Indoor Racing Action a Go at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Friday Night
IT’S A GO AT ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK HALL THIS WEEKEND: Andy Jankowiak, Anthony Sesely and Tim Buckwalter Set the Pace in Friday Afternoon TQ Midget Time Trials, Friday Night Qualifying Heats Take Green Flag at 7:30 p.m., Feature Events Go Green Saturday Night
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ JANUARY 28, 2022 . . . Andy Jankowiak, Anthony Sesely, and Tim Buckwalter set the pace Friday afternoon in TQ Midget time trials among 48 drivers who took time. Jankowiak’s car is a homebuilt three-year-old machine, Sesely’s was an all-new car built by himself, and Ricky Kluth and Buckwalter’s is a several-years old machine built by Mark Lafler.
“We’ll see how the car runs later tonight,” Jankowiak said. “I got lucky in a way, got a couple of extra laps when a guy spun out and the yellow had to come out. I got a little more tire heat because of that.”
Runner-up Sesely praised his new car. “It’s clearly a work in progress. We’ve been inching, inching, inching, getting a little better with it. I developed my last car over ten years and have two days in on this one.”
Tim Buckwalter was third fastest. “There was a little more in the car, and the driver didn’t find it,” Buckwalter said. “I missed the entry in turn one on both laps. So third after the driver mistakes is a good place to start.”
Following the top three were Shawn Nye, Erick Rudolph, Ryan Flores, Tyler Thompson, Kyle Lick (driving an 18-year-old Dirt Micro Sprint), Joey Bailey, Tommy Catalano, Matt Roselli, and Mike Christopher, Jr. completed the top 12 TQ drivers in time trials. The dozen are assured of the top four starting positions in the three 20-lap TQ Midget Qualifiers that will highlight the Friday night program with racing beginning at 7:30 with gates opening 6:30 PM.
Tyler Brown, Jon Keister, TJ Reed, Mike Perry, and two-time defending Champ Kart Atlantic City feature winner Doug Stearly were the top five fastest qualifiers from among a large field of 42 that took time Friday afternoon. The top five have transferred to Saturday’s Champ Kart A-Main by virtue of their finishes.
Brett Bieber, Jared Silfee, Scott Neary, Kyle Herve, and Tyler Ulsh were the five fastest Slingshot drivers from among 29 entrants who ran against the clock Friday afternoon. They have transferred directly to Saturday night’s Slingshot A Main event.
Friday night action consists of three TQ heats, three Slingshot heats, three Champ Kart heats, and the featured trio of TQ Midget Qualifiers.
Gates open at 5:00 PM Saturday night with FAN FEST. All drivers with their cars will gather at trackside to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and pose for pictures. Racing starts at 7:00 culminating in the 19th running of the NAPA KNOW HOW Gambler’s Classic 40-lap feature.
Good tickets are still available from the ticket office at Boardwalk Hall for Friday and Saturday night.
Sources: Ernie Saxton Communications