As Wean paced the field, Heistand stayed within a couple of car lengths and some furious battling was going on behind them. At lap 10 the top 6 were Wean, Heistand, Grosz, Frank Polimeda, Bruce Buckwalter, and PJ Gargiulo up from 14th starting spot. One lap later, Polimeda grabbed third from the determined rookie Grosz. On lap 15, Gargiulo slipped around Buckwalter and the top 5 was Wean, Heistand, Polimeda, Gargiulo and Buckwalter.

Over the last 10 laps of the race, Wean established a strong lead, but Heistand, Polimeda and Gargiulo put on the show of the night, dicing it up for second through fourth. The action went down to the last lap as Gargiulo was able to grab third from Polimeda, and nearly picked off Heistand as they drag raced to the checkers. Brett Arndt put in a hard night's work coming out of 16th starting spot, driving all the way up to 6th.

25-Lap ARDC Midget Feature: 1) 78-Nick Wean 2) 6-Dusty Heistand 3) 51-PJ Gargiulo 4) 44-Frank Polimea 5) 34-Ryan Smith 6) 46-Brett Arndt 7) 83-Bruce Buckwalter 8) 39-Justin Grosz 9) 3-Greg Robinson 10) 11-Eric Heydenreich 11) 84 Jimmy Cammock 12) 10-Andrew Hannula 13) 9-Steve Lenig 14) 16-Dave Shirk 15) 91-Donnie Trent 16) 99-Scott Zipp 17) 25-Chris Zrinski 18) 12-Drew Heistand 19) 49-Carey Becker 20) 26-Stephanie Stevens 21) 61-Parker Evans 22) 57-Jason Rice 23) 05-Trevor Kobylarz (DNS)

Gargiulo: "Looking for redemption in North Carolina"
August 5th

On his way to a Heat Race Victory at Bridgeport Speedway (Photo Courtesy of Wheels of Speed)

Ridley Park, PA - ARDC heads to Dixieland Speedway for their annual "Southern Swing" this Friday August 7th and there is one question on everybody's mind: Will PJ be a contender this weekend? Here are the top three reasons why we believe he will:

1. Even during an up and down season, he has led laps in four races and has been in position to win twice (Susquehanna April 11th, Bridgeport July 25th).
2. In the four previous events leading up to this weekend, PJ has passed (on average) 7 cars per main event, and has proven that he can move to the front of the pack from anywhere on the racetrack.
3. In three of his last four starts at Dixieland Speedway he has started outside of the top ten and finished in the top five.

Earlier this week, PJ commented that a strong mental attitude is another major factor going into this weekend's race; "It's difficult to be disappointed with such a great run (2nd at Bridgeport), especially when we've had such an up and down season, but in this series wins are tough to come by and I let that one get away from me. The entire team is looking for redemption in North Carolina; we've been strong and have a lot of momentum on our side right now. If we stay focused and things go our way, we may just come back with a win."

Bruce Buckwalter wins Bridgeport ARDC Thriller Over Gargiulo
By Mark Kielblock

Bridgeport, NJ - It's been four years since ARDC ran at Bridgeport Speedway, but Bruce Buckwalter and PJ Gargiulo made it worth every bit of the wait as they staged a thrilling duel on the 1/4 mile inner oval. Gargiulo did his best to steal the win away late, but Buckwalter held on for his second career win in ARDC competition.

Jimmy Cammock and Chris Zrinski brought the 24 car field down for the green flag. Carey Becker of Reading Pa. slipped quickly up from fourth starting spot to take the early lead while PJ Gargiulo was on the move as well grabbing second from the sixth starting spot. Gargiulo then got crossed up off of turn four and lost several spots. A multi-car tangle broke out behind him bringing out an early caution.

When they got back to racing, Becker -- who showed signs of running strong in ARDC's last race at Grandview -- picked up where he left off leading the field over the early laps. While Becker held sway over the field and Gargiulo began to reclaim his lost spots, Bruce Buckwalter was charging forward out of the eighth starting spot.

By lap nine Gargiulo had charged his way back through the top five to regain second, while Becker rode third. Chris Zrinski was authoring his breakout race of the season holding onto fourth, while point leader Frank Polimeda was fifth.

Gargiulo began to eat into Buckwalter's lead as the laps spun off. "I found something up high off of four that carried me all the way down the front stretch and into one," Gargiulo said after the race. Gargiulo was then all over Buckwalter for the lead, but the battle was interrupted by a caution with four laps to go.

Coming to the line for the win on the last lap at Bridgeport Speedway - Chad Warner Photo

When the green dropped for the final four laps, the battle was back on. Buckwalter initially opened a gap on the restart, but Gargiulo quickly closed and slipped past Buckwalter briefly on the backstretch. As they charged for turn 3, Gargiulo tried to protect his lead. "I made my moves by running the top side," Gargiulo explained. "I should've stuck with what got me there, but I tried moving down and skated up the track just enough for Bruce to get under me."

Buckwalter stuck his car into an impossibly small hole between the inside barrier and Gargiulo's 51 to pull off a picture perfect pass for the lead. "I was driving with a vengeance tonight to make up for getting on my head at Grandview," Buckwalter said, referring to a spill that he took early in the Thunder on the Hill show. Once Buckwalter got into the lead, Gargiulo lost some ground as he got out wide off of turn four. A last ditch effort by Gargiulo fell short and Buckwalter held on for the hard-fought win.

Chris Zrinski placed a season high fifth and had high praise for some extra crew help that he received during the night. "Andrew Hannula and his dad really helped me a lot tonight along with Bill Jackson (Crew Chief of Gargiulo's no. 51)," Zrinski emphasized. "And as always I have to thank my dad (ARDC VP Lou Zrinski), we had a really good night."

Heat Races for the 25 ARDC Midgets on hand were won by Frank Polimeda, PJ Gargiulo and Bruce Buckwalter.

25-Lap ARDC Midget Feature: 1) 83-Bruce Buckwalter 2) 51-PJ Gargiulo 3) 49-Carey Becker 4) 75-Ryan Watt 5) 25-Chris Zrinski 6) 44-Frank Polimeda 7) 46-Brett Arndt 8) 16-Dave Shirk 9) 11-Eric Heydenreich 10) 99-Scott Zipp 11) 26-Stephanie Stevens 12) 00-Greg Robinson 13) 10-Steve Lenig 14) 05-Trevor Kobylarz 15) 53-Randy Reid 16) 7-Chris Rupp 17) 12-Drew Heistand 18) 84-Jimmy Cammock 19) 2-Tracy Readinger 20) 55-Steve Craig 21) 6-Dusty Heistand 22) 39-Justin Grosz 23) 57-Jason Rice 24) 78-Nick Wean 25) 17-Donnie Hoffman

Gargiulo recovers from early mishap to score another top 10 finish
July 12, 2009

The high banked Ulster County Bullring was the first night back in the family owned #51, and the night started off with a second place finish in the qualifying heat; Tracy Readinger took the win with PJ directly on his tail. The field of 26 cars was set for the A-main, with Gargiulo rolling off 14th.

When the race went green, Gargiulo lost several spots during a first lap traffic jam, but quickly rebounded as he found his rhythm in the high part of the racetrack. By halfway, the majority of the field was in a high speed traffic jam with cars running three wide and four rows deep - twelve cars (nearly half the field) fighting for positions second through fourteenth.

Gargiulo wrestled his way into the top ten, and in the closing laps PJ made a commanding power move around the outside of Dave Shirk and Bruce Buckwalter to claim victory over a torrid battle for the eighth place spot.

Three wide action: Zach Martini (29), PJ Gargiulo (51) and Trevor Kobylarz (05)

Gargiulo "Heads Home" to Bridgeport's 1/4 mile
June 15, 2009

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 literally 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
Kids 12 years and under are FREE
Adults $23

ARDC Returns to Lincoln; 1st Quarter Report Card
By Mark Kielblock

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
By Mark Kielblock Felton, DE

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.”
ARDC’s next race is at the historic Williams Grove Speedway on Friday May 1 with the All-Star Sprints.

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.

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
By Mark Kielblock

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.”