Polimeda Rarin' to Return to Action with ARDC
By Mark Kielblock

Felton, DE - Frank Polimeda is in his third year with the Neptune Research Spike/Mopar no.44 team in ARDC competition. Each season has seen him compete for race wins and the ARDC championship, but the 2009 season has started out on the most positive note yet. Polimeda took the season opener at Big Diamond and currently leads the point standings by 103 points over Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. The only drawback? Lack of activity for the motivated racer from Ft. Lee, NJ. When asked how his season was going, he hesitated and laughed, "Few and far between is how I would describe it." ARDC has lost two scheduled shows at Williams Grove to rain, and a recent rainout at Bridgeport NJ on the 1/4 mile bullring (rescheduled for July 25) created what will be a three week gap in the schedule. The wingless midgets get back on track at Accord Speedway on Friday night July 10, following that up with a Saturday night date at Williams Grove Speedway.

That's about the only negative Polimeda could see in his season to date. The upside? A new for 2009 pairing with legendary ARDC head wrench Milt Acquilini. "Milt has had quite an impact on our team in a short time," Polimeda emphasized. "He has such a great track record and history in midget racing and in auto racing in general. He's been a real shot in the arm to the team. In the past we've had a hard time getting the whole package together week in and week out. He keeps our car running strong every race."

Poimeda went on to describe what Acquilini brings to the table for the 44 team. "The biggest difference is that I always made the calls on setups in the past," Polimeda explained. "The big problem for me was I was as focused on driving as I was on thinking about tires and track conditions. I was spread too thin trying to be the driver and Crew Chief/Mechanic. This year I'm able to focus more as a driver as Milt handles all the calls on shocks and setups and things like that."

Polimeda's 2009 track record speaks for itself; win at Big Diamond, seventh at Susquehanna Speedway Park, third at Grandview, fourth at Penn Can, second to Steve Buckwalter in an epic battle at Five Mile Point, second again in a Thunder on the Hill show at Grandview and a tenth at Lincoln on June 13. With a record like that, it's little wonder that Polimeda is eager to get back on track.

While the wingless ARDC midgets have suffered from too much "liquid sunshine" the quality of the on-track product continues to draw raves. In his June 16 "Roaming the Raceways" column in Area Auto Racing News, Guy Smith commented on the heated action at Grandview, "The ARDC was up first and the put on an excellent feature. There was plenty of passing, especially by winner Steve Buckwalter," Smith wrote. "Steve came from 16th starting spot to take the lead almost right at the halfway point of the 25 lapper. It wasn't just Buckwalter doing the passing either, as Frank Polimeda advanced from 14th to 2nd, consie winner Billy Pauch Jr. came from 18th to 3rd, Bruce Buckwalter from 12th to 4th, and Ryan Watt from 17th to 5th. The top 5 finishers advanced 62 positions in this race! There was two and three wide racing all night for ARDC. In my opinion this was the best ARDC show I've seen in decades. They put on a whale of a race at Grandview, and the feedback I got was that their Saturday night show at Grandview was just as good," Smith concluded.

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