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Trenton, NJ (Friday, February 21) – Zach Bealer’s commitment to hug the bottom lane all the way around CURE Insurance Arena paid off Friday night as he cruised by Kenny Miller III late in the going to win a thrilling BELFOR Property Restoration East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals feature behind the wheel of his father Pat’s car.
“I just had to stay patient,” the Lehighton, PA driver, who pocketed $2,250 for his efforts, said post-race. “There were so many times I wanted to try the top, but I knew it wasn’t going to work with the setup I had in it. I had guys behind me who race for a living, so it was definitely hard to stay cool. I was planning to run one of my friend’s cars but it just didn’t work out. So, my dad said he could ship his car up from Florida and we did the setup in two weeks. It means the world to put it in victory lane.”
Bealer started fifth in the 25-lap affair, but quickly propelled himself into the third spot after missing a couple early wrecks. Once settling into third, Bealer was nearly dropkicked down the running order following a lap 13 restart after race leader Briggs Danner broke a chain and did not come up to speed.
Luckily for Bealer however, the yellow was thrown and he now found himself on Miller’s rear bumper for the ensuing restart. From there, Bealer stalked Miller like an animal hunting its prey and he was waiting for his opportunity to pounce.
Bealer unleashed his attack with five laps to go by sticking to what he knew best and wrapping the bottom in the center of turns three and four to storm alongside Miller for the top spot.
The pair ran side by side for the next few laps, but with each waking moment, Bealer started to inch out front before finally clearing into the position off turn four with two laps to go.
Both Billy Pauch Jr. and Luke Thomas got around Miller as well and attempted to take stabs at Bealer for the lead on the last lap. But Bealer held his nerve like a champion and rocketed off turn four to the checkered flag. Thomas, Pauch Jr., Keith McIntyre and Pat Bealer completed the top five.
At the start of the day, the field was split into two groups for time trials to determine the lineups for the four A-Main qualifiers. Haelee Nardelli, of Bridgeton, NJ, rocketed around in 9.843 seconds to pace Flight A, while Kenny Miller III, of Morgantown, PA, led the way in Flight B with a red-hot 10.202 second lap.
The top five in each of the four qualifiers transferred into Friday’s feature. Defending East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals winner Anthony Perrego, Billy Pauch Jr., Lukas Kostic and Pat Bealer emerged victorious in the high intensity slugfest.
Matt Warner and Alex Bright captured the rugged B-Mains. Aidan Borden and Sammy Martz Jr. raced to second in each to fill out the rest of the field.
Ryan Greene and Matt McAnally were the only two cars to flip during the night. Greene’s took place after he caught the wall in the middle of turns three and four, while McAnally’s happened in a similar fashion but on the opposite side of the speedway.
The grandstands will open at 4 p.m. Saturday, and fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite driver during an autograph session on the concourse. Racing begins at 6 p.m. with a pair of E-Mains.
Good seats are still available for purchase via Ticketmaster or at the CURE Insurance Arena box office.
For additional details on the Indoor Auto Racing Championship and the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals, visit www.indoorautoracing.com
600cc Sprint Cars (25 Laps) — 1. Zack Bealer 2. Luke Thomas 3. Billy Pauch Jr 4. Keith McIntyre 5. Pat Bealer 6. Kenny Miller III 7. Tim Buckwalter 8. Anthony Perrego 9. Christian Bruno 10. DJ Shuman 11. Matt Warner 12. Christopher Allen 13. Eric Jennings 14. Danny Buccafusca 15. James Roselli 16. Jasper Zeigafuse 17. Alex Bright 18. Dominic Schmidt 19. Sammy Martz Jr 20. Lukas Kostic 21. Aidan Borden 22. Richie Hartman 23. Caleb Scarborough 24. Briggs Danner
