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TRENT AND BULL SPLIT ARDC TWIN 20’S AT NEW EGYPT
New Egypt, NJ – Even though a broken magneto ended his hopes of sweeping the ARDC Midget Twin 20’s at New Egypt last Saturday night, Donnie Trent could not stop smiling in the pit area after the races were completed.
Trent, from Honeybrook, PA, had an ear-to-ear grin on his face due to the fact that his wife, Renee, presented him with a 9 lb., 3 oz. baby boy on Tuesday, June 7. Kasey Donald Trent is the couple’s second child, and Donnie was understandably elated that his daughter Brook now has a baby brother.
Trent then celebrated his son’s birth by winning the wingless ARDC feature at New Egypt. His third career victory with the American Racing Drivers Club was impressive, as Trent blasted from his fourth starting spot into second on the opening lap.
He followed early leader Steve Lenig for a few circuits, then powered by the Selinsgrove, PA leadfoot to grab the lead on the fourth trip around the clay oval.
Trent stayed on the cushion for most of the 20-lap event, building comfortable leads only to have them evaporate as Frank Polimeda, Steve Buckwalter, Ray Bull, and Ed Stimely attempted to run him down.
“You had to be real focused,” explained Donnie. “Especially coming out of turn two. There was only a small margin of error in trying to hit your marks. You had to be within a foot or so of the mark in order to get a good run off the corner.”
Polimeda spun out of second place on lap 12, and on the very next tour of the speedway, Buckwalter and Bull made contact in turn four as they dueled for the third position. It was a battle that had the fans on their feet as Bull dove to the bottom, then slid up and into Buckwalter as they backed their mounts through the corner. Buckwalter held on to his midget, but had to back out of the throttle, losing several spots in the process.
Stimely chased Trent to the finish line, with Bull and Billy Pauch (in the Doug Starrett no. 49) close behind. Buckwalter came back to finish fifth.
“I have to thank my crew…they are such a big help,” stated Trent afterward. “Bryan (Kobylarz) and Lee for the great set-ups on the car, and Pat Weltz of Weltz Trucking and his wife for all their help. Even with the trouble we had in the second feature, it’s still been a great night.”
The final 20-lapper can be summed up in two words: Ray Bull. The five-time and defending champion of the ARDC Midgets charged to the front from his 16th starting spot, snaring the lead from Mike Miller on lap four. From that point on, the race was for the runner-up position, as Bull raced off into his own zip code to pick up his first win of the year.
“What a great car, and what a great crew,” noted the Bloomsburg, PA pilot in his victory lane interview. “This Mega Motorsports team gives me awesome equipment, and they know how to prepare it for each event. The credit for this win goes to them.
It’s always special for me to win at New Egypt, because this is where I won my first race in a midget. They always treat us well here, and they give us a great track to race on.”
Buckwalter started 15th in the nightcap, and rode the bottom groove by Polimeda to steal second with eight laps to go. That’s the way they finished, with Pauch scoring his second consecutive fourth-place paycheck and Stimely cashed in for fifth at the checkered.RESULTS:
1st 20-LAP FEATURE (WINGLESS): 1.Donnie Trent, Honeybrook, PA 2.Ed Stimely, McVeytown, PA 3.Ray Bull, Bloomsburg, PA 4.Billy Pauch, Frenchtown, NJ 5.Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, PA 6.Michele Miller, Reading, PA 7.Andy Martin, Gordonville, PA
8.Tracy Miller, Reading, PA 9.Frank Polimeda, Fort Lee, NJ 10.Steve Craig, Levittown, PA
2nd 20-LAP FEATURE (WITH WINGS): 1.Ray Bull 2.Steve Buckwalter 3.Frank Polimeda 4.Billy Pauch 5.Ed Stimely 6.Andy Martin 7.Michele Miller 8.Steve Craig 9.Dave Shirk, Mohnton, PA 10.Carey Becker, Reading, PA
NOTES FROM NEW EGYPT: On the opening lap of the wingless feature, rookie Eric Heydenreich was launched frighteningly high into the air on the backstretch. Heydenreich’s no. 84 executed a series of twists and somersaults in mid-air before landing on its tail, then flipping onto the nose, finally coming to rest on what was left of the wheels. The Bloomsburg, PA resident was knocked unconscious for a few minutes, but climbed from the car under his own power. Because he complained of some pain in his knee, and because the safety crew noticed that his helmet was cracked, Heydenreich was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
A phone conversation on Sunday revealed that Eric suffered no broken bones, but he does have a concussion. His knee was lacerated, but otherwise okay. The car is not as healthy, however, as the chassis will have to be replaced.
Buckwalter, Bull, and Stimely have finished all three of this year’s features inside the top five.
Pauch came from 19th on the grid to finish fourth in the wingless race, and then raced from 18th to fourth in the winged 20-lapper.
A nice field of 26 midgets entered the competition at New Egypt. Unfortunately, Chris Rupp and Buddy Baker encountered mechanical problems during warm-ups and had to withdraw.