January 17-18 2003

Three Quarter Midget racing made a thundering return to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall early this winter. The last time midgets has seen the concrete at Boardwalk Hall was 1984. The indoor speed contest was a great success for the promoter Len Sammons. Rumor has it indoor racing will be back in 2004. The following is an excerpt from the official press release following the race:
(Photos are from video capture)

A near-capacity crowd watched Mackereth's flawless performance in the event, which was co-sponsored by Sunoco, Neptune Research and the Green Flag Driving Experience. Mackereth, who pocketed $2,000, controlled virtually the entire distance. He never looked back after inheriting the lead when another Canadian-reigning Can-Am champ Adam Walsh of Brantford, Ont.--bounced off the concrete track's inside tires and hit the outside wall in turn four while rolling toward a lap-two restart.
   Yet another driver from north of the border, however, did make the second-starting Mackereth earn his first-place prize money. Chasing Mackereth over the final 15 laps was Stewart Friesen of St. Catharines, Ont., a 19-year-old talent who made a steady charge forward from the 15th starting spot. Friesen made several bids for the lead in lapped traffic before settling for a solid second-place finish.
DIRT Modified star Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., finished third, making him the first driver under the checkered flag in a 600cc Micro-Sprint. He ran a brand-new car built by noted upstate New York Micro-Sprint constructor Gary King. Completing the top five was Craig Macy of Williamsville, N.Y., and Frank Polimeda of Fort Lee, N.J. A total of 10 caution flags slowed the rough-and-tumble race, with 14 of the
feature's 26 starters still running at the finish.

TQ Midget Feature Finish (40 laps): 1. Andy Mackereth, 2. Stewart Friesen, 3. Tim McCreadie, 4. Craig Macy, 5. Frank Polimeda, 6. Curt Michael, 7. Greg Furlong, 8. Jon Gambuti, 9. Jack Spence, 10. Bill Unglert, 11. Don Adams, 12. Tim Adams, 13. Jeff Riberdy, 14. Danny Sammons, 15. Lou Cicconi Jr., 16. Dan May, 17. Blaine Heimbach, 18. Wayne Turnbull, 19. Billy Vent, 20. Joey Payne, 21. Mike Roselli Jr., 22. Bob Cicconi, 23. Colin Turnbull, 24. Adam Walsh, 25. Jim Johnstone Jr., 26. Randy West.

Frank also landed a Legend ride with the Rochelle's. Frank qualified for the feature through his heat and started 6th in the field. That excellent position proved too good. With 10 laps in the books, two cars tangled in front of Frank. As he swerved to avoid the melee, he was tagged on the rear and forced into the temporary concrete retaining wall surrounding the speedway. The contact broke a tie rod end and Frank's bid for a win came to an end. Frank was upbeat after the crash and said,"The car was hooked up. If I could have gotten past that wreck, I'm sure we would have a top five finish tonight." Frank went on to add," I really appreciate the Rochelle's offering me this ride tonight, it's too bad we couldn't have finished 1-2. That's racin'."

Legends Car A-Main Finish (25 laps): 1. Craig Rochelle, 2. Jason Urso, 3. Tim Henry, 4. Paul Rochelle III, 5. Ronnie Dunstan, 6. Rudy Rinderer, 7. Mark Schaffer, 8. Ryan Steckel, 9. John Menzak, 10. Jim Baker, 11. Dennis Macri, 12. Frank Polimeda, 13. Bob Kern, 14. Tony Naglieri, 15. Mike Stufflet, 16. Jason Rochelle, 17. Chad Barney, 18. Dave Kuehner, 19. Rick Harring, 20. Ed Evans.