Ace Lane Photos

Rudolph And Christopher Register TQ Wins On Preliminary Night Twin 20s; Chris Daley Dominates Champ Kart Feature

TRENTON, NJ, December 20, 2014 . . . Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., and Ted Christopher of Plainville, Ct., flexed their muscles Friday in the Battle Trenton Three Quarter (TQ) Midget Twin Twenty Lap feature races inside Sun National Bank Center in Trenton.

In the companion Champ Kart 20-lap feature, Chris Daley of Pleasant Valley, N.Y., a karting veteran of fifteen years, outran a star studded field to win a highly competitive feature.

The split-field TQ Midget races were a prelude to Saturday night’s Battle Of Trenton, to be run over a 40-lap distance. Tickets still remain for the Saturday night racing action and can be purchased at the box office.

In the first TQ Twin Twenty lap race, Rudolph powered his way by leader Joey Payne not once, but twice, after the first early race double file restart pass was negated by an immediate caution flag. Once in front the second time, Rudolph outran his Mike Lafler chassis teammate Patrick Emerling, Canadian Mike Lichty, Pennsylvanian Zane Zeiner, and Payne, who faded late in the race.

The second TQ event was all Ted Christopher, who gained the lead on lap one and held off a determined race long threat from Howell, N.J., favorite Jimmy Blewett. Shawn Nye, driving a car that first saw competition in 1996, completed a last turn, last lap pass of Anthony Sesely to finish third. Geoff Sutton drove a remarkable race to finish fifth in Blu Metz’s vintage TQ.

Two spectacular accidents punctuated race two. In the first, Steve Craig overrode a spinning Brett Michalski in turn three, then flipped completely over the Jersey barrier fence. He was not hurt. Later in the race, Lou Cicconi, Jr., running third, hopped over Blewett’s wheel on a restart, became airborne and hit the outside turn two fence head on. Like Craig, Cicconi walked away with out injury.

Daley’s winning Champ Kart ride in the 20-lap feature was achieved over Joseph Pacovich, Andrew Swisher, Cale Ross and Danny Bouc. Pacovich led handily at mid-race only to become ensnared in a tangle with lapped traffic, forcing him to restart the race in mid-pack. He made it back to second but had nothing for Daley. Swisher, Ross and Bouc all ran as high as second at one point during the race before finishing in that order.

First TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1.Erick Rudolph, 2. Patrick Emerling, 3. Mike Lichty, 4. Zane Zeiner, 5. Joey Payne, 6. Andy Nye, 7. Richie Pratt Jr., 8. Jonathan Reid, 9. Ryan Flores, 10. Marc Rogers, 11. Rob Neely, 12. Pat Bealer, 13. Kyle Reinhardt, 14. Avery Stoehr, 15. Andrew Krause, 16. Jon Gambuti, 17. Luke Thomas, 18. Andy Jankowiak, 19. Buddy Sload, 20. Ryan Tidman.

Second TQ Midget Feature (20 Laps): 1. Ted Christopher, 2. Jimmy Blewett, 3. Shawn Nye, 4. Anthony Sesely, 5. Geoffrey Sutton, 6. Mike Iles, 7. Neal Williams, 8. Tony DiMattia, 9. Earl Paules, 10. Matt Janisch, 11. Matt Roselli, 12. Tim Buckwalter, 13. Kyle Hieber, 14. Mike Osite, 15. Lou Cicconi, 16. Steve Yankowski, 17. Steve Craig, 18. Brett Michalski, 19. Ryan Susice. DNS: Carl Medeiros Jr.

Champ Kart Feature (20 Laps): 1. Chris Daley, 2. Joseph Pacovich, 3. Andrew Swisher, 4. Cale Ross, 5. Danny Bouc, 6. John Berger, 7. Ron Midford Jr., 8. Al DeSantis, 9. Jack Handley Jr., 10. Alex Colasanto, 11. Brianna Page, 12. Stephen Beattie, 13. Michael Schickner, 14. Dakota Kessler, 15. Ricky Collins, 16. DJ Doyle, 17. Jessica Little, 18. Dalton Rovira, 19. Paul Hartwig Jr., 20. Anthony Colandro.