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Saturday, July 31, 2010 12:00:00 AM STEVE BUCKWALTER PICKS UP HIS SEVENTH WIN OF THE SEASON AT Dusty Heistand took the early lead from his pole starting position and was followed by Tracy Readinger. Rookies, Tim Buckwalter and Alex Bright joined the fray for the second spot with Readinger. On the 11th lap Buckwalter, who has been battling some engine woes, took the lead from Heistand. Coming through the pack like a pair of scalded cats, were Steve Buckwalter and Ryan Smith. At one point, Buckwalter who was racing the bottom groove, hit the berm in the third turn and bicycled out of control allowing Smith to just barely get by. I was going over S. Buckwalter said later. I turned right and it came back down on four wheels real hard. It knocked my helmet down over my eyes so I was trying to drive with one hand and pull my helmet up so I could see. When asked how close he was to hitting Buckwalter, Smith held his fingers inches apart. Buckwalter was able to get back around Smith and passed Heistand for second on the 12th lap, before a caution came out for a tangle between Readinger and Brett Arndt on the frontstretch. When racing resumed cousins Steve and Tim Buckwalter put on a side by side show for the packed house. Tim running high and Steve running low before Steve took the lead on lap 16. “I felt bad for Timmy,” said S. Buckwalter in Victory Lane, “He was running a hell of a race. It just looked like he was starting to get a little loose.” “Once I got my nose under him I knew if I was patient enough he couldn’t get enough grip to get back by me so I stayed there.” Ryan Smith, after a tough battle with Tim Buckwalter finished in the runner-up position while T. Buckwalter was able to hold off high flying Drew Heistand for third. Alex Bright rounded out the top five. Completing the top 10 were Dusty Heistand, Nick Wean, Steve Drevicki, Trevor Kobylarz, and Frank Polimeda. Steve Buckwalter, Tim Buckwalter, and Brett Arndt won the heats. WESTERN PA NOTES Car counts were 30 for Clinton County, 26 for Mercer Raceway Park. New cars were Bobby Jackson from Detroit, MI and Jacob Wilson from Crawfordsville, IN. Both drivers race primarily on pavement. Wilson was running the car that Dave Blaney drove to victory in the Chili Bowl in 1993. Wilson picked up the $100 bonus for the top stock block motor from longtime Mercer Raceway Park friend Gene Steele of western Ohio. Alex Bright got some serious airtime at Clinton County after tangling with PJ Gargiulo in the second turn. Bright was able to make repairs and made the trip to Mercer, finishing fifth. Steve Bull had a rough night at Clinton County, getting into a warmup tangle and then flipping in his heat race. Trevor Kobylarz was back in his number 49 at Mercer, after relinquishing the seat for a few races to his dad Bryan. Joe Butera was happy to get back to Mercer after spending several years there racing a 410 Sprint Car. After racing just seven laps of the feature at Clinton County, the race was halted due to a strict curfew. ARDC will return to the Lock Haven, PA area oval at a later date to complete the race and run another complete show. Steve Lenig and Bruce Buckwalter Jr. displayed their cars for the fans at Clinton County. The Vintage Auto Racing Club had a nice static display of vintage cars at Mercer. At intermission the cars took a few laps, giving the fans an idea of racing from yesteryear. ARDC MIDGETS MERCER RACEWAY PARK JULY 31, 2010 25 laps: (26 ENTRIES) (1) 0 STEVE BUCKWALTER (2) 34 Ryan Smith (3) 52 Tim Buckwalter (4) 12 Drew Heistand (5) 77 Alex Bright (6) 6 Dusty Heistand (7) 78 Nick Wean (8) 19 Steve Drevicki (9) 49 Trevor Kobylarz (10) 44 Frank Polimeda (11) 25 Chris Zrinski (12) 83 Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. (13) 11 Eric Heydenreich (14) 55 Steve Craig (15) 9 Steve Lenig (16) 10 Jacob Wilson (17) 31 Joe Butera (18) 91 Donnie Trent (19) 4 Jeff Furlong (20) 17 Donnie Hoffman (21) 57b Johnny Heydenreich (22) 20 Carey Becker (23) 2T Tracy Readinger (24) 46 Brett Arndt (25) 43 Bobby Jackson (26) 16 Dave Shirk ARDC TO RETURN TO CLINTON COUTY RACEWAY ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND FOR TWIN TWENTY FIVE LAP FEATURES With a full field of 45 ASCS Patriot / 410 Sprint Cars and 30 ARDC Midgets as well as a full field of Pro Stocks, time ran short and only seven laps of the scheduled 25 were able to be completed in the ARDC feature before the race was stopped. A second complete program of Midgets will also be on the Clinton County card that evening,giving the fans a Twin Twenty Five program. RESTART LINEUP (7 OF 25 LAPS COMPLETE) (1)6 Dusty Heistand, (2) 9 Steve Lenig, (3) 12 Drew Heistand, (4) 34 Ryan Smith, (5) 25 Chris Zrinski, (6) 19 Steve Drevicki, (7) 78 Nick Wean, (8) 20 Carey Becker, (9) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., (10) 55 Steve Craig, (11) 91 Donnie Trent, (12) 46 Brett Arndt, (13) 44 Frank Polimeda, (14) 57b John Heydenreich, (15) 4 Jeff Furlong, (16) 51 PJ Gargiulo, (17) 10 Jacob Wilson, (18) 31 Joe Butera, (19) 99 Scott Zipp, (20) 0 Steve Buckwalter, (21) 01 Steve Bull, (22) 52 Tim Buckwalter, (23) 11 Eric Heydenreich, (24) 16 Dave Shirk, (25) 2T Tracy Readinger, (26) 77 Alex Bright Saturday, July 10, 2010 12:00:00 AM RYAN SMITH AND BRUCE BUCKWALTER JR. GRAB VICTORIES AT WILLIAMS GROVE ON TOPLESS NIGHT The 20 lap nightcap for the Wingless Midgets looked like it would have a Cinderella story finish for 24-3/4 laps but a late race caution and run to the checkers gave Bruce Buckwalter Jr. his first win of the season. In the first ARDC feature, which was a holdover after their last visit on May 8th, started with Andrew Hannula grabbing the lead from the outside pole position. Hannula looked stout but all eyes were on a couple of drivers who started deep in the field and charged quickly to the front. Moving into second after the first lap was 10th starting Drew Heistand followed by polesitter, Steve Craig and eighth starting Ryan Smith. Smith was able to get by Craig and was dicing for second with Heistand as Hannula was able to drive away. Smith kept tremendous pressure on Heistand when he bobbled in the second turn and gave Smith a lane into second spot. Heistand followed Smith to Hannulas’ rear bumper and on the 16th go-round, Smith passed for the lead on the high side of turn four. Heistand followed around Hannula as did point leader Steve Buckwalter. Smith held the point for the final four circuits over Heistand to pickup his second ARDC Midget win of the season. Finishing a close second was Drew Heistand followed by Steve Buckwalter, Frank Polimeda and Eric Heydenreich. The second feature got underway with Steve Lenig bolting into the lead from his outside starting position. Lenig led the first two laps when rookie, Steve Bull, who had started fourth, ducked under Lenig in the second turn, for the lead. The first of six cautions slowed the field on the fourth lap and on the restart, another rookie, Alex Bright got by Lenig for second, putting two newcomers in front of the pack. The two youngsters held sway over the rest of the field until Bright was forced to the pits under yellow with a flat right rear tire. This moved Lenig, back into second with Bruce Buckwalter Jr. on his tail. Buckwalter Jr. was able to get by Lenig on the ensuing lap with a pass off of the second turn and took off after Bull. With Buckwalter Jr’s brakes fading Bull was able to again pull to a comfortable lead and had a 15 car gap coming off the fourth turn on the final lap, ready to take the checkered flag, when the yellow flag came out for a car spinning in turn two. On the restart Bull’s engine stuttered because of low fuel and this allowed Buckwalter Jr. and Nick Wean to draw even as the three passed under the flag stand three wide. Buckwalter Jr. was able to secure the lead going into one and was able to ward off a fast closing Drew Heistand for the win. “I come here every Friday with Steve (Cousin Steve Buckwalter, who races 410 Sprint Cars at Williams Grove) and I watch the guys get around and it really helped” said Buckwalter Jr. in victory lane. “We have a victory at Dixieland (speedway in North Carolina) and now we have one in Pennsylvania.” Finishing third was Wean with PJ Gargiulo fourth and Steve Buckwalter rounding out the top five. Heat race winners for the 26 Midgets were, PJ Gargiulo, Drew Heistand and Steve Buckwalter. NOTES: Quote of the evening “I had to keep looking; I thought it was Ray Bull in the 01.” Referring to the run by Bull’s nephew, rookie Steve Bull in the second feature. Ray Bull was the ARDC Champion from 2000 until 2005. USAC Midget 1998 Rookie of the Year, Bryan Stanfill, was scheduled to race Andrew Hannulas’ car but moved into Chris Zrinski’s Midget when Hannula had engine problems in the first feature. Likewise Zrinski’s car had problems and Stanfill was done for the evening. Hannula has moved to Indiana and will be competing in the POWRI Midget series. Parker Evans and Justin Grosz, both of whom, just recently came back after taking a few races off because of High School graduation, will cut their seasons short to attend college. Evans will attend and play football at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY while Grosz will become a Pittsburgh Panther. Bull was not the only car to run out of fuel in the second feature. Ryan Smith also ran low and missed a top five finish. ARDC honored the memory of Joe Ferrel with the missing man formation at the start of the second feature. Ferrel, who passed away Saturday morning, was a former car owner with ARDC and a big supporter of racing at Williams Grove. WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY JULY 10,2010 ARDC MIDGETS 20 LAPS (Makeup Feature from 5-8-10) 1) 34 Ryan Smith, 2) 12 Drew Heistand, 3) 0 Steve Buckwalter, 4) 44 Frank Polimeda, 5) 11 Eric Heydenreich, 6) 89 Andrew Hannula, 7) 78 Nick Wean, 8) 16 Dave Shirk, 9)77 Alex Bright, 10) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 11) 55 Steve Craig, 12) 46 Brett Arndt, 13) 91 Donnie Trent, 14) 2 Tracy Readinger, 15) 4 Jeff Furlong, 16) 19 Steve Drevicki 17) 39 Justin Grosz, 18) 17 Donnie Hoffman, 19) 9 Steve Lenig, 20) 01 Steve Bull, 21) 51 PJ Gargiulo, 22) 52 Tim Buckwalter, 23) 25 Chris Zrinski, DNS 61 Parker Evans WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY JULY 10,2010 ARDC MIDGETS 20 LAPS (Regular Feature) 1) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 2) 12 Drew Heistand, 3) 78 Nick Wean, 4) 51 PJ Gargiulo, 5) 0 Steve Buckwalter, 6) 19 Steve Drevicki, 7) 9 Steve Lenig, 8) 44 Frank Polimeda, 9) 77 Alex Bright, 10) 4 Jeff Furlong, 11) 91 Donnie Trent, 12) 34 Ryan Smith, 13) 01 Steve Bull, 14) 46 Brett Arndt, 15) 17 Donnie Hoffman, 16) 39 Justin Grosz, 17) 6 Dusty Heistand, 18) 11 Eric Heydenreich, 19) 55 Steve Craig, 20) 16 Dave Shirk, 21) 52 Tim Buckwalter, 22) 53 Randy Reid 23) 2T Tracy Readinger, DNS 25 Bryan Stanfill, 61 Parker Evans Friday, July 02, 2010 12:00:00 AM STEVE BUCKWALTER RETURNS TO PENNSYLVANIA AND HIS WINNING WAYS AT CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA SPEEDWAY The last time Steve Buckwalter raced with the ARDC at Susquehanna Speedway he won the feature. Buckwalter then headed to Indiana to compete in the USAC Midget Speedweek where he added his name to a short but distinguished list of Pennsylvania racers to beat the USAC guys in any division, when he won at Gas City Speedway. At the start of the feature, Trevor Kobylarz drove into the lead from his pole starting spot and was followed closely by Dave Shirk. Third starting P.J. Gargiulo initially dropped back but started an impressive charge to the front and made a neat pass of Kobylarz as the two came off the fourth turn. Unfortunate for Gargiulo was that as he was making the pass the yellow flag was unfurled and he was returned to the runner-up spot for the restart. Gargiulo quickly retook control on the restart as he dove under Kobylarz in the second turn and drove down the backstretch with the lead. Following Gargiulo to the front was 13th starting Steve Buckwalter who grabbed second from Kobylarz on the next lap. Gargiulo looked strong but on the seventh lap, drove too hard into the first turn, slid up the track and for a time was running in the grass. This gave Buckwalter a chance to take a lead. For a time it looked as if Buckwalter would win easily but a lap 16 yellow put Drew Heistand on his nerf bar. Heistand who started ninth made a steady drive through the field and on the restart put a cool slider on Buckwalter going into the first turn. Heistand was completely in front of Buckwalter but Steve turned left, dove back under Drew and retook the lead. “Yeah, I’ll tell ya I wasn’t even ready for it, I knew he got that new Esslinger motor and they run so much more gear then these push rod engines, so they get real good starts so the second restart I picked up the pace a lot sooner.” Buckwalter, later stated. A late race caution set up a green white checked situation but Buckwalter was able to hold on for his sixth win of the season. After struggling in his heat race Buckwalter said, “I felt skeptical after the heat, we just couldn’t get a hold of the track but whatever he did to it, it really helped. They ran that top in and that gave us multiple grooves and we used that to our advantage.” Finishing up, in a close runner up position, was Bridgeport, NJ winner Ryan Smith, who because of handicapping, started 15th and took advantage of the late race caution to get by Heistand. Finishing in fourth was Eric Heydenreich while Brett Arndt was fifth. Heat races for the 26 Midgets went to, PJ Gargiulo, Dave Shirk and Ryan Smith. NOTES: Parker Evans and Justin Grosz took a few races off as both recently graduated from high school. Both drivers are planning to compete through early August before heading off to college. Steve Buckwalter talking about his win at Gas City over the USAC Midgets said, “I was glad to do it for the Pennsylvania fans and the ARDC. We’re gaining a lot more respect out there. We went out there five years ago and they pretty much laughed at us but now they know we aren’t there to play we’re there to win.” Joe Butera who hails from Wampum in Western PA said the last time he raced at Central PA Speedway was in a 410 Sprint Car in an All Star race. His night ended early with engine woes. After having problems in warm-ups, Steve Drevicki jumped into teammate, Greg Fitzpatricks’ #28 for the rest of the evening. The nickname of Central Pennsylvania Speedway is the Big Bear and it has some ferocious claws, especially in the first turn. In warm-ups Trevor Kobylarz executed a series of flips. Later in the evening, PJ Gargiulo, Steve Lenig and Chris Zrinski also got clawed but not quite as bad as Kobylarz. ARDC MIDGET RESULTS 7-2-2010 CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA SPEEDWAY 1) 0 Steve Buckwalter, 2) 34 Ryan Smith, 3) 12 Drew Heistand, 4) 11 Eric Heydenreich, 5) 46 Brett Arndt, 6) 16 Dave Shirk, 7) 77 Alex Bright, 8) 2T Tracy Readinger, 9) 44 Frank Polimeda, 10) 61 Parker Evans, 11) 25 Chris Zrinski, 12) 28 Steve Drevicki, 13) 20 Carey Becker, 14) 6 Dusty Heistand, 15) 55 Steve Craig, 16) 9 Steve Lenig, 17) 31 Joe Butera, 18) 01 Steve Bull, 19) 17 Donnie Hoffman, 20) 49 Trevor Kobylarz, 21) 39 Justin Grosz, 22) 51 PJ Gargiulo, 23) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 24) 57 Jason Rice, 25) 26 Stephanie Stevens. Saturday, June 19, 2010 12:00:00 AM Smith, who is driving this year for Karen and Jerry Steward from Berwick, PA spent the week in Indiana, racing in the USAC Midget Speedweek. After racing on Thursday evening the team towed back East to prepare for Bridgeport. The 25 lap feature got started with Donnie Trent grabbing the lead from his outside pole starting position. Trent who was driving an entrant from the Two Dogs Racing team led Chris Zrinski for the first lap and was able to lead for the first nine laps when the red flag was brought out for a 10 car pileup in the fourth turn that blocked the track. While Trent was able to hold the lead the race for second between the Ryan’s was raging with Ryan Watt running second and Ryan Smith in third. With only one more lap in the books after the restart, Trevor Kobylarz, became a victim of circumstances, when he flipped his racer in the fourth turn and collected 3 cars. Kobylarz was OK but the same could not be said for his car. Trent was again able to hold the lead but when the field was again slowed by caution on lap 11. Ryan Smith, who on the previous lap wrestled second from Ryan Watt was on Trents’ rear nerf bar and took to the high side of the track on the restart to grab the lead. “I saw all the grip up there and it stuck everytime.” Smith said in victory lane. Smith was able to lead the rest of the way despite three more cautions, slowing the action before the race was completed. “Yeah I was having a ball there and I didn’t want to see a caution.” “I thought I might run out of fuel there.” “It was like a marathon.” Said Smith, who picked up his first Midget triumph of the season. Finishing in second was Ryan Watt, who like Smith, finished second, the week before on the big track but in a modified. “Yeah it was a pretty tough battle there. The track was pretty good, it was a little slick on the bottom and you’d slide up. It depended on what line you had. Normally it’s three wide racing and a lot of fun.” Said Watt, just moments before jumping back into his Modified. Third through fifth place was last years Bridgeport winner, Bruce Buckwalter Jr., last years club champion, Frank Polimeda and the early leader, Donnie Trent. Heat races for the 21 Midgets in attendance went to Ryan Watt, Donnie Trent and Bruce Buckwalter Jr. No consolation was needed. NOTES: The July 4th race at Georgetown, DE has been postponed. Trevor Kobylarz was a winner at Kutztown Speedway on Wednesday in his 270 Micro. Point leader Steve Buckwalter was absent as he was in Indiana competing in the USAC Midget Speedweeks where he won the opening night feature at Gas City. Billy Pauch Jr. and Ryan Smith, likewise were in Indiana but returned home for the weekends action. Bruce Buckwalter Jr, Frank Polimeda, Stephanie Stephens, Alex Bright and PJ Gargiulo signed autographs before the start of the feature. Chris Zrinski withdrew from the feature after being involved in the turn 4 pileup. Zrinski was pitted next to Steve Lenig’s, Nye’s Body Shop crew, who helped with some quick repairs, enabling Zrinski to return to action. Zrinski beat Lenig by one spot. PJ Gargiulo who usually spends hours on the road from his Morton, PA home had an eight minute drive to Bridgeport. Gargiulo, whose family, friends and fans filled a skybox for the evening, had a short evening after suffering front end damage. Nick Wean, who was a two time Micro champ on the Bridgeport Quarter Mile, was not able to start the feature after a heat race mishap. ARDC FEATURE, 25 LAPS, BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY JUNE 19, 2010 1) 34 Ryan Smith, 2) Ryan Watt, 3) 83 Bruce Buckwalter, 4) 44 Frank Polimeda, 5) 4 Donnie Trent, 6) 26 Stephanie Stephens, 7) 46 Brett Arndt, 8) 12 Drew Heistand, 9) 19 Steve Drevicki, 10) 11 Eric Heydenreich, 11) 25 Chris Zrinski, 12) 9 Steve Lenig, 13) 17 Donnie Hoffman, 14) 99 Scott Zipp, 15) 77 Alex Bright, 16) 52 Tim Buckwalter, 17) 84 Jim Cammock, 18) 51 PJ Gargiulo, 19) 16 Dave Shirk, 20) 49 Trevor Kobylarz, DNS 78 Nick Wean, Sunday, June 13, 2010 STEVE BUCKWALTER PICKS UP HIS FIFTH WIN OF THE SEASON SUNDAY AT SUSQUEHANNA SPEEDWAY With the handicapping system used by ARDC, you know that the previous race winner and points leaders will start deep in the pack and will have to work hard for every position but on Sunday night it looked for a while, like a rookie front row starter, might pick up his first midget win. Brad Cox, who moved from Australia to race bolted from his outside front row starting spot into the lead at the drop of the green flag. Brett Arndt, who sat on the pole, gave Cox all he could handle early on and never let the youngster open up any kind of a lead. Cox was able to stay on the point through a lap five yellow and a lap six red flag that was thrown when a seven car pileup blocked the track. Drivers involved in the pileup were Stephanie Stevens, Dusty Heistand, Steve Bull, Steve Drevicki, Jeff Halligan, Scott Zipp and Ryan Watt. On lap 10 Arndt drifted high into the second turn and open the door for last years champ Frank Polimeda and current point leader, Steve Buckwalter to get by. This allowed Steve Lenig to close the gap and an exciting five car race for the top spot ensued for several laps. A five car pileup in the first and second turns again brought out the yellow on lap 13. With cars and wreckers on the speedway the field had to find a way to snake through the accident scene and Cox had to bring his car to a stop. After being restarted, Cox was put back on the point because of the situation. With four to go, Buckwalter, who had been dogging Polimeda without success took to the high side and was able to get by and used the same move to get around Cox, for the lead. Polimeda followed Buckwalter past Cox to grab the second spot. Buckwalter had to survive one more yellow before holding off Polimeda to claim his fifth win of the season. Finishing behind Buckwalter and Polimeda was Cox, 11th starting Drew Heistand, and Brett Arndt. Sixth through tenth went to Steve Lenig, Ryan Smith, Tim Buckwalter, Alex Bright and Dave Shirk. Heats for the 27 midgets in attendance went to Trevor Kobylarz, Ryan Smith and Brett Arndt. No consolation was needed. NOTES: Jeff Halligan who races 600 Micros at Kutztown and Clyde Martin Speedways was in the spare Two Dogs Racing #4 that has been driven in the past by Jeff Furlong. Brad Cox spent last week at Hickory Speedway in North Carolina testing a NASCAR Late Model for Marcus Ambrose. Cox will be returning for some more track time. Ryan Watt and Ryan Smith were busy at Bridgeport Speedway Saturday night. Both drivers registered 2nd place finishes. Watt in the Modifieds where he is also second in points and Smith in the Tri-State Racesaver Sprints. Drew Heistand had a shiny new Esslinger motor under the hood. Greg Fitzpatrick spent a busy week rebuilding his car after taking a wild ride at Lincoln last week. ARDC MIDGET RESULTS SUSQUEHANNA SPEEDWAY 6-13-2010 1) 0 Steve Buckwalter, 2) 44 Frank Polimeda, 3) 94 Brad Cox, 4) 12 Drew Heistand, 5) 46 Brett Arndt, 6) 9 Steve Lenig, 7) 34 Ryan Smith, 8) 52 Tim Buckwlter, 9) 77 Alex Bright, 10) 16 Dave Shirk, 11) 51 PJ Gargiulo, 12) 78 Nick Wean, 13) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 14) 11 Eric Heydenreich, 15) 19 Steve Drevicki, 16) 26 Stephanie Stevens, 17) 75 Ryan Watt, 18) 01 Steve Bull, 19) 6 Dusty Heistand, 20) 55 Steve Craig, 21) 4 Jeff Halligan, 22) 49 Trevor Kobylarz, 23) 99 Scott Zipp, 24) 25 Chris Zrinski, 25) 28 Greg Fitzpatrick, DNS 26) 84 Jimmy Cammock, DNQ 91 Donnie Trent Wednesday, June 02, 2010 12:00:00 AM ERIC HEYDENREICH PICKS UP HIS FIRST ARDC WIN OF THE SEASON ON NIGHT TWO OF THE EASTERN STORM DRIVERS CHALLENGE At the drop of the green it was “Slick” Nick Wean of Phillipsburg, NJ taking the lead. Wean, who finished third in ARDC’s last visit to Lincoln, was at times able to pull out to a comfortable lead. Behind Wean a battle between, Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Royersford, PA, Mike Miller of Reading, PA and Dusty Heistand of Manheim, PA, who the night before picked up the checkered flag in the non-winners feature, was raging. When a yellow flag bunched the field on lap 11 Eric Heydenreich and Grandview winner, Steve Buckwalter had joined the battle. Heydenreich who started, 19th after having to qualify through the consolation took to the high side to get past Buckwalter Jr. and Wean. He was closely followed by Steve Buckwalter who started to apply pressure. The top two started to separate from the rest of the pack but it was Heydenreich, who was able to pull away from Buckwalter in the later stages, driving to his first win of the season. “Buckwalter’s the man to beat and I just passed him, I don’t know what he was doing, he better pick up his game a little bit I guess.” Said Heydenreich, in jest about Buckwalter, who had won the previous two races. In victory lane Heydenreich dedicated the win to his crew chief. “I don’t know what to tell Chad, he’s pretty much my best friend, we wouldn’t have made probably more than five laps and the bolts would have come out of the brake rotor. He just went over them one last time before we went out on the track, so this one’s for him.” “I called my cousin John [Heydenreich] and he told us what to do but I didn’t do it so he might not want to talk to me again.” Heydenreich’s margin of victory was 3 seconds over Steve Buckwater, Bruce Buckwalter Jr. was third, followed by Nick Wean and Dusty Heistand. Heat races went to rookie Alex Bright, Nick Wean and Bruce Buckwalter Jr. Heydenreich won the consolation. NOTES: The only member of Heydenreichs crew not in victory lane was his pet basset hound Stella. After blowing an engine the night before at Grandview, Frank Polimeda swapped engines and managed one hour of sleep before heading to Lincoln. Trevor Kobylarz who is a junior at Exeter Township HS took the day off from school to prep his car. Tracy Readinger qualified through the consolation but was not able to start. Dave Shirk was the first alternate. Andrew Hannula who had problems at Grandview was a half hour from the speedway when the heat races started. He made it in time for the third heat. Odenton, MD resident Randy Reid was racing as close to his home as he will get this year. After a third place run at Penn Can, 15 year old Brad Cox from Australia failed to make the feature two times in a row. Greg Fitzpatrick flipped in turn two in warmups. It was just his third time behind the wheel of a Midget. LINCOLN SPEEDWAY ARDC MIDGET FEATURE 25 LAPS A June 2, 2010 (34 Entries) 1. 11 Eric Heydenreich, 2. 0 Steve Buckwalter, 3. 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 4. 78 Nick Wean, 5. 6 Dusty Heistand, 6. 19 Steve Drevicki, 7. 12 Drew Heistand, 8. 44 Frank Polimeda, 9. 54 Billy Pauch Jr. 10. 75 Ryan Watt, 11. 9 Steve Lenig, 12. 49 Trevor Kobylarz, 13. 84 Jimmy Cammock, 14. 51 PJ Gargiulo, 15. 77 Alex Bright, 16. 34 Ryan Smith, 17. 55 Steve Craig, 18. 26 Stephanie Stevens, 19. 16 Dave Shirk, 20. 57 Jason Rice, 21. 89 Andrew Hannula, 22. 1 Mike Miller, 23. 52 Tim Buckwalter, 24. 20 Carey Becker, 25. 91 Donnie Trent, 26. 46 Brett Arndt, DNS 2 Tracy Readinger, DNQ 01 Steve Bull, 31 Joe Butera, 4 Jeff Furlong, 17 Donnie Hoffman, 53 Randy Reid. Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:00:00 AM STEVE BUCKWALTER MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW AS THE USAC, ARDC EASTERN STORM DRIVERS CHALLENGE OPENS AT GRANDVIEW Rookie Steve Drevicki made the initial start a bit too exciting as he spun his DeGre Engineering #19 in the middle of the backstretch in front of most of the field. Restart number 2 was not much more successful as Donnie Trent and Mike Miller got together in the fourth turn. Start number 3, proved to be the charm as Jimmy Cammock bolted into the early lead from the pole position. Cammock was followed by Steve Craig and PJ Gargiulo. Just one lap into the feature the yellow came out again as two time feature winner Billy Pauch Jr. looped his Burkes Trucking Midget. By lap three last years club champion, Frank Polimeda, pulled into the lead. Behind Polimeda some great action developed between, Drew Heistand, Cammock and rookie Alex Bright who pulled into second. Steve Buckwalter, who had won the previous race at Penn Can and started 15th was on the move and by lap 16 was on Polimeda’s nerf bar. On the next lap Buckwalter dove low going into the first turn and passed Polimeda for the lead only to have Frank return the favor in three and four to retake the lead. On lap 19 Buckwalter would retake the lead, for good. “Things keep getting tougher, I got into second there, I didn’t think I was going to get him.” Said Buckwalter. “Frank was doing a great job of keeping it down, we came up on that lapped car and figured if I could get beside him I could kinda use that lapped car as a pick and it worked out well.” Polimeda, who has struggled in the early season, eventually dropped out on lap 21 with engine whoa’s. Finishing second behind his cousin was rookie Tim Buckwalter, followed by Tracy Readinger, PJ Gargiulo and Alex Bright. Heat races were won by Tracy Readinger, Steve Buckwalter and PJ Gargiulo. Ryan Smith won the consolation. After the victory lane ceremonies a 12 lap non winners race was held with Dusty Heistand leading the entire distance. Finishing second was Trevor Kobylarz and Ryan Watt in third. GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY ARDC MIDGET FEATURE 25 LAPS June 1, 2010 (34 ENTRIES) 1. 0 Steve Buckwalter, 2. 52 Tim Buckwalter, 3. 2 Tracy Readinger, 4. 51 PJ Gargiulo, 5. 77 Alex Bright, 6. 11 Eric Heydenreich, 7. 34 Ryan Smith, 8. 34 Ryan Watt, 9. 6 Dusty Heistand, 10. 1 Mike Miller, 11. 99 Lou Cicconi, 12. 26 Stephanie Stephens, 13. 54 Billy Pauch Jr., 14. 84 Jimmy Cammock, 15. 20 Carey Becker, 16. 19 Steve Drevicki, 17. 55 Steve Craig, 18. 57 Jason Rice, 19. 91 Donnie Trent, 20. 64 Brett Conkling, DNF 21. 44 Frank Polimeda, 22. 78 Nick Wean, 23. Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 24. 46 Brett Arndt, 25. 12 Drew Heistand 26. 49 Trevor Kobylarz DNQ 17 Donnie Hoffman, 53 Randy Reid, 9 Steve Lenig, 89 Andrew Hannula, 25 Chris Zrinski, 94 Brad Cox, 28 Greg Fitzpatrick, 01 Steve Bull, 31 Joe Butera. HEATS. Steve Buckwalter, Tracy Readinger, PJ Gargiulo. CONSOLATION. Ryan Smith GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY ARDC MIDGET NON-WINNERS FEATURE 12 LAPS June 1, 2010 (11 ENTRIES) 1. 6 Dusty Heistand, 2. 49 Trevor Kobylarz, 3. 75 Ryan Watt, 4. 26 Stephanie Stevens, 5. 25, Andrew Hannula, 6. 57 Jason Rice, 7. 9 Steve Craig, 8. 17 Donnie Hoffman, 9. 53 Randy Reid, DNS 10. 84 Jim Cammock, 20 Carey Becker Saturday, May 15, 2010 At the start of the feature, before most of the field even crossed the Start Finish Line, a flip by Mike Miller stopped the action. Also involved were Point Leader, Steve Buckwalter, who had to be towed to the pits and Steve Lenig who was able to continue with a severely bent shock. On the restart, Jason Rice as able to grab the lead from his pole starting position followed by Andrew Hannula and Trevor Kobylarz. Kobylarz, who is finishing up his junior year at Exeter High School near Reading, PA, traveled the low groove and was able to get by Rice for the lead. Kobylarz opened up a ten car advantage but saw his lead wiped out by a lap 11 caution. On the restart Kobylarz went back downstairs while Drew Heistand started to apply pressure on the high side. Meanwhile the 18th starting Billy Pauch Jr. slipped into third, also by running up at the rail. Pauch Jr. and Heistand were both able to get by Kobylarz and were running first and second when the yellow was unfurled again on lap 19. “ I was excited there for a while, I was stuck in traffic but hats off to Trevor and Drew there. I’ve known Trevor since he was a little kid and I hated to take it away from him but I just had a roll going on the top.” Pauch Jr. later admitted in victory lane. On the restart, Pauch Jr. was able to check out in his Burkes Trucking number 54 but right behind him Kobylarz and Heistand were entertaining the near capacity crowd, dueling for second. A caution on lap 22 slowed the field again but Pauch Jr. had the field covered as he led the final three laps, winning by 1.003 seconds over Kobylarz and Heistand. “I’ve gone 2 for 2 this year [in ARDC competition] and I can’t complain. I hope we can get them here in a few weeks when USAC’s here and hopefully I can get a wingless Sprint Car ride and really see how we can do it.” Pauch Jr. said. Finishing in fourth was Bruce Buckwalter Jr. while defending ARDC Champion Frank Polimeda finished fifth. Sixth through tenth were PJ Gargiulo, Eric Heydenreich, Tim Buckwalter, Brett Arndt and Tracy Readinger. Heat races for the 35 ARDC Midgets in attendance went to, Frank Polimeda, rookie Alex Bright and Donnie Trent. Steve Buckwalter won the consolation. NOTES: “Liquid” Lou Cicconi was in action in the Zipps #99. It was Cicconi’s first dirt track start in 18 years. Other new cars were, Brett Conkling from Westwood, NJ and former Western PA 410 Sprint Car driver, Joe Butera. Butera’s first ever Midget start was last December at the Bullring Nationals in Missouri. Ryan Smith will be racing in Newtown Iowa next weekend with the USAC Silver Crown cars. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. had the RAACE Foundation on his car and will be racing to raise money for them throughout the season along with other racing related charities. Donnie Hoffman flipped his Midget at the start of the first heat race. Results Grandview Speedway May 15, 2010 ARDC Midgets 35 Entries 1. Billy Pauch Jr., 2. Trevor Kobylarz, 3. Drew Heistand 4. Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 5. Frank Polimeda, 6. PJ Gargiulo, 7. Eric Heydenreich, 8. Tim Buckwalter, 9. Brett Arndt, 10. Tracy Readinger, 11. Stephanie Stephens, 12. Steve Lenig, 13. Jason Rice 14. Chris Zrinski DNF 15. Lou Cicconi, 16. Andrew Hannula, 17. Nick Wean, 18. Alex Bright, 19. Ryan Smith, 20. Dusty Heistand, 21. Donnie Trent, 22. Carey Becker, 23. Mike Miller, 24. Steve Buckwalter, DNS 25. Justin Grosz, 26. Dave Shirk, DNQ Steve Drevicki, Brad Cox, Jimmy Cammock, Steve Craig, Parker Evans, Brett Conkling, Steve Bull, Joe Butera,
Saturday, May 08, 2010 MOTHER NATURE HALTS ARDC AFTER HEAT RACES Heat races were won by, P.J. Gargiulo, Andrew Hannula and Steve Buckwalter, with Brett Arndt, taking the consolation. The feature race will be made up as part of a double header on Saturday July 10th when the ARDC returns to Williams Grove as part of Topless Night with the Super Sportsmen and 358 Late Models. ARDC returns to action next Saturday Night, May 15th, when they make their first of three visits to Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, PA. They will be part of the card that will also feature NASCAR Modifieds, NASCAR Late Models and SpeedSTERS. FEATURE LINEUP FOR JULY 10th MAKEUP RACE 1. 57-Jason Rice, 2. 55-Steve Craig 3. 89-Andrew Hannula 4. 91-Donnie Trent, 5. 51-PJ Gargiulo, 6. 49-Trevor Kobylarz , 7. 44-Frank Polimeda, 8. 16-Dave Shirk, 9. 2-Tracy Readinger, 10. 34-Ryan Smith, 11. 78-Nick Wean, 12. 12-Drew Heistand, 13. 11-Eric Heydenreich, 14. 0-Steve Buckwalter, 15. 1-Mike Miller, 16. 46-Brett Arndt, 17. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 18. 84-Jimmy Cammock, 19. 25-Chris Zrinski, 20. 94-Brad Cox, 21. 4-Jeff Furlong, 22. 52-Timmy Buckwalter, 23. 77-Alex Bright, 24. 01-Steve Bull. 15. 19-Steve Drevicki, 26. 61-Parker Evans DNQ 39-Justin Grosz, 9-Steve Lenig, 26-Stephanie Stephens, 6-Dusty Heistand Friday, April 30, 2010 On a beautiful Spring evening, the Wingless ARDC Midgets and the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions thrilled a near packed house to some tremendous Open Wheel Racing. At the start of the ARDC Midget feature, “Slick” Nick Wean of Phillipsburg, NJ jumped from his third starting position into the early lead over Oley, PA’s Tracy Readinger and Mohnton, PA speedster, Dave Shirk. Wean continued to lead until a third lap red flag stopped the action to clean up a fuel spill in the third turn. On the restart Wean again pulled away but was followed this time by a 10th place starting Steve Buckwalter. Buckwalter who had just crawled out of his 410 Sprint Car was able to duck underneath Readinger in turn two and followed Wean down the backstretch. Buckwalter, who admitted later in Victory Lane, “Yeah I’m pretty wore out.” Then blasted, by Wean, low on the frontstretch, on lap four. Buckwalter’s sizable lead was wiped out when the red again came out, this time for a wild flip down the backstretch by Brad Sweet, who was racing Joe Darrah’s midget. Sweet, who also competed in Kasey Kahne’s 410 sprint was unhurt in the incident. After the restart, Buckwalter was again able to pull out into a comfortable lead and was unaware of the torrid battle behind him between, Shirk, Ryan Smith, Frank Polimeda and a fast closing Eric Heydenreich Buckwalter took the checkered flag with a big lead over Wean and Heydenreich. “Yeah I’m tellin’ you my car works so well, my crew chief has it hooked up every time we hit the track.” “the chassis we use, we pretty much built it ourselves and that’s pretty cool , we’re getting It dialed in.” said Buckwalter. Finishing in fourth place was Readinger followed by Mike Miller who started 13th and was racing for the first time in two years. Rounding out the top ten were, Dave Shirk, Ryan Smith, Bruce Buckwalter Jr. Stephanie Stevens and Brett Arndt. Heats for the 32 midgets in attendance were won by Ryan Smith, Steve Buckwalter and Bruce Buckwalter Jr. with Frank Polimeda winning the consolation. NOTES: Johnny Heydenreich was in action as a teammate to Ryan Smith in Jerry Steward’s #3. Heydenreich is in the process of putting a car together to run in selective races with ARDC. Brad Sweet of Grass Valley, CA jumped into Joe Darrah’s #24 that was raced at the Chili Bowl by WoO Late Model , driver, Rick Eckert. Sweet then thrilled the fans with an exciting flip down the back straight stopping under the backstretch bridge. Australian teenage driver Brad Cox was in action for the first time, after breaking his left foot in a pre-season testing accident. Cox decided to race with the heavily bandage foot after a test and tune session at Susquehanna. Point leader Drew Heistand was running near the front until a left rear flat sent him to the pits. Besides, Cox, Sweet and Heydenreich first time drivers were, Mike Miller in the 1 and Steve Bull in the 01. ARDC MIDGET FEATURE WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY APRIL 30, 2010 (32 Entries) 0-Steve Buckwalter, 78-Nick Wean, 11-Eric Heydenreich, 2-Tracy Readinger, 1-Mike Miller, 16-Dave Shirk, 34-Ryan Smith, 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 26-Stephanie Stevens, 46-Brett Arndt, 44-Frank Polimeda, 52-Tim Buckwalter, 20-Carey Becker, 49-Trevor Kobylarz, 94-Brad Cox, 25-Chris Zrinski, 57-Jason Rice, 12-Drew Heistand, 3-John Heydenreich, 91-Donnie Trent, 75-Ryan Watt, 55-Steve Craig, 77-Alex Bright, 51-PJ Gargiulo, 24-Brad Sweet, 6-Dusty Heistand. DNQ 89-Andrew Hannula, 84-Jimmy Cammock, 01-Steve Bull, 17-Donnie Hoffman, 9-Steve Lenig
ARDC THRILLS THE SUSQUEHANNA SPEEDWAY PARK PACKED HOUSE WITH TWIN 20’S Not only did ARDC complete their first event of the season, they concluded the evening, finishing up some unfinished business from last year, making up the feature from October’s Candy Bowl Race. All eyes on the event were on returning ARDC Champion Frank Polimeda and 2010 Chili Bowl B-Main Qualifier Steve Buckwalter. While Polimeda struggled most of the evening with electrical problems, Buckwalter won his heat race in dominating fashion over Drew Heistand and PJ Gargiulo. Polimeda was able to qualify for the Feature through the Consolation, a race that was won by another familiar name to Northeast Racing fans, Billy Pauch Jr. Pauch, who was taken off of the speedway, hooked to the back of a wrecker, during his heat race, beat Stephanie Stevens to the Consolation Checkered Flag. The other heats were won by Ryan Smith over Bruce Buckwalter Jr. and Tracy Readinger and Donnie Trent over Trevor Kobylarz and Steve Lenig. At the start of the feature, Dusty Heistand exploded from his pole position starting spot, into the lead. Heistand was followed by Andrew Hannula, Steve Lenig , Gargiulo and Steve Buckwalter. ARDC delivered on their promise of three wide racing throughout the opening laps and even treated the fans to some incredible four wide racing as well. By lap seven Steve Buckwalter had picked his was into second place and dove low going into the first turn on the eighth lap to take the lead from Heistand. The lead was short lived as the yellow flag unfurled for a slowing car. On the restart, Buckwalter made a similar move and got similar results retaking the lead. The furious action continued as Buckwalter was able to stretch out his lead. Late in the race Billy Pauch Jr. wheeled his Burkes Trucking orange number 54 into second place. Everything looked to be going Buckwalters’ way, when another yellow flag slowed the field on the 19th lap. With just one lap to go, Pauch, Dusty Heistand, Lenig, Drew Heistand and Brett Arndt were now on his tail. Coming down for the restart green flag, Buckwalter got a strong start but going into the first turn, with the lead, his magneto momentarily shut off and the motor stuttered. With the leader suddenly slowing there was a big scramble not only to avoid contact but also for position. Buckwalter’s engine picked right back up but with the field so close behind he lost several positions, including the lead to Pauch, who lead the final three quarters of a lap for the win. Pauch, who started the feature in 17th spot was followed by Drew Heistand, who started 7th and 5th starting Steve Lenig. Rounding out the top ten were, Dusty Heistand, Brett Arndt, Ryan Watt, Eric Heydenreich, Steve Buckwalter, Trevor Kobylarz and Carey Becker. The second feature was the final race of the evening and the near capacity crowd stayed around to see if the excitement of the first feature would carry over into the makeup feature. At the drop of the green flag it looked as if the pole starter, Scott Zipp would take the lead but outside front row starter Drew Heistand, still flying high from his earlier second place finish, had other ideas. Heistand drove his number 12 racer deep into the first turn and drove down the backstretch with the early lead. Heistand was able to stretch his lead over 6th starting Carey Becker, when Steve Buckwalter, with his repaired magneto bolted into the second spot. Buckwalter kept chipping away at the lead and on lap15 overtook Heistand for the top spot. Buckwalter was not going to be denied and won the race by the length of the front straight over Frank Polimeda who clawed his way up to second place. Early race leader Heistand finished in third and Stephanie Stevens with a great run from the 18th starting spot finished fourth. Rounding out the top ten were Eric Heydenreich, Carey Becker, PJ Gargiulo, Trevor Kobylarz, Tracy Readinger and Dave Shirk. A post race inspection found a problem with Frank Polimeda’s #44 and he was disqualified. ARDC Feature #1 (4-11-10) 33 Entries 54-Billy Pauch Jr., 12-Drew Heistand, 9-Steve Lenig, 6-Dusty Heistand, 46-Brett Arndt, 75-Ryan Watt, 11-Eric Heydenreich, 0-Steve Buckwalter, 49-Trevor Kobylarz, 20-Carey Becker, 52-Tim Buckwalter, 44-Frank Polimeda, 25-Chris Zrinski, 51-PJ Gargiulo, 84-Jimmy Cammock, 89-Andrew Hannula, 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 34-Ryan Smith, 26-Stephanie Stephens, 16-Dave Shirk, 78-Nick Wean, 77-Alex Bright, 2- Tracy Readinger, 55-Steve Craig, 19-Steve Drevicki, 91-Donnie Trent DNQ 99-Scott Zipp, 53 Randy Reid, 39-Justin Grosz, 17-Donnie Hoffman, 61-Parker Evans, 38 Bob Goerner ARDC Makeup Feature #2 (4-11-10) 0-Steve Buckwalter, 12-Drew Heistand, 26-Stephanie Stevens, 11-Eric Heydenreich, 20-Carey Becker, 51-PJ Gargiulo, 49-Trevor Kobylarz, 2-Tracy Readinger, 16-Dave Shirk, 33-Steve Lenig 84-Jimmy Cammock, 46-Brett Arndt, 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 99-Scott Zipp, 6-Dusty Heistand, 17-Donnie Hoffman, 25-Chris Zrinski, DNS 89-Andrew Hannula, 53-Randy Reid, 38-Bob Goerner, 1-Brad Cox, 57-Jason Rice, 91-Donnie Trent, DISQ 44-Frank Polimeda ARDC STARTS THE SEASON WITH RAIN The Big Diamond Raceway, with rain in the forecast, decided to move the start time for racing activities from 4:30pm to 2:30pm on Sunday afternoon. That allowed all of the heats for both the Midgets and the Big Block Modifieds to be completed but with the Modified feature on the track and a steady mist of rain, it was decided, in the best interest of safety that the events would be postponed to a future date. When ARDC returns to Big Diamond on Sunday May 2nd, they will make up the feature as well as a complete second program as part of a double bill with the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champion Sprint Cars. Before the rains came, the 31 Wingless Midgets in attendance, were able to spin off three exciting heats and a consolation race. In the first heat, P.J. Gargiulo got a jump on returning champion, Frank Polimeda from his outside front row starting spot and went on to best runner-up Brett Arndt and Polimeda. The second heat saw Billy Pauch Jr., who was doubling up with both a Midget and Modified ride, win from his second starting position over, Justin Grosz and Chris Zrinski. The third heat was won by Steve Buckwalter, also from the outside pole over Dusty Heistand and Trevor Kobylarz. The consolation race was won by veteran Tracy Readinger over Stephanie Stevens and Carey Becker. ARDC swings back into action on Sunday April 11th at Susquehanna Speedway Park when they join the potent Central Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Cars in the Sprint Car Spring Classic. FEATURE LINEUP for MAY 2nd MAKEUP: 6 Dusty Heistand, 39 Justin Grosz, 44 Frank Polimeda, 0 Steve Buckwalter, 54 Billy Pauch Jr., 51 P.J. Gargiulo, 12 Drew Heistand, 89 Andrew Hannula, 49 Trevor Kobylarz, 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 11 Eric Heydenreich, 75 Ryan Watt, 25 Chris Zrinski, 34 Ryan Smith, 46 Brett Arndt, 84 Jimmy Cammock, 16 Dave Shirk, 2 Tracy Readinger, 26 Stephanie Stevens, 20 Carey Becker, 9 Steve Lenig, 38 Bobby Goerner, 52 Tim Buckwalter, 77 Alex Bright, 19 Steve Drevicki, 78 Ryan Osborne. DNQ : 17 Donnie Hoffman, 55 Steve Craig, 57 Jason Rice, 61 Parker Evans, 91 Donnie Trent
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