Ryan Flores Enters Allentown Indoor Racing Series Opener As Pre-Race Favorite Over 40 Plus TQ Midget Field

Allentown, PA – Ryan Flores is eager to make the trip north from his Huntersville, NC, home to compete in the Indoor Auto Racing Series opener at Allentown’s PPL Center. The former New Jersey native will not only get to reconnect with family and friends but will also look to defend his title as series champion.

Flores is the pre-race favorite to take home one of the two TQ Midget winner’s trophies to be given out as part of the 8th Annual Ironton Global-sponsored events on Friday and Saturday, January 3 and 4. With six wins and ten top-five finishes in 13 starts at the PPL Center since it opened in 2016, his average finish is an impressive 5.3.

Flores won one of two features held last year in Allentown. At the 2024 season opener on Friday, Flores was in a torrid three-car lead-swapping battle for the win with Andy Jankowiak and Tommy Catalano late in the race.

When leader Jankowiak blew a radiator hose, Flores and Catalano both spun. Indoor rookie Tanner Van Doren inherited the lead and held off Tim Buckwalter for the incredible upset victory. Flores rebounded for a fifth-place finish, then won Saturday’s headliner over Catalano, Jankowiak, and Van Dohren.

All the top contenders from last year’s Indoor Auto Racing Concrete Series will be returning to knock Flores off his pedestal, but it won’t be easy. Flores will be returning with the same white ghost No. 15 finely tuned TQ Midget he’s raced since joining the series nine years ago.

Tonawanda, NY’s Jankowiak, has never won in Allentown, but he’s always a factor in every race he enters. He’ll be coming to Allentown off a surprise victory in the series finale inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. Running third coming to the checkered flag, leader Flores and Van Dohren got together, and Andy J. went on to win the NAPA Auto Parts Gambler’s Classic for the fourth time!

Catalano’s team will return to TQ Midget competition with a four-car family team with revamped race cars. Tommy will be joined by three of his brothers: Timmy, Trevor, and Tyler. Trevor was named Rookie of the Year in 2024 on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

Hired only to test a new Jeff Ulrich / Rick Kluth TQ Midget built as a back-up for Anthony Sesley in Allentown last year, the 16-year-old Van Dohren was so impressive he was allowed to race it for the entire series. Now, with Indoor experience, the talented driver from Schnecksville, PA, will be back in the same PK Racing / Kluth Motorsports No. 22 seeking a second victory.

After a miserable 2024 season, Sesely returns to Allentown with last year’s issues solved. The popular driver from Matawan, NY, is back with the team, this year using the No. 75, seeking redemption and his second win in Allentown to add to his Indoor total of seven victories

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Several newly designed cars and a few driver changes are among the 40+ TQ Midgets entered. Buckwalter will be back in the Bill Pippard No. 74 after builder Mark Laffler made post-season changes.

Veteran racer Matt Roselli of Broadheadsville, PA, a former Allentown winner, will be debuting a brand new Laffler chassis that features the 750cc motor on the right, not on the left side of the car like all others in the field. Quakertown, PA’s Chad Jones has designed and built his own TQ Midget, which he’ll test drive for the first time on Friday in Allentown.
Briggs Danner, who debuted a newly designed TQ Midget that found speed in Atlantic City’s finale, will be back with a notebook seeking his first Indoor win. The Allentown native is coming off a stellar season, winning twice on the USAC National Sprint Car series.

Matt Janisch from nearby Nazareth, PA, who, like Danner, debuted a new TQ Midget on the circuit last year, will return seeking to find victory lane in the self-owned and built car. Cory DiMatteo, a talented SK Modified winner at the Stafford Motor Speedway from Farmington, CT, will drive the Don Preece No. 40 for the first time this season.Billy Pauch Jr. of Frenchtown, NJ, a one-time indoor winner in Allentown, will be returning to the series with the Jason Simmons race team. Wall Stadium Turkey Derby TQ Midget winner Tyler Ferris will have a fast Brien Hammer No. 7 to the wheel.
The first entry received was from long-time car owners, Lenny and Donna Boyd, with Joey Bailey set to wheel their No. 1B.

TQ Midget drivers will have the opportunity to capture the $10,000 Ironton Auto Body Challenge with a sweep of Friday and Saturday night’s A-Mains. To complete the challenge, Friday’s winner will be offered a guaranteed starting spot in Saturday night’s main event, with one caveat: it’s the tenth starting spot. As a bonus for agreeing to start tenth and accepting the challenge, Friday’s winner will be given $1,000.

If the Friday winner can race from the tenth starting spot and complete the weekend sweep on Saturday, another $4,000 bonus will be theirs. Combining the $5,000 in bonuses with their winner’s share of the purse will earn them an even $10,000.
As a bonus, if the weekend sweep isn’t pulled off, Ironton Auto Body will roll over a portion of the challenge to the Atlantic City Indoor Race.

Tickets for the event are on sale now via Ticketmaster and the PPL Center box office.

In addition to the high-speed TQ Midgets—purpose-built race cars powered by motorcycle engines—two support divisions will also race: Slingshots and Champ Karts.

Family-Friendly Pricing: Tickets start at just $20 for adults, with general admission for children available for only $5 on the day of the event. Premium front-row seating and reserved seats are also available for an additional fee. Pricing excludes facility and ticketing fees.

Fans can enjoy an exclusive pre-race FanFest on the arena floor, where lower-level reserved ticket holders can walk the track and meet their favorite drivers before Saturday night’s race.

After two nights of racing in Allentown, the Indoor Series stars will head to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, for the NAPA Auto Parts Gambler’s Classic on January 31 and February 1. The series will conclude its season on a clay oval at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ, on February 21 and 22.

For more information about the Indoor Auto Racing Series, including hotel deals, direct link to ticket purchases, racer rules, and entry forms, visit IndoorAutoRacing.com.