ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Tanner VanDoren, a 15-year-old racer from Slatington, Pa., shocked the PPL Center crowd when he drove a backup Kluth Motorsports No. 44 TQ midget to victory in Friday night’s Ironton Global Allentown Indoor TQ Midget race.
“It’s so hard to believe this happened,” VanDoren told an Indoor Auto Racing Series crowd. “I wasn’t even supposed to run this race, I was just coming to take a few practice laps.”
The young driver had agreed to run the Sesely backup car this past Wednesday with the understanding that he would have to vacate the car if the primary car had any issues.
From his first laps, VanDoren was one of the quickest competitors in the field, turning the second quickest qualifying lap.
VanDoren, who started third in the TQ feature, didn’t gain the lead in the race until lap 23 after a mechanical failure on Andy Jankowiak’s car sent him and challenger Ryan Flores spinning.
The battle between Flores and Jankowiak – a mainstay rivalry in the Indoor Auto Racing Championship – took the stage for the better part of the 30-lap main event.
Over the final eight laps, Tim Buckwalter emerged as VanDoren’s toughest challenger. A restart with two laps left put the two side-by-side but VanDoren ran out the last few to register the surprise score.
Kyle Lick finished in the third position after battling for the early lead, Shawn Nye finished in the fourth position, and Flores, after his spin, completed the top five.
VanDoren is now eligible to win the Ironton Auto Body Challenge on Saturday’s Future Homes night. The $10,000 bonus can be earned if VanDoren agrees to start 10nth in the Saturday night feature, earning $1,000 on the spot. If VanDoren wins Saturday’s main event, he will earn the Ironton Auto Body Challenge.
The E. Schneider & Sons sponsored TQ Fast Time Award Friday was earned by Andy Jankowiak after a scintillating session in which drivers were provided with multiple opportunities to better their times once each of the 42 drivers had posted a time. Jankowiak’s 7.564 run came in his fourth attempt.
Todd Crenshaw gained top spot in the 20-lap Champ Kart feature early and once in front, put on a dazzling driving demonstration, knifing back through the 24-kart effortlessly to prevail.
Brett Bieber worked his way carefully to the front of the field in the 20-lap Slingshot main event. Bieber had won the Slingshot feature in 2022 in Allentown as well.
Action continues on Saturday night and can be watched on SPEED SPORT affiliate DirtTrackDigest.tv.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. Tanner VanDoren, 2. Tim Buckwalter, 3. Kyle Lick, 4. Shawn Nye, 5. Ryan Flores, 6. Tyler Thompson, 7. Anthony Payne, 8. Jake Trainor, 9. Nick Ladyga, 10. Ryan Bartlett, 11. Tommy Catalano, 12. Andrew Nye, 13. Tyler Ferris, 14. Chase Cabre, 15. Anthony Sesely, 16. Andy Jankowiak, 17. Billy Pauch Jr., 18. Trevor Catalano, 19. Matt Swanson, 20. Scott Kreutter, 21. Ryan Smith, 22. Joey Bailey, 23. Tyler Lindsay, 24. Matt Janisch. TQ Non-Qualifiers: Briggs Danner, Matt Chowns, Chris Hirt, Jimmy Zacharias, Matt Roselli, Bobby Holmes, Matt Caprara, Derek Robbie, Kyle Herve, Stephen Kemery, John Barnett, Doug Stearly, Greg Martin, Ryan Tidman, Joe Toth, Chad Jones, Tyler Catalano.