FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Audio, story and photo by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman —

Perennial Rumble in Fort Wayne veteran and race winner John Ivy stormed into the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and Expo Center and made sure everyone in the winged 600cc outlaw midget class knew exactly who the fast man in town was Saturday afternoon.

With two lap time trials setting heat race lineups for both days (the first lap setting Saturday’s action and the second lap setting Sunday’s action), Ivy stormed to a lap of 7.771 seconds (77.210 mph) on his first time around and a clip of 7.831 seconds (76.619 mph) the second time by the stripe — sweeping time trial honors and casting him as the favorite to score at least one victory over the course of the holiday weekend.

“Having a performance like the one we just did really helps [our confidence], because we’ve had some bad luck the last couple of years,” Ivy said of his top qualifying effort. “Two years ago I was leading and the thing just quit on me, and then last year we had issues bad enough that we couldn’t even run it, so to come out here and set quick time for both days is a pretty cool deal. Yeah, it may hurt you a little bit for the heat race, but it lets you know you’re pretty fast.”

Ivy says that this year’s building conditions will likely make for a much racier track than in years past at the Rumble.

“It’s a little warmer in here than normal, so the track has really taken on some rubber, and I think it might actually make for a second groove on the outside. We’ll have to try and keep up with that, but if we can keep our car rotating well through the center of the corners we’ll be alright.”

Bellevue, Ohio pilot Cap Henry clocked in second-fastest for both days on his two-lap qualifying run, posting times of 7.986 and 8.044 seconds, respectively. His Saturday run was the only other sub-eight second lap turned across the 19-driver field.

Amanda Quinones-Long, Tyler Fitzpatrick and Rod Henning rounded out the top five qualifiers in Saturday’s rundown, while Bill Dunham, Quinones-Long and Henning were the balance of the ‘Fast Five’ on the Sunday timesheets.

Former class winner Ben Quinones struggled with motor issues on his two lap run and could not crack the top 10 in either day’s order, while A.J. Lesiecki was the only driver unable to post a time among the 19 entrants.

Heat races and feature action for the winged and non-winged 600cc midgets, as well as the headlining National Midgets, kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

For more information on the 18th annual Rumble in Fort Wayne, including ticket pricing and the schedule of events, visit www.rumbleseries.com.

Audio with double winged 600cc outlaw midget fast qualifier John Ivy:

Saturday Qualifying Results (first of two laps): 

1. #94 – John Ivy, 7.771
2. #17 – Cap Henry, 7.986
3. #007 – Amanda Quinones-Long, 8.182
4. #57 – Tyler Fitzpatrick, 8.405
5. #29 – Rod Henning, 8.430
6. #7F – Matt Farnham, 8.462
7. #11B – Drew Dorsett – 8.474
8. #27 – Chris Jagger – 8.584
9. #84 – Bill Dunham, 8.590
10. #26 – Howard McCormick – 8.597
11. #7 – Joe Swanson, 8.605
12. #16 – Peter Hathaway, 8.642
13. #18 – Marv Hephner, 8.904
14. #35Z – Mark Zumbrun, 8.924
15. #20 – Ben Quinones, 9.008
16. #75 – Mark Yoder, 9.134
17. #86 – Steve Myers Jr., 9.406
18. #01 – Zeb Wise, 9.903
19. #14 – A.J. Lesiecki, NT

Sunday Qualifying (second of two laps):

1. #94 – John Ivy, 7.831
2. #17 – Cap Henry, 8.044
3. #84 – Bill Dunham, 8.361
4. #007 – Amanda Quinones-Long, 8.362
5. #29 – Rod Henning, 8.395
6. #11B – Drew Dorsett, 8.414
7. #7F – Matt Farnham, 8.438
8. #57 – Tyler Fitzpatrick, 8.457
9. #27 – Chris Jagger, 8.487
10. #16 – Peter Hathaway, 8.539
11. #26 – Howard McCormick, 8.593
12. #7 – Joe Swanson, 8.635
13. #35Z – Mark Zumbrun, 8.746
14. #18 – Marv Hephner, 8.792
15. #20 – Ben Quinones, 8.855
16. #75 – Mark Yoder – 9.019
17. #86 – Steve Myers Jr., 9.542
18. #01 – Zeb Wise, NT
19. #14 – A.J. Lesiecki, NT

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 21-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: [email protected]

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