Pat Bealer Set to Defend East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals Victory
Trenton, NJ – Pat Bealer will be back to defend his East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals victory when Dirt 600 Micro Sprint racing’s best sling mud around the CURE Insurance Arena Feb 19-21 for the seventh annual event.
The Micro Sprint regular nicknamed “The Icon” will pilot a Gary Collucci-owned entry as a teammate to daughter-in-law Morgan Rochelle Bealer. He subbed for Morgan last year while she was pregnant with his son Zach’s second child.
Last year, Pat Bealer showcased his patience by staying glued to the bottom of the speedway until he saw his chance to get the lead from Anthony Perrego with a daring three-wide move through lapped traffic.
The win, worth $5,000 and described by Bealer as the biggest of his 32-year career, resulted in a shocking family sweep of the event as son Zach rode to victory lane the night before.
More than 80 drivers have filed entries to compete, with a maximum of 90 being accepted. Rules and entry forms are on the series website at indoorautoracing.com.
Among those entered is Allentown, PA’s Briggs Danner, who is hungry for his first dirt triumph after wrapping up the Indoor Auto Racing Series TQ Midget Championship held on the concrete floor inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall Jan.30-31. Danner started his year off with an Indoor TQ Midget win inside Allentown, PA’s PPL Center followed by a second place preliminary night finish behind Kyle Larson indoors in Tulsa, OK and a fifth place finish in the Chili Bowl days later.
Action begins in Trenton this year on Thursday night with Slingshots and Junior Sprints racing a one-day program. The event will award Indoor Racing Series points for Slingshots, combining the results from Allentown and Atlantic City concrete races to crown an overall champion on both surfaces. Door open at 6 p.m. with racing beginning at 7.
For the Slingshots, 40 of the 50 entries have been filled. Entry forms and rules for the Junior Sprints will be available online this week.
Micro Sprints will begin to do battle on Friday, with a complete show of nine qualifying races and a 25-lap feature. Doors open at 6 p.m., with racing starting at 7. The top ten will lock into Saturday’s A-Main.
Saturday’s doors open at 4 PM, with a special autograph session at 5 PM featuring top competitors. Saturday’s “alphabet soup” program includes two E-Mains, two D-Mains, and two C-Mains, with the top five from each advancing to the next letter. Two B-Mains will transfer the top seven from each, filling out the 24-car starting field for the $5,000-to-win finale. Saturday’s event also includes a Dash with the Top 10 drivers from Friday night.
Great seats are still available through Ticketmaster or at the arena box office. Those purchasing on line are strongly encouraged to purchase through the official series website, indoorautoracing.com, to secure the best pricing and avoid inflated rates from third-party resellers.
Special host hotel rates available Sheraton in Langhorne, PA, conveniently located across from Oxford Valley Mall with numerous restaurants and shops nearby.
Event and series sponsorship opportunities are available for all budgets. Interested parties should contact Danny Sammons, danny@aarn.com or call 609-888-3618. For more information about the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals visit indoorautoracing.com or check out the series’ Facebook page.