s Classic in Atlantic City, NJ.
“I was behind (Anthony) Sesely, pushing him. But I was using the brakes so much that the brake pads were pushed back inside the calipers which then flared up in a fireball,” Tidman lamented.
Tidman has a long history with Indoor racing, dating back to a 2004 start in a Badger TQ Midget. He then followed it up with two more Indoor starts, all of them in Atlantic City, NJ, inside Boardwalk Hall, before taking several years off to campaign a diverse group of vehicles, including a Dirt Modified and a NEMA Midget.
The Allentown Indoor schedule calls for doors opening at 6:00 PM with racing getting underway at 7:30 PM on Friday. On Saturday, doors open at 5:00PM with racing beginning at 7:00PM sharp. An on-track Fan Fest is available at no extra charge to ticket holders who chose the option when making their purchase.
Matt Janisch of Nazareth, PA and Ryan Flores of Mooresville, NC, won the Friday and Saturday PPL Center TQ Midget features in 2019.
The Allentown race is the first of four events that comprise the Indoor Auto Racing Series.
After the two-race event opener in Allentown, the “Concrete Series” presented by BELFOR Property Restoration, the series moves to Atlantic City, N.J.’s Boardwalk Hall on Friday and Saturday, January 31st and February 1st for the 18th annual NAPA Auto Parts Classic.
The BELFOR “Concrete Series” season finale is on Friday and Saturday, March 13th and 14th in a second-year return to the brand new Exposition Center located on the grounds of the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. N.Y.
A special non-point event will be held on a banked clay oval. The third annual East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals will return to CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. with a new date. This race meet, held the last two years in December, has been moved to Friday and Saturday, February 21st and 22nd featuring nearly 100 Wingless 600cc Sprints kicking up the clay.
Rudolph is the defending winner of this event, proving his indoor racing skills span both dirt and concrete events.
Tickets for all four venues can be obtained through information available on the series website: www.indoorautoracing.com along with special host hotel rates.
The event in Allentown is supported by great sponsors Ironton Telephone, BELFOR Property Restoration, Future Homes, Ironton Auto Body and E. Schneider & Sons Inc. Additional support is provided by Action Track USA, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Pocono Raceway, Aqua Duck Water Transport, Miller Motorsports, Doggy Style Hot Dogs & More, Pioneer Pole Buildings, All American Property Maintenance and Area Auto Racing News.
Join these companies in supporting the event in Allentown or at any of the future events by contacting Danny Sammons at the series office at danny@aarn.com or 609-888-3618. Corporate sponsorship packages are available to fit every budget.
Sources: Ernie Saxton Communications