(LEHIGHTON, PA 5-12-12) It had been nearly a decade since Nevin George last ran at the tight confines of Mahoning Valley Speedway and 15 years since he last won a race here. George, 30, from Kunkletown, has returned in full force for the 2012 season and on Saturday night he beat a talent-filled field of 19 others for his first ever victory in a Modified.

George started sixth and within two laps was running third. He then went by his teammate Scott Meckes on lap 12 and continued towards race leader Lonnie Behler where he began a torrid side-by-side duel. Running on the topside of the track, George edged past Behler on lap 15. Multi-time track champion John Markovic soon came into focus and over the final 15 laps the two raced in a torrid battle that was decided by a close finish. "It’s been a long time since winning here. We got into the Modifieds in 1998 and ran a half season. I was on the (NASCAR Modified) Tour and never really got the chance to get down here after that and this has been one of my big things throughout my career. I never got a Modified win here so this is a really big deal," said George who is a two-time D/A Modified champion with 14 wins.

At the start of the race Behler beat pole sitter Shawn Sitarchyk to the opening lap lead. He then had Meckes giving him a handful to deal with as they raced several laps in two-wide formation. Once George took the slot in second he too would run neck-and-neck with the leader until executing his racing winning pass in turn three while on the 14^th lap. When Markovic went to runner-up he laid down the pressure on George. Several times he would show himself alongside but George did well in defending his place. "I’ve raced Johnny (Markovic) quite a bit through the years and he’s a very good and clean driver. I’ve been to quarter mile tracks where there was single file racing for 200 laps but if you have the car right here there’s always passing one way or the other either inside or outside. This is a really good place to go for both the fans and the drivers," said George. Kevin Rex, Jr., was third with Earl Paules and Behler rounding out the top five. This was the sixth straight top five for Paules and with that he has taken over the point lead and is now number one in both the Modifieds and Late Models. Sitarchyk, Behler and Rex won heats with Rick Reichenbach taking the consi.

In the Late Models a very long dry spell has come to an end for Palmerton’s Ed Bauer as he notched his first win in 20-years. It was on July 25, 1992 and four years prior to that he took a Street Stock feature. Few wins and a large span in between but that distant memory was freshened anew when he scored a popular victory over point leader Paules. "It was good the car has been fast every week. We caught a bad break in our heat race when we got in a scrape but thankfully it was only cosmetic and the crew did a great job getting in race ready and it worked good tonight," said Bauer.

Paul Effrig led through the first six laps until fifth starting Bauer charged underneath him on the back straight and into the lead. Paul Koehler, Jr., moved to second and was giving him a great run and over the final ten laps Paules joined the fray. With three laps to go Paules slipped by Koehler and was heading towards Bauer when the caution halted his charge. Over the final laps Bauer clung to the inside lane and eked out a narrow .110-second margin of victory. "Until we got the two (laps) to go signal I didn’t know who was there. In the back of your mind you know it’s one of them two (Paules/Koehler). When the caution came out Earl (Paules) came up alongside of me I knew it was not going to be easy," said Bauer. "I knew I had to give it everything I got or else we’re getting second (place). He ran me real clean. I still needed more gear in the car but we still pulled it out." Paules and Koehler annexed heat wins.

Josh Mooney of Lehighton scored his first Street Stock win of the season. Coming from ninth, Mooney, who has been among the fastest cars since the season began, worked his way behind leader BJ Wambold at mid-race. Wambold was doing an excellent job of fending off Mooney. However, with four laps remaining Mooney got a run on the inside of Wambold and grabbed the top spot while negotiating turn three which then led to the win. Point leader and last week’s winner Randy Ahner, Jr., took the runner-up spot with Wambold holding on for a career best third. Joe Stamm. Ahner, Jr., and Wambold took wins in their respective heats. 

A very young Kyle Strohl of Palmerton pulled off an upset win in the 4-Cylinder Stocks as the 12-year old took his car to the front of the pack with one lap to go and held off none other than defending champion Barry Christman, Jr.

The race was caution marred and from the start as yellow flag fever ran rampant. Point leader Jeremy Miller had taken the lead on lap seven but for the second time in as many races fell from grace when he spun while leading and with less than a few laps to go. Strohl, who started sixth, kept his nose clean throughout the race and was running second at the time of Miller’s spin. Fresh out of the Quarter Midget ranks, Strohl then held on for the memorable victory and also added a $50 bonus for being the highest Front Wheel car across the line. Miller and Jake Kibler notched heat verdicts.

Kris Graver of Lehighton was in the right place at the right time and scored his third straight Dirt Mod win.

With three laps to go front runners Mark Levy and Mike Stofflet were racing hard going into turn four. Stofflet then made contact with Levy’s left side and both cars lost traction with Levy spinning. Stofflet did continue on but was sent to the rear for his part in the incident. Graver, third at the time, then went to the front and on to the win over Randy Thomas.

In the touring INEX Legends event it was Matt Pappa, who is second in the Nation in Asphalt Pro division points, scored a resounding win. Starting second, Pappa, who hails from Albany, NY, led the first lap, lost it the second time around to Todd McCollum after he drifted to high in turn three. Three laps later Pappa went back to the front in the same spot he gave up to McCollum. Afterwards it was smooth sailing in taking the win. He also notched his heat as did McCollum.