Avery Stoehr of Lakevile will be among big field of drivers racing TQ Midgets at the Battle of Trenton. (Credit: NEMA Midget photo.)
By Lou Modestino
Entries are pouring in from drivers across the racing spectrum for the two-day Trenton (NJ) Indoor racing program set for the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton on Friday, December 19 and Saturday, December 20.
The Indoor Auto Racing action scheduled for Trenton is promoted by Len Sammons Motorsports Productions.
Among the fifty entries received are those of Dirt Modified and ARDC Midget standout Tim Buckwalter of Royersford. Pa., and NEMA paved track Midget specialist Avery Stoehr from Lakeville,. Both have top garnered top rides for the Battle of Trenton. Buckwalter has contended in the past for Indoor racing victories in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, the second Len Sammons Motorsports Productions event planned for January 30 and 31, 2015. Stoehr will be making just his third start indoors and first in a TQ Midget.
Canadian Mike Lichty, from Innerip, Ontario, is the only ‘north of the border’ TQ Midget entry. He is a past ISMA Super-Modified champion and has won TQ races indoors. The entries received through late October are from eight different states (PA, VT, and NY CT, NJ. NH, MA, DE) and Ontario in Canada.
Modified Stock car drivers are well represented from among the early entries. Among them is Earl Paules of Kunkletown, Pa., a standout at Mahoning Valley (PA) Speedway on asphalt and Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., who has equally adept on pavement and dirt track Modified racing in his career. Like Lichty, Rudolph has been among the Indoor TQ Midget victors.
Fans who attended the first Sun Bank Center racing weekend, named “The Battle of Trenton”, in February of this year, will want to make their advance order race tickets early to obtain the best seats available. The fast TQ Midgets are once again the headline class.
For the first time ever a special “combo” ticket will be available giving attendees the option to purchase tickets to both nights of racing at a discounted price. As an added bonus those who purchase the combo will also receive access to a special Fanfest on Saturday night before the races.
“Our Fanfest in Atlantic City is immensely popular and we wanted to bring that experience to our loyal fans in Trenton,” stated promoter Len Sammons. “By offering the combo ticket we are able to reward attendees who attend both nights of racing with this added bonus and a discount at the same time. It also will allow us to control the number of people at the Fanfest.”
The Trenton race comes after a successful roll out event last February. Each night of racing will feature qualifying races leading up to the main event, with only 24 cars competing on the tight 1/10-mile concrete oval.
Five weeks later, Atlantic City’s historic Boardwalk Hall will be the site of the annual Gamblers Classic. Auto racing inside Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City first began in 1938 when a series of Midget car races was held during the fall of that year. NAPA AUTO PARTS is once again the title sponsor the entire Atlantic City Indoor Race weekend.
In 2003, Len Sammons, publisher of Area Auto Racing News, perceived a need for and a value in resurrecting the Atlantic City Indoor racing traditions. Support divisions since 2003 include: Legends Cars, Slingshots, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts.