Battle of Trenton Heat Races

Start of a heat race 1 with Nick Ladyga on pole

Bob Yurko

Nick Ladyga of Voluntown, Ct., Jimmy Blewett of Howell, N.J., and Ryan Susice of Ransomville, N.Y., each punched their ticket into the 40-lap Battle Of Trenton TQ Midget feature Saturday by winning 20-lap TQ Qualifier races Friday at Sun National Bank Center. Their wins guaranteed them starting berths in Saturday night's 40-lap Battle Of Trenton feature race.

The Len Sammons Motorsports Productions (LSMP) event also saw Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., and Blewett tie for fast time, with identical 7.045 clockings to best a 63-car TQ field.

The Champ Kart feature, run over a 20-lap distance, was won by Chris Daley of Pleasant Valley, N.Y. over Cale Ross of Lambertville, N.J. The win was Daley's seventh career LSMP Indoor Champ Kart feature and second in Sun National Bank Center.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Ladyga, a New England Modified racer, and Susice, the 2015 Ransomville Raceway Small Block Modified DIRTcar champion, had never won indoor races before. Blewett, who ran races on both dirt and asphalt in 2015, is a past indoor TQ preliminary race winner.

The common denominator among all three heat winners was their car builder, Mark Lafler of Ransomville, N.Y.

Drivers lined up and ready to go

Bob Yurko

Contenders for the LSMP Indoor Series Presented By VP Race Fuels Point Championship, to be decided Saturday, had difficult Fridays. Anthony Sesely of Matawan, N.J., who had led the points heading into Friday night's events battled a misfiring car all afternoon and evening and eventually withdrew from his heat race when his car simply quit. Mike Lichty of Innerkip, Ontario, second in points, crashed in his heat race. Rudolph, also a contender, was involved in numerous mishaps in his qualifier and Andy Jankowkiak of Buffalo, N.Y., the defending winner of the Battle Of Trenton, crashed heavily and was out of his heat race early.

Blewett emerged from the Friday competition as the leader in the standings, with a guaranteed starting spot in the feature heading into Saturday's climactic event.

In the Champ Kart race, Daley moved swiftly through the field to assume command but when a caution flag flew at mid-distance, Ross muscled by Daley for the lead. Two laps later, however, Daley reasserted himself and went on to win with Ross second, James Hayden of Lake Grove, N.Y., third, Dalton Rovira of East Brunswick, N.J., fourth and AJ Jadacki of Lakewood fifth.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Anthony Colandro of Hicksville, N.Y., Jadacki, and Daley won the three Champ Kart heat races, and Brianna Page of Brick, N.J., won the Champ Kart B Main.

Saturday's (TODAY) racing schedule consists of qualifiers and last chance races for the TQ Midgets leading up to the Battle Of Trenton 40-lap feature and a complete program of Slingshot racing, culminating in a 20-lap feature.

The action was fast and furious

Bob Yurko

Gates will open at Sun National Bank Center at 5:00 PM – one hour than previous announced – to accommodate Fan Fest attendees. Fan Fest, a pre-race trackside meet-and-greet, is open to any reserved seat ticket holder or any race fan who is accompanied by a child.

Good seats remain available online at www.comcastix.com or by phone at 1-800-298-4200. Tickets may also be purchased at the Sun National Center Box Office on Saturday.

First TQ Qualifier (20 Laps): 1. Nick Ladyga, 2. Kyle Reinhardt, 3. Jonathan Reid, 4. Brandon Azzalina, 5. Mike Iles, 6. Scott Kreutter, 7. Matt Roselli, 8. Bobby Holmes, 9. Brett Michalski, 10. John Ivy, 11. Ryan Fraser, 12. Ryan Bartlett, 13. Marc Rogers, 14. Brandon McGough, 15. Chris Allen Jr., 16. Anthony Sesely, 17. Bruce Leote, 18. Ryan Tidman, 19. Steve Craig, 20. Tim Proctor, 21. Andy Jankowiak.

Second TQ Qualifier (20 Laps): 1. Jimmy Blewett, 2. Patrick Emerling, 3. Tim Buckwalter, 4. Zane Zeiner, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Josh Dalrymple, 7. Joey Payne, 8. Tony DiMattia, 9. Andy Nye, 10. Jesse Maurer, 11. Matt Remick, 12. Avery Stoehr, 13. Chad Parks, 14. Buddy Sload, 15. Aaron Bartemy, 16. Steve Kemery, 17. Jeff Kot, 18. Ronnie Flaim, 19. Ted Christopher, 20. Rob Vivona, 21. Tim Nye.

A-Main Heat winners (L to R) Susice, Blewett, and Ladyga

Jim Smith

Third TQ Qualifier (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Susice, 2. Shawn Nye, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Rob Neely, 5. Justin Bonsignore, 6. Chad Jones, 7. Erick Rudolph, 8. Andrew Krause, 9. Lou Cicocni Jr., 10. Geoff Sutton, 11. Tommy Catalano, 12. Pat Bealer, 13. Jack Conover, 14. Ronnie Mullen, 15. Louie Horvath, 16. Neal Williams, 17. Bob Baker, 18. Kyle Lick, 19. Adam Bartemy, 20. Mike Lichty, 21. Matt Janisch.

Champ Kart Feature (20 Laps): 1. Chris Daley, 2. Cale Ross, 3. James Hayden, 4. Dalton Rovira, 5. AJ Jadacki, 6. Eric Zeh, 7. AJ DeSantis, 8. Blake Barney, 10. Adam Giovanetti, 11. Stephen Beattie, 12. Dominick Casola, 13. John Berger, 14. James Pape Jr., 15. Brianna Page, 16. Jimmy Wolcott, 17. Anthony Colandro, 18. Bryan Sullivan, 19. Rich Davidowitz, 20. Phil Sabatine.

Friday Night	Trenton Action	Jim Smith Photos