Powerhouses Tim Buckwalter & Lou Cicconi Team Up For Trenton Indoor Dirt Race

Story By: ERNIE SAXTON / SAMMONS PRODUCTIONS – TRENTON, NJ – Tim Buckwalter and Lou Cicconi, two of the most accomplished drivers in northeastern open-wheel racing, are joining forces for an all-out assault on the field at the first annual East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals inside the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J., on Friday and Saturday, December 1-2, 2017.

The teaming of Buckwalter and Cicconi brings two of the most colorful families in the sport together on one team.

Buckwalter, of Royersford, Pa., has competed and won in dirt Modifieds, SpeedSTRs and Midgets this year; in addition to having a huge number of feature victories in 600cc Micro Sprints. He recently made his wingless Sprint Car debut with two second place finishes. His cousins Steve and Bruce Buckwalter are former Midget Car series winners, while currently racing in the 410 Sprint Car and Super Sportsman divisions. Steve has also entered the Trenton event.

Cicconi, of Aston, Pa., one of the foremost open-cockpit wheelmen in the northeast, has won races on both dirt and asphalt in his career. “Liquid Lou” successfully followed his older brother Bobby into Midget Car competition. He then expanded his horizons, winning the ISMA Supermodified title before switching to and winning in dirt Modifieds. This past season, he won both in a dirt Modified and a wingless Sprint Car.

Both drivers have a vast amount of indoor racing experience. As a driver, Cicconi has won often in TQ Midget racing on a concrete floor. Buckwalter has also had success in a TQ Midget and has raced a full-size Midget indoors in recent years at the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The formidable Buckwalter/ Cicconi team is ramping up to be the team to beat at the new East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals. Cicconi, who recently purchased a new chassis for the race, has decided not to be behind the wheel so he can focus on the car and winning the race with Buckwalter as his driver.

While the East Coast Indoor Nationals is a brand new event, the CURE Insurance Arena (formerly Sun National Bank Center, has hosted TQ Midget racing for the past four years on the arena’s concrete floor.

Over 70 Micro Sprint entries have already been received from competitors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, North Carolina, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Billy Pauch Jr., an outstanding competitor in dirt Modifieds and 600cc Micro Sprints, was among the first drivers to enter. The entry list includes Corey Anderson of Gibbstown, N.J., Gary Collucci of Milford , Ct., Chris Fenimore of Wilmington, Del., Kenny Harris of Jonestown, Pa., Zach Herbert of Laconia, N.H. and Robbie Hocker of Warick, N.Y.

The race, the first of its kind in New Jersey, is being produced by Len Sammons Motorsports Productions as one of four Indoor Auto Racing Series Fueled By VP Racing Fuels events. It will be the only race on the series held on a clay surface and it will not count towards the overall series point championship.

The schedule will tentatively call for heat races with passing points and four A-qualifier feature races on Friday night. On Saturday it will be “alphabet mains,” with racers having the opportunity to advance from F, E, D, C and B-mains to the 40 lap “A” feature.

The agenda calls for racing to start at 7 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Saturday’s A-main will pay its winner $5,000 to win (for those enrolled in the Gamblers program). Fifth place pays $1,000. Twenty four starters will take the green flag in the A-main, with $200 offered to start the event.