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Port Royal Finish
1. Steve Buckwalter 2. Trevor Kobylarz 3. Nick Wean 4.Brett Arndt 5. PJ Gargiulo 6. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 7. Alex Bright 8. Brenden Bright 9. Steven Drevicki 10. Billy Courtwright 11. Carey Becker 12. Kyle Lick (R) 13. Shawn Jackson 14. Tony DiMattia (R) 15. Jaime Speers (R) 16. Joe Butera 17. Jimmy Glenn 18. Steve Craig 19. Mark Gilmore 20. Ryan Greth 21. Jason Rice.
BUCKWALTER PICKS UP BACK TO BACK ARDC WINS
Steve Buckwalter came out of Williams Grove with his second ARDC Midget victory of the season just on week after winning the 2013 season opener.
Twenty-nine ARDC Midgets went to the post to earn a starting position in the twenty six car field for the twenty lap main event. Buckwalter's opening day win found him seated deep in the pack - starting 15th at the start of the race.
Polesitter, Brenden Bright, paced the field from wave of the green with PJ Gargiulo pressuring him all the way. A multi car tangle in turn four prevented the scoring of the first lap as Mark Gilmore, Nick Wean and Austin Burke retired from the race. A complete restart was called for and again, it was Bright who paced the field.
Bright, who was the winner of this race a year ago, began to put some distance between himself and the field by lap three. Reading, PA Steven Drevicki was on the move as he moved up to fourth on lap four. On lap six, Drevicki overtook PJ Gargiulo for third and Buckwalter moved up to fourth.
By half way, Buckwalter ran in third behind Bright and Carey Boyer. Boyer, who was racing an Elite Chassis car built by Buckwalter, lost the runner-up spot to Buckwalter on lap twelve. Before the lap was scored, Buckwalter had overtaken Bright for the lead.
As Buckwalter drove away from the field, the battle resumed for a spot in the top five. Drevicki took over second with four laps remaining. Tim Buckwalter moved up to third one lap later after starting from the 20th starting spot.
Ryan Greth took over fifth on lap eighteen and then moved by Bright to take the fourth spot.
With the checkered waving, it would be Steve Buckwalter for the second week in a row over Steven Drevicki, Tim Buckwalter, Ryan Greth and Brenden Bright.
Finish (20 laps) 1. Steve Buckwalter 2. Steven Drevicki 3. Tim Buckwalter 4. Ryan Greth 5. Brenden Bright 6. Carey Becker 7. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 8. Alex Bright 9. Shawn Jackson 10. Jimmy Glenn 11. Trevor Kobylarz 12. Steven Bull 13. PJ Gargiulo 14. Steve Craig 15. Jason Rice 16. Tony DiMattia 17. Jodie Spears 18. Kyle Lick 19. Greg Fitzpatrick 20. John Heydenreich 21. Drew Heistand 22. Brett Arndt 23. Mark Gilmore 24. Nick Wean 25. Austin Burke 26. Randy Reid
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IT'S A BUCKWALTER NIGHT AT THE NEW EGYPT SPEEDWAY
Steve Buckwalter Opens 2013 ARDC Season With a Win
"The Royersford Rocket", Steve Buckwalter, lived up to his name as he powered back from the rear of the field after a lap five caution to win the 2013 ARDC Opener at the New Egypt Speedway. It was Buckwalter's fifth win at the New Jersey speedplant.
Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. set the pace for the race from the drop of the green flag. B. Buckwalter, Jr. outgunned Brian Gilmore to take the lead. An early caution involved several of the top guns in the field as Shawn Jackson, Alex Bright, Trevor Kobylarz, Nick Wean and eventual winner Buckwalter, were all collected in a turn one incident. All cars were able to restart at the rear of the field.
Laps four and five were riddled with on track incidents. B. Buckwalter, Jr. held off the advances of Brian Gilmore on several occasions and started to put some distance between himself and the field after lap six. Ryan Greth, Steven Drevicki and Jimmy Glenn battled for top five spots as Steve Buckwalter raced his way back to the top ten.
Steve Buckwalter made his way through the top five and had moved into second by the half way mark, with Bruce Buckwalter, Jr now on his radar. The two cousins put on a show for the lead but the advantage went to Steve Buckwalter on lap thirteen.
The race was now on for third as Bright made his way back to the top five, moving into fourth ahead of Drevicki and then setting his sights on Greth for third.
Steve Buckwalter pulled away from the field as he drove to take the opening day checkered. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. finished second with breathing room over the battle for third. Bright grabbed the final podium spot from Greth as the field raced to the finish line. Drevicki crossed the line in fifth.
ARDC action resumes this Friday, April 26th at the Williams Grove Speedway.
Finish (20 laps): 1. Steve Buckwalter, 2. Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 3. Alex Bright, 4. Ryan Greth, 5. Steven Drevicki, 6. Nick Wean, 7. Jimmy Glenn, 8. Brian Gilmore, 9. Trevor Kobylarz, 10. Steve Craig, 11. Shawn Jackson, 12. Steven Bull, 13. Brett Arndt, 14. Mark Gilmore, 15. Billy Courtwright,16. P.J. Gargiulo, 17. Jason Rice, 18. Carey Becker, 19. Kyle Lick, 20. Tony DiMattia, 21. John Barnett, Jr.
DNS - Brenden Bright
-end-
THE 2013 ARDC SEASON HAS ARRIVED
ARDC Begins 74th Season of Competition
The long awaited start of the American Racing Drivers' Club (ARDC) for the 2013 season has finally arrived! The New Egypt Speedway will host the 2013 ARDC Season Opener tonight (April 20th) -- just the first of three appearances by ARDC at the New Egypt facility this season.
The winner of the 2012 season opener, Tim Buckwalter, was crowned as the ARDC Champion at season's end. Will tonight's winner share the same fate?
While Buckwalter pursues a full time commitment on the Modified circuit, there are plenty of race teams who are looking to add their names to the impressive list of ARDC champions! A new champion will be crowned at season's end - Who will it be??
Trevor Kobylarz, the twenty year old second generation driver from Birdsboro, PA finished second in driver points and captured the owner's title for Dyke & Carey Becker of R/T Racing in 2012. Kobylarz finished the season with two wins and eleven top five finishes in the nineteen events held. Brenden Bright, the 2011 ARDC Rookie of the Year, will pursue the title in 2013. Bright was a two time winner last season and will be looking to expand on that success this season. Steven Drevicki of Reading, PA will complete his college degree in just a few weeks and would like to add an ARDC Championship to his resume'. Drevicki was a feature winner in 2012. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. Brett Arndt, PJ Gargiulo and Mark Gilmore are all in search of the checkered flag that eluded them in 2012. Strong performances resulted in top ten finishes for these drivers in the Championship chase last season and they will all be looking to take on the challenge of 2013.
After joining the ARDC schedule late in 2012, Ryan Greth returns to the Karen & Jerry Steward owned midget to challenge for the season title. Greth came away with a second and third place finish with his limited schedule a year ago. For 2013, Greth will pilot one of the new Hyper midgets for ARDC competition.
Running a part time ARDC schedule, these drivers are a threat whenever they join the wingless midgets for a night of side by side and three wide racing. 2010 ARDC Champion, Steve Buckwalter, 2011 Champion, Drew Heistand as well as 2012 Champion, Tim Buckwalter are expected to compete in selected ARDC events. All three drivers know how to find Victory Lane and have demonstrated those skills successfully in seasons past.
Alex Bright returns from a winter of competition in Australia and New Zealand to compete with ARDC this season. Bright was the big winner last year with four ARDC wins to his credit - including the race run at the New Egypt Speedway.
Nick Wean finished third in points in 2012 with one win at the Countyline Speedway. Wean was the winner of the first Bob Hilbert Sportswear Award last season and will have child size T-shirts to distribute to young fans whenever he competes in 2013. Wean will pick and choose his events as the season plays out.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Brett Wanner of Shoemakersville, PA last season. Wanner picked up his first ARDC win at Winchester, VA and Wanner looks to improve upon his record in 2013 as do Brian Gilmore and Jimmy Glenn who were embroiled in a tight race for the Rookie honor in 2012. The new season finds new Rookie contenders as Austin Burke, John Barnett, Tony DiMattia and Kyle Lick have all thrown their hats into the ring for this honor.
The ARDC field will be marked by names that are rich in the club's 74 year history. Names like Bull, Heistand, Jackson, Heydenreich, Craig and Courtwright will continue to appear in ARDC lineups throughout the new season.
Current ARDC president, Greg Fitzpatrick plans to return to the cockpit this season as Jason Rice also makes a comeback to ARDC competition this season. Joe Butera of Wampum, PA and Randy Reid of Severn, MD continue to travel the longest distances to compete with ARDC.
Shane Penny hails from Nescopeck, PA and can be expected at various tracks throughout the ARDC footprint. Carey Becker will debut a new Elite Chassis for 2013 and return his car number to the #20. Dave Shirk and his RAACE Foundation sponsored team led by Glenn Good will add Ryan Watt to the roster for several shows in 2013. Watt had several strong outings last season for Shirk/Good as they look to extend the opportunity again this season. Rick Buckwalter will continue to offer a rental ride to interested competitors and has several commitments lined up for the new season.
ARDC is rich in history. The roster of ARDC competitors shows promise for the future. And ARDC is where you will find, side by side and three wide racing! Let the 2013 season begin!
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ARDC Releases 2013 Race Schedule
The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) has released their schedule for the 2013 racing season -- the 74th season for this organization that provides some of the closest wheel to wheel, side by side racing on the East Coast.
The New Egypt Speedway will host the 2013 season opener for the wingless midgets of ARDC on Saturday, April 20th. ARDC will return to New Egypt on two more occasions during the season -- on August 10th and September 21st. Always a favorite among the New Egypt fans, the tricky track configuration has produced many close finishes and has become a favorite among the drivers as well. Alex Bright picked up the win at NES last season in a battle to the checkered among Bright, Trevor Kobylarz, Steve Buckwalter and Mark Gilmore.
On Friday night, April 26th, ARDC makes its first of three appearances at the Williams Grove Speedway, sharing the racing card with the All Star Sprints. A win at Williams Grove is highly sought after by any open wheel racer as Brenden Bright, Tim Buckwalter and Eric Heydenreich added a Williams Grove victory to each of their resume's in 2012. ARDC will return to Williams Grove for a show on June 14th and again on September 6th.
Port Royal will host race number three on the 2013 ARDC calendar on Saturday, May 4th and will be the third of three tracks to host three ARDC events this season. ARDC will share the limelight with the USAC Sprints in June and then will return for a special race date on Labor Day during the Juniata County Fair. Steve Buckwalter and Trevor Kobylarz each earned a Port Royal win last season.
The first of two visits to the Potomac, MD Speedway and Winchester, VA Speedways comes in mid-May with two nights of racing at the Greg Gunter owned speedways on May 17th and 18th and then again on August 16th and 17th. Two career first wins were earned during ARDC shows at Potomac and Winchester last season as Trevor Kobylarz and Brett Wanner each picked up their first checkereds at Potomac and Winchester, respectively. Steve and Tim Buckwalter also picked up wins at Winchester in 2012.
ARDC makes their first of three appearances with the USAC Sprints on Wednesday night, June 5th as part of the Thunder on the Hill event at the Grandview Speedway. The midgets will share the race card with USAC again on Saturday, June 8th at Port Royal and on Sunday, June 9th at Susquehanna Speedway Park.
ARDC heads south to the Dixieland and Countyline Speedways in North Carolina at the end of June for two nights of racing. Brenden Bright picked up his first ARDC win at Dixieland during his first visit to the track in 2011. Bright then returned for another win last season. Nick Wean picked up his only win of the 2012 season during last year's event at the Countyline Speedway.
On July 20th, ARDC heads west for their only race at Mercer Raceway Park this season. Steven Drevicki was the winner at Mercer last season, picking up the win on the tricky track surface.
ARDC is pleased to announce the addition of the Bedford Speedway to this year's schedule as the wingless midgets make their first appearance at the Bedford Fairgrounds on Friday, August 23rd. The next night, ARDC action moves to the high banks of the Pennsylvania Motor Speedway near Pittsburgh, PA. The wide half mile gave ARDC drivers many lane choices a year ago as Alex Bright found the room to take the lead from PJ Gargiulo just two laps before the checkered flag.
ARDC joins the Thunder on the Hill program at the Grandview Speedway on October 19th and then wraps up their season one week later with a second appearance at Susquehanna for the Candy Bowl event. Alex Bright and Steve Buckwalter were race winners at Grandview a year ago while 2011 ARDC Champion, Drew Heistand was the winner of the Candy Bowl in 2012.
Stay tuned for the possible addition of race dates in the near future!
As always, if it's side by side and three wide racing -- it's ARDC Midgets!
2013 ARDC Schedule
April 20 New Egypt
April 26 Williams Grove
May 4 Port Royal
May 17 Potomac, MD
May 18 Winchester, VA
June 5 Grandview (ToTH – USAC)
June 8 Port Royal (USAC)
June 9 Susquehanna (USAC)
June 14 Williams Grove
June 28 Dixieland, NC
June 29 County Line, NC
July 19 TBA
July 20 Mercer
July 27 TBA
Aug 10 New Egypt
Aug 16 Potomac, MD
Aug 17 Winchester, VA
Aug 23 Bedford
Aug 24 Pittsburgh
Sept 2 Port Royal
Sept 6 Williams Grove
Sept 21 New Egypt
Oct 19 Grandview (ToTH)
Oct 26 Susquehanna - Candy Bowl
-end-
ARDC Midgets
Saturday
1. Drew Heistand
2. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr.
3. Ryan Greth
4. Brenden Bright
5. Ryan Smith
6. Brett Arndt
7. Steve Buckwalter
8. Trevor Kobylarz
9. Steve Drevicki
10. Steve Craig
FINAL POINTS
1. Tim Buckwalter 2013
2. Trevor Kobylarz 1945
3. Nick Wean 1916
4. Brenden Bright 1807
5. Alex Bright 1789
6. Brett Arndt 1784
7. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 1742
8. Steven Drevicki 1608
9. P.J. Gargiulo 1586
10. Mark Gilmore 1360
STEVE BUCKWALTER BACK IN ARDC VICTORY LANE
After a rough start to the twenty-five lap main event, the midgets of ARDC got down to business and put on a show that lived up to the reputation of the wingless warriors of the American Racing Driver's Club.
Rookies, Brian Gilmore and Brett Wanner paced the twenty-five car field to the green flag. Gilmore took the lead at the start but was immediately challenged. As the field headed into turn one, Dusty Heistand made his move to the inside while Wanner ran the high outside line in search of the lead. Unfortunately, Gilmore lost the handle on his mount as the field entered turn two. With everyone on the throttle for the first lap of the race, there was little time or room to avoid the lead car as fifteen of the starters were involved in the melee in turn two.
Steven Drevicki and Alex Bright both ended up getting upside down with Bright's Lightcap Electric #77 being the most heavily damaged. It was not the race that Bright had hoped for as he prepared to head to Speedcar competition in Australia the very next day. Everyone emerged from the incident without injuries with only the four cars of Bright, Drevicki, Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. and Gilmore sidelined from the event.
Wanner quickly grabbed the lead on the restart but was challenged by current ARDC point leader, Tim Buckwalter on the second circuit with Tim Buckwalter scored as the leader on lap two. The caution was thrown on lap three for a spun Joe Butera in turn two but green flag conditions returned quickly as Tim Buckwalter was now challenged by Steve Buckwalter for the lead. Steve Buckwalter was the race leader as the field completed lap four.
Steve Buckwalter moved out to a comfortable lead over Tim Buckwalter as Kobylarz was on the move. Kobylarz took over the third spot from Dusty Heistand on lap eight and then battled with Drew Heistand to maintain his position just a few laps later.
Following a caution flag when PJ Gargiulo ran into problems in turn four, Steve Buckwalter had a new challenger as Kobylarz moved into second and took a look to the inside of Buckwalter. Kobylarz actually pulled ahead of Buckwalter on more than one occasion but never had quite enough to clear the #0 car. Buckwalter regained sole possession of the lead and then pulled ahead by several car lengths.
As the laps counted down, it was Ryan Watt driving the RAACE Foundation #16 for Dave Shirk that was on the move. Watt started twenty-second in the original lineup. By lap fifteen, Watt was challenging for a spot in the top five. With the five to go sign, Watt ran in fourth and was looking for more.
Drew Heistand's strong run ended with twenty-one complete as he slowed to a stop in turn four. When the green flag waved, the battle was on for third as Watt ran the inside line to take the spot from Tim Buckwalter. Kobylarz switched from offense to defense as Watt now challenged for the second position.
The cars would realign nose to tail for a one lap shoot-out following a caution for Austin Burke on the homestretch. Steve Buckwalter raced to his third checkered flag of the season as Kobylarz and Watt followed in second and third. Tim Buckwalter finished fourth while Wean completed the top five.
ARDC completes their 2012 season with the Candy Bowl at Susquehanna Speedway Park on October 27th.
Race Notes
Brett Arndt of Topton, PA was unable to start the twenty-five lap feature when motor problems were discovered during warm-ups. Arndt was fifth in points entering Saturday night's event. Austin Burke had a strong run in the Burke Trucking #54 that ended just one lap short of the finish when the sixteen year old driver got into the homestretch wall. Burke is a second generation midget driver who was making just his second start in ARDC competition.
Feature Results (25 laps) 1-Steve Buckwalter, 2-Trevor Kobylarz, 3-Ryan Watt, 4-Tim Buckwalter, 5-Nick Wean, 6-Dusty Heistand, 7-Brett Wanner, 8-Jimmy Glenn, 9-Carey Becker, 10-Steven Bull, 11-Joe Butera, 12-Randy Reid, 13-Bill Courtwright, 14-Eric Heydenreich, 15-Austin Burke, 16-Drew Heistand,17-PJ Gargiulo, 18-Brenden Bright, 19-Steve Craig, 20-Mark Gilmore, 21-Ryan Greth, 22-Brian Gilmore, 23-Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 24-Steven Drevicki, 25-Alex Bright. DNS-Brett Arndt #46
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ALEX BRIGHT RACES TO FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON
Bright Heads off the ARDC Field & the Weather for Win
The American Racing Drivers Club made its first appearance in the Garden State in the 2012 season on Saturday night at the New Egypt Speedway as Collegeville, PA driver, Alex Bright became the first to win four in ARDC competition this year. Bright had plenty of company as he raced ahead of the field to the checkered flag.
Mark Gilmore of Hackettstown, NJ led the field to the green flag and quickly pulled away from the field by several car lengths. Jimmy Glenn raced in second as Dave Shirk, Ryan Greth and Dusty Hiestand dueled for the third spot.
After starting in twelfth on the original start, Bright wasted little time in moving to the front. With only five laps scored, Bright had moved ahead of Greth to take over fifth. Greth drew a caution flag on lap nine when he came to a stop in turn two and the field was realigned for the first time in the event. Gilmore’s lead was erased with the single file restart.
With Gilmore maintaining the lead, Bright raced into second. Glenn had his hands full with the likes of Trevor Kobylarz and Steve Buckwalter. At the crossed flags, Gilmore led Bright, Kobylarz, S. Buckwalter and Glenn.
Bright continued to trail Gilmore through the next five laps, shooting to the inside of turns one and two but Gilmore’s outside line propelled him out in front as the pair exited turn two every time. On lap seventeen, Bright made his move earlier, gaining the inside advantage at the end of the straight away and was able to carry the lead through the corners.
Kobylarz and Buckwalter moved in to challenge. Buckwalter made his way past Kobylarz briefly but Kobylarz quickly recovered and not only regained his position ahead of Buckwalter but was able to take second from Gilmore.
Kobylarz chased Bright to the checkered flag as S. Buckwalter edged Gilmore for third at the line. Glenn’s strong effort netted him a fifth place finish in the twenty lap event.
Nick Wean looked liked a contender but was sidelined with motor issues with just two laps remaining. After mechanical issues sidelined Brett Arndt from his qualifying event, the Topton, PA driver converted a twentieth place start into an eight place finish with a strong outing. After catching the cushion in turn three and four in the second heat race, Bruce Buckwalter Jr., for a wild ride in his BDB Construction #83. Buckwalter went end of end several times but exited the car uninjured. He quickly made the transition to a second Rick & Tim Buckwalter car #26 to start the main event.
Qualifying races were won by Mark Gilmore and Ryan Greth.
Notes
You can join the fight against childhood cancers by supporting the Wingless Warriors, a team of ARDC competitors, family and friends that Bruce Buckwalter Jr., put together to compete in the Williams Grove National Open Kick-It Competition this coming Friday, September 28 at Upper Allen Township Community Park (just 3 miles north of the Speedway). You can sponsor the Wingless Warriors kickball team or any of the individual team members – including Trevor Kobylarz, Ryan Smith, Steve Buckwalter, Greg Fitzpatrick, Dusty Hiestand, Nick Wean or Bruce Buckwalter Jr., by going to www.Kick-It.org Website. Look for the competition under the state of Pennsylvania and sign up to sponsor the Wingless Warriors or an individual player. Fastener Specialties is sponsoring the Wingless Warriors in this event. The Kick-It program is part of the efforts of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.
Feature Results (20 Laps) 1 – 77 Alex Bright 2 – 49 Trevor Kobylarz 3 – 0 Steve Buckwalter 4 – 10 Mark Gilmore 5 – 07 Jimmy Glenn 6 – 52 Tim Buckwalter 7 – 19 Steven Drevicki 8 – 46 Brett Arndt 9 – 6 Dusty Heistand 10 – 5 PJ Gargiulo 11 – 88 Brenden Bright 12 – 16 Dave Shirk 13 – 14 Carey Becker 14 – 55 Steve Craig 15 – 75 Bill Courtwright 16 – 78 Nick Wean 17 – 1 Drew Heistand 18 – Ryan Greth 19 – 44 Brett Wanner 20 – 26 Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 21 – 13 Brian Gilmore
-end-
Williams Grove Speedway
Friday
ARDC Midgets, 20 laps: 1. Eric Heydenreich, 2. Ryan Greth, 3. Nick Wean, 4. Steve Buckwalter, 5. Trevor Kobylarz, 6. Shawn Jackson, 7. Tim Buckwalter, 8. Steve Drevicki, 9. Brenden Bright, 10. Alex Bright, 11. Brett Arndt, 12. Brett Wanner, 13. Bobby Courtwright, 14. Brian Gillmore, 15. Steve Craig, 16. Dave Shirk, 17. Dusty Heistand, 18. Bruce Buckwalter Jr., 19. Drew Heistand, 20. Jimmy Glenn, 21. Ray Bull, 22. Mark Gillmore
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BRIGHT SHINES IN ARDC WIN AT BIG DIAMOND
Bright Picks Up Third Win of 2012 Season
Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA used a slide job on lap eleven to take the lead in the 20 lap ARDC main event at the Big Diamond Speedway on Friday night. Bright wasted little time moving his Lightcap Electric #77 from its eighth place start into the top three.
Trevor Kobylarz and Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. led the twenty-five car field to the wave of the green flag with Kobylarz moving out in front for lap one but B. Buckwalter was having none of it as he came right back to challenge and take the lead on lap two. B. Buckwalter maintained a several car advantage over Kobylarz as Steven Drevicki, Alex Bright and Parker Evans raced in the top five.
Bright raced past Drevicki and then immediately challenged Kobylarz for the runner-up spot before the red flag came out for a multi-car incident in turn four. Billy Pauch, Jr., driving the Karen & Jerry Steward owned #33 got up in the air in turn four after contact with another competitor. Ryan Watt, wheeling the Fred Schell #75 was caught up in the same incident. Both cars were towed to the pits with heavy damage and the drivers who both have scored wins in the Modified Division at Big Diamond had their midget event end prematurely.
The field was realigned nose to tail for the restart as Buckwalter maintained his lead through the half way point in the race. Bright slid by the BD Construction #83 to take the lead on lap twelve and immediately began to put some distance on the field. The battle was for the fourth spot as Tim Buckwalter moved in to challenge Drevicki for the spot. Drevicki battled hard to hold his position as the race's end approached.
With just four laps remaining the field would be realigned following a caution when PJ Gargiulo came to a stop in turn four. Drew Heistand lined-up in sixth but gave it his all to grab a spot in the top five. Heistand slid by both T. Buckwalter and Drevicki but was unable to maintain the postions as both Drevicki and T. Buckwalter regained their spots driving under Heistand's #1.
With Bright out in front, Kobylarz came to life in the final laps to challenge B. Buckwalter for second. Kobylarz authored a perfect slide by Buckwalter to take second on the final circuit.
Alex Bright headed to his third checkered flag of the season followed across the line by Kobylarz, B. Buckwalter, Drevicki and T. Buckwalter.
It was Brett Arndt of Topton, PA who passed the most cars of the night. After mechanical woes sidelined Arndt from his heat race, Arndt took the green flag in 23rd position and drove the EF Schneider Recyling #46 up to seventh at the checkered flag.
ARDC qualifying heats were won by Bruce Buckwalter, Dusty Heistand and Parker Evans.
ARDC returns to the Port Royal Speedway on Monday, September 3 for an afternoon show as part of the Juaniata Fair.
Feature Finish (20 laps) 1 - Alex Bright 2 - Trevor Kobylarz 3- Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 4 - Steven Drevicki 5 - Tim Buckwalter 6 - Drew Heistand 7 - Brett Arndt 8 - Brenden Bright 9 - Parker Evans 10 - Nick Wean 11 - Shawn Jackson 12 - Jimmy Glenn 13 - Dave Shirk 14 - Steven Bull 15 - Mark Gilmore 16 - Steve Craig 17 - Austin Burke 18 - PJ Gargiulo 19 - Eric Heydenreich 20 - Brett Wanner 21 - Dusty Heistand 22 - Billy Pauch, Jr. 23 - Ryan Watt 24 - Brian Gilmore 25 - Ryan Greth
-end-
Tim Buckwalter & Brett Wanner are Weekend ARDC Winners
In a weekend that was truly a highlight for many race team's 2012 season, Tim Buckwalter of Douglassville, PA became the first to earn three wins as he regained the advantage in the season long point battle. Buckwalter's victory came in a twenty lap main event that was started at the Potomac Speedway in Maryland and completed one night later at the Winchester Speedway in Virginia - an event that could well be a first in area racing.
Twenty-two year old ARDC rookie, Brett Wanner earned his first ever ARDC feature win in the Winchester portion of the weekend.
Wanner, of Shoemakersville, PA, led the first eight laps of the first feature - six at Potomac and two at Winchester, before Parker Evans took the lead. It looked like Evans was on his way to his first ARDC win until Tim Buckwalter made his way into second with just four laps remaining. After a duel for the lead, Buckwalter became the race leader on lap eighteen and went on to capture his third win of the season. Steven Drevicki then made his way by Evans to take second while Evans captured the final podium finish and his best showing to date to finish third. Brenden Bright raced his way to fourth while Jimmy Glenn, another member of the 2012 ARDC rookie class, claimed fifth for his best finish of the season.
Brian Gilmore, the third rookie of 2012, led the starting line-up to the green flag later in the evening for the ARDC show at the Winchester Speedway. Gilmore led the first four laps of the event, crossing the start/finish line side by side with Wanner on lap five. By the time the two raced into the first and second corners, Wanner held the advantage.
Brett Arndt moved into second on lap eight after wrestling the position from Gilmore. Wanner continued to lead and was able to pull away from the field as the second half of the race went caution free. After starting in the fifteenth spot, Tim Buckwalter made his way through the pack and into the top five with just a few laps remaining. After a hard fought battle, Buckwalter made his way to third with three laps remaining. Wanner ran to the checkered to take the win as Arndt finished second ahead of T. Buckwalter for his season best. B. Gilmore finished fourth for his best effort of the season as Shawn Jackson completed the top five, earning his best ever ARDC performance.
There was much to celebrate as the top three finishers from both features gathered in Winchester's Victory Lane. It would be a unique interview for trackside announcer, Doug Watson. Wanner, as well as his family members and crew, are all hearing impaired. Knowing that the crowd's appreciation could not be heard by the winning team, Watson encouraged the fans to stand to show their appreciation. Wanner was overwhelmed by the response that he received as many ARDC drivers and crew members came to offer their congratulations. Tim Buckwalter assisted Wanner in expressing his gratitude to sponsors, family and crew members during the Victory Lane interview.
T. Buckwalter and Wanner had something in common as both expressed their thanks to fellow competitor & 2010 ARDC Champion, Steve Buckwalter for his help. "We're usually really good on these slick tracks," Tim Buckwalter explained. "But we've been struggling. Steve helped us to get this Elite chassis right. The car was great!" Steve Buckwalter has been a mentor to Wanner. bringing him to ARDC midget competition. Wanner had struggled throughout the season with mechanical issues but a faulty fuel pump was replaced after the last event and it made all of the difference to the Wanner's performance.
Race Notes
Brett Wanner's sixth place finish in the first feature was the rookie's best finish prior to his win. Missing from the Wanner pits this weekend was Brett's sister who is her brother's biggest fan. She shared in the victory celebration by text messaging! Six drivers achieved season best results during the two race weekend. Brad Cox made his first ARDC start of the season, driving the Buckwalter #26 and picking up a tenth place finish at Winchester. After only a few ARDC starts this season, Ryan Greth drove the Steward #33 to a heat win at Winchester but was sidelined early from both features. The Micro Sprint ranks were well represented this weekend by both Greth and Shane Lewis who took over the driving chores in one of the Heistand entries.
Potomac Feature Results (completed at Winchester)
1-Tim Buckwalter 2-Steven Drevicki 3-Parker Evans 4-Brenden Bright 5-Jimmy Glenn 6-Brett Wanner 7-Alex Bright 8-PJ Gargiulo 9-Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 10-Trevor Kobylarz 11-Brian Gilmore 12-Brad Cox 13-Nick Wean 14-Mark Gilmore 15-Randy Reid 16-Steven Bull 17-Brett Arndt 18-Shane Lewis 19-Dusty Heistand 20-Shawn Jackson 21-Ryan Greth 22-Billy Jackson
Winchester Feature Results (20 laps)
1-Brett Wanner 2-Brett Arndt 3-Tim Buckwalter 4-Brian Gilmore 5-Shawn Jackson 6-Dusty Heistand 7-Nick Wean 8-Bruce Buckwalter, Jr.9-Steven Drevicki 10-Brad Cox 11-Steve Buckwalter 12-PJ Gargiulo 13-Parker Evans 14-Alex Bright 15-Brenden Bright 16-Jimmy Glenn 17-Shane Lewis 18-Billy Jackson 19-Dave Shirk 20-Randy Reid 21-Eric Heydenreich 22-Joe Butera 23-Trevor Kobylarz 24-Mark Gilmore DNS-Ryan Greth
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DREVICKI RACES TO ARDC WIN AT MERCER RACEWAY PARK
Mother Nature cooperated and ARDC completed their eleventh show of the 2012 season at Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday night as Steven Drevicki of Reading, PA but the Greg Fitzpatrick owned DeGre Engineering #19 in Victory Lane for the first time this season.
Drevicki and Ftizpatrick weathered a tough first half of the season, plagued with motor issues week after week but the team persevered to win the twenty lap feature event with Tim Buckwalter and Alex Bright in hot pursuit at the checkered flag.
DrevickI and Parker Evans led the starting field to the green flag with Evan jumping out in front. With only one lap scored, red flag conditions prevailed as 2011 ARDC Rookie of the Year, Brenden Bright took a nasty ride into turn four. The driver was was a little worse for wear but in better shape in than his Presidential HVAC #88.
Evans held the lead when racing resumed as Bruce Buckwalter made his move through the top five to take over second. Buckwalter challenged and took over the lead on lap four with Evans, Drevicki, Tim Buckwalter and Trevor Kobylarz racing in the top five.
With B. Buckwalter starting to pull away from the field, Evans faded from top five contention after contact resulted in suspension damage on his Pheasant Hills Country Club sponsored #61. Drevicki moved back to second ahead of T. Buckwalter as Brett Arndt moved up to fourth by the half way mark. Alex Bright had his Lightcap Electric #77 on the move after starting eleventh while Nick Wean raced into top five contention after starting in thirteenth.
The top five positions were up for grabs as B. Buckwalter ran ahead of the field until lap fourteen. Drevicki became the race leader when B. Buckwalter pulled off on the backstretch with fuel line issues. Arndt, who had advanced to third, also exited on lap fourteen with motor issues.
Drevicki was able to pull ahead as T. Buckwalter and A. Bright battled for second but with two laps to go the top five positions were nose to tail.
Drevicki continued to race his race and hit his marks while the duel continued for second. With the checkered waiting, Drevicki, T. Buckwalter and A. Bright drag raced to the finish line with Drevicki maintaining the advantage as they crossed the finish line. T. Buckwalter held off A. Bright for second while Wean and Kobylarz completed the top five.
Qualifying heats were won by T. Buckwalter and Kobylarz.
The next event on the ARDC schedule is for the Big Diamond Speedway on Friday night, July 27th.
Race Notes
Tim Buckwalter started out the night just seven points behind current point leader, Nick Wean. When the motor expired in Buckwalter’s #52 in warm-ups, Bret Guzik gave up his seat in the second Buckwalter entry to allow Tim to compete. Guzik’s cooperation paid off as Buckwalter promptly went out and won his heat race and then finished second in the feature. Mercer Raceway regular, Brandon Matus picked up the ride in the Don Moore midget and competed for the first time in ARDC competition, finishing ninth at the checkered. Steven Bull made his first ARDC start of the 2012 season. Jimmy Glenn of Branchburg, NJ raced to a seventh place finish while fellow rookie drivers, Brian Gilmore and Bret Wanner were sidelined with mechanical failures.
Finish – (20 laps) 1. Steven Drevicki 2. Tim Buckwalter 3. Alex Bright 4. Nick Wean 5. Trevor Kobylarz 6. PJ Gargiulo 7. Jimmy Glenn 8. Mark Gilmore 9. Brandon Matus 10. Parker Evans 11. Steven Bull 12. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 13. Brett Arndt 14. Joe Butera 15. Brenden Bright Brett Wanner DNS
Brenden Bright & Nick Wean Travel South for ARDC Wins
ARDC made it's annual trek south for a weekend of racing in North Carolina's Dixieland Speedway and County Line Raceway with Brenden Bright and Nick Wean coming home with the wins.
For Brenden Bright, it was a return to the track where he won his first ever ARDC feature a year earlier at the Dixieland Speedway in Elizabeth City, NC. Bright had struggled in recent ARDC events but had done his homework prior to the trip south and discovered what he believed to be the problem with the Presidential HVAC #88. "We took everything a part," Bright explained. "We found some bars that had gone bad...the car was much better this weekend!"
Brian Gilmore led the ARDC field to the green flag but it was 2011 ARDC Champion, Drew Heistand that was the early race leader. On lap three, Dusty Heistand made the pass for the lead. B. Bright passed Drew for second one lap later as B. Gilmore and PJ Gargiulo completed the top five with five laps on the board.
Gargiulo moved up to third, behind Dusty Heistand and Brenden Bright but was soon challenged by Alex Bright for that position. Alex moved up to third as the battle for second was on between the Bright brothers as Dusty Heistand continued to lead. With ten laps remaining, Gargiulo ran in fourth with Tim Buckwalter running fifth.
A late race caution realigned the field with five laps to go. Cars were jostled on the restart as Alex Bright made his bid for the lead but the caution waved quickly when T. Buckwalter got turned around in turn four on the restart.
Dusty Heistand again led the field to the green but was challenged this time by Brenden Bright. As the leaders raced side by side down the homestretch, the close racing resulted in some contact between the leaders. Heistand spun toward the inside guardrail before getting airborne. Heistand's #6 rolled in the air and landed back on the track upside down. The red flag was thrown. A disappointed Dusty Heistand walked back to the pit area, uninjured.
On the final restart, it was a battle of the Brights as Brenden held off Alex for the win, his second of the season and second consecutive Dixieland Speedway victory. Gargiulo finished third as Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. edged Brett Arndt for fourth at the checkered flag.
Rookie Brian Gilmore won his first qualifying race in heat number one as Brenden Bright and Dusty Hiestand picked up wins in the other two heat races.
Dixieland Speedway Feature Finish (25 laps) 1. Brenden Bright 2. Alex Bright 3. PJ Gargiulo 4. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 5. Brett Arndt 6. Trevor Kobylarz 7. Mark Gilmore 8. Parker Evans 9. Brian Gilmore 10. Joe Butera 11. Andy Cardinale 12. Dusty Hiestand 13. Tim Buckwalter 14. Nick Wean 15.Drew Heistand 16. Steven Drevicki DNS
Nick Wean ended a bad luck streak at the County Line Speedway on Saturday night of the Southern Swing as he led from green to checkered to pick up his first win of the 2012 season.
With five laps to go, Wean thought his bad luck was going to continue. A vibration indicated motor problems for the driver from Phillipsburg, NJ. When Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. took a nasty ride with just a few laps to go, Wean had the opportunity to consult his car owner/father what he should do. "I told him the motor was going to go. I asked him what he wanted me to do," Wean said the response was "Blow 'er up!" He had his orders.
Drew Heistand challenged Wean in the early going and ran second throughout the race. Alex Bright moved up to third in the final laps and both Heistand and Bright knew that Wean was in trouble. But Mother Nature smiled on the Wean car on this night and everything stayed together for Wean to take the checkered flag first.
Tim Buckwalter raced his way as high as third but lost a battle with Alex Bright for the spot, finishing fourth at the flag. PJ Gargiulo battled back to finish fifth after restarting in the rear of the field after an incident in turn two. Gargiulo ran into trouble when he hit a wet area in turn two but was able to get the car stopped before hard contact was made.
The race was red flagged on two occasions. The first, when rookie, Brian Gilmore got upside down on the backstretch. With three laps remaining, Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. got into the outside wall in turn one, getting airborne and end for end. Both drivers exited their cars on their own but Buckwalter was later treated and released.
Race Notes
Alex Bright had the best North Carolina weekend with a second and third. PJ Gargiulo also had a strong run in the south with a third and fifth place finish while Brett Arndt continued his consistent performance with a fifth and sixth place result. Dusty Heistand was able to return to action on Saturday after getting upside down on Friday but had more work to do when he made hard contact with the homestretch wall during Saturday warm-ups. Andy Cardinale ran his first ARDC laps in the Buckwalter rental. Cardinale, who resides in South Carolina, has family ties to ARDC. His grandfather was a wrench on the ARDC championship teams of the early and mid-sixties, wrenching for the Bennet Brothers. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. had the unfortunate situation of finding himself upside down at both speedways on the North Carolina trip.
Next race on the ARDC schedule is Friday, July 13th at the Big Diamond Speedway
County Line Raceway Feature (25 laps) 1. Nick Wean 2. Drew Heistand 3. Alex Bright 4. Tim Buckwalter 5. PJ Gargiulo 6. Brett Arndt 7. Dusty Heistand 8. Brenden Bright 9. Mark Gilmore 10. Joe Butera 11. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 12. Andy Cardinale 13. Brian Gilmore 14. Steven Drevicki 15. Parker Evans 16. Trevor Kobylarz
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THREE RACES IN FIVE DAYS PRODUCES THREE DIFFERENT WINNERS
With a hectic three race schedule over a five night span, ARDC saw three different drivers race to the checkered during the second week of June.
After a rain-out at Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday, June 2, ARDC joined the Eastern Storm at the Grandview Speedway on Tuesday night, June 5th. Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA picked up his first win of the 2012 season.
More than thirty ARDC midgets competed for starting positions in the Thunder on the Hill event at the track that many competitors consider their "home" speedway.
With a full moon over head, racing action stopped almost before it started when the cars of Steve Craig and Dave Shirk got upside down on the homestretch as the green flag waved. Both Shirk and Craig would return but PJ Gargiulo's night was finished when he sustained suspension damage in the same incident.
On the complete restart attempt, Mark Gilmore would jump to the lead until a multi car incident occurred on the backstretch that saw the #9 of Andrew Hannula flip end for end after racing became four wide as the field exited turn two. Both Steve and Tim Buckwalter were also upside down in the same incident. Hannula, Shane Penny, Kyle Lick and Drew Heistand were sidelined as a result but all drivers were okay. Six other cars were involved but were able to continue.
Steven Drevicki put the DeGre Engineering #19 out in front on the restart as Gilmore, Alex Bright, Parker Evans and Ryan Watt completed the top five with five laps complete. Gilmore ran into problems on lap six and Bright would become the leader after a side by side battle with Drevicki.
Ryan Watt, behind the wheel of a second Dave Shirk car, drove the renumbered #18 through the field to finish a strong second. Nick Wean, Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. and Steve Buckwalter completed the top five in curfew shortened event. The Cafe Waldorf #14 of Carey Becker flipped in turn four as the result of a multi car tangle, bringing an end to the race.
20 Lap ARDC Feature Event - Thunder on the Hill, Grandview Speedway
1. Alex Bright 2. Ryan Watt 3. Nick Wean 4. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 5. Steve Buckwalter 6. Steven Drevicki 7. Jerry Coons, Jr. 8. Shawn Jackson 9. Eric Heydenreich 10. Brett Arndt 11. Mike Miller 12. Brenden Bright 13. Mark Gilmore 14. Trevor Kobylarz 15. Dave Shirk 16. Parker Evans 17. Tim Buckwalter 18. Dusty Heistand 19. Dave Ely 20. Carey Becker 21. Steve Craig 22. Andrew Hannula 23. Shane Penny 24. Kyle Lick 25. Drew Heistand 26. PJ Gargiulo
Tim Buckwalter returned to Victory Lane for his second win of the 2012 season when he bested the ARDC field at the Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night. T. Buckwalter took the lead from polesitter, Brian Gilmore to lead all twenty laps of the feature event. PJ Gargiulo ran in the top three during the entire race, first battling with Dusty Heistand for position and then Steve Buckwalter in the late stages of the race.
Tim was chased across the finish line by Steve Buckwalter as PJ Gargiulo picked up his first podium finish of the season with a third place finish. Parker Evans was fourth with a season best performance while 2011 ARDC Champion, Drew Heistand used the extreme outside to make his way to fifth in the closing laps of the race.
20 Lap ARDC Feature Event - Williams Grove
1. Tim Buckwalter 2. Steve Buckwalter 3. PJ Gargiulo 4. Parker Evans 5. Drew Heistand 6. Dusty Heistand 7. Steven Drevicki 8. Brett Arndt 9. Nick Wean 10. Zack Daum 11. Brett Wanner 12. Brenden Bright 13. Brian Gilmore 14. Eric Heydenreich 15. Jimmy Glenn 16. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 17. Alex Bright 18. Trevor Kobylarz 19. Shawn Jackson 20. Mark Gilmore
Trevor Kobylarz became the third repeat winner of the season when he raced to the checkered flag at the Port Royal Speedway on Saturday night.
Kobylarz wasted no time in getting to the front from his third row start. He led all twenty laps for the win, after moving from fifth to first on lap one. Alex Bright quickly advanced to second but was unable to mount a challenge for the lead. Bright finished second as Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. was third. PJ Gargiulo finished fourth as some late race moves had Brett Arndt capturing fifth.
A lap one incident involving Dave Shirk, Steve Buckwalter and Drew Hiestand saw Heistand flip in turn two. Heistand's #1 was towed to the pits with heavy damage. Buckwalter tried to return after a trip to the pits but was unable to restart.
ARDC Feature (20 Laps) Port Royal
1. Trevor Kobylarz 2. Alex Bright 3. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 4. PJ Gargiulo 5. Brett Arndt 6. Brenden Bright 7. Dave Ely 8. Tim Buckwalter 9. Parker Evans 10. Brett Wanner 11. Jimmy Glenn 12. Eric Heydenreich 13. Joe Butera 14. Brian Gilmore 15. Dave Shirk 16. Dusty Hiestand 17. Steven Drevicki 18. Nick Wean 19. Randy Reid 20. Steve Buckwalter 21. Drew Heistand
RACE NOTES
The large field of cars at the Grandview Speedway saw several drivers making their first ARDC starts of the season. Bill Jackson ran a second Gargiulo entry. Mike Miller and Donnie Hoffman saw their first action of the season. Micro sprint driver, Kyle Lick, made his first ARDC start in the Steward #34 while Tom Fraschetta wheeled the Schell #75. USAC ace, Jerry Coons, Jr. drove the Burke Trucking #54 to a seventh place finish. Zack Daum jumped in the Buckwalter #26 at the Williams Grove Speedway, picking up several positions late in the race to finish tenth.
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KOBYLARZ WINS FIRST & BUCKWALTER BECOMES FIRST TO REPEAT IN 2012
For the first time in the 2012 racing season, ARDC competed on two consecutive nights with back-to-back shows at Potomac Speedway in Mechanicsville, MD on Friday night and Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Virginia on Saturday. The 3/8 mile tracks would allow the wingless warriors of ARDC to do what they do best - race side-by-side and three wide in twenty-five lap feature events.
Trevor Kobylarz was the class of the field at Potomac on Friday night. After winning his qualifying heat, the nineteen year old second generation ARDC competitor, lined up for the twenty-five lap distance in the eleventh starting position. Dusty Heistand took the lead at the drop of the green but Kobylarz was on the move. Up to fifth after just one lap, Kobylarz challenged Heistand and took the lead on lap three.
A multi car incident on lap seven involving the cars of Nick Wean, Brett Arndt and Brenden Bright had the three competitors rejoining the rear of the field with a third of the race completed. Wean wheeled his way into contention in the closing laps but Kobylarz was not to be denied this time as he crossed under the checkered flag for the first midget win of his career. Wean rebounded for a second place finish ahead of Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. who finished third. Dusty Heistand crossed the line in fourth ahead of Brenden Bright.
Heat winners were PJ Gargiulo, Kobylarz and Hiestand.
Saturday night action at Winchester was fast and furious as Alex Bright took the early race lead. Parker Evans became the race leader on lap three Steve Buckwalter raced from third to second to the lead in the course of one lap.
The mid portion of the race was dominated by the Buckwalter name. With Steve out in front, first Bruce, Jr. and then Tim held the second position as the three cousins dominated the front of the field.
After Ryan Smith took a wild ride in the Steward owned #33 in warm-ups, he climbed behind the wheel of the Rick and Tim Buckwalter owned #26 for the heat and feature. Smith was hot the trail of the Buckwalters as he first raced Bruce, Jr. for the third spot and then dogged Tim for second.
After experimenting with the high, outside line around the track during his heat race, Tim Buckwalter tried to apply what he had learned to make a move on Steve for the lead. "Once I got out in front, I figured I would just run the bottom. If someone wanted to pass me, they were going to do it on the outside," the 2010 ARDC Champion explained. He was, aware of the challenges being waged by his cousin, Tim.
Attrition played a role in the final laps of the race as fuel mileage became an issue after multiple caution periods during the event. Dusty Hiestand, Bryan Kobylarz and then Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. all ran out of fuel before the end of the race with Randy Reid running short after he took the white flag.
It was Steve Buckwalter for his second win of the 2012 season ahead of Tim Buckwalter and Ryan Smith in second and third. Brenden Bright changed his line late in the race advanced several positions in the closing laps with a fourth place finish. Dave Shirk had his best outing of the season, finishing fifth with his RAACE Foundation #16.
When Tim Buckwalter failed the post-race technical inspection, Smith, Bright and Shirk moved up one spot in the finish with Trevor Kobylarz moving into the top five.
Heat races were won by S. Buckwalter, Parker Evans and Kobylarz.
Weekend Notes
Names like Monroe, Yeley and Hines have wheeled the #49 midget but it took another Kobylarz to return the car number to Victory Lane. While Trevor led the Potomac race, his dad had a birds eye view. Bryan wheeled the Carey Becker #14 over the weekend, watching Trevor's first win from his on track perspective.
The ARDC family expanded during the week prior to the Potomac-Winchester weekend. Eric and Jessalyn Heydenreich welcomed Cole Martin on Friday, May 11th, with Cole weighing in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Weighing in at six pounds and 8 ounces and 20 inches in length was Rilynn James Hannula on Wednesday, May 16th to the awaiting parents of Andrew and Kayla Hannula. Not sure about the dads but mothers and babies are doing well!
Feature Finish - Potomac Speedway - (25 laps): 1.Trevor Kobylarz 2. Nick Wean 3. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr.4. Dusty Heistand 5.Brenden Bright 6 Tim Buckwalter 7. Brett Arndt 8.Mark Gilmore 9.Ryan Watt 10.Steve Craig 11.P.J. Gargiulo 12. Bryan Kobylarz 13. Parker Evans 14. Randy Reid 15. Brian Gilmore 16. Ryan Greth 17. Steven Drevicki 18. Alex Bright 19. Brett Wanner 20. Jimmy Glenn
Feature Finish - Winchester Speedway - (25 laps) 1. Steve Buckwalter 2. Ryan Smith 3. Brenden Bright 4. Dave Shirk 5. Trevor Kobylarz 6. Brett Arndt 7. Steve Craig 8. Steven Drevicki 9. Joe Butera 10. Parker Evans 11. Randy Reid 12. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. 13. Bryan Kobylarz 14. Dusty Heistand 15. Shane Penny 16. Mark Gilmore 17. PJ Gargiulo 18. Nick Wean 19. Jimmy Glenn 20. Alex Bright 21. Ryan Greth 22. Brett Wanner 23. Tim Buckwalter
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ARDC HITS THE ROAD SOUTH THIS WEEKEND
The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) heads south this weekend for their first of two nights of racing at Maryland's Potomac Speedway and Virginia's Winchester Speedway.
On Friday night, the midgets will make their first of two appearances of the 2012 season at the Potomac Speedway in Mechanicsville, MD. The fans at the 3/8 mile Potomac Speedway will be introduced to open wheel racing ARDC style as the midgets join a program of Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, Hobbystocks and Strictly Stock divisions. It will mark the return of the ARDC Midgets to the Potomac facility after an absence of nearly ten years.
Friday, May 18th is also Put on the Purple Day - a special day created by the Lupus Foundation to promote awareness of this debilitating diseases. May is Lupus Awareness month and ARDC competitor, Bruce Buckwalter Jr. has asked that his fellow competitors and fans show their support by wearing purple throughout the day on Friday.
Ryan Watt of Boyertown, PA will make his first ARDC appearance of the 2012 season at Potomac. Watt, who competes with ARDC as his Modified schedule allows, will return to the cockpit of the Fred Schell owned #75 for this event. Watt combined forces with ARDC team owner, Donnie Hoffman for the 2011 season and will continue to pilot the green and white #17 later this season.
Saturday night, ARDC travels west to Winchester, VA for a second night of racing on another 3/8 mile track. When ARDC competed at Winchester last season, it was Ryan Smith in the Jerry & Karen Steward owned #33 who went to Victory Lane.
Will the first repeat winner of the 2012 season finds his way to Victory Lane on one of the 3/8 mile clay tracks at either Potomac or Winchester? Tim Buckwalter, Brenden Bright and Steve Buckwalter have each won one of the first three events of the 2012 season and could be the first repeat winner but their are a host of drivers looking for their first wins of the season that will have something to say about the outcome on Friday and Saturday.
ARDC officials have announced that rookie drivers, Brett Wanner of Shoemakersville, PA and Jimmy Glenn of Branchburg, NJ have been cleared to be handicapped for the first time this season. ARDC rookies are started at the rear of the field for their heats and features for at least their first three events or until club officials feel that they are ready to be handicapped based on points. Both Wanner and Glenn have a tenth place finish to their credit this season, coming from the rear of the field to pick up a top ten finish.
ARDC is also pleased to announce the addition of three shows to their schedule at the Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, PA. ARDC had eight shows remaining at the Schuylkill County speedway when Big Diamond was forced to discontinue their Saturday night schedule. Big Diamond Speedway management and ARDC worked together to adjust their schedules to include the midgets in the existing 2012 Big Diamond Speedway calendar.
ARDC will be added to the schedule of events at Big Diamond for Friday night racing on July 13th and 27th. ARDC was already on the Friday night schedule for July 6th when Big Diamond presents their annual Georgie Stevenson Memorial Race. The midgets of ARDC have also been added to the biggest event of the Big Diamond season when they will join the Station House 358 Modifeds on Sunday, September 2 for the running of the Coalcracker 72.
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Steve Buckwalter Slides to First ARDC Win at Port Royal
Steve Buckwalter had been winless in 2012 coming into Saturday night's race at the Port Royal Speedway but that all changed when the checkered flag waved on the field at the end of twenty thrilling laps of racing.
Buckwalter of Royersford, PA divides his time between 410 Sprint Car racing and the ARDC Midgets. The hard charging 2010 ARDC Champion has not had a lot of laps go his way this season but came home with a runner-up finish just a week ago at the Williams Grove Speedway with a last lap pass for the position. This week, Buckwalter was able to improve that finish by one and take his first win of the 2012 season, becoming the third winner in three races in ARDC competition.
"It doesn't matter if it's warm-ups, a heat or a feature," Buckwalter stated after his win. "When I'm on the track, I'm going as fast as I can!"
Manheim, PA driver, Dusty Heistand led the field to the start and quickly took command from Carey Becker of Reading, PA. Brett Arndt quickly moved in to take over second and set chase on the leader.
Steven Drevicki drew a caution when he slowed on the backstretch on lap three. PJ Gargiulo and Parker Evans both headed to the pits with mechanical issues while the race was under yellow flag conditions.
The younger Heistand brother maintained his lead over Arndt on the single file restart but Drew Heistand, the 2011 ARDC Champion had already moved past Becker to take over third as S. Buckwalter completed the top five in running order at this point in the race.
Drew Heistand took over the runner-up spot from Arndt on lap six and quickly closed in on his brother, the leader. One lap later, Drew shot to the inside of Dusty as the pair entered turn three but a caution flag negated the pass for the lead as Mark Gilmore ran into difficulties between turns three and four.
Returning to green flag conditions, Dusty Heistand maintained his lead but Drew came with a head of steam down the backstretch and completed the pass for the lead as the two brothers entered turn three. There was a new leader on lap seven.
S. Buckwalter had made his way past Arndt and pursued Dusty Hiestand for second, taking over the spot on lap nine. At the half way point, Drew Heistand had pulled away to a lead of several car lengths as S. Buckwalter ran second ahead of Dusty Heistand, Arndt and Bruce Buckwalter, Jr.
With racing conditions staying green, Drew Heistand was able to maintain some breathing room between his #1 and the #0 of S. Buckwalter until the yellow flag waved as the field neared the five to go mark. Rookie, Brett Wanner required assistance in turns three and four and again the field aligned nose to tail with Heistand's advantage erased.
The battle was on between the two past champions as the lead swapped hands between Drew Heistand and Steve Buckwalter time after time. S. Buckwalter would slide to the lead only to have Drew Heistand slide right back by him in the next set of turns.
This time a red flag would interrupt the race for the lead as rookie, Brian Gilmore laid his #13 over in the turns. Gilmore was uninjured. During the break in the action, a flat tire was reported on the #52 of Tim Buckwalter who had raced into the top ten after starting the race in thirteenth. Track officials allowed for a quick tire change as T. Buckwalter returned to the rear of the field with just three green laps of racing remaining.
Drew Heistand restarted the race as the leader but Steve Buckwalter slid into the lead one last time, using an evasive maneuver that prevented Heistand from sliding back by and into the lead. It was the final lead exchange of the race as Steve Buckwalter went on to take the checkered flag just ahead of Drew Heistand. Arndt captured his first top five of the season as Nick Wean lived up to his name and "Slick Nick" edged Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. for fourth at the finish.
Two qualifying heats were run with wins going to Arndt and B. Buckwalter, Jr.
Race Notes: Brett Arndt picked up his third consecutive heat win on his way to his first top five finish of the young season. Arndt has been strong in every ARDC outing this season but was plagued with an ill running motor during his last two feature outings. A podium finish was just what the Topton, PA driver needed to jump start his season. Jimmy Glenn, one of three ARDC rookies, came from the 21st starting spot to finish tenth at the checkered, advancing the most positions of any driver. Tim Buckwalter also passed a lot of cars. After advancing up to 8th, T. Buckwalter returned to the rear of the field to pick up 6th at the checkered after his tire change with just six laps remaining.
Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Steve Buckwalter #0 2. Drew Heistand #1 3. Brett Arndt #46 4. Nick Wean #78 5. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. #83 6. Tim Buckwalter #52 7. Dusty Heistand #6 8. Alex Bright #77 9. Brenden Bright #88 10. Jimmy Glenn #07 11. Steve Craig #55 12. Carey Becker #14 13. Eric Heydenreich #11 14. Dave Shirk #16 15. Joe Butera #3 16. Brian Gilmore #13 17. Trevor Kobylarz #49 18. Brett Wanner #44 19. Shawn Jackson #7 20. Mark Gilmore #10 21. Parker Evans #61 22. PJ Gargiulo #5 23. Steven Drevicki #19
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BRENDEN BRIGHT SHINES IN ARDC EVENT AT WILLIAMS GROVE
Brendan Bright, the 2011 ARDC Rookie of the Year, bounced back from a disappointing season opener to win his first of the 2012 season at the prestigious Williams Grove Speedway.
Bright was unable to even take the green flag when ARDC opened their season several weeks ago but he made up for lost time with wins in both his heat and feature at Williams Grove from pole position starts. While the front row starts were certainly an advantage, Bright led every lap he raced, surrounded by some of the biggest names in ARDC racing - Smith, Buckwalter and Arndt.
The last thing that Ted Bright said to his son and driver before the start of the race was, "Don't overdrive the first turn." With Ryan Smith and Steve Buckwalter right on his tail from the drop of the green flag, those words of advice were hard to follow! Both Smith and S. Buckwalter are past winners of ARDC events at Williams Grove.
It took several attempts to get lap one on the books but the remaining nineteen laps produced some great wheel to wheel racing.
Steve Craig and Carey Becker were involved in a turn three incident when Becker lost the brakes on his #14. Alex Bright had a problem in turn one on the next go round and required the services of a wrecker. Dave Ely also exited to the pit area on this caution.
Bright remained on the point on the restart as S. Buckwalter challenged Smith for second and Parker Evans and PJ Gargiulo battled for the fourth spot. Brett Arndt lost positions as he struggled with a malfunctioning engine.
When Jimmy Glenn brought out the caution after the completion of five laps, Steve Craig and 2011 ARDC Champion, Drew Heistand headed to the pits.
On the restart, Smith took a look to the inside of Bright's #88 while Trevor Kobylarz battled Steven Drevicki for fifth. By lap nine, Gargiulo had both Kobylarz and Tim Buckwalter challenging. At the half way mark, Bright held the lead followed by Smith, S. Buckwalter, Evans and T. Buckwalter.
At times, Bright was able to pull away from the field by several car lengths while the second through fifth positions were being hotly contested but his comfort level was short lived as Smith and S. Buckwalter would join be on his tail once again.
Billy Pauch Jr. brought out the caution on lap eleven when he was unable to get his disabled Burke Trucking entry off of the track.
After starting in the fifteenth position, T. Buckwalter joined the charge as he took over fourth from Evans just past the half way mark.
Smith had S. Buckwalter to his outside as the pair not only battled for second but looked for racing room to take the lead. On laps fourteen and fifteen, Smith pulled even with Bright in the corners. The pair raced side by side with Bright showing a slight advantage on the long straigtaways.
As the leaders dueled, T. Buckwalter caught the top three and made it a four way battle to the finish. The top four cars were side by side and nose to tail for the final laps of the race.
Coming to the checkered flag, S. Buckwalter made a move to the outside. Bright took the checkered flag first with S. Buckwalter edging Smith at the finish line for second. Fourth went to opening day winner, T. Buckwalter with Kobylarz finishing fifth.
It was clearly a night to remember for the second year driver from Collegeville, PA. Bright talked about the race from his perspective. "I ran the middle of the track in the beginning," Bright explained. "Toward the end, I was just about standing up in the car to slow it down. Smith got underneath me a couple of times. After that I tried the bottom and it worked for me to run down there."
Rick Wean finished sixth followed by Eric Heydenreich, Evans and Gargiulo.
Another young ARDC driver had a good outing at Williams Grove. Starting scratch on the feature field, rookie Brett Wanner came home with a tenth place finish in his second outing with ARDC.
The three qualifying heats were won by B. Bright, Arndt and S. Buckwalter.
RACE NOTES
Rookie Brian Gilmore, the younger brother of second year ARDC driver, Mark Gilmore, made his ARDC debut after celebrating his sixteenth birthday. Also making their first starts of the 2012 season were Bear, DE driver, Shawn Jackson and Billy Pauch Jr. On what was a cold and windy night for racing, Bruce Buckwalter Jr. had more heat than he wanted or needed when the engine in the #83 left go during warm-ups. A fire broke out but extinguished itself quickly as Buckwalter tried to exit the car.
Feature Finish (20 laps) 1. Brenden Bright 2. Steve Buckwalter 3. Ryan Smith 4. Tim Buckwalter 5. Trevor Kobylarz 6. NIck Wean 7. Eric Heydenreich 8. Parker Evans 9. PJ Gargiulo 10. Brett Wanner 11. Brett Arndt 12. Dave Shirk 13. Mark Gilmore 14. Randy Reid 15. Brian Gilmore 16. Steven Drevicki 17. Billy Pauch Jr. 18. Steve Craig 19. Drew Heistand 20. Jimmy Glenn 21. Dusty Heistand 22. Dave Ely 23. Alex Bright 24. Carey Becker 25. Ryan Greth DNS - Shawn Jackson
Points
1. Tim Buckwalter 253
2. Nick Wean 239
3. Trevor Kobylarz 231
4. Parker Evans 199
5. Mark Gilmore 197
6. Steve Buckwalter 191
7. P.J. Gargiulo 186
8. Eric Heydenreich 179
9. Ryan Smith 176
10. Dave Ely 168
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TIM BUCKWALTER WINS 2012 ARDC OPENER
Side-by-side Dual Has Race Decided on Final Lap
The drivers of the American Racing Driver's Club (ARDC) left nothing on the table in their 2012 season opener at the Big Diamond Speedway! With multiple lead changes in the final laps, this one definitely wasn't over until the waving of the checkered flag!
Twenty-six cars participated in the 73rd ARDC season opener.
Dave Shirk and Dave Ely led the field to the green flag. Ely slid wide in turns one and two as second year competitor, Mark Gilmore of Hackettstown, NJ took command to lead lap one.
Gilmore was able to move away from the field about several car lengths as the race continued for the runner-up spot. After a caution flag for Joe Butera, Steven Drevicki moved into second ahead of Shirk as Steve Buckwalter moved into contention after starting twelfth on the grid.
Drevicki and S. Buckwalter battled for second. S. Buckwalter completed the pass and set his sights on the the leader, Gilmore.
When Dusty Heistand's #6 came to a stop, the caution flew again, erasing any advantage that Gilmore held over S. Buckwalter. The anticipated challenge for the lead did not materialize as the Zero car slowed on the restart and once again the field was under caution.
Gilmore maintained the lead on the restart but there was plenty of company gathering as the race returned to green. 2011 ARDC Champion, Drew Heistand moved in to challenge T. Buckwalter first and then he moved in on Drevicki for second.
As the race approached the half way mark, Gilmore was feeling the pressure from Heistand as T. Buckwalter, Drevicki and Parker Evans completed the top five.
Heistand moved into the lead as the field took the five to go sign as Buckwalter moved past Gilmore for second.
Heistand had his hands full of T. Buckwalter as the pair battled side-by-side. The advantage changed between the two drivers at different points on the 3/8 mile speedway. Heistand and T. Buckwalter gave the fans what they have come to expect from ARDC racing - this wheel to wheel competition.
It was still anyone's race to win as the field entered the final turn on the last lap. Giving it his all, Hiestand lost the handle in turn four. The caution flew to set-up another one lap shootout for the win.
Now it was Nick Wean who would challenge T. Buckwalter for the win. Wean took over the lead as the pair raced through the first and second corners but Tim Buckwalter was not to be denied. After being plagued on many race nights in 2011 with mechanical issues, the young racer from Douglassville, PA raced back to take the lead and the checkered flag.
Mark Gilmore followed Buckwalter and Wean across the line for his best ARDC finish to date. Ely raced his way back to finish fourth with second generation driver, Trevor Kobylarz completing the top five at the flag.
Heat wins went to Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Brett Arndt and Steve Buckwalter.
20 Lap Feature
1. Tim Buckwalter #52 2. Rick Wean #78 3. Mark Gilmore #10 4. Dave Ely #56 5. Trevor Kobylarz #49 6. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. #83 7. Steven Drevicki #19 8. Parker Evans #61 9. Andrew Hannula #9 10. PJ Gargiulo #5 11. Alex Bright #77 12. Eric Heydenreich #11 13. Ryan Greth #26 14. Randy Reid #53 15. Carey Becker #14 16. Drew Heistand #1 17. Steve Craig #55 18. Joe Butera #3 19. Dave Shirk #16 20. Ryan Smith #33 21. Steve Buckwalter #0 22. Jimmy Glenn #07 23. Brett Wanner #44 24. Dusty Heistand #6
Season Opener notes - After a win in the second qualifying race, Brett Arndt was forced to scratch from the feature with motor problems. Steven Drevicki had his hands full when a radius rod broke on the Degre Engineering #19 on the final lap. Joe Butera made the five hour driver to compete in the season opener from his Wampum, PA home. Micro sprint driver, Ryan Greth, made his first ARDC appearance behind the Buckwalter rental. 2011 ARDC Champion, Drew Heistand will use the #1 this season. The car #1 is reserved for the prior season's champion.
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ANDREW HANNULA IS READY FOR THE 2012 SEASON
Hannula Prepares for ARDC Competition
It would be hard to imagine anyone more anxious for the start of the 2012 racing season than Andrew Hannula.
Hannula returns to wingless competition this season, driving his family owned equipment in ARDC events. Hannula will forego his signature #89 in favor of a single digit car number this season. The black, silver and fluorescent red #9 will bear Hannula's name for the 2012 season.
Hannula has been racing as long as any 22 year old could. Starting with quarter midgets in 1994 at Wall, NJ, Hannula won over 200 events as he and his family traveled to various tracks to compete. Looking for a new challenge, Hannula “graduated” to Slingshots and then 270 Micro competition in 2002 at Borger’s Speedway. In 2005, Hannula moved up to 600cc Micro competition. Hannula collected many Micro Sprint feature wins while competing on tracks throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Hannula moved into the sprint car ranks with URC in 2007 and won Rookie of the Year honors from the club that season. A strong performance found the rookie driver in the top five in URC points but a flip at the New Egypt Speedway sidelined the team for several weeks, dropping Hannula from points contention.
Hannula moved to the Indianapolis area following the 2008 season to pursue his interest in wingless competition.
Hannula is a fortunate young man. "My parents have poured every penny and every hour they have into making my dreams a reality," Hannula explains of his family's support. Now he also has the full support of his of his financee', Kayla Hulcher and her family. "Kayla's entire family is a racing family and they support me as well. Kayla loves it just as much as me," Hannula explains. "Just having our own team back together is quite an accomplishment!" The young couple has plans for a wedding before the end of 2012.
Hannula's ARDC entry is a "little unique." The car was originally built by Stealth and was former ARDC Champion, Andy Martin's back-up car. It was also Steve Buckwalter's ride in his first A Main at the Chili Bowl. The #9 will be powered by a Gaerte Ford prepared by J & D Performance, a connection that Hannula made while living in the Indianapolis area.
While Hannula continues to search for a major sponsor, the #9 is supported by several product sponsors. CSI Shocks, J & D Performance, DMI & Dave Ely and the Radical Design Group who have just completed the "look" for Hannula's 2012 ride.
Hannula expects to compete in most of the events on the ARDC schedule this season but knows that his work commitment will prevent him from some of the shows out of the area. Employed as a car salesman by Muller Toyota in Clinton, NJ, Hannula works on Saturdays and will go directly to the track from there. The nine Saturday night shows at Big Diamond Speedway were a welcome addition to this year's schedule for Hannula.
Still looking for that first ARDC victory, Hannula has come close on several occasions. One of the highlights of his racing career has been the first laps that he ran at the Williams Grove Speedway - a track where Hannula continues to perform well. With three ARDC races scheduled at Williams Grove, Hannula looks forward to returning to one of his favorite tracks for multiple events this season. The wrong choice in tires might have cost the 22 year old racer a possible win at the Grove last season.
Hannula hopes to take all that he has learned and put it to use this season with the hopes of finding Victory Lane!
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ARDC FINALIZES ENGINE RULES FOR 2012 SEASON
Pennsylvanis Motor Speedway Date Added to 2012 Schedule
The Board of Governors of ARDC (American Racing Drivers Club) have announced the following guidelines for 2012 competition.
It is the goal of the Board of Governors to preserve the level of competition that ARDC has become known for while simultaneously trying to control costs by prolonging engine life.
In order to achieve these goals, the following RPM limits will be enforced in 2012:
All pushrod engines (166ci): 8500 RPM
All Overhead Cam engines (155ci): 9500 RPM
In addition to the RPM limits, the 2012 season will be the final year in which the Esslinger "TST Head" will be allowed. Beginning with the 2013 racing season, the 155 Esslinger will only be permitted to be run with the "ST Head" - the XT, TXT and TST heads will then be considered illegal. Please note that any Overhead Cam engine - whether iron block or aluminum block - may also not exceed 155ci.
The ARDC Officers will be led by president, Bruce Buckwalter in 2012. Greg Fitzpatrick will serve as Vice-President, Jess Heydenreich - Recording Secretary and Fred Schell-Treasurer. Rick Wean serves as the Owner's Representative while PJ Gargiulo is the Driver's Representative. Scott Arndt serves as Member-at-Large with Keith Mory as Trustee.
ARDC starts their 73rd season of competition when the first midgets are pushed off for their season opener at the Big Diamond Speedway on April 7th. In addition to ten shows at the Schuylkill County 3/8 mile speedway, ARDC will travel to the heart of PA 410 Sprint Car country with three shows each at Williams Grove and Port Royal. There will be two weekends at the Potomac and Winchester Speedways in Maryland and Virginia and a third swing to the south for a weekend at Dixieland and County Line tracks in North Carolina. The 3/8 mile Mercer Raceway Park will be visited on two occasions during the season. ARDC will share the spotlight with the sprint cars of USAC in the first of two Thunder on the Hill programs at the Grandview Speedway. Always a fan pleaser, ARDC visits the New Egypt Speedway for one show in late September with the season finale coming at the Susquehanna Speedway Park for the Annual Candy Bowl event at the end of October.
Just announced for the 2012 schedule is the return of ARDC to The Pittsburgh, PA area with the Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 4.
With twenty nine confirmed race dates on the schedule, there will be plenty of “three wide and side by side” action throughout the 2012 racing season!
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ARDC 2012 schedule
Saturday April 7th Big Diamond
Friday April 27th Williams Grove w/Allstars
Saturday April 28th Big Diamond
Saturday May 5th Port Royal
Saturday May 12th Big Diamond
Friday May 18th Potomac
Saturday May 19th Winchester
Saturday May 26th Big Diamond
Saturday June 2nd Mercer
Tuesday June 5th Grandview w/USAC
Friday June 8th Williams Grove w/All stars
Saturday June 9th Port Royal w/USAC
Friday June 29th Dixieland
Saturday June 30th County Line
Friday July 6th Big Diamond
Saturday July 14th Big Diamond
Saturday July 21st Mercer
Saturday July 28th Big Diamond
August 4th PPMS
August 11th Big Diamond
August 17th Potomac
August 18th Winchester
Saturday August 25th Big Diamond
Saturday September 1st Big Diamond
Monday September 3rd Labor Day Classic Port Royal
Friday September 14th Williams Grove
Saturday September 22nd New Egypt
Saturday October 13th Grandview TOTH 5 25s
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BANQUET CONCLUDES ARDC 72ND SEASON
The American Racing Drivers Club held their annual banquet celebrating their 72nd season Saturday November 26th at The Lobitz Cater Hall in Hazleton, PA.
Drew Heistand of Wrightsville was officially crowned the club champion. Heistand who had wins at Susquehanna, Port Royal and Williams Grove in his DonCin Transport number 12 Midget also had 5 top 5 and 11 top 10 finishes to score 2202 points.
Heistand, whose name is now listed with the likes of “Wild Bill” Schindler, Ed “Dutch” Schaefer and Len Duncan as well as more recent champions like Steve Buckwalter, Frank Polimeda and Andy Martin, remarked, “When I came to my first banquet I had to sit all the way in the back on the dance floor and watch Andy Martin receive his award as champion and I thought to myself, I want to be up there.” “Earlier this week I was looking at the list of past champions and realized that I didn’t know even half of the guys on the list but I knew who they were and to have my name on that list is an incredible honor.”
To complete the sweep of top awards, Heistand’s Crew Chief / Owner / Father, Don Heistand was named as the Ken Hickey Mechanic of the Year. Heistand, who also fields a car for son Dusty Heistand said, ”This award should be cut up in pieces and given to all the guys on the crew and to my wife.” Don Heistand was also given the owners championship plaque.
In all, the top 15 in both driver and owners points where awarded plaques, honoring their accomplishments.
Winning the Rookie of the Year Award was Brenden Bright of Collegeville, PA. Bright, one of five rookies scoring points this season had 7 top 10 finishes, 4 top 5’s including a win at Dixieland Speedway in Elizabeth City, NC. Bright also finished in 10th position in the point standings.
Steve Drevicki of Reading PA was given the Most Improved Driver Award. Drevicki, in his second season of Wingless Midget racing scored 7 top 10’s and 5 top 5’s that included wins at Penn Can and Big Diamond Speedways. Drevicki finished seventh in points.
The Best Appearing Car Award was given to Shawn Jackson of Bear DE. Jackson’s number 2 was lettered by Bruce Bowen and was a combination of vinyl and “Old School Paint”.
The Galen Halteman Memorial Presidents Award was given to Tammy and Tim Sassaman of Milford, NJ. The Sassaman’s joined ARDC this season after formerly traveling with the Focus Midget Series. Tim is one of the infield officials while Tammy serves as a scorer. In addition, the Sassaman’s have provided a trailer that serves as the traveling ARDC office.
Other awards were given to ARDC’s speedway partners including, Susquehanna Speedway Park, Williams Grove Speedway, Port Royal Speedway, Bridgeport Speedway, Penn Can Speedway, Big Diamond Speedway, Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway, Mercer Raceway Park, Dixieland Speedway, County Line Raceway, Winchester Speedway and New Egypt Speedway.
Contingency sponsors recognized were, Racebumpers.com, Saldana Racing Products, SBI Fuel Systems, DMI, S&S Speedways, Mason Racing Ignitions, Jereco Racing Engines, DeFebo Graphics, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Petcock Powder Coating, Fastener Specialties and BDB Graphics.
A 50/50 raffle was held with the proceeds going to Jack Culbertson a nine year old Quarter Midget racer with the Montgomery County Quarter Midget Club who is suffering from cancer. The winning ticket belonged to Randy Smith of S&S Speedways who donated his portion of the winnings to the young driver.
ARDC President Bruce Buckwalter Sr. said that the final touches are being put on the 2012 season including the schedule and firming up the rules and that information will be released soon.
Drew Heistand concluded his champion’s speech with a statement that best sums up not only the 2011 season but also ARDC when he said, “Great Teams, Great Racing, Great People”.
FINAL POINT STANDINGS
1. Drew Heistand 2202
2. Nick Wean 2033
3. Ryan Smith 2022
4. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 1892
5. Brett Arndt 1851
6. Dusty Heistand 1841
7. Steven Drevicki 1831
8. Alex Bright 1814
9. Tim Buckwalter 1715
10. Brenden Bright 1677
11. Steven Bull 1558
12. Keith McIntyre Jr. 1264
13. P.J. Gargiulo 1203
14. Steve Buckwalter 1187
15. Steve Craig 1126
16. Andrew Hannula 1114
17. Shawn Jackson 936
18. Dave Shirk 936
19. Parker Evans 933
20. Shane Penny 820
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ALEX BRIGHT WINS THE CANDY BOWL AT SUSQUEHANNA SPEEDWAY PARK AS DREW HEISTAND IS CROWNED CHAMPION IN ARDC’s 72nd SEASON
Coming into the Candy Bowl at Susquehanna Speedway Park, Drew Heistand had not wrapped up the ARDC Midget point championship but all he had to do was start his heat race and he would amass enough point to outdistance Nick Wean. Mission accomplished as Heistand won the first heat race.
After a foot of snow delayed the race by a week and a day Heistand came to the track looking to not only qualify but to win but by the time all the candy wrappers were empty it was Alex Bright picking up his second win of the season.
At the drop off the green flag, Dave Shirk jumped from his pole position into the lead and immediately started a dual with Dusty Heistand and Alex Bright. Going into the third turn, Jimmy Glenn spun and collected Nick Wean who did a slow roleover.
Both cars were restarted but Wean was forced to retire when it was discovered that his battery had come out of the car.
On the restart it was Shirk driving back into the lead with Heistand in tow. Behind the front two was a war on wheels for the third spot between Bright, Steve Drevicki and Steve Bull.
On the following circuit, Heistand and Bright got by Shirk and started to open a lead. On lap 4 Bright was able to get a bite and swept around the outside of Heistand coming off the second turn.
Two laps later, Drevicki was able to get by Shirk and brought Bruce Buckawalter Jr. along as the two moved into third and fourth.
The yellow flag was unfurled on the eighth lap for Jimmy Glenn. Glenn’s racer had a broken axle and had to be towed from the track.
On the restart, Drew Heistand got by Shirk for fifth and immediately started pressuring Buckwalter Jr. for fourth while his brother Dusty was trying to get back around Bright into the lead.
With the final 12 laps of the race running non-stop it allowed Bright to slowly pull away to over a straight away lead over Heistand and Drevicki who were entertaining the crowd with some great side by side action.
At the checkered flag it was Bright with Dusty Heistand holding off Steve Drevicki for second while Drew Heistand made a late race pass of Buckwalter Jr. for fourth.
Finishing sixth through tenth were, Tim Buckwalter, PJ Gargiulo, Brenden Bright, Ryan Smith and Andrew Hannula.
Heat races went to Drew Heistand, Steve Bull and Tim Buckwalter
CANDY BOWL NOTES: When Drew Heistand left Susquehanna after the first race of the season he was in next to last place in points. At intermission the drivers pushed their cars onto the front stretch and kids were invited to come out and Trick or Treat. Bruce Buckwalter Jr’s. car was pushed onto the race track by an ATV driven by a big fluffy dog. Alex Bright will compete at the Chili Bowl in January, Dusty Heistand’s second place car has a for sale sign on it. Steve Drevicki made the two hour drive from State College, PA where he is attending classes at Penn State University. PJ Gargiulo had the number 5 on his car instead of his familiar 51. He also had a pumpkin and a scary mouth designed by his daughter on the front. Andrew Hannula recently bought a car and will spend the winter rebuilding it for action next season. Trevor was behind the wheel of teammate Carey Becker’s 20 as his number 49 has been sold. Bridgeport Modified champion, Ryan Watt was back in action for his second consecutive race. Steve Buckwalter was not on hand as he was on his way to Austrailia to race.
SUSQUEHANNA SPEEDWAY PARK
November 6, 2011
ARDC Wingless Midgets (21 Entries)
1) 77 Alex Bright, 2) 6 Dusty Heistand, 3) 19 Steve Drevicki, 4) 12 Drew Heistand, 5) 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 6) 52 Tim Buckwalter, 7) 5 PJ Gargiulo, 8) 88 Brenden Bright, 9) 33 Ryan Smith, 10) 89 Andrew Hannula, 11) 46 Brett Arndt, 12) 20 Trevor Kobylarz, 13) 17 Ryan Watt, 14) 16 Dave Shirk, 15) 01 Steve Bull, 16) 57 Jason Rice, 17) 11 Eric Heydenreich, 18) 53 Randy Reid, 19) 75 Scott Zipp, 20) 07 Jimmy Glenn 21) 78 Nick Wean.
Heats: Drew Heistand, Steve Bull, Tim Buckwalter
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ARDC CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE DECIDED AT SUSQUEHANNA SPEEDWAY PARK CANDY BOWL VI
When the ARDC Wingless Midgets compete in their final race of the season this Saturday October 29th in Candy Bowl VI at Susquehanna Speedway Park, two drivers will be racing for more than a win they will be racing to claim their first ARDC crown and a place in racing history.
Drew Heistand from Wrightsville, PA hopes that the short 25 mile drive up Route 83, will result in a championship in the historic 72 year old club. Heistand brings a 127 point lead into the contest.
Hanging around the top of the point standings through most of the season, Heistand took a nasty series of flips in the middle of August at Winchester, VA speedway.
Drew’s number 12 was bent badly and Heistand was sore but he returned with a new determination winning two of the next three races while finishing third in the other race, to solidify his points lead.
Just as it looked like Drew would go into the final race of the season with an insurmountable lead, “Slick” Nick Wean had other plans with a dominating win at Grandview.
Wean comes into the final race of the season with 1855 points just 47 points ahead of last years runner-up Ryan Smith. Smith, along with Steve Buckwalter are tied as this years club leading feature winner with four.
ARDC awards points in both the heats and features so the drivers will need to be up on the wheel if they want to improve or even hold on to their current point ranking.
A heat race win is worth 15 points with the runner-up getting 12 points and third getting 10 points. After that the points drop by one per position.
A feature win is worth 100 points and drop by five per position back through 15th place. If there are 26 cars in the field there is a differential of 92 points from first to last.
Winning the ARDC Championship means your name will be permanently etched along side of other past great champions like Ray Bull, Len Duncan, Ed “Dutch” Schaefer and “Wild” Bill Schindler.
In addition to the ARDC Midgets, 600cc Micro Sprints, Sportsman Modifieds, Legends Cars, Byers Tires Thundercars Championship, Sidewinder Sprints & Mini Vans will be in action.
Gates open at 1:00pm with racing at 3:00pm.
POINTS STANDING
1. Drew Heistand 1982
2. Nick Wean 1855
3. Ryan Smith 1808
4. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 1722
5. Dusty Heistand 1664
6. Brett Arndt 1653
7. Steven Drevicki 1619
8. Brenden Bright 1577
9. Alex Bright 1576
10. Tim Buckwalter 1545
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2013 Points
May 4
1. Steve Buckwalter 420
2. Steven Drivicki 341
2. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. 341
4. Alex Bright 337
5. Trevor Kobylarz 307
6. Ryan Greth 289
7. Nick Wean 280
8. P.J. Gargiulo 253
9. Carey Becker 252
10. Jimmy Glenn 249
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