Christopher Serves Notice With Gambler's Classic Preliminary in Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ –January 30, 2010 . . . Ted Christopher served notice on Friday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., as he claimed the 30-lap TQ-Midget preliminary main event. Christopher of Plainville, Ct., the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, got the lead from Joey Payne on a lap 19 restart and he held off Billy Pauch to claim the victory.

Christopher enters as the favorite for Saturday night’s 40-lap prestigious Gambler’s Classic. He is the defending champion of the race.

“I like my chances,” Christopher said. “I didn’t see anybody go as fast as us in the heat race. We’ll see what the Gambler’s Classic brings.”

Pauch of Frenchtown, N.J., was second, followed by Stewart Friesen of Niagra-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada; Matt Janisch of Nazareth, Pa; and Ryan Smith of Kunkletown, Pa.

Payne, a two-time Gambler’s Classic winner, paced the field early in the main event.

Christopher, who started fourth, moved into third on lap three. He moved by Janisch for the runner-up position on the fifth tour.

The first caution period of the race came out on lap eight when Mike Tidaback spun in turn one.

Christopher tried to pass Payne on the outside line, but he never mustered enough speed to pull off the lead pass.

“Joey had a strong car,” Christopher said. “He could keep it down on the inside line, and that’s the key line around the track.”

Payne’s car broke with mechanical problems on lap 19.

Tim Buckwalter finished sixth, Tidaback was seventh, Don Zrinski was eighth, Joe Lord Jr. was ninth and Chris Allen was 10th.

The top eight are guaranteed starting spots in the Gambler’s Classic.

Heat events winners for the TQ-Midgets went to Friesen; Lou Cicconi Jr., of Aston, Pa; Pauch; and Christopher.

Consolation races went to Chris DeRitis of Philadelphia, Pa, and Dan Dunigan Jr. of Jackson, Mich. DeRitis has the quickest lap in time trials with a lap time of 9.9098 seconds.

Slingshot qualifying event races went to Kyle Hieber of Langhorne, Pa.; Shannon Smith of Kunkletown, Pa; and Anthony Perrego of Montgomery, NY.

The Slingshot division will compete in the Herr’s Snack Bowl 25 on Saturday night. Paul Lotier Jr. of Lebanon, Pa. is the defending champion.

Champ Kart qualifying race winners were Bobby Timmons of Windham, Maine; Norman Hynes of Lithicum Heights, Md; Evan Beaulieu of Durham, Maine; and Coby Cressinger of Selinsgrove, Pa.

The Champ Kart division will be in action on Saturday night with the National Guard 25.

Preliminary action begins Saturday at 4:30 p.m. A Fanfest, which includes, the top eight finishes from Friday night’s TQ-Midget feature, the Slingshot heat winners and the Champ Kart heat winners, is scheduled at 6:30 and final round events start at 7:30.

TQ Midget Feature Finish, 30 Laps: 1. Ted Christopher; 2. Billy Pauch; 3. Stewart Friesen; 4. Matt Janisch; 5. Ryan Smith; 6. Tim Buckwalter; 7. Mike Tidaback; 8. Don Zrinski; 9. Joseph Lord Jr; 10. Chris Allen; 11. Justin Moensch; 12. Anthony Sesely; 13. Richie Coy; 14. Joey Payne; 15. Timex Morgan; 16. Steve Craig; 17. Lou Cicconi Jr; 18. Mike Stefanik; 19. Russ Bailey; 20. Dan Dunigan Jr; 21. Chris DeRitis; 22. Ian Cumens; 23. Rob Vivona; 24. Glenn Heverin.

Written by Jerry Reigle // From Ernie Saxton