From Rumble Media
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Dec. 28, 2024) – It took veteran Joe Liguori 16 years to finally reach victory lane at the Rumble in Fort Wayne presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales for the first time, but his road to a return trip there ended up being far shorter.
Liguori collected a trophy Saturday night during the national midget finale to the 26th annual Rumble, leading all 50 laps from the pole and winning the back half of the historic indoor racing classic for the second year running.
The driver of the Steadfast for Veterans-sponsored No. 8up outdueled fellow front-row starter Justin Peck on the initial green flag, then held off teammate and Friday night winner Cap Henry for the majority of the distance en route to a $2,000 payday.
It marked Liguori’s second Rumble victory in his 29th start. Adding in Henry’s victory from the Friday opener, the third-generation driver from Tampa, Fla., has won the last three Rumble midget mains as a car owner inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
“That is a testament to this team and how hard we’ve all worked to get to this point,” said Liguori after the race. “Getting the [winless] monkey off my back last year was pretty good; this second one proves we’re not just one-hot wonders and that we’re a threat each and every time we unload in this building.
“The infield tire in turn one got pushed out pretty far, so it made it where you had to try and make passes in [turns] three and four and I just had to be smooth … even though there wasn’t any really big pressure that I felt toward the end.”
Peck’s quest for a fourth Rumble triumph came undone during the start, when a flat left-rear tire brought him to a stop in turn two and put him out of the race immediately after starting second.
It elevated Henry to a front-row spot beside Liguori for the ensuing restart, and once the pair settled out in the top-two positions, they ran there for the entire distance and were never seriously threatened.
In fact, just three cautions waved during the 50-lapper following Peck’s issue on the start, with Travis Welpott spinning in turn three on lap 11 and fast qualifier Kasey Jedrzejek looping his car in turn one with 10 laps remaining.
The most dramatic slowdown came as the leader was taking the white flag, when Shawn Bonar spun in the first corner, setting up a green-white-checkered finish where Liguori pulled away from Henry to win by .443 seconds.
Though Henry had several shots down the stretch to make a move for the win on Liguori in lap traffic, the Ohio driver said he wasn’t going to risk spinning out a teammate just to complete a weekend sweep.
“I wasn’t going to wreck him for a win,” Henry stressed. “The end goal was to get the best possible result for the team, and Joe has done a lot for me over the years, so he’s earned that kind of respect and the important thing was to run one-two … no matter what it took.”
Ayrton Houk, driving Mel Kenyon’s iconic yellow No. 6, crossed third ahead of Bryan Nuckles and Mike Fedorcak, who earned his best Rumble finish since 2017 with a fifth-place effort.
Jedrzejek kicked off the night with his second straight fast qualifying time, while Ryan Flores, Jim Anderson, Henry, and Russ Gamester each won their respective 10-lap heat races.
Scott Hampton and Bonar topped the two 12-lap Last Chance Showdowns to lead the final transfer cars into the main event.
Going into the weekend, Liguori said he’d retire from Rumble competition if he managed to win both halves of the event as a driver in the same year.
Considering he did run the table, but as a car owner, does that mean Liguori is committing to returning to Fort Wayne for another go in 2025? He was coy with those plans, at least at this point.
“I’ll be in the building [next year],” said Liguori with a smile. “What that means … we’ll see when we get there.”
In other racing action Saturday night, Dillon Nusbaum (non-winged) and Tyler Gunn (winged) split the pair of 600cc micro sprint features that joined the national midget headliner on the event cars.
Gunn’s victory came in his first weekend racing in the winged class at the Rumble and was the result of a wild 25-lapper that saw multiple drivers spin out from the lead and a late oil-down situation that necessitated a red-flag for track cleanup.
In the end, Gunn took his No. 68g to the outside in the final laps to make passes before bumping Nate Franklin for the lead coming to the white flag. The contact led to Franklin spinning and Gunn inheriting the top spot before hanging on during a green-white-checkered sprint to the finish line.
“That was wild,” said an exhausted Gunn in victory lane. “It was hard fought and I’m glad we got rolling there on the top late in the race. That was the key.”
Brian Busz, Chase Ridenour, John Ivy, and Kelsey Ivy-Mange closed the top five. Bill Dunham led the first 18 laps from the pole, but lost the lead to Franklin when he slid through oil in turn three and could never fully recover.
Dunham later was involved in a multi-car spin in turn one and ended up ninth in the 18-car field.
The non-winged micro battle saw Dillon Nusbaum take control at halfway after then-leader Gunn spun on the backstretch with a broken right-rear wheel hub.
Nusbaum never relented after that, racing out to a 1.125-second victory over runner-up Kole Kirkman.
Third through fifth were Larry Joe Sroufe, Josh Ross, and John Ivy.
Of note, Chris Neuenschwander led all 20 laps to collect $1,000 as the victor in a special national midget “second chance race,” which featured drivers that failed to qualify for either 50-lap feature at this year’s Rumble.
Nick Hamilton was the runner-up, with Tim Creech II, Jack Macenko, and Andrew Royer completing the top five runners.
The 27th annual Rumble in Fort Wayne is slated for Dec. 19-20, 2025.
RESULTS: 26th Rumble in Fort Wayne; Allen County War Memorial Coliseum; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Dec. 28, 2024
National Midget Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. Kasey Jedrzejek, 75, Cicconi/KJR-7.545; 2. Joe Liguori, 8up, Liguori-7.594; 3. Cap Henry, 41, Liguori-7.631; 4. Kyle Hamilton, 99, Burrow-7.654; 5. Ryan Flores, 15, Cicconi-7.656; 6. Jim Anderson, 36, Anderson-7.672; 7. Travis Welpott, 18, Gorman-7.708; 8. Bryan Nuckles, 59, Nuckles-7.709; 9. Justin Peck, 5x, Clay-7.720; 10. Shawn Bonar, 24, Setser-7.724; 11. Scott Hampton, 96, Slinkard-7.739; 12. Russ Gamester, 46, Gamester-7.763; 13. Joey Payne, 2, Stewart-7.779; 14. Ricky Peterson Jr., 92, Peterson-7.792; 15. Chris Neuenschwander, 3, Neuenschwander-7.803; 16. Mike Fedorcak, 97, Stewart-7.808; 17. Nick Hamilton, 16, Kenyon-7.814; 18. Ayrton Houk, 6, Kenyon-7.829; 19. Tim Creech II, 49, Burrow-7.846; 20. Billy Hulbert, 01, Hicks-7.918; 21. Braiden Black, 47, Campbell-7.934; 22. A.J. Lesiecki, 9r, Reiser-7.951; 23. Jackson Macenko, 24, Hayes-8.027; 24. Daryl Campbell, 45, Campbell-8.049; 25. Andrew Royer, 24r, Royer-8.070; 26. Scott Koerner, 4b, Murphy-8.082; 27. Rylan Gray, 49g, TNT-8.154; 28. Lee Pierce, 42, Pierce-8.217; 29. Billy Wease, 99g, Guess-8.427; 30. Cole Sink, 8, Brewer-NT.
(Class Track Record: 7.323 seconds, Tony Stewart, Dec. 30, 2005)
National Midget Heat #1 (10 laps, two transfer): 1. 15F-Ryan Flores [2]; 2. 5X-Justin Peck [1] / 3. 16-Nick Hamilton [5]; 4. 2-Joey Payne [4]; 5. 75-Kasey Jedrzejek [3]; 6. 99g-Billy Wease [8]; 7. 47-Braiden Black [6]; 8. 24R-Andrew Royer [7].
National Midget Heat #2 (10 laps, two transfer): 1. 36-Jim Anderson [2]; 2. 8UP-Joe Liguori [3] / 3. 6-Ayrton Houk [5]; 4. 24-Shawn Bonar [1]; 5. 9R-AJ Leseicki [6]; 6. 4B-Scott Koerner [7]; 7. 92-Ricky Peterson [4]; 8. 8-Cole Sink (DNS).
National Midget Heat #3 (10 laps, two transfer): 1. 41-Cap Henry [3]; 2. 18-Travis Welpott [2] / 3. 96-Scott Hampton [1]; 4. 49-Tim Creech II [5]; 5. 3-Chris Neuenschwander [4]; 6. 24-Jackson Macenko [6]; 7. 49G-Rylan Gray [7].
National Midget Heat #4 (10 laps, two transfer): 1. 46-Russ Gamester [1]; 2. 97-Mike Fedorcak [4] / 3. 45-Daryl Campbell [6]; 4. 01-Billy Hulbert [5]; 5. 59-Bryan Nuckles [2]; 6. 99-Kyle Hamilton [3]; 7. 42-Lee Pierce [7].
National Midget Last Chance Showdown #1 (12 laps, three transfer): 1. 96-Scott Hampton [2]; 2. 75-Kasey Jedrzejek [5]; 3. 47-Braiden Black [9] / 4. 2-Joey Payne [3]; 5. 16-Nick Hamilton [1]; 6. 49-Tim Creech II [4]; 7. 3-Chris Neuenschwander [6]; 8. 24-Jackson Macenko [8]; 9. 49G-Rylan Gray [10]; 10. 99W-Billy Wease [7]; 11. 24R-Andrew Royer [11].
National Midget Last Chance Showdown #2 (12 laps, three transfer): 1. 24-Shawn Bonar [3]; 2. 6-Ayrton Houk [1]; 3. 59-Bryan Nuckles [6] / 4. 99-Kyle Hamilton [8]; 5. 45-Daryl Campbell [2]; 6. 42-Lee Pierce [10]; 7. 92-Ricky Peterson [9]; 8. 01-Billy Hulbert [4]; 9. 9R-AJ Leseicki [5]; 10. 4B-Scott Koerner [7]; 11. 8-Cole Sink (DNS).
National Midget Non-Qualifiers Race (20 laps): 1. 3-Chris Neuenschwander [1]; 2. 16-Nick Hamilton [2]; 3. 49-Tim Creech II [3]; 4. 24-Jackson Macenko [6]; 5. 24R-Andrew Royer [8]; 6. 9R-AJ Leseicki [5]; 7. 01-Billy Hulbert [4]; 8. 42-Lee Pierce [10]; 9. 4B-Scott Koerner [9]; 10. 45-Daryl Campbell [7]; 11. 99g-Billy Wease (DNS); 12. 8-Cole Sink (DNS).
National Midget A-Feature (50 laps): 1. 8up-Joe Liguori [1]; 2. 41-Cap Henry [4]; 3. 6-Ayrton Houk [12]; 4. 59-Bryan Nuckles [14]; 5. 97-Mike Fedorcak [8]; 6. 18-Travis Welpott [7]; 7. 75-Kasey Jedrzejek [11]; 8. 24B-Shawn Bonar [10]; 9. 36-Jim Anderson [5]; 10. 15F-Ryan Flores [6]; 11. 47-Braiden Black [13]; 12. 96-Scott Hampton [9]; 13. 46-Russ Gamester [3]; 14. 5X-Justin Peck [2].
Lap Leader(s): Joe Liguori 1-50.
Hard Charger: 59-Bryan Nuckles (+10)
Winged 600cc Micro Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. 94-Tyler Shullick, 7.456; 2. 40-John Ivy, 7.530; 3. 87-Nathan Franklin, 7.719; 4. 5-Brian Busz, 7.779; 5. 18-Cody Tyler, 7.820; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn, 7.820; 7. 14-Keith Ousley, 7.872; 8. 3W-Dylan Woodling, 7.873; 9. 84-Bill Dunham, 7.874; 10. 08-Cory Grenzy, 7.930; 11. 27-Chris Jagger, 7.951; 12. 21-Clay Sanders, 7.951; 13. 16W-Dillon Nusbaum, 7.956; 14. 71R-Tyler Rankin, 8.008; 15. 10R-Ryan Ball, 8.016; 16. 12W-Jake Wachtman, 8.080; 17. 01-Chase Ridenour, 8.259; 18. 29i-Kelsey Ivy-Mange, 8.560.
(Class Track Record: 7.255 seconds, Tyler Shullick, Dec. 18, 2021)
Winged 600cc Micro Heat #1 (10 laps, all transfer): 1. 94-Tyler Shullick[5]; 2. 87-Nathan Franklin[4]; 3. 84-Bill Dunham[1]; 4. 01-Chase Ridenour[9]; 5. 16W-Dillon Nusbaum[7]; 6. 27-Chris Jagger[6]; 7. 10R-Ryan Ball[8]; 8. 18-Cody Tyler[3]; 9. 14-Keith Ousley[2]
Winged 600cc Micro Heat #2 (10 laps, all transfer): 1. 40-John Ivy[5]; 2. 68G-Tyler Gunn[3]; 3. 71R-Tyler Rankin[7]; 4. 3W-Dylan Woodling[2]; 5. 5-Brian Busz[4]; 6. 21-Clay Sanders[6]; 7. 08-Cory Grenzy[1]; 8. 29I-Kelsey Ivy-Mange[9]; 9. 12W-Jake Wachtman[8]
Winged 600cc Micro A-Feature (25 laps): 1. 68G-Tyler Gunn [2]; 2. 5-Brian Busz [10]; 3. 01-Chase Ridenour [7]; 4. 40-John Ivy [4]; 5. 29I-Kelsey Ivy-Mange [16]; 6. 94-Tyler Shullick [5]; 7. 3W-Dylan Woodling [8]; 8. 71R-Tyler Rankin [6]; 9. 84-Bill Dunham [1]; 10. 27-Chris Jagger [11]; 11. 12W-Jake Wachtman [18]; 12. 87-Nathan Franklin [3]; 13. 08-Cory Grenzy [14]; 14. 21-Clay Sanders [12]; 15. 18-Cody Tyler [15]; 16. 16W-Dillon Nusbaum [9]; 17. 10R-Ryan Ball [13]; 18. 14-Keith Ousley [17].
Lap Leader(s): Bill Dunham 1-18, Nate Franklin 19-23, Tyler Gunn 24-25.
Hard Charger: 29i-Kelsey Ivy-Mange (+11)
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. ES10-Easton Zent, 7.922 (NTR); 2. 68g-Tyler Gunn, 7.935; 3. 73-Brent Busz, 7.991; 4. 20i-John Ivy, 8.012; 5. 18-Kole Kirkman, 8.028; 6. 8-Jake Moore, 8.147; 7. 12-Josh Ross, 8.153; 8. 21-Larry Joe Sroufe, 8.185; 9. 17n-Dillon Nusbaum, 8.187; 10. 27m-Dylan Woodling, 8.204; 11. 29-Zeth Sabo, 8.242; 12. 83-Chase Ridenour, 8.267; 13. 75b-Brian Busz, 8.381; 14. 44-Michael Busz, 8.463; 15. 4-Brad Lamberson, 8.566; 16. 51-Jason Ormsby, 8.730; 17. 00-Bryan Martin, 8.914; 18. 24r-Andrew Royer, NT.
(Previous Track Record: 7.952 seconds, John Ivy, Dec. 18, 2021)
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Heat #1 (10 laps, all transfer): 1. 12-Josh Ross [2]; 2. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum [1]; 3. 18-Kole Kirkman [3]; 4. 73-Brent Busz [4]; 5. 29-Zeth Sabo [6]; 6. ES10-Easton Zent [5]; 7. 75B-Brian Busz [7]; 8. 4-Brad Lamberson [8]; 9. 00-Bryan Martin [9].
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Heat #2 (10 laps, all transfer): 1. 68G-Tyler Gunn [5]; 2. 27M-Dylan Woodling [1]; 3. 21-Larry Joe Sroufe [2]; 4. 20I-John Ivy [4]; 5. 24R-Andrew Royer [9]; 6. 8-Jake Moore [3]; 7. 44-Michael Busz [7]; 8. 51-Jason Ormsby [8]; 9. 83-Chase Ridenour [6].
Non-Winged 600cc Micro A-Feature (25 laps): 1. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum [2]; 2. 18-Kole Kirkman [5]; 3. 21-Larry Joe Sroufe [6]; 4. 12-Josh Ross [4]; 5. 20I-John Ivy [8]; 6. 8-Jake Moore [12]; 7. 73-Brent Busz [7]; 8. 75B-Brian Busz [13]; 9. 24R-Andrew Royer [10]; 10. ES10-Easton Zent [11]; 11. 4-Brad Lamberson [15]; 12. 29-Zeth Sabo [9]; 13. 44-Michael Busz [14]; 14. 51-Jason Ormsby [16]; 15. 68G-Tyler Gunn [3]; 16. 27M-Dylan Woodling [1]; 17. 00-Bryan Martin [17]; 18. 83-Chase Ridenour [18].
Lap Leader(s): Dylan Woodling 1-8, Tyler Gunn 9-13, Dillon Nusbaum 14-25.
Hard Charger: 8-Jake Moore (+6)