9/18/2022
Auto City Speedway
MAX D -"Witches Night Out" Results
Auto City Speedway Results 9/24/2022
Well, the 2022 season is now complete as the last event for the year was this past Saturday being the “Witches Night Ou”t Maximum Destruction with an autograph night. There was an appropriate chill in the air with complete overcast skies and also Mother Nature threating the evening with some rain which never developed.
With the atmosphere of Halloween lurking about the track with such things like the Jacobi Motorsports Dementor Monster truck, a Hearse display, kids and adults dressed in Halloween costumes and candy, candy and more candy everywhere. It was the perfect way to start out the fall season, but also a fitting end to the racing season at Auto City.
Qualifying for the All American Truck series was first and it was Dan Shamel’s #47 truck getting the top spot with a 17.23 and second fast was Josh Delong’s #067 with a 17.37.
After qualifying was completed, the Candy-Rama activities started just about 6:00pm with a Hearse procession leading it off and then the competitors moving out onto the track for the ‘trunk or treat/autograph session’ for the evening. Once the fans had their candy bags full, it was time to clear the track and get down to business.
The thirty lap All American Truck feature was first on the schedule. It was the #81 of Brannon Cudd and the #J23 of Josh Shaw bringing them to the green. Brannon jumped out to an early lead while the other seventeen competitors mixed it up behind him. By about lap eight, the likes of Anthony Richardson’s #422, Delong #067 and Shamel #47 had gotten to the front. Delong did work on Richardson and got by for the second spot about lap fourteen with Cudd still leading. Delong did get up to Cudd and worked on him and finally passing him at lap eighteen. As the laps clicked off, Shamel got up to second and was trying to track Delong down and did actually get close a few times. When the thirty laps were completed, it was the Muffler Man on Pierson Road’s, Delong’s #067 followed by Shamel, Cudd, Richardson and Shaw respectfully. An added note, the feature went caution free for all thirty laps.
Now it was time for the destruction part of the night and it seemed one driver had his vehicles dialed in for sure. The ten lap Chain Gang race was first up and when all the pulling was done, it was Anthony Richardson’s #422 pulling Charlie Thom for the win. Side note, Charlie’s father, Roger, use to be one of the two flagmen at Auto City back in the day. The wild and crazy I-75 race was next and with over twenty competitors going twenty laps with two busses as control vehicles, it was certainly an interesting race to say the least. When the green flag flew, the drivers were going three to four wide at times vying for position. Early leader was the #B57 of John “J.D.” DoorenBos, then as the slowing and going continued, the #422 of Anthony Richardson and also the #J21 of Walt Dalrymple Jr. made their way to the front. At one point, Justin Pepitone #948 got a very ‘interesting’ view of a busses rear dual tires as it literally almost completely ran over his vehicle with the bus driver rear wheels coming off the ground to about window height. A red flag was displayed to make sure Pepitone was OK and remove his damaged vehicle. When the racing continued, it was Richardson getting by DoorenBos for the lead and he never looked back for his second win of the night. The ten lap Flag Pole race was now up and it was again DoorenBos taking the early lead as some of the upfront pack started wrong from the laid out course. By lap three, that driver whose name is Richardson had gotten up to second. When the checkered flew, it was Richardson with his third win of the night.
The Reverse Race was set for eight laps, and yes, you read that right, the drivers raced in reverse. When all the backwards shenanigans were over including Jesse Backus #507 driving in reverse with his trunk lid wide open, it was Anthony Richardson getting his fourth win of the night, even getting it done in reverse.
The ten lap Push Race was on the schedule next and it goes without saying, Richardson in his #422 pushing Charlie Thom took another win for the night.
A first time race for this season and something unique but fun to watch was the thirty lap Double “O” race. This is a race that competitors would go one lap on the ¼ mile, then one lap on the ½ mile alternating throughout the race. It gets interesting watching drivers slow to get onto the ¼ and slicing and dicing to get back onto the ½ mile while traffic is coming. Twenty-eight drivers took the green flag and it was Anthony Richardson jumping to an early lead with Paul Rigda III in his #43 truck following along with Josh Delong in his #067 Crown Vic. As the laps wound down, Delong did get by Rigda, but in the closing laps, Delong got tangled with a lapped car and damaged his ride enough to where he had to pull into the infield concluding his chances in this race. When the Double “O” checkered dropped, it was Richardson, Rigda III, Jesse Backus in his red #507 car, Zack Lopez’s powder blue #18 truck and Walt Dalrymple Jr.’s #J21 truck respectfully.
The School Bus Figure 8 was next. With seven busses taking the green for ten laps, you’d a thought you were watching NAS-Bus racing. There was side drafting, paint swapping, near misses, bump drafting, blown tires right off the rim (which stayed rolling and stopped right at the start/finish line of the front stretch still standing upright) and low and behold, Paul Rigda III rolling OVER the embankment in turn four and having the bus land on its side. After a minute or so, Rigda climbed from the twisted metal cockpit and gave the crowd the “OK sign” with two fists in the air and was met with a cheer from all. When the bus race was over, it was Josh Delong getting the win. The bent up fuselage was paraded down the front stretch as it was taken to the pits with Rigda hanging out the front window giving a wave to all the fans.
So, the very last race of the night was the ten lap Trailer Figure 8 race. This race had a bit of everything, from racing to wrecking. Anthony Richardson took the early lead and it appeared he was on his way to another win. But anything can happen in this race and it did. Richardson’s trailer was knocked off at the intersection and took him out of competition. That gave the lead to the #B57 of J.D. DoorenBos. As he was going through the intersection, there was another collision including his car and trailer, bringing out the red flag and stopping the race. With that, the race was called and it had appeared that Jimmy Bass in his #116 got the win, but when officials collaborated afterward, due to the safety of the driver and the red flag was thrown both Bass and DoorenBos were declared the winners. That concluded the racing action for the season at Auto City Speedway, but the 2022 Championship “Breakfast of Champions” will be happening October 23rd to honor all the series champions and specialty awards. Tickets are available for the public to attend. All advance ticket purchases must be completed by October 15th. There will be NO tickets available at the door.
Check out all the details for that event at www.autocityspeedway.com or our Facebook page and “We’ll See You Next Year at the City”.
Submitted By: Sharon Fischer
