01/12/07

More than 200 racers feature in first of
two nights at Atlantic City

    A diverse group of winners reached Victory Lane on Friday at Boardwalk Hall, during the first of two nights of the “Gambler’s Classic” presented by Pepsi featuring three divisions of indoor auto racing.
     360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series standout Rick Eckert of York, Pa., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ace Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn., and Supermodified racer Joey Payne of Fairlawn, N.J., topped the three ‘Roaring 20s’ for the headlining M&R Midgets (Three Quarter Midgets and 600cc Micro-Sprints).
     Eckert bested a hard-charging Stevie Smith, who rallied from an early incident for second in the first 20-lapper. Christopher won over Stewart Friesen, who snatched second spot away from Heath Hehnley on the final lap of the second 20. Matt Seavey chased Payne across the stripe in the third 20-lap event.
     Ontario, Canada’s Curtis Friesen, meanwhile, set fast time with a lap of 9.022 seconds on the flat, one-eighth-mile concrete oval.
     The top three drivers from time trials and first four finishers in each of the ‘Roaring 20s’ transferred into the headline 40-lap feature to be held on Saturday night.
Slingshot ‘Dirty Dozen’ winners were Ryan Smith of Kunkletown, Pa., Michael Butler of Milford, N.J., and Rich Kuiken Jr. of West Creek, N.J. Winning the ‘7-Come-11’ Sr. Champ Kart qualifiers were John Beatty of Valley Stream, N.Y., Bob Baker of Mooresville, N.C., and Tammy Smith of Binghamton, N.Y.
     Main-event racing will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Good seats are still available for the action packed racing events. In addition the huge Motorsports 2007 presented by VP Racing Fuels Race Car show continues at the nearby Atlantic City Convention Center featuring more than 250 race cars, free autographs, seminars and just about anything imaginable in motorsports.

QUALIFIED CARS RESULTS SUMMARY:

M&R Midget ‘Triple 20’ No. 1: RICK ECKERT, Stevie Smith, Jeff Heotzler Jr., Cody Darrah.
M&R Midget ‘Triple 20’ No. 2: TED CHRISTOPHER, Stewart Friesen, Heath Hehnley, Mike Lichty.
M&R Midget ‘Triple 20’ No. 3: JOEY PAYNE, Matt Seavey, Tim Adams, Jeff Heotzler.

Slingshot ‘Dirty Dozen’ No. 1: RYAN SMITH, Gary Hieber, Ben Whitaker, Scott Goodrich, Kyle Hieber, Ronnie Smykla, Nick Pecko.
Slingshot ‘Dirty Dozen’ No. 2: MICHAEL BUTLER, David McCullough, Nick Wean, Bill Weaver, Ray Woodall Jr., Matt Carman, Bill Van Inwegen Jr.
Slingshot ‘Dirty Dozen’ No. 3: RICH KUIKEN JR., Tiffany Wambold, T.J. Etchison, Jesse Hartman, Jim Housworth, Paul Lotier Jr., Jamie Yannone.

Sr. Champ Kart ‘7-Come-11’ No. 1: JOHN BEATTY, Barry Hausman Jr., Kenneth Andreas, Andrew Swisher, Rudy Pinkham, Eddie Larsen, Tom Kelly.
Sr. Champ Kart ‘7-Come-11’ No. 2: BOB BAKER, Kevin Eyres, Chris Lamb, Stephen Moran, Coby Cressinger, Alan Purser, Greg Robinson II.
Sr. Champ Kart ‘7-Come-11’ No. 3: TAMMY SMITH, Vinny Delaney, Brett Stratford, Kyle Harvell, Timmy Solomito, Shawn Solomito, Nick Herriven.

Source: Ernie Saxton/AARN PR
Posted:  January 12, 2007