A feature by MATT NOLES

I have lived a life of privilege. Not in the sense that most would consider, but privilege none the less.  I don’t have a million dollar bank account nor do I have a white collar trust fund with my last name attached to it, but what I do have is a lifetime full of memories and experiences that mean more than any amount of money ever could.  For the better part of three decades I have been lucky enough to not only know some of the best drivers in the sport of dirt racing, I have been there to witness some of their greatest moments on the speedway surface.  To most of the faithful fans of the sport, those times will forever hold a special place in their lives from beginning to end.  There are no two ways around it.

^{ERICK RUDOLPH went 3-for-4 in competition this weekend at Atlantic City.  Rudolph passed Stewart Friesen to win Saturday night's 40-lapper Gambler's Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. (RPW/Mike Petrucci)}

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — In front of one of the largest crowds in Boardwalk Hall's Gamblers Classic ten year history, Ransomville, N.Y.'s Erick Rudolph dominated the weekend events.  After winning the Micro Sprint features Friday and Saturday, Rudolph saved his best effort for last when he overpowered the competition, winning the Gamblers Classic for Three Quarter Midgets.

The race was a three-man affair from the outset.  Front row starters Stewart Friesen and Rudolph paced the field and sparred with each other through a series of double file restarts.  In one of those instances, Rudolph seemed to gain the upper hand only to have the start called back by officials who added a two position penalty for the infraction.

PHOTOS by MIKE PETRUCCI: Click Here ... Highlights by Gary Silverman Productions: Click Here

^{Ted Christopher outdueled Joey Payne and continued his indoor track dominance Friday night at Atlantic City. (RPW/Mike Petrucci)}

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. —Ted Christopher of Plainville, Ct., and Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, N.Y., were the winners of the Friday Atlantic City Indoor Race feature events before an enthusiastic crowd.

Christopher won for the third time in the Boardwalk Hall; he is tied with Joe Payne and Lou Cicconi as two- time Gamblers Classic winners and will have the opportunity Saturday to sweep the 2012 Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Three Quarter Midget events and become the only three-time Gamblers Classic winner.

Rudolph ran away with the 600cc Micro Sprint feature when he took the race lead at the one-third distance and survived several caution flag situations that negated big leads.  The win was the first indoors for Rudolph, an accomplished talent on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Racing Series.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — There are three TQ Midget drivers who have savored victory in the coveted Gamblers Classic Indoor race not once, but twice. Unique among them is Joe Payne, Jr., of Fairlawn, N.J.  The 10th edition of the event known as the Gamblers Classic, run under the direction of Len Sammons and staff, is planned for Friday and Saturday nights Feb. 3-4, 2012.

A winner for the first time in the 2004 Gamblers Classic, Payne survived a catastrophic, life-threatening accident in a summer outdoor, 2006 Midget crash.  He then returned to Boardwalk Hall in 2007 to win the Classic a second time.

Payne, a past Three Quarter Midget circuit champion, and expert NEMA Midget and Super modified driver during the summer, is among 80 drivers who will manhandle the powerful TQ (three quarter) Midgets around the tenth-mile Boardwalk Hall track.

“The accident (at Stafford Springs, Ct.) cracked my helmet and bent the left side of the seat straight out,” Payne said.  “The seat manufacturer couldn’t believe I had survived when he saw the seat.  It took awhile to recover from that one,” admitted Payne.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Mike Tidaback knows first hand what it feels like to experience the rush of victory inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
He also knows what it is like to walk away from a big time crash.

The 10th edition of the event known as the Gamblers Classic, run under the direction of Len Sammons and staff, is planned for Friday and Saturday nights Feb. 3-4, 2012.

In the sixth running of the Indoor racing classic, in 2008, Tidaback, of Little Falls, N.J., rubbed wheels with fellow driver Donnie Adams and, in a battle of wills, won the feature in spectacular style.

Two years later, in the eighth running of the Gamblers Classic, Tidaback was dazed and ablaze after flying through the air following a multi-car, high-speed collision.

Tidaback, a past Three Quarter Midget circuit champion, is among over 70 drivers who will wrestle the powerful TQ (three quarter) Midgets around the tenth-mile Boardwalk Hall track.

Three other classes, the straight-line fast dirt 600cc Micro-Sprints, the tested-tough Slingshots and the lazer-like Champ Karts will be in competition.

Over fifty Champ kart teams, two-and-a-half dozen Slingshot specialists, and a like number of dirt 600cc Micro Sprint men and machines have paid the entry fee to secure a spot on the roster.That number is expected to grow with just two weeks remaining prior to race time.  Overall, more than 200 teams are expected to be vying for starting berths in the four feature races.

Vintage TQ midgets, an added class for 2012, will be showcased on Friday, Feb. 3 throughout Boardwalk’s Hall spectator concourse with many of their drivers and owners on hand to sign autographs.

Cars will then be displayed and drivers will be available for autographs and photos during the interactive evening Fanfest session prior to the beginning of racing program.  A controlled exhibition
race will follow among the vintage cars and their drivers.

Drivers will hand out full-size souvenir pennants to the first five hundred youngsters during Fanfest as well.

The Vintage TQ program has been assembled by noted racing engineer Gary Mondschein, who himself was a TQ Midget and full size Midget driver for many years.

Racers wishing to enter any of the divisions competing in Atlantic City may find entry and rule information available at aarn.com.Tickets for the Atlantic City event are on sale now at Ticketmaster
outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Boardwalk Hall box office.

Good seats still remain available; tickets purchased in advance will not incur a local Atlantic City $2-per-ticket tax.

Further information can also be obtained by calling the show office (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at 609-888-3618.

TQ Midget entries are also pouring in for “The Coffee Cup”, the indoor race scheduled for Providence, R.I. on March 10-11, 2012 at Dunkin Donuts Center.

Previous winner Ted Christopher, Billy Pauch Sr., Steve Craig, Frank Fischer, BJ MacDonald and Jonathan Reid are among those who have joined Paul Lotier Jr., who was the first entrant for the March event. The North East Midget Association (NEMA), a venerable and popular midget car racing in New England, has pledged the support of many of its top drivers.

Racers wishing to join in the TQ Midget action at Dunkin Donuts Center may find entry and rule information available at aarn.com. Tickets for the Dunkin Donuts Center Indoor Race event are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com.