|
Date
|
Speedway
|
Size
(Mile)
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Race
Comments
|
|
April
30
|
Lincoln
New Oxford (Abbottstown), PA
|
3/8
|
---
|
---
|
Event
Rained Out
|
|
May
6
|
Dixieland
Elizabeth City, NC
|
3/8
|
---
|
---
|
Event
Rained Out
|
|
May
7
|
County
Line
Elm City, NC
|
3/8
|
---
|
---
|
Event
Rained Out
|
|
May
13
|
Williams
Grove
Mechanicsburg, PA
|
1/2
|
9th
|
3rd
|
Ray
started on the pole of the second heat and lead every lap to take
the win in the heat. After the heats Lauren drew another number
for the starting position in the feature. She drew #10 out of 14.
Ray started 9th in the feature and charged to the lead on the 5th
lap. He lead until about half way through the race until Lance Dewease
caught up to him and was able to get by him. Steve Buckwalter was
also on a charge for the front he got by Ray with a few laps to
go and went on to challenge Dewease. Sometime in the whole mix Mike
Miller got by Ray also. On a restart with 2 laps to go Dewease's
motor went south. It was Buckwalter, Miller and Ray coming down
for the green with 2 laps left. Ray did not have enough to gain
any more spots in the last 2 laps.
|
|
May
20
|
Big
Diamond
Minersville, PA
|
3/8
|
---
|
---
|
Event
Rained Out
|
|
May
24
|
Grandview
Bechtelsville, PA
|
1/3
|
---
|
---
|
Just
as the midgets were being pushed off, a light mist began to fall.
The field took the green to start the ARDC 20-lapper, and one lap
was recorded before Steve Craig flipped in turn one.
The ARDC Midget feature will pick up where it left off on June 26.
The midgets will also compete in another feature or possibly heats
and another feature that night. Miller will make that decision in
the near future. Racing without wings, the midgets staged some very
entertaining qualifying events. Buckwalter, who won the only ARDC
race held so far this season on May 13 at Williams Grove, held off
Ray Bull to register the win in heat race number one.
|
|
May
28
|
Orange
County Fair
Middletown, NY
|
5/8
|
---
|
---
|
Event
Rained Out
|
|
June
3
|
Knoxville
Knoxville, IA
|
1/2
|
22nd
|
10th
|
Ray
started 4th in the second B Main and finished 2nd that qualified
him for a 22nd starting spot in the feature. Ray charged toward
the front, grabbing 12 positions along the way to finish 10th!
|
|
June
4
|
Knoxville
Knoxville, IA
|
1/2
|
---
|
---
|
Event
Rained Out
|
|
June
11
|
New
Egypt
New Egypt, NJ
|
1/2
|
16th
|
3rd
|
Feature
1 (Wingless): Ray started 16th in the wingless
race which ran first and quietly picked his way through the field.
He was in quite an intense battle with Steve Buckwalter until they
got together a little bit in turn 4 and Buckwalter got up in the
marbles and lost a few spots. Ray finished 3rd to Donnie Trent and
Ed Stimely who finished second.
|
|
June
11
|
New
Egypt
New Egypt, NJ
|
1/2
|
16th
|
WIN
|
Feature
2 (Wings): 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.” (ARDC PR)
|
|
June
26
|
Grandview
Bechtelsville, PA
|
3/8
|
7th
|
2nd
|
Make
Up Feature from May 24th: Ray started about 7th or so in the first
feature and headed for the front. He caught Donnie Trent and in
an attempt to take the lead on the high side in turn 4 he got up
in the marbles and lost about 5 spots. He then made it back up to
second spot but not in time to get around Buckwalter before the
checkered flag flew.
|
|
June
26
|
Grandview
Bechtelsville, PA
|
3/8
|
13th
|
WIN
|
The
second feature had Ray starting 13th. He took his time coming up
through the field. He got into second place behind Mike Miller and
ran there for several laps. He got close to him a few times but
never seemed like he had enough to pass him for the lead. At the
white flag he caught back up to him and it looked like there was
a small Ray of hope but it would take alot (So I thought!). Ray
ran down the backstretch and into turn #3 and never lifted, he diamond
off the corner and like a sling shot he dove under Mike Miller coming
off of 4 and beat him to the checkered flag by about a car length.
|
|
July
9
|
Orange
County Fair
Middletown, NY
Rescheduled
from May 28th Rain Out
|
5/8
|
12th
|
WIN
|
ARDC
PR: Using every inch of the super smooth, ultra fast 5/8-mile clay
surface, Bull blasted from his 12th starting position, climbing
to fourth as the first lap was recorded. The Bloomsburg, PA, veteran
followed rookie Andy Martin, who started 10th, to the front of the
field on that opening circuit. Martin blazed a trail from the outside
of the fifth row all the way up to third spot as the opening lap
was scored.
The pair then began their assault on early race leader Steve Lenig.
Martin pounced on his opportunity to drive under Lenig as they exited
turn two on the fourth trip around the oval. Bull followed Martin
by Lenig, then dove to the inside of Martin entering turn three.
While Andy Martin fought hard, he was no match for the Raging Bull,
as the Mega Motorsports no. 22m out-gassed him to grab the lead
off of turn four. Bull went on to win by a comfortable margin over
Martin and the rest of the field.
|
|
July
23
|
Mercer
Raceway Park
Mercer, PA
|
3/8
|
|
10th
|
The
22m suffered driveline failure in
the wingless event. The yoke that holds the driveline in the back
of the engine blew apart with only two laps to go, sidelining the
Bloomsburg throttle-jockey. The Mega Motorsports team feverishly
attempted to replace the yoke and check for additional damage, but
the repairs could not be completed in time for the second feature.
|
|
July
23
|
Mercer
Raceway Park
Mercer, PA
|
3/8
|
|
5th
|
Carey
Becker, graciously turned over his ride to the defending ARDC Champion
for the winged event.
|
|
July
24
|
Latrobe
Latrobe (Palmers), PA
|
1/2
|
|
|
Event
Canceled by Promoter
|
|
July
27
|
Bridgeport
Bridgeport,
NJ
|
1/4
|
---
|
---
|
Event
was rained out and rescheduled for October 1.
|
|
August
5
|
Dixieland
Elizabeth City, NC
|
3/8
|
6th
|
9th
|
We
were allowed 2 hot laps sessions. Ray was the fastest time of the
night in the last one, but on the last lap his motor let go. Ray's
teamate Dave Shirk, graciously stepped aside and let Ray run his
#2 car.
Ray stared about 6th in the first feature and really seemed to struggle.
He was able to finish 9th.
|
|
August
5
|
Dixieland
Elizabeth City, NC
|
3/8
|
6th
|
2nd
|
Ray started the second feature somewhere around the same 6th spot
or so and was able to get his way up to 2nd. He tried to catch a
fast Steve Buckwalter, but ran out of time.
|
|
August
6
|
County
Line
Elm City, NC
|
3/8
|
|
2nd
|
|
|
August
6
|
County
Line
Elm City, NC
|
3/8
|
|
4th
|
|
|
August
20
|
Lincoln
New Oxford (Abbottstown), PA
|
3/8
|
8th
|
3rd
|
Feature
1 (Wingless): Ray quietly picked off competitors every lap,
but was unable to mount a charge as the leaders threaded their way
through lap traffic.
|
|
August
20
|
Lincoln
New Oxford (Abbottstown), PA
|
3/8
|
8th
|
WIN
|
Feature
2 (Wings): In the winged 20-lapper, Ray rolled off the starting
grid in the eighth position. He motored by rookie Eric Heydenreich
to take the lead coming off the fourth corner as they stormed towards
the completion of lap four. The midgets completed the first 11 trips
without incident, but a yellow for a spinning Kathy Kurtz put the
field under the only caution period of the event. On the restart,
Michele Miller went to the low side once again in one and two. Her
midget got loose in turn two as Ray powered off the top and pulled
ahead by several car lengths.
|
|
August
26
|
Big
Diamond
Minersville, PA
|
3/8
|
|
3rd
|
Feature
1 (Wingless)
|
|
August
26
|
Big
Diamond
Minersville, PA
|
3/8
|
|
5th
|
Feature
2 (Wings)
|
|
September
3
|
Central
Penn
Clearfield, PA
|
3/8
|
13th
|
WIN
|
Rolling
off the starting grid in 13th, Bull slowly worked his way toward
the front of the field. “I was making adjustments in the car,
tuning the shocks to make it better. The track had some ruts, and
everyone was fast, so it was tough to pass.”
Only five laps remained andBull was now the runner-up, and the next
three trips around the wide, banked oval provided an entertaining
duel as Miller stayed up high, and Bull worked the bottom. A yellow
with two to go enabled Bull, the five-time champion from Bloomsburg,
PA, to make the winning move. He blasted into turn one on the green-white-checkered
restart, diving under Miller’s no. 1, then sliding up in front
of the Birdsboro, PA leadfoot to grab the point.
Bull went on to win by several car-lengths, with Miller settling
for second, and Donnie Trent crossing the line in third spot.
In victory lane, Bull enthusiastically thanked the Paden family
for hosting the midgets at their track. “This has got to be
one of the top three or four tracks that I’ve ever run,”
commented the chauffeur of the Mega Motorsports no. 22. “This
place is so much fun…I hope we can come back here.” (ARDC
PR)
|
|
September
10
|
Little
Valley
Little Valley, NY
|
1/2
|
14th
|
2nd
|
Martin
inherited the lead, with Bull primed to make an assault as the green
reappeared. The Mega Motorsports no. 22 darted to the bottom as
the race resumed, with Martin staying on the cushion. Martin flew
off of turn two still in front, and Bull attempted the same maneuver
in three and four. They ran wheel-to-wheel through the corner, but
Martin had more momentum coming off the top, and the Gordonville
Flash pulled back in front as the front-running duo flew down the
front stretch.
From that point on, Martin extended his advantage with each passing
lap. When Ron Grater's checkered flag waved over the field, Martin
had built a margin of an entire straightaway, with Bull crossing
the line as the runner-up. Bull knew that his only chance to snatch
the lead away from the rookie would be on the restart after Buckwalter
coasted to a stop. "I knew my car had one good lap in it, so
I had to try as hard as I could on that first lap after we went
back to green. My motor sputters coming off the corners, and that
costs us. I have to hand it to Andy, though, he was really fast
tonight. He truly deserves this one." With his victory at Central
PA Speedway the previous week, Bull moved into a tie with Hank Rogers,
Jr. for sixth on the all-time ARDC win list.(ARDC PR)
|
|
September
17
|
Clinton
County
Lock Haven, PA
|
1/2
|
13th
|
WIN
|
The
hottest battle on the track was for the runner-up spot between Mike
Miller and Ray Bull. The veteran throttle-jockeys traded passes
and banged wheels several times before Bull secured the position
on lap 19.
Buckwalter blazed under the white flag, but just when it seemed
as though he would pose in victory lane for the eighth time this
season, something in the driveline let loose. For the third time
in the past three weeks, Buckwalter slowed with the winner's circle
in sight.
After a quick yellow to push Steve's disabled racer off the track,
Bull completed a one-lap dash to the checkered, winning
handily over Bryan Kobylarz. (ARDC PR)
|
|
October
1
|
Bridgeport
Bridgeport,
NJ
|
5/8
|
14th
|
2nd
|
Ray
began deep in the field, but made quick work of the competition
and was in the top 5 after 10 laps. Bull darted under Trent in turn
one just after the halfway mark, but the Bloomsburg, PA throttle-jockey
could not mount a serious challenge to Buckwalter.
|
|
October
1
|
Bridgeport
Bridgeport,
NJ
|
1/4
|
13th
|
4th
|
Another
start for the point leader deep in the pack. However ray worked
traffic well and passed on the outside going into the turns. Working
his way into the top five after some entertaining duels with Michele
Miller and Ed Stimely, Ray finally wrestled the fourth position
away from Zipp with three to go
|
|
October
29
|
Susquehanna
Newberrytown,
PA
|
1/2
|
10th
|
5th
|
|
