By Tammyrae Benscoter

Westfield MA - Ray Bull, Bloomsburg PA, found victory lane at Whip City
Speedway, on Saturday night. The race had originally been scheduled for
June 2, but Mother Nature had other plans for that evening.

This time around the American Racing Drivers Club was greeted with
beautiful weather and smiling fans. The 'Mighty Midgets' of ARDC are a
site to see on the quarter mile semi-banked clay oval.

Going into the weekend, the point's race between leader Ray Bull and Tim
Dietz, Hanover PA had been tightening. 'Tim said it best,' commented
Bull, 'When you win the races, you are in the points lead.' After a
misunderstood signal by another driver, Dietz was forced out of the
feature event. Driver Bill Guertin Jr, South Hampton MA, came down on
Dietz while making a turn toward the infield on lap 19 to retire his own
car.

Polesitter Steve Craig, Levittown PA had been running in mid pack when
the caution flew. Craig had initially opened up a lead from the pack.
Bull took the lead following a caution on lap 8 brought out by Marc
Dailey, Brownsburg IN. Dailey came to a sudden stop on the frontstretch.

While Craig slid back in the pack, his car remained strong. 'There was
couple of laps when I was good,' said Craig. 'I was consistent and could
motor right off of the corners.'

The third place finish is the first in some time for Craig. 'I'm pretty
pumped right now,' he said.

Prior to the feature, Craig and his team had made some changes to the
car. Craig gave a special nod to his crew for the night, Bob Shaffer,
Bob Carney and Michelle Magee. 'Every change we made was good' said
Craig. 'Last year when the midgets visited Whip City, Craig finished
fifth. 'I expected to run well here,' he said, 'The car was comfortable
to drive and this place is what midgets were built to run on.'

For Bryan Kobylarz, Birdsboro PA, his experience at Whip City will
remain pleasant. Last year at Whip City, Kobylarz blew up the motor
early on, when his family had attended the event. 'It's nice to have
family come here and see us run.' said Kobylarz. 'My brother and his
family live 15 to 20 minutes from here, and I have family in the New
England states.'

This year, Kobylarz brought the No.49 to a second place finish. 'It
takes some patience to run a track like this,' he said. Kobylarz
believes he has figured out what the track needs. 'I more or less gave
up on trying to win,' he said. 'The race and the track needed that.'
But, he found himself slowly gaining on the leader. 'I wish we had one
more restart,' he said, 'Ray and I were running different grooves, but
who knows what would've happened.'

While the show must go on, Bull expressed his disappointment that more
competitors did not come to Whip City Speedway after the event had been
rescheduled.

But special thanks went out to the fans for coming out to see the show.
Both the grandstands and the pits were full of onlookers. 'Any time
you have a small track, it's going to be action packed,' Bull said.
'There is lapped traffic, and no set groove. You have to get in there
and hustle the car around.'

For Bull, he got what he wanted. 'I wanted to come back here and win,'
said Bull. 'I was frustrated last year that we missed the setup.' This
year, Bull gave special mention to his nephew and crewmember Steven
Bull, 15. Since school is out, Bull spent two full days changing the car
over from asphalt to dirt. 'He did a good job,' said Ray Bull, 'nothing
fell off.' (Special thanks Steven!)

The ARDC midgets will have the opportunity to try their hand at the
track again in September. The midget will run at Whip City Speedway on
Saturday September 8.

Notes:

Next up for the ARDC Midgets is the Thunder on the Hill show at
Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville on July 17. Rain Date is July 18.
Four series of competitors will compete in feature events only. Also,
one lucky midget driver will be the recipient of a Thunder Mountain Wing
giveaway. Owned by Charlie Provost, Mildred PA, Thunder Mountain Wings
is a proud supporter of midget auto racing.

On August 15, the Montgomery County Midget Club will host ARDC night at
Phoenixville Raceway.

The second annual kid's night will take place at Lincoln Speedway on
August 18. The ARDC Midgets will be running a wingless show at Lincoln
that evening.

Belated birthday wishes are extended to Randy Mausteller, Bloomsburg PA
and Fred Schell, Phoenixville PA.

Get well wishes are sent to Bud Baker, Limerick PA, who underwent knee
surgery earlier this week.

Heat 1 Results: (1) Ed Stimely Jr. (2) Ray Bull, (3) Bill Guertin Jr.
(4) Bryan Kobylarz, (5) Steve Craig, (6) Kathy Kurtz, (7) Lew Blair, (8)
Mark Lawshe

Heat 2 Results: (1) Tim Dietz, (2) Walt Stearly, (3) Chris Mowray, (4)
Mark Wakefoose (5) Rich Durso, (6) Ron Bunn, (7) Marc Dailey DNS (8)
Fred Schell DNS.

Feature Results: (1) Ray Bull, (2) Bryan Kobylarz, (3) Steve Craig, (4)
Ed Stimely Jr., (5) Mark Wakefoose, (6) Chris Mowray, (7) Marc Dailey,
(8) Fred Schell, (9) Lew Blair, (10) Kathy Kurtz, (11) Rich Durso, (12)
Walt Stearly, (13) Bill Guertin Jr. (14) Tim Dietz, (15) Mark Lawshe
(16) Ron Bunn

- www.ardcmidgets.com.

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