Gargiulo "Heads Home" to Bridgeport's 1/4 mile PJ Gargiulo has fond memories of Bridgeport Speedway. "We scored our first win in a Micro, and the last we ran there was Father's day 4 years ago when we won the New Jersey Micro Nationals. It's also the closets track to our biggest sponsors, Sperr's Fuel and Church's Auto Parts are litterally just a few minutes from the speedway, and I know several of their employees are planning to come out to watch us run." Gates open at 5:00pm, and racing kicks off at 7:00pm
ARDC Returns to Lincoln; 1st Quarter Report
Card Philadelphia, Pa. - Since the ARDC midgets leadership decided to take the club all wingless and all dirt, each season has brought increased demand to see their exciting brand of racing at more and more venues. This Saturday brings ARDC back to a popular stop in the past, Lincoln Speedway. Driver PJ Gargiulo summed up the thoughts of many as he commented on the club's upcoming show at Lincoln in combination with the All-Star Sprints. " I'm looking forward to running at Lincoln; it should be a great show," Gargiulo said. "It's a place that I've always thought would be great for midgets, and now with the infield opened up for spectators, the fans will have an opportunity to feel like they're part of the action." Brett Arndt was a contender for the '08 title and continues his assault sitting fourth with the E. Schneider and Sons/Sanner Farms no. 46 in the early season ARDC standings. Crew Chief and Dad Scott Arndt summed up the team's thoughts on a return to Lincoln Speedway, "Brett is looking forward to go race at Lincoln Speedway again," Scott shared. "Brett's first race in a midget was at Lincoln Speedway back in 2006. He drove one of Mike Miller's midgets that night. ARDC was still running twin twenty's in 2006, one feature with wings and one without the wings. Brett finished in the top ten in both races. He was grateful for the opportunity Mike gave him that night . He has talked about getting back to Lincoln since we got involved with ARDC. Everyone with ARDC likes to race at Lincoln so we hope we can put on a good show for the fans and maybe get a few more shows there in 2010." PJ Gargiulo has experienced motor problems with his family owned Sperrs Fuel Oil/Churches Auto Parts no. 51 and has joined forces with Zrinski Racing to stay on track in the interim. The pairing had their strongest run in the most recent race at Grandview. "Although we faded late in the race, we were very happy with our performance in the Zrinski Special at Grandview," Gargiulo detailed."The car has been very sensitive to changes, and we learned a lot about what it likes while at Grandview; we hope to come out of Lincoln with our first top 5, and third straight top 10." Tracy Readinger has had one of the strongest running cars of late with the D&S Archery/Gamester Racing Products no. 2, with very little to show for it. Bad racers luck has taken him out of many races. "We've been leading heat races and features and each time something has taken us out," Readinger recalled. "Last week at Grandview we made it past warm ups and got a heat race win. Now, with any luck we can finish a 25 lap feature and maybe pick off a win, that about sums it up for 2009." Jason Rice entered ARDC competition with top equipment as the family team purchased the race and championship winning equipment of Andy Martin. His early experiences have left him impressed with the power and feel of wingless midget racing. "The micro feels like a toy compared to the midget," Rice laughed. "I like running without a wing and just needs seat time to get used to the new and bigger tracks. My goal right now is to get a top 10." Rice is getting close to his goal as he scored an 11th at Grandview in his most recent race. Steve Buckwalter Takes Susky From Gargiulo With Late
Race Charge PJ Gargiulo became a dad earlier in the week. He picked up a last minute ride in the Martin Racing no.71 after hurting the motor in his no. 51 in the ARDC opener at Big Diamond. Gargiulo was driving the Martin family-owned machine to victory at Susquehanna Speedway Park to cap off a dream week, but he had just one problem -- Steve Buckwalter. Gargiulo led laps 7-18 of the 20-lap ARDC main, but Buckwalter made one of his patented late race charges to grab the lead and hold on for the win. Scott Zipp and Zach Martini led the 26 car field to the green flag. Zach Martini grabbed the early lead from Zipp, and PJ Gargiulo served early notice that he would have to be dealt with when he fired out of the sixth starting spot and slid into second by lap 4. As the early laps spun off the top 5 was Martini, Gargiulo, Greg Robinson, Steve Lenig and Zipp. On lap 7 Gargiulo took the lead from Martini in turn 3. By lap 10 Gargiulo had begun to pull a gap on Martini, when his charge was interrupted by a tangle that involved Dave Shirk and Trevor Kobylarz. When they got back to racing, Gargiulo gapped the field again. The real action was a torrid duel between Martini and Greg Robinson for second. As the youngsters battled, Steve Buckwalter tried to sweep around both of them on the outside between turns one and two on lap 13. The two would not be intimidated and held their ground, forcing Buckwalter to slide back to 4th for the moment. Another hard charger arrived on the scene as Nick Wean appeared in the top 5 out of the 10th starting spot. Another yellow slowed the field, and when they got back to racing the stubborn Buckwalter finally made a great restart and got up to second spot. Gargiulo fought as hard as he could, but after taking the two to go sign he knew he was in trouble. "I was holding the car on the bottom and I didn’t think anyone could get by me," Gargiulo explained. "Then I heard someone coming on the outside going into one, and I knew that could only be one person, Stevie." Sure enough, Buckwalter took his no. 0 up high around Gargiulo and sailed into the lead which he would hold to the checker. Buckwalter explained what it took to get another hard-earned win. "It’s tough when you start so far back with the track as dry as it was," Buckwalter said in victory lane. "The only way to get it done is down on the tires (extreme inside groove). I have to say congratulations to PJ though. I didn’t think I had anything for him, but he slowed up a little bit at the end." Gargiulo gushed with enthusiasm for his ride
in the Martin Racing machine. "I just can’t say enough about the Martin’s," Gargiulo
enthused. "This deal literally came together at 10 o’clock
last night and we did not expect to run this good out of the box.
It is a true testament to Jeff (Martin) in his ability to make a
driver comfortable.” 20-lap ARDC Feature Top 10: 1) 0 Steve Buckwalter 2) 71 PJ Gargiulo 3) 00 Greg Robinson 4) 78 Nick Wean 5) 29 Zach Martini 6) 9 Steve Lenig 7) 44 Frank Polimeda 8) 26 Stephanie Stevens 9) 83 Bruce Buckwalter 10) 11 Eric Heydenreich Early success goes sour in ARDC opener Greg Robinson and Dave Shirk brought the 26 car field to the green flag. Robinson showed early strength as he led the opening three laps, before a Dusty Heistand flip in turn four brought out the red flag. When they got back to racing, Brett Arndt and PJ Gargiulo advanced up from the third row to contend for the lead. First it was Arndt, then Gargiulo swept into the lead with a power move. While all this was going on Polimeda was storming through the pack from eleventh starting spot, and last year''s big winner in ARDC, Steve Buckwalter was flying forward from sixteenth starting spot. On lap seven Polimeda grabbed the lead and one lap later Buckwalter took his no. 0 around Gagiulo to grab second. Suffering a bad break, Gargiulo would drop from the race shortly after. Watch the exciting opening laps from Big Diamond! Chili Bowl Review: There is a lot to be said about setting goals; specifically about one's perspective on evaluating outcomes. After Monday's practice sessions, Gargiulo Racing accomplished Goal #1: Learn something. "We over estimated the track before we ever hit the surface, but after our first run, we were only a tick off of the pace," said PJ Tuesday morning. "We learned a lot yesterday and have a few things we want to try this afternoon before the heat races. We'll know which direction we want to run after warm-ups." The Chili Bowl is all about passing points. The entire event is based on rewarding drivers who put on a show, the ones that are making moves, the ones that make it happen. PJ was set to start 6th in the first heat race of the first night of qualifying for the 2009 Chili Bowl. The green flag dropped and PJ instantly jumped into 3rd spot, a lap later he was 2nd, and on the next restart, PJ jumped to the outside with a change-up move to slip back to the bottom and walk on by the leader. PJ was unchallenged in the remaining laps as he worked the bottom groove. World of Outlaws standout Terry McCarl finished 2nd. Later in the evening, PJ was announced as the Tuesday night 'High Point Man' going into the second round of qualifying. As the High Point Man, PJ was put into the 1st A-Qualifier and was set to start 6th. On the initial start, PJ took a run to the top, but jumped the LR wheel of Bobby East. "The track had a lot of bite and I overshot the corner getting into East. When I let off, it bogged the motor and I lost track position. These guys are tough. They're on the pedal and they don't make mistakes so its difficult to make up track position after a mistake." PJ was scored as 10th in the A-Qualifier which placed him 5th for the B-Main, with the top 4 from the B transferring to Tuesday's A-main. "We set ambitious goals prior to coming to Tulsa. Did we expect to win in our first race? No, but we believed that we were capable of it. I'm extremely happy that we came out strong because it's a payoff for all of those who helped in preparing for Tulsa." PJ flirted with the final transfer position the entire race, but on a late restart he picked up a great run heading into turn one and tangled the car. "There were only a few laps left, and I had to go for it. I had the run on him, and thought that I had the position cleared, but we made contact and I got the bad end of the deal. This is the Chili Bowl. It's the biggest race of the year; you can't leave anything on the table. I went for it and it didn't work, but we showed that we're strong enough to run with the best, and we're determined enough to go for it. We have a few days off so we'll apply what we've learned and go for it again on Saturday." Chili Bowl Fever Strikes ARDC Felton, DE - The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals first ran in 1987 and in recent times the Tulsa Expo Center extravaganza has become the absolute place to be for midget racers in the US. That fact is not lost on the “Wingless Warriors” of ARDC and many of the Club’s best drivers and teams are heading to midget racing’s biggest show hungry for a good finish against the best the sport has to offer. Two of ARDC’s best, Steve Buckwalter and PJ Gargiulo are heading out to Tulsa in tandem. “We’re heading out with Stevie Buckwalter and Aaron Ott,” Gargiulo revealed by phone. “We’re excited to go with Steve’s experience,” Gargiulo shared. Buckwalter already has a strong resume at the Chili Bowl and also in USAC competition in addition to his part-time appearances with ARDC. Buckwalter has four years of experience at the Chili Bowl. In 2004 he won his heat race and finished fourth in the Preliminary A-Main. In 2005 he won his heat race. In 2006 he finished fourth in the Preliminary A-main and finished 20th in the Saturday night main event. In 2007 he finished=2 09th in the Preliminary A-main and 11th in the Saturday night main event. “We’ve been out to the Chili Bowl as spectators and to help crew with Andy Martin and some other guys. We know what to expect as far as the fast pace of the events and what it takes to do well in the Chili Bowl,” Gargiulo said. Representing ARDC well ranks high in Gargiulo’s list of goals for Chili Bowl week. “We’ve waited a long time to do this so we want to have a strong appearance, ARDC has a strong group of drivers and we want to represent the Club the way it should be,” Gargiulo emphasized. “We also look at it as a springboard to the regular season. A good showing at the Chili Bowl can give you a lot of momentum.” Gargiulo will have a strong power plant between the frame rails of his GRP no. 51, so momentum shouldn’t be a problem. “We’re calling this Bill Jackson/Chevy motor a “Phoenix”, Gargiulo joked. “My crew chief Bill Jackson put this one together from the remains of our motor that went up in flames at Grandview.” Gargiulo had a lot of appreciation for the support system that helped get the motor done. “I’ve got to thank my sponsors Church’s Auto Parts and Sperr’s Fuel Oil, Gargiulo shared. “Bill Jackson was instrumental in coordinating everything between Church’s Auto Parts and Alderman Speed Shop to get everything we needed for the motor,” Gargiulo said. There was still more thanks to be given, “I’ve got to thank my Uncle James who’s done a lot to help us make the trip.” |
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