Battle of Trenton Notebook

Battle of Trenton Notebook –
By: Pete MacDonald

•It’s always nice to see drivers from all forms of racing take part in the indoor shows. You had everything from Dirt Modified, Asphalt Modified, Super Modified, Sprint Car, Midget and Micro Sprint drivers compete throughout the weekend.

•Erick Rudolph seemed to have one of, if not the fastest car in the Sun National Bank Center during the weekend after winning on Friday. Rudolph would suffer an electrical problem on Saturday ending his night early.

•Was neat to see NASCAR Sprint Cup crew member Ryan Flores come up from North Carolina to compete in the Battle of Trenton. Ryan came home 9th in his Twin-20 on Friday and then surprised everyone on Saturday finishing 2nd after coming from the back twice.

“Was cool to not only race but pass a guy like Ted Christopher late in the going,” said Flores. “The car just got too tight at the end and I just couldn’t make a run at the leader.” He will be back for the Gamblers Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City next month.

•Former NASCAR Whelen Modified Competitor and Flemington Speedway track champion Steve Whitt made his indoor debut behind the wheel of the former Rowan Pennink TQ Midget.

•Who says you need a Lafler to compete indoors? Lately a lot of hype has been surrounding the Lafler Chassis, which a lot of the top drivers choose to use. Many people think that the Lafler is the only way to go in order to be competitive indoors. But with a price tag of around $30,000, it makes it hard for the average person to go out and buy one. Interestingly enough, the top-5 in Saturdays A-Main represented 5 different Chassis Manufacturers.

•Anthony Sesely didn’t seem like he was making any friends in Saturdays A-Main. Both Jimmy Blewett and Joey Payne both told the Matawan, NJ driver he was Number-1 on Saturday Night.

“What I don’t have in power, I have to make up for any other way,” said Sesely who runs a 600cc Micro Sprint motor versus the very powerful 750cc TQ motors.

•”Liquid” Lou Cicconi had a rough go of it. He ended up not finishing either of his features throughout the weekend, with Saturday being the more serious. Lou’s car bicycled in a weird way causing him to hit the outside retaining wall, after taking his steering wheel off, Lou called for medical assistance. He would be transferred to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton with a fractured L1 Vertebra.

•2nd place changed hands a total of 11 times throughout the 40-lap slugfest on Saturday, with Ryan Flores taking over for the last time on Lap 36.

•Steve Craig took a frightening ride on Friday night, ending up in between the guardrail and the folded in seats after his car hopped a wheel and tumbled down the backstretch.

•NY Champ Kart Competitor Chris Daley picked up the win on Friday night for the support division. PA’s Gary Hieber won his second straight Battle of Trenton Slingshot Feature on Saturday night.

•103 total cars competed across the three divisions during the weekend. 59 TQ Midgets, 25 Champ Karts, and 19 Slingshots.

•Saturday’s show had all qualifying completed before 9:00pm and the total event done by 10:30pm.

•The LSMP Indoor Series will conclude at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on January 30-31, 2015.