Story By: DAVEY SAMMONS / LEN SAMMONS PRODUCTIONS – ALLENTOWN, PA – The stakes have been raced for TQ Midget racers competing in the Allentown Indoor Races presented by Ironton Global Cloud Phone, to be held inside the PPL Center on Friday and Saturday, January 5 and 6, 2024.
Thanks to support from Ironton Auto Body, one driver has the potential to walk away with $10,000 with a sweep of both TQ Midget A-Mains, one each on Friday and Saturday night.
As previously announced, when the Indoor Auto Racing Series returns to the PPL Center in downtown Allentown, the TQ Midgets headlined by recent winners Anthony Sesely, Ryan Flores and recently entered Dirt Modified star Billy Pauch Jr., will be racing in two complete shows with main events on Friday and Saturday.
Thanks to added sponsorship, Friday night’s A-Main will hold even more importance, as the race winner will be the only driver eligible for the $10,000 Ironton Auto Body Challenge.
“We are always looking for ways to enhance our shows and offer our racers the shot at taking home extra money,” stated series director Danny Sammons.
“When Stan Stanzek from Ironton Auto Body approached me about getting more involved, we discussed a lot of different options, but I think this one creates the most impact. Now both nights of racing hold equal importance and a shot at $10,000 is awesome.”
To complete the challenge, Friday’s winner will be offered a guaranteed starting spot in Saturday night’s main event, with one caveut, its the tenth starting spot. As a bonus for agreeing to start tenth, and accepting the challenge Friday’s winner will be given $1,000.
If the Friday winner can race from the tenth starting spot and complete the weekend sweep on Saturday, another $4,000 bonus will be theirs. Combining the $5,000 in bonuses with their winner’s share of the purse will earn them an even $10,000.
While daunting, the challenge is far from impossible. Flores, who owns five A-Main wins inside the PPL Center, swept the weekend back in 2017 and has started as far back as eighth and visited victory lane. Justin Bonsignore raced from the 20th starting spot to score a win back in 2018.
Just last year in Atlantic City, Sesely accepted a challenge to start from the eighth spot and raced to his fourth Gambler’s Classic victory.
As an added bonus, if the weekend sweep isn’t pulled off, Ironton Auto Body will offer a cash bonus to the driver who had the best overall weekend.
Ironton Auto Body is a family owned and operated business providing quality auto body repairs from complete collision repair to paintless dent removal based in Coplay, PA. They also offer 24 hour emergency towing and trailer repair.
The eighth running of the Allentown event, will feature three divisions of racing: TQ Midgets, Slingshots and Champ Karts. All three divisions will compete in complete programs with qualifying races and main events both nights.
Friday night’s main event for the TQ Midgets in Allentown will be 30 laps, Saturday night’s main event will be 40 laps.
To entice attendees to attend both days, a Combo Ticket is being offered for the first time. Attendees are given the opportunity to purchase the same seat for both nights of racing at a discounted rate. Additionally, on Friday night, a lower level family section has been added with Adult tickets starting at just $20 and Kids $5.
Tickets are currently on sale, online at PPLCenter.com or at the Box Office.
Additional sponsorship support for the Allentown events is provided by BELFOR Property Restoration and Future Homes.
After the Allentown races, the chase for the 2024 Indoor Series championship will head to Atlantic City, NJ January 26 and 27 at Boardwalk Hall for the 22nd running of the NAPA Auto Parts Atlantic City Indoor Races.
On Friday night, the TQ Midget stars will compete in a newly announced BlackJack 21 event, feature a unique qualifying format, culminating in a 21 lap, $2,100 to win night cap. On Saturday night, the racers will compete for the coveted Gambler’s Cup and a $5,000 top prize.