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Photo Michael Jaworecki/Myracenews
Atlantic City, NJ (Jan. 26, 2024) – Ryan Flores took maximum advantage of a front-row starting position in Friday night’s Indoor Auto Racing Championship BlackJack 21 for TQ Midgets and found Victory Lane for the eighth time in Series history.
Flores’ premium starting position was earned in a game of Blackjack with fellow TQ Qualifier winner, Anthony Sesely.
Flores said post-race that this was a special victory. “I’m a very happy winner tonight,” Flores said. “What makes it special for me is that it’s a new event with a different format. And it’s a format, obviously that I liked.”
Tanner VanDoren finished a close second with Tommy Catalano third, Anthony Sesely fourth, and Kyle Lick fifth.
A lap 18 caution collected Timmy and Trevor Catalano. Both were part of a seven-car crash that saw both siblings flip violently in tandem. Neither Catalano was hurt. The crash also took out contenders Briggs Danner, Matt Janisch, and Tyler Lindsay.
Andy Jankowiak came back from a pit stop with eight laps to go to finish sixth. Ryan Bartlett, Steve Kemery, Timmy Buckwalter, and Jeremy Haudricourt completed the top ten.
The Gambler’s Classic Finale on Saturday night will decide the 2024 Indoor Auto Racing Series ‘Concrete Series’ championship. Ryan Flores, with 300 points, brings a one-point lead into the finale over Tanner VanDoren’s 299 markers. Tommy Catalano, with 244 points, is still in contention heading into the finale.
To qualify for the BlackJack 21, TQ Midget drivers raced in a pair of 21-car, 21-lap Qualifiers with the top ten transferring into the BlackJack 21 headliner. Anthony Sesely outran teammate Tanner VanDoren and Kyle Lick to win the first race. Ryan Flores shaded Shawn Nye and Matt Swanson to win the second event. The 21st qualifying spot for the feature, the CRAPS Last Chance Qualifier, was won by Timmy Catalano with a last-lap pass of Chris Hirt.
Earlier in the program, a pair of ‘7 Come 11’ Qualifiers, 11-lap races transferring the top seven finishers into the 21-car Qualifier races were won by Matt Roselli and Anthony Payne.
TQ Midget Time Trials were run Friday in an unusual format. Fifty-three drivers attempted to qualify in a 45-minute timed session with drivers being able to run multiple attempts if they sacrificed their previous time. A total of 140 attempts were ultimately made with Tanner VanDoren leading the field with a 7.984 clocking, marginally faster than Ryan Flores’ 7.997 time. The top 30 drivers were separated by less than 0.319 tenth of a second.
Todd Crenshaw set fast time for the Champ Karts with a 9.076 second lap from among 38 entries, 35 of which took time. Champ Kart heat races were won by TJ Reed, Doug Stearly, and Quentin Graham, Jr.
Brett Bieber led 41 Slingshots in time trials with a lap of 9.593 seconds. The three Slingshot heat races were won by Chris Laureigh, James Benz, and Cody Kline.
Indoor Auto Racing Series competition returns to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall tomorrow, Saturday, January 24 with the annual running of the prestigious NAPA Auto Parts Gambler’s Classic for TQ Midgets over a 40-lap distance.
Slingshots, Champ Karts and 600 Micros will also run features over 25 laps for the Slingshots and Champ Karts and 20 laps for the 600 Micro Sprint, making for an action-packed night of racing. Series point champions will also be crowned in the TQ Midget, Champ Kart and Slingshot classes Saturday night.
Black Jack TQ Midget Feature (21 Laps): 1. Ryan Flores, 2. Tanner VanDoren, 3. Tommy Catalano, 4. Anthony Sesely, 5. Kyle Lick, 6. Andy Jankowiak, 7. Ryan Bartlett, 8. Steve Kemery, 9. Timmy Buckwalter, 10. Jeremy Haudricourt, 11. Shawn Nye, 12. Matt Swanson, 13. Jonathan Reid, 14. Nick Ladyga, 15. Tyler Ferris, 16. Billy Pauch Jr., 17. Bobby Holmes, 18. Matt Janisch, 19. Trevor Catalano, 20. Tyler Lindsay, 21. Timmy Catalano, 22. Briggs Danner.
First TQ Midget Qualifier (20 Laps): 1. Anthony Sesely, 2. Tanner VanDoren, 3. Kyle Lick, 4. Matt Janisch, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Trevor Catalano, 7. Ryan Bartlett, 8. Stephen Kemery, 9. Nick Ladyga, 10. Bobby Holmes, 11. Matt Roselli,12. Andrew Nye, 13. Chad Jones, 14. Cory Grenzy, 15. Cole Mullen, 16. Tim Buckwalter, 17. Steve Craig, 18. Mike Christopher Jr., 19. Joe Toth, 20. Tyler Thompson, 21. Steve Midford.
Second TQ Midget Qualifier (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Flores, 2. Shawn Nye, 3. Matt Swanson, 4. Tommy Catalano, 5. Billy Pauch Jr., 6. Jeremy Haudricourt, 7. Andy Jankiowiak, 8. Tyler Lindsay, 9. Jonathan Reid, 10. Tyler Ferris, 11. Anthony Payne, 12. Andrew Molleur, 13. Joey Bailey, 14. Scott Kreutter, 15. Tyler Catalano, 16. Justin Grant, 17. Ryan Tidman, 18. Chase Cabre, 19. John Barnett, 20. Matt Caprara, 21. Derek Robbie.
CRAPS DAY Last Chance Qualifier: 1. Tommy Catalano, 2. Chris Hirt, 3. Cole Littlewood, 4. Matt Chowns.
