Author: Chris Murphy

TRENTON, NJ – Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., Ted Christopher of Plainville, Ct., and New Jersey native Ryan Flores, who lives in Cornelius, N.C., shared the glory on Night One of the fourth annual Battle of Trenton Indoor Auto Racing program. Each of the trio won a 20-lap Three Quarter (TQ) Midget feature in the first events of the 2016-2017 Indoor Auto Racing Championship Fueled By VP Racing Fuels.

The events served as a lead-in to tonight’s full slate of qualifying events leading up to the 40-lap TQ Midget feature, ‘The Battle Of Trenton’. Slingshots will be the support class.

Rudolph took the lead midway through the first race with a daring outside pass of race leader Earl Paules on a restart. Rudolph, a five time career Series feature winner, then led the rest of the way to outrun Zane Zeiner, Tommy Catalano and Paules.

“This is the same car we ran last year and it’s just as good as it was,” Rudolph said. “Making an outside pass is something that can be done with a car as good as this one.”

Jonathan Reid led the first half of the race before his car’s engine flamed out directly in front of Paules, who leapfrogged over Reid’s flaming car but continued on.

In the second lapper, Christopher, the most prolific winner in the history of Len Sammons Motorsports Promotions (LSMP) with seven checkered flags, drove to the win in a car owned by Trey Hoddick. All of Christopher’s prior wins came in cars of his own design.

“This was a rough race,” Christopher said, surveying a winning car that has a left front wheel lug nut severed, the left side bodywork in front of the 750cc Suzuki engine bent inward and a rear bumper that was misshapen. “A bunch of people ran into me, but that’s indoor racing.”

Jimmy Blewett came from the rear of the field after involvement in an early race accident to f9inish second followed by top performing 600cc Micro Sprint driver Kyle Lick, who led the race with seven laps to go. Mike Iles recovered from an early race spin to run fourth and Steve Kemery was fifth, and second 600cc Micro finisher.

Flores made a successful inside pass stick against race leader Joey Payne in the third TQ twenty lapper, keeping control even after contact caused anxious moments for both while racing for the lead in front of the pack. Andy Jankowiak, who had previously driven the car Ted Christopher is running in this year’s Indoor Series, finished second in a car owned by Bobby Holmes. Tim Buckwalter was third, three time career Indoor feature winner Anthony Sesely fourth and Scott Kreutter was fifth.

In the afternoon time trial session, Kreutter set fastest time among the fifty-two entrants.

Cale Ross, a youthful driver whose recent credits include winning the 2016 New Egypt Speedway Rookie Sportsman championship on dirt, proved his versatility by winning the 20-lap Champ Kart feature on the Sun Bank Center concrete. Ross, of Lambertville, N.J., edged John Berger, Dalton Rovira, Tim Gregory and DJ Doyle to take the top prize.

Action continues tonight for the Three Quarter Midgets and Slingshot racers. Check in for more information at www.indoorautoracing.com.

First TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Erick Rudolph, 2. Zane Zeiner, 3. Matt Janisch, 4. Tommy Catalano, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Ryan Tidman, 7. Chris DeRitis, 8. Tim Nye, 9. Ryan Krachun, 10. Jesse Maurer, 11. Bruce Leote, 12. Anthony Payne, 13. Kyle Hieber, 14. Dakota Kessler, 15. Geoffrey Sutton, 16. Jonathan Reid, 17. Zach Bealer, 18. Ronnie Mullen.

Second TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Ted Christopher, 2. Jimmy Blewett, 3. Kyle Lick, 4. Mike Iles, 5. Steve Kemery, 6. Rob Neely, 7. Richie Pratt, Jr., 8. Ryan Bartlett, 9. Jeff Kot, 10. Ronnie Flaim, 11. Josh Dalrymple, 12. Glenn Heverin, 13. Tim Proctor, 14. Brett Michalski, 15. Jason Rochelle, 16. Jason Ormsby, 17. Steve Craig.

Third TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Flores, 2. Andy Jankowiak, 3. Tim Buckwalter, 4. Anthony Sesely, 5. Scott Kreutter, 6. Joey Payne, 7. Shawn Nye, 8. Matt Roselli, 9. Brandon Azzallina, 10. Aaron Bartelemy, 11. Marc Rogers, 12. Mark Yoder, 13. Matt Remick, 14. Chad Parks, 15. AJ Hessler, 16. Brent Shearer, 17. Pat Bealer.

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/NewPress/?p=28278

DUNDEE, NY – Erick Rudolph, since exiting Super DIRT Week at Oswego, has become dirt track racing’s ‘Mr. October’. “Rudy” as his car owner Randy Chrysler called him in Outlaw Victory Lane Sunday night, put on a dominant performance enroute to the $7,000 victory in Outlaw Speedway’s first seventy-lapper in well over a decade.

Rudolph would lead every lap of the event, but it was far from a cakewalk for the Ransomville, NY shoe. He would have to hold off the advances of ‘The Hurricane’ Steve Paine and ‘AJ Slideways’ Alan Johnson in the closing laps to score his second Outlaw win of 2016.

Brian Malcolm and Rudolph drew the front row for the feature event, with Rudolph leading the opening lap and setting a torrid pace early on. Thirty-six cars signed in for competition on Sunday for the eighth running of the Dutch Hoag Memorial.

One driver that had high expectations was certainly Matt Sheppard, who was aboard the same No. 357 that he wheeled to victory lane in the lone Short Track Super Series stop at Outlaw Speedway in June. Unfortunately, Sheppard’s race was over by the very unlucky lap thirteen as he pulled the car into the infield in the first turn. Sheppard would not return to the field.

Paine had $19,500 on the line if he could win on Sunday and ‘The Hurricane’ made his presence felt, taking over the second spot on the restart from Malcolm. Rudolph set the pace with Paine in tow, but it was Outlaw Speedway second-high point man Alan Johnson who was the next driver to present himself as a threat to win.

Johnson fought through traffic after starting eleventh and advanced to fourth by lap twenty-one. Then overtook third from Cory Costa on lap twenty-nine. Five laps later, Costa would get back by Johnson for third before the caution flew on lap thirty-five for Donnie Lawson who got turned backwards under the flag stand.

Two more quick cautions on laps fifty-four and fifty-six allowed Paine, Johnson and Costa to close back in on Rudolph. But Rudolph was the rabbit on restarts, who would distance himself from the field to have a nice cushion upon hitting slower traffic ahead.

With eight laps to go, Johnson made his way around the outside of Paine in turn four to take over the runner up position. But with a nearly three second deficit to Rudolph, it didn’t look like Johnson had near enough time to catch Rudolph’s No. 25.

Johnson dug down deep and erased Rudolph’s lead as the pair came to the white flag, with Rudolph being held up just a bit in traffic. The driver from Middlesex, N.Y. looked high and low on the final lap, but Rudolph was up to the task to hold on for the $7,000 payday. It was his second win in three Outlaw Speedway starts in 2016, driving for Chrysler’s team.

“We’re having our fair share of luck here in October,” said Rudolph in Outlaw Victory Lane. “The cars are running well, I feel like I’m doing the right things out there and making the right decisions in the pit area.”

Rudolph, whose family has had a storied career in the sport, was asked about what it meant to win the Dutch Hoag Memorial? A race named after a Northeast legend, lost earlier in 2016.

“Dutch Hoag was a good friend of my grandfather’s and (he) was very respected in the sport,” noted Rudolph. “To win on his memorial night is something special.”

Alan Johnson needed another lap, maybe two to try and get the job done Sunday night.

“There’s no doubt I had a great car,” said Johnson. “Passing was kind of tough and I dug myself a hole in the heat race and started a little too far back.”

Paine was surely disappointed about missing out on the bonus, but was impressed with Rudolph and Alan’s late race charge.

“Erick was really good last time he was here,” commented Paine. “We just missed it a little bit on tires and maybe set up. We spent the night changing the rear end, so we’re lucky to have even finished. Al was good at the end, he made up almost a straightaway there at the end and I thought he was going to get him.”

Rudolph now joins Ron Cartwright Jr., Alan Johnson, Bob Henry Jr., Ryan Susice and Matt Sheppard as the only six drivers who can say they have won a Dutch Hoag Memorial.

Earlier in the evening, Matt Sheppard won the 7s Wild seven-lap $700-to-win dash for cash. An event that saw Steve Paine lead early, but drop out on the third lap when the rear end failed on his No. 7x. Paine’s crew thrashed in the pit area to change to a new rear end, before the seventy-lap feature was called to the lineup.

Outlaw Speedway Dutch Hoag Memorial Official Results 10/23/2016:

MODIFIEDS, 36 cars (70 Laps): ERICK RUDOLPH, Alan Johnson, Steve Paine, Cory Costa, Bobby Varin, Tyler Siri, Ray Bliss, Billy Van Pelt, Pat Ward, Stacey Jackson, Brian Malcolm, Rusty Smith, Joe Dgien, Kenny Peoples Jr., Steven Deinhardt, Brady Fultz, Jim LaRock, Matt Curry, Ron Cartwright Jr., Donnie Lawson, Danny Varin, Matt Sheppard, Marcus Dinkins, Randy Chrysler

$700-to-win Modified Dash: MATT SHEPPARD, Tyler Siri, Erick Rudolph, Ron Cartwright Jr., Brian Malcolm, Jim LaRock, Cory Costa, Billy Van Pelt, Marcus Dinkins, Steve Paine

DNQ: Eldon Payne, Dillon Groover, Chris Ostrowsky, Ken Titus, Tim Murphy, Derrick Podsiadlo, Dave DuBois, Dale Welty, Brian Nelson, Lee Bills, Todd Hayward, Butch Green

Heat Winners: Steve Paine, Brian Malcolm, Matt Sheppard, Tyler Siri, Billy Van Pelt
Consi 1: Bobby Varin, Randy Chrysler, Danny Varin, Joe Dgien
Consi 2: Brady Fultz, Ray Bliss, Pat Ward, Rusty Smith

http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/NewPress/?p=27440