11/30/2004
Lou Cicconi Jr. Set To Run A Familiar
Car In Atlantic City Indoor Race And Field A TQ For ISMA Star Chris
Perley As Well
Atlantic City, NJ -- Lou Cicconi Jr. has a couple big
reasons to be excited about the Alantic City Indoor Race on Jan. 21-22
at Boardwalk Hall. For starters, Cicconi will chase the checkered flag
in the 40-lap "Gambler's Classic" finale for TQ
Midgets/600cc Micro-Sprints on Sat., Jan. 22, behind the wheel of a
car that he knows like the back of his hand.
In addition, Cicconi also plans to field a TQ Midget
for Chris Perley, a resident of Rowley, Mass., who won the 2004
International Supermodified Association points championship.
"I'm excited about the Atlantic City show,"
said Cicconi, who races against Perley on the ISMA winged
Supermodified circuit. "I think Chris and I should make a pretty
good team."
Cicconi, 40, of Aston, Pa., was arguably the star of the last two
installments of the A.C. Indoor Race. In 2003 his thrilling charge
from the rear of the field in the feature was ended by an unfortunate
tangle, and in 04 he set a track record and won a preliminary
feature before engine problems sidelined him for Saturdayıs finale.
Surprisingly, Cicconi sold his potent,
brightly-colored No. 75 TQ Midget to Pennsylvanian Ken Hentrich
following January's Indoor Race. Hentrich left the Hall with the
machine.
Hentrich entered the car in a handful of events during
the past season at Wall Township (N.J.) Speedway and Mahoning Valley
(Pa.) Speedway with Andy Simon driving, but motor woes short-circuited
each effort. He's calling on Cicconi to return to the machine's
controls on the Hall's concrete oval in January.
The car's distinctive paint job remains, but it now
carries the No. 57.
"That thing is always fast," Cicconi said of the TQ Midget.
"I'm glad Iıll get a chance to drive it again. Hopefully we'll
have some luck."
Cicconi will have a shot at pocketing a hefty check if
he can capture the weekendıs featured attraction. Heıs already put
up a $100 "gambler's fee," which means his first-place prize
would be bumped from $2,000 to $5,000.
Perley will also take the gamble--and there's no doubt
he can win it. Though he'll be making his first TQ Midget start on the
Hall's oval, his status as one of the Northeastıs top short-track
racing talents stamps him as a serious contender.
"Perley is a good kid and a great driver," said Cicconi.
"I have no doubt heıll be good in a TQ Midget."
Perley, who has won the last two ISMA points titles,
will drive Cicconi's familiar No. 59. The car was driven to a
fourth-place finish in this past January's A.C. action by asphalt
Modified superstar Ted Christopher, who is currently looking for an
Indoor Race ride because his deal to steer Jeff Preece's Micro-Sprint
fell through.
Cicconi is hopeful that the A.C. weekend will
kick-start a 2005 season that holds plenty of promise for him.
"I'm making a big effort with our Supermodified
team in 2005," said Cicconi, who campaigns a family-owned car on
the ISMA tour. "I just hired a fulltime mechanic to work on my
car because itıs hard for me to put enough time in on it with my
business commitments."
Cicconi also mentioned that he's once again selling
American Racer tires for use in the Indoor Race. Interested teams can
order tires from him by calling 610-521-2286.
Tickets for the Atlantic City Indoor Race are
currently on sale through Ticketmaster. Tickets are available with no
extra fee applied at the Boardwalk Hall box office and the Area Auto
Racing News office in Trenton, N.J.
Weekend activity will begin on Fri., Jan. 21, at 6:45
p.m. with TQ/Micro time trials. The 60 fastest drivers go directly
into that evening's headlining "Roaring Twenties"--Triple
20-lap events in which the top-four finishers in each earn their way
directly into Saturday nightıs main event.
Friday's card is rounded out by two 12-lap Slingshot
races, which will start the racing action at 7:45 p.m.
The Sat., Jan. 22, program kicks off at 12:30 p.m.
with the "Small Car Nationals" featuring Slingshot Young
Lions (ages 14-16), Mini-Cup and Micro-Stock races. The afternoon
activity also will include the TQ/Micro Last Chance Race.
The Saturday-night portion of the show is slated to begin at 7:15 p.m.
Heat races and semis will lead up the 40-lap "Gamblers Classic"
for TQs/Micros, with Slingshots also on the schedule.
Fans who already have tickets for the Saturday-night
program will be permitted to view the "Small Car Nationals"
from the balcony at no extra charge.
All Friday tickets are general admission, while
reserved seats are available in the Hall's lower level for Saturday
nightıs program.
Tickets purchased prior to Sat., Jan. 22, will allow
early entrance to the balcony on Saturday evening and exclusive
admittance to the special pre-race Fan Fest held on the racetrack from
6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel is
serving as the host hotel of the Indoor Race weekend. Competitors and
fans wishing to reserve a room at the Sheraton for a special $119 rate
per day can call the hotel's reservation department at 1-888-627-7212
or visit www.aarn.com and follow the
link to the room-reservation website.
Individuals must state they are with the Atlantic City
Indoor Race or Midget Car Racing and have a credit card ready to hold
the room.
More information on the Indoor Race is available at www.aarn.com
or by calling 609-888-3618 for information.
Source: Jeff
Gravatt/Atlantic City Indoor Race PR
Posted: November 30, 2004
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