0
0
Photos: Peter McDonald
Allentown, PA (Sat., Jan. 7) – Anthony Sesely raced to his sixth career TQ Midget win in the Indoor Auto Racing Championship Fueled by VP Series opener Saturday night inside the PPL Center in a thrilling feature that had the arena fans on their feet for most all of the race.
Sesely, who started fifth in the 40-lap feature, spent most of the race running side by side with Tyler Thompson, taking the lead briefly for the first time on lap 24, losing it back a lap later, then taking it back once again on lap 26.
The turning point in the battle for the lead came six laps from the end, when Thompson was penalized for jumping the leader on a double file restart. Thompson was set back two spots and was never a factor in the race thereafter.
Ryan Flores, Tommy Catalano and Erick Rudolph gained ground in the final five laps, finishing second, third and fourth. Catalano marched from 14 th in the field at the start, while Rudolph came from 12 th. Andy Jankowiak was fifth.
“I wasn’t surprised they called a jump on him,” Sesely said. “They told us about what point on the track we had to clear before taking off. He did that quite a few times when he was the leader before. We were running each other hard. I was very happy to get the win. This is the same car Ricky (Kluth) built for me that we won the Syracuse Indoor race with last year,” Sesely revealed.
Thompson did not think his actions on the restart deserved the penalty he received. “I think we were both taking off early when we were restarting side by side. But that’s racing, I don’t like it, but I understand it,” he said.
Four TQ Heat Races presented by Mahoning Valley Speedway that helped set the field for the TQ A-Main were won by Mike Christopher, Jr., Timmy Catalano, Erick Rudolph, and Ryan Susice.
The TQ Dash sponsored by Ironton Auto Body worth $500 to win was earned by Tyler Thompson over Briggs Danner, Shawn Nye, Andy Jankowiak, and Anthony Sesely. Ryan Flores, Andy Jankowiak, Joey Bailey, Scott Kreutter and Jeremy Haudricourt finished sixth through ninth. The finishing order of the Dash determined the top nine starting positions in the TQ A Main event.
Two 12-lap TQ B Mains sponsored by Mahoning Valley Speedway were taken by Kyle Lick ahead of Cole Mullen and by Andrew Nye, who narrowly shaded Craig Pelligrini, Jr. at the checkered.
Tyler Brown made a quick couple of moves in the early laps of the Future Homes 20-lap Champ Kart A Main to gain the lead, with Missy Bootes and Jon Keister following closely behind. The front runners were nose to tail until they encountered lapped traffic shortly after the halfway mark and that’s when the feature tightened up. Keister passed Bootes to move up with five laps left and Chris Daley came from way behind to work his way into a third-place finish. Bootes settled for fourth, Chase Keister ran fifth.
“I knew that the only way to win a race against this caliber of drivers was to get the lead as soon as I could,” Brown, who started third, said. “I was also lucky that I had some breathing room the first time I got into lapped traffic. Once I worked through it, I held my line and counted down the laps.”
Three Champ Kart Heat Races presented by Mahoning Valley Speedway were claimed by John Berger, James Shutts and Tyler Brown.
The Champ Kart B Main was won by Dan Kapuscinski and Cody Bleau raced to the Slingshot B Main victory.
Scott Neary, who had finished second in Friday’s Slingshot feature, won the Future Homes 20-lap Slingshot headliner Saturday. The win was Neary’s third career Slingshot win in the Indoor Auto Racing Series and it marked the 16 th for Randy Smith, his car owner.
“This was all about the car,” said Neary who has raced for Smith for the past six years. “It handled as well on the first lap as it did on the last one.”
The car emitted sparks from its left rear corner in the final five laps, but Neary was undeterred in his victory mission. John Redner was ever present on Neary’s rear end for most of the race and settled for second. Neary’s teammate Chris Kurtz ran in the top three for a good portion of the race but was eliminated in a late race tangle. Michael Lapicki, Cody Kline and Ryan Raidline completed the top five.
Slingshot Heat Races presented by S&S Speedway saw John Redner, Matthew Mertz, Scott Neary take the checkered.
The Indoor Auto Racing Championship Fueled by VP Racing Fuels is back in action on January 27 and 28 at the NAPA Know How Atlantic City Indoor Races inside the famed Jim Whelen Boardwalk Hall.
For more information on visit www.IndoorAutoRacing.com
Belfor Property Restoration TQ Midget Feature Results (40 Laps) – 1. Anthony Sesely, 2. Ryan Flores, 3. Tommy Catalano, 4. Tyler Thompson, 5. Erick Rudolph, 6. Andy Jankowiak, 7. Scott Kreutter, 8. Shawn Nye, 9. Briggs Danner, 10. Jeremy Haudricourt, 11. Kyle Lick, 12. Joey Bailey, 13. Tim Buckwalter, 14. Timmy Catalano, 15. Chris DeRitis, 16. Mike Christopher Jr., 17. Andrew Nye, 18. Matt Janisch, 19 Matt Roselli, 20. Ryan Susice, 21. Bobby Holmes, 22. Trevor Catalano, 23. Craig Pellegrini Jr., 24. Cole Mullen
Action Track USA Slingshot Feature Results (20 Laps) – 1. Scott Neary, 2. John Redner, 3. Michael Lapicki, 4. Cody Kline, 5. Ryan Raidline, 6. Bryan Preville, 7. Mason Pittenger, 8. Alex Reinsmith, 9. Nolan Layser, 10. Matt Mertz, 11. Mark Mohr, 12. Lucas Pittenger, 13. Paul Hartwig Jr., 14. Brett Putnam, 15. Chris Kurtz, 16. Brian Smith, 17. Justin House, 18. Cody Bleau, 19. Danny Carlough, 20. Brett Bieber
Hoosier Racing Tire Champ Kart Feature Results (20 Laps) – 1. Tyler Brown, 2. Jon Keister, 3. Chris Daley, 4. Missy Bootes, 5. Chase Keister, 6. Brandon Rusczek, 7. Todd Crenshaw, 8. Dan Kapuscinski, 9. Mike Perry, 10. Joseph Mingoia, 11. John Berger, 12. TJ Reed, 13. Tyler Catalano, 14. Seth Whitney, 15. Andrew Arsenault, 16. Chris Natoli, 17. James Shutts, 18. Dominick Roselli, 19. Max Pfeifer, 20. Stephen Beattie
