RGeeProductions
01-27-2012, 10:59 PM
TWO TIME BOARDWALK HALL WINNER JOEY PAYNE SURVIVED MAJOR WRECK TO WIN AGAIN; OVER 200 ENTERED FOR AC INDOOR RACES; FAN FEST I-POD GIVEAWAYS ADDED TO PRE-RACE FUN
There are three TQ Midget drivers who have savored victory in the coveted Gamblers Classic Indoor race not once, but twice.
Unique among them is Joe Payne, Jr., of Fairlawn, N.J.
The 10th edition of the event known as the Gamblers Classic, run under the direction of Len Sammons and staff, is planned for Friday and Saturday nights Feb. 3-4, 2012.
A winner for the first time in the 2004 Gamblers Classic, Payne survived a catastrophic, life-threatening accident in a summer outdoor, 2006 Midget crash. He then returned to Boardwalk Hall in 2007 to win the Classic a second time.
Payne, a past Three Quarter Midget circuit champion, and expert NEMA Midget and Super modified driver during the summer, is among 80 drivers who will manhandle the powerful TQ (three quarter) Midgets around the tenth-mile Boardwalk Hall track.
“The accident (at Stafford Springs, Ct.) cracked my helmet and bent the left side of the seat straight out,” Payne said. “The seat manufacturer couldn’t believe I had survived when he saw the seat. It took awhile to recover from that one,” admitted Payne.
Three other classes, the mechanical bull-like dirt 600cc Micro-Sprints, the slamming’ Slingshots and the guided missile Champ Karts will be in competition.
Nearly sixty Champ kart teams, three dozen Slingshot specialists, and 32 dirt 600cc Micro Sprint men and machines have paid the entry fee to secure a spot on the roster.
That number is expected to grow as this weekend’s race date approaches. Over two hundred cars have entered to date.
Payne, who also has two second place finishers in the ‘Gamblers’ (2008, 2009), will be driving a 2011 model car built by New York master TQ Midget builder Mike Lafler. Lafler’s cars have a reputation for durability and safety, important considerations for Payne since his accident.
Vintage TQ midgets, an added class for 2012, will be showcased on Friday, Feb. 3 throughout Boardwalk’s Hall spectator concourse with many of their drivers and owners on hand to sign autographs.
Vintage Cars will then be displayed and drivers will be available for autographs and photos during the interactive Saturday evening Fanfest session prior to the beginning of racing program. A controlled exhibition race will follow among the vintage cars and their drivers. These retired drivers will hand out full-size souvenir pennants to the first five hundred youngsters during Fanfest as well.
The Vintage TQ program has been assembled by noted racing engineer Gary Mondschein, who himself was a TQ Midget and full size Midget driver for many years.
The Fan Fest pre-race autograph signing session will also provide opportunities for lucky fans to win valuable prizes.
Through the courtesy of 600cc Micro Sprint car sponsor and entrant JR Michalski Heating &?Air Conditioning of Langhorne, Pa., two lucky young fans will win I-Pods. The free-to-enter drawing will take place at trackside at the conclusion of Fan Fest by the side of Brett Michalski’s 600cc Micro Sprint.
Racers wishing to enter any of the divisions competing in Atlantic City may find entry and rule information available at aarn.com.
Tickets for the Atlantic City event are on sale now at Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Boardwalk Hall box office.
Good seats still remain available; tickets purchased in advance will not incur a local Atlantic City $2-per-ticket tax charged the day of the event.
Further information can also be obtained by calling the show office (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at 609-888-3618.
TQ Midget entries are also pouring in for “The Coffee Cup”, the indoor race scheduled for Providence, R.I. on March 10-11, 2012 at Dunkin Donuts Center.
Previous winner Ted Christopher, Billy Pauch Sr., Steve Craig, Frank Fischer, BJ MacDonald and Jonathan Reid are among those who have joined Paul Loiter Jr., who was the first entrant for the March event.
The North East Midget Association (NEMA), a venerable and popular midget car racing in New England, has pledged the support of many of its top drivers.
Racers wishing to join in the TQ Midget action at Dunkin Donuts Center may find entry and rule information available at aarn.com.
Tickets for the Dunkin Donuts Center Indoor Race event are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Ernie Saxton Communications
There are three TQ Midget drivers who have savored victory in the coveted Gamblers Classic Indoor race not once, but twice.
Unique among them is Joe Payne, Jr., of Fairlawn, N.J.
The 10th edition of the event known as the Gamblers Classic, run under the direction of Len Sammons and staff, is planned for Friday and Saturday nights Feb. 3-4, 2012.
A winner for the first time in the 2004 Gamblers Classic, Payne survived a catastrophic, life-threatening accident in a summer outdoor, 2006 Midget crash. He then returned to Boardwalk Hall in 2007 to win the Classic a second time.
Payne, a past Three Quarter Midget circuit champion, and expert NEMA Midget and Super modified driver during the summer, is among 80 drivers who will manhandle the powerful TQ (three quarter) Midgets around the tenth-mile Boardwalk Hall track.
“The accident (at Stafford Springs, Ct.) cracked my helmet and bent the left side of the seat straight out,” Payne said. “The seat manufacturer couldn’t believe I had survived when he saw the seat. It took awhile to recover from that one,” admitted Payne.
Three other classes, the mechanical bull-like dirt 600cc Micro-Sprints, the slamming’ Slingshots and the guided missile Champ Karts will be in competition.
Nearly sixty Champ kart teams, three dozen Slingshot specialists, and 32 dirt 600cc Micro Sprint men and machines have paid the entry fee to secure a spot on the roster.
That number is expected to grow as this weekend’s race date approaches. Over two hundred cars have entered to date.
Payne, who also has two second place finishers in the ‘Gamblers’ (2008, 2009), will be driving a 2011 model car built by New York master TQ Midget builder Mike Lafler. Lafler’s cars have a reputation for durability and safety, important considerations for Payne since his accident.
Vintage TQ midgets, an added class for 2012, will be showcased on Friday, Feb. 3 throughout Boardwalk’s Hall spectator concourse with many of their drivers and owners on hand to sign autographs.
Vintage Cars will then be displayed and drivers will be available for autographs and photos during the interactive Saturday evening Fanfest session prior to the beginning of racing program. A controlled exhibition race will follow among the vintage cars and their drivers. These retired drivers will hand out full-size souvenir pennants to the first five hundred youngsters during Fanfest as well.
The Vintage TQ program has been assembled by noted racing engineer Gary Mondschein, who himself was a TQ Midget and full size Midget driver for many years.
The Fan Fest pre-race autograph signing session will also provide opportunities for lucky fans to win valuable prizes.
Through the courtesy of 600cc Micro Sprint car sponsor and entrant JR Michalski Heating &?Air Conditioning of Langhorne, Pa., two lucky young fans will win I-Pods. The free-to-enter drawing will take place at trackside at the conclusion of Fan Fest by the side of Brett Michalski’s 600cc Micro Sprint.
Racers wishing to enter any of the divisions competing in Atlantic City may find entry and rule information available at aarn.com.
Tickets for the Atlantic City event are on sale now at Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Boardwalk Hall box office.
Good seats still remain available; tickets purchased in advance will not incur a local Atlantic City $2-per-ticket tax charged the day of the event.
Further information can also be obtained by calling the show office (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at 609-888-3618.
TQ Midget entries are also pouring in for “The Coffee Cup”, the indoor race scheduled for Providence, R.I. on March 10-11, 2012 at Dunkin Donuts Center.
Previous winner Ted Christopher, Billy Pauch Sr., Steve Craig, Frank Fischer, BJ MacDonald and Jonathan Reid are among those who have joined Paul Loiter Jr., who was the first entrant for the March event.
The North East Midget Association (NEMA), a venerable and popular midget car racing in New England, has pledged the support of many of its top drivers.
Racers wishing to join in the TQ Midget action at Dunkin Donuts Center may find entry and rule information available at aarn.com.
Tickets for the Dunkin Donuts Center Indoor Race event are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Ernie Saxton Communications