Jared Frye and Maggie Wambold take home the $1,000 paychecks, winning each of the Twin Feature 30 lappers in the Paul Strohl Tribute on July 6
In the 20 lap Pro-4 feature, Cody Kohler would see himself to victory lane, making quick work of the traffic en-route to his 52nd career victory in the Pro-4 division and 53rd overall win at Mahoning Valley Speedway, tying him on the all-time win rankings with none other than Paul Koehler Jr.. In the Future Hobby Stock division, there have only been 3 different winners to date to begin the season. That would change on Saturday night as Jeremy Henry was able to pilot his #10 machine to his first career trip to victory lane in a 15 lap shootout with Adam Steigerwalt. The 602 Crate Modified division returned to the ¼ mile circuit, as well, this time missing the likes of Todd Baer and Bobby Jones, leaving victory lane open for a first time winner in 2024. Avery Arthofer would seize this opportunity, taking the field by storm, not only picking up her first victory of the season, but also setting the fastest lap of the feature at an impressive 10.824 seconds. The most anticipated racing of the night was the Hobby Stock division, paying tribute to the late Paul Strohl, who has been a staple to short track racing at Mahoning Valley Speedway for decades, whether it was as a driver, crew chief, or tow truck driver. The Hobby Stock division was very proud to pay tribute to Strohl, partaking in “Twin-30 Lappers” and racing for the division’s most impressive payout to-date. The ever-so generous payout was brought forth by the likes of multiple sponsors, including Todd Baer at Aquaduck Water Transport, Eric Kocher Motorsports, Paul’s Garage & Towing, Scott Lesher Contracting, Country View Diner, Tanner Strohl & Family, JD Motorsports, Dave Farkas, and Bath Supply. In the first feature, Maggie Wambold would see the field to green with the upcoming talent of Jared Frye on her outside. A frightening moment of the night was when the #88 of Ken Reeder got an unusual (upside down) view of the infield, as his Chevy Cavalier found itself on its lid after a lap one incident. Fortunately, Reeder came out of the wreck unscathed, however, his #88 entry was unable to continue on for the remainder of the night. From the jump, Frye was on his game, besting Wambold in the outside groove to jump out to the lead. A Frye’s route to victory was a cumbersome one at that, as he would have to endure the relentless pressure of the #4 of Cody Geist, making his return to the division he once dominated, winning two championships. Geist was unable to make the pass for $1,000, however, and Jared Frye rolled on to pick up his second win of the 2024 season. In the second Hobby Stock feature, the starting grid was the result of a full field invert of the first feature’s results. From the drop of the green, chaos ensued, as it was a mad dash to get to the front of the field. Jake Kibler would see his way to the lead by the second lap with Jacob Boehm in tow. Kibler and Boehm would check out from the rest of the field, bumper to bumper for the majority of the 30 lap shootout. After a late race caution, Kibler and Boehm would tangle while battling for the lead, leaving the $1,000 up for grabs for the frontrunners Maggie Wambold, Trisha Connoly, and Corey Edelman. Wambold, being the least experienced of the trio, was able to fend off the division veterans of Edelman and Connolly en route to her biggest payout to date! Also on the slate for Saturday evening was the Street Stock division, scheduled for 30 laps of side-by-side action. Brandon Christman would lead the field to green in his pristine #41 Camaro, still searching for his first win of the season. From the drop of the green, Christman was under fire on all fronts, whether it was the Geist brothers, Shayne and Cody, or the Wooly Bully “X” car driven by Johnny Bennett. Bennett was able to charge his way to the front and line up in the second position on a late race restart, however, the persistence and determination of Christman would soon pay off, as he was first across the scoring line on lap 30, picking up his first win of 2024. Last but not least, fans who stuck around got to witness a thriller of a Junk Car race that was run by Old School Promotions and the Strohl family. There were 21 cars on the pavement for this one, however, by the grace of junk car racing, only 9 would finish. The vast majority of the race had been dominated by the 77 of Jacob Oswald, who was the only driver to break the 13 second mark in lap times. Oswald’s domination would be short-lived, however, as he would be caught up in lapped traffic and taken out of the race on lap 26. From then on, it appeared to be a clear Ryan Williams victory until the 71s of Steven Schlenker was able to find just enough grip to surpass the 08 of Williams with 3 to go. Williams took one last look to the inside of Schlenker but to no avail. Steven Schlenker picked up the first victory of his young career in an absolute barnburner of a junk car race!
Pro-4’s- Cody Kohler Paul Strohl Memorial HS Race #1- Jared Frye Paul Strohl Memorial HS Race #2- Maggie Wambold Future Hobby Stocks- Jeremy Henry 602 Crate Modifieds- Avery Arthofer Street Stocks- Brandon Christman Junk Car Race: Steven Schlenker
Frankie Althouse Jr. makes it two in a row while Travis Solomon picks up his second win of the young 2024 racing season at The Mahoning Valley Speedway on June 15
Travis Solomon would find his way to the front relatively quickly in the Hobby Stock feature, taking the lead from James Tout while clocking the fastest lap of the race, at 12.146 seconds. That speed would soon waiver over the course of the 25 lap feature, as the division’s most seasoned driver, Jake Kibler would follow suit trailing him in second place. As the laps dwindled down, Kibler was noticeably faster than the 23 of Solomon, making multiple attempts to the inside that were met by the quick defense of Solomon, closing the door and keeping Kibler from attaining his first win of the season. Solomon would win the highly contested battle, leaving the 71 of Kibler and the 79 of James Tout to round out the top 3.
The 602 Crate Modified division took center stage for their 30 lap bout as the sun began to set over Lehighton’s ¼ mile bullring. As soon as the green flag dropped, it was a three-car battle as Todd Baer, Bobby Jones, and Nick Schaeffer put nearly a 6 car gap over the rest of the field within the first five laps. Schaeffer would eventually lose sight of the veteran duo of Jones and Baer as they went on to battle it out for the remainder of the race. While battling nose to tail for nearly 25 laps, not a single spark flew as the years of experience were shown, exemplifying what clean, respectful racing is all about. Baer never wavered to the pressure of Jones, winning his third straight Crate Modified showdown at Mahoning with a gap to second place of nearly two seconds.
The Street Stock division put on a great show, which showcased one of the most respected individuals in the pit area, Greg Long. Long has been filling the driver seat of the 2023 championship winning #97 car, which is normally driven by his daughter, Jillian Snyder. The recently “unretired” driver would lead the field to green, leading the first 20 laps of the feature while holding off the #30 of Jacob Boehm who made several attempts to unseat the wily veteran, though he remained composed and held the inside groove. The #56 of Frankie Althouse found himself in a seemingly familiar situation, capitalizing on the leaders fighting over the same real estate on the bottom, he decided to put his four hoosiers into the top lane of the race track and snuck past the duo with little to no contact. Althouse, picking up his second straight win of the season, left Long and Boehm to round out the top three and a hornets nest of cars beating and banging for top 5 finishes.
The Predator Mini Mods were also on the schedule on Saturday evening, returning to what is often referred to as their “Super Speedway”. The #121 of Bill Connolly showed great speed all throughout the afternoon and into the evening, topping the speed charts in both the heat race and the feature. Connolly endured little pressure en route to victory in the feature, setting the fastest lap of the bout by nearly four tenths of a second. Following Connolly across the finish line were the #5 of Brandon Kressler and the #145 of Ian McGuire.
The car count for Mahoning’s Late Model division grew slightly on Saturday night, however, the energy and action that came with them grew exponentially larger. Mark Hudson has reigned supreme over the late model division in recent history, however, after the unraveling events of Saturday’s 25 lap feature, it is safe to say that the competition has reeled him in. Hudson led the field to green after a wild series of events in the preceding heat race. Hudson would check out to familiar early lead at the drop of the green flag, but to the surprise of many, two more ‘horses’ would soon enter the race. The #2 of Seth Van Fossen and the #41 of Brian Romig Jr. would close the gap to the back bumper of the #82 while they were side by side. In the midst of the two young drivers battling for second, Romig and Van Fossen would soon find themselves each going for the same real estate which would send the pair spinning in dramatic fashion in front of the rest of the field. This would be of no issue for Romig Jr., however, as the famous saying goes, “cautions breed cautions”, he would soon find himself lined up in the third place position on a late race restart. Hudson was unable to keep his favored line as the laps wound down and the tire temperatures raised, leaving the door open for Romig Jr.’s #41 machine to sneak past him on the inside en route to his first win of 2024.
The Future Hobby Stock division saw the #54 of young Adam Steigerwalt cruise onto his third victory of the season, leaving the #87 of Sarabeth Mesko and the #10 of Rodney Breiner to round out the top three.
Also in on Saturday night’s action was the East Coast TQ Midget division. Josh Paterson would lead the field both to the green flag on lap one and the checkered flag on lap 20. Following behind him was the tightly contested battle of the #33 of Tyler Wagner and the #42 of Brandon Kressler which ultimately resulted in frightening post race wreck which saw the #33 of Wagner going airborne and badly damaged.
HOBBY STOCK FEATURE: 1) Travis Solomon 2) Jake Kibler 3) James Tout 4) Dave Kerr 5) Nick Kerstetter 6) Terry Peters 7) Maggie Wambold 8. Jared Frye
STREET STOCK FEATURE: 1) Frankie Althouse 2) Greg Long 3) Jacob Boehm 4) Johnny Bennett 5) Jamie Smith 6) Cody Geist 7) Shayne Geist 8. Brandon Christman 9) Todd Ahner 10) Josh Kuronya 11) Rich Moser 12) Peyton Arthofer DQ: Brian Wambold Jr.
FUTURES FEATURE: 1) Adam Stiegerwalt 2) Sarabeth Mesko 3) Rodney Breiner 4) Gabi Steigerwalt 5) Jeremy Henry 6) Al Gildner 7) Liam McDonough 8. Justin Merkel Jr. 9) Zoe Kuchera 10) Connor Shotwell
LATE MODELS FEATURE: 1) Brian Romig Jr. 2) Mark Hudson 3) Brian Romig Sr. 4) Geno Steigerwalt 5) Seth Van Fossen 6) Griffin Hendershot 7) Joel Smith 8. Josh Oswald
602 CRATE-MODS FEATURE: 1) Todd Baer 2) Bobby Jones 3) Branden Sullivan 4) Nick Schaeffer 5) Kristy Arthofer 6) Makayla Kohler
ECTQM FEATURE: 1) Josh Paterson 2) Tyler Wagner 3) Brandon Kressler 4) Graham Hughes 5) Vinny Testinaro 6) Austin Santee 7) Ozzy Carlino 8. Dave Williams
MINI MOD FEATURE: 1) Bill Connolly 2) Brandon Kressler 3) Ian McQuire 4) Billy Lasko 5) Jared Rehrig 6) Gary Lerch III 7) David Sokol Jr. 8. Markus Kincaid 9) David Sokol Sr. 10) Chris Kincaid
Week 5 Recap - June 1, 2024
Lehighton, PA - Frankie Althouse powers his way around the outside groove to take the lead over Josh Kuronya to pick up his first win of the 2024 season at the Mahoning Valley Speedway!
With the annual Mike Krempasky Memorial race nearing, more and more street stocks are finding their way out of the woodworks to get tuned in for the 50 lap feature coming up on June 8th as there was a full field of cars rumbling their way around the ¼ mile on Saturday night. Leading the field to the green was the 46 of Josh Kuronya, who put together his best performance to date, leading nearly two thirds of the feature before succumbing to the relentless pressure of Frankie Althouse Jr. in the outside groove. Kuronya held his own, fending off the 18 of Jacob Boehm and the 45 of Todd Ahner for nearly half of the race, clocking in at a career best 12.022 second lap time. With a couple of untimely cautions and the field being shuffled around, Kuronya was then forced to deal with Frankie Althouse on his outside, and the Ripkey Racing machines of TJ Gursky and Randy Ahner Jr.. Althouse was able to practice getting around Kuronya on the outside earlier in the evening in their heat race, which was nearly identical to the 30-lap feature winning move he pulled off later in the night to capture his first win of the 2024 season.
The Pro-4 Division was slated to run 20 circuits around the quarter mile, with another healthy field of cars, which is always a promising sign for the future of the division. While there were a couple new cars present in the field, it would still be the same result for the fans, watching the 29 of Cody Kohler cruise onto yet another win, remaining undefeated on the year thus far. Following Kohler and rounding out the top three were the father-son duo of Bobby Kibler Jr. and Bobby Kibler Sr..
Todd Baer also remains undefeated in the 602 Crate Modified division, battling with the likes of Branden Sullivan and Avery Arthofer. Arthofer was able to lead many laps early on in the event, until a bold crossover move was made by the veteran, Baer. Arthofer attempted the same crossover to regain the lead, however, the car wasn’t up for the challenge as she seemed to be battling a loose race car from then on. Sullivan, the young driver out of New Jersey, was able to keep Baer within striking distance while holding off Arthofer, however, the 41 machine was on a rail, picking up its second consecutive win.
The Hobby Stock division never fails to disappoint, as fans saw the iconic Wambold #81 return to victory lane, this time with Maggie Wambold behind the wheel. Wambold started the race from the pole, yet didn’t look back as she had a Jake Kibler piloted #71 and Travis Solomon piloted #23 right on her coattails. Wambold hardly had to deal with any pressure from behind as Kibler had his own hands full battling off the likes of Travis Solomon. That would be how the top three would remain for the entirety of the race, as many cars were taken out in a lap 11 incident on the front stretch, sending a few drivers back to the pits for the night.
One of the more notable moments of the night was when the 11 year old rookie driver, Justin Merkel Jr., climbed out of his race car in victory lane for the very first time in the Hobby Stock Futures division. Merkel had been gradually getting some seat time in the car over the first few weeks of the season, riding in the back of the pack to learn the ins and outs of piloting these front wheel drive four cylinders at Mahoning Valley Speedway. Finally, the rookie driver made the decision to push not only himself, but the car to the limit, starting in the front of the pack in both his heat and feature. The decision proved to be a great one, as Merkel looked more than comfortable, extending his lead over challengers to just about 6 car lengths at times, and cruised onto collecting his first of many to come feature wins
OFFICIAL RESULTS June 1, 2024: Street Stocks: 1. Frankie Althouse 2. Josh Kuronya 3. TJ Gursky 4. Randy Ahner Jr. 5. Todd Ahner 6. Jacob Boehm 7. Jamie Smith 8. John Bennett 9. Randy Green 10. Brandon Christman 11. Peyton Arthofer 12. Gary Reinheimer 13. Cody Geist 14. Austin Santee 15. Rich Moser 16. Shayne Geist 17. BJ Wambold 18. Greg Long
Hobby Stocks: 1. Maggie Wambold 2. Jake Kibler 3. Travis Solomon 4. James Tout 5. Nick Kerstetter 6. Steve McDonough 7. Jared Frye 8. Dave Kerr 9. Jake Oswald 10. Dave Imler Jr. 11. Ryan Petro
Pro 4s: 1. Cody Kohler 2. Bob Kibler Jr. 3. Bob Kibler Sr. 4. Terry Peters 5. Ian Szalku 6. Tyler Poole 7. Aiden Boucher 8. Kadie Pursell 9. James Yons 10. Rich Pursell DNS: Tyler Stangle, Chris Yob, Colton Breiner
Future Hobby Stocks: 1. Justin Merkel Jr. 2. Sarabeth Mesko 3. Rodney Breiner 4. Alex Rogers 5. Gabby Steigerwalt 6. Jeremy Henry 7. Al Gildner 8. Liam McDonough 9. Adam Steigerwalt DQ: Arland Moyer Jr.
East Coast: 1. Graham Hughes 2. Ozzy Carlino 3. Howard Boss 4. Adam Huff DNS: Vinny Testinaro
Austin Kochenash scored his second career Race of Champions Modified Series win Sunday at Mahoning Valley, fending off Blake Barney, Earl Paules and Matt Hirschman for the victory.
A dramatic Race of Champions Modified Series event at Mahoning Valley Speedway came down to the finish, as Austin Kochenash scored the victory in the Spring Zing 100. Kochenash held off Blake Barney, Earl Paules and Matt Hirschman in a thrilling fight to the checkered flag, scoring his second career RoC win.“We always have a good car here in the race,” said Kochenash in victory lane. “Qualifying and the heat race, we’re usually not that great. We have the speed here. Really, the last year and a half, we’ve had a real good car when we came.Kochenash took the lead from Paules on a lap 81 restart, but Paules stayed with Kochenash the rest of the way. Soon, Blake Barney joined the fight after making some adjustments to his machine and charging his way through the field.Barney narrowly edged ahead of Paules in a side-by-side battle for second at the finish line. “We made a call to come in, rotate our tires and work on the car to try to get it better,” said Barney. “It ended up working out, so I couldn’t be happier. We had a car that was in contention to win. “Congrats to Austin Kochenash, he drove a great race. I tried to get him at the end, but we were all so close. If I had run into the back of him, we would have all been everywhere breaking momentum. Just not enough on the bottom for me to get under him.”“We had a really good car,” said Paules afer finishing third. “I gave it up on that one restart. I left too much of the track coming out of two.”Hirschman finished fourth, recovering from a spin on lap 62 to salvage a top-five finish. Hirschman had won the RoC season opener at Mahoning Valley earlier this year. Zane Zeiner rounded out the top five. SPRING ZING 100 Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/- 1 14 66 Austin Kochenas Danielsville, PA 13 2 3 14B Blake Barney Jackson, NJ 1 3 4 8 Earl Paules Palmertown, PA 1 4 12 60 Matt Hirschman Northampton, PA 8 5 5 76 Zane Zeiner Bath, PA - 6 10 17 Roger Coss Lafayette, NJ 4 7 1 81 Jack Ely Northampton, PA -6 8 11 14L Jake Lutz Hamburg, NY 3 9 6 73H Paulie Hartwig Galloway, NJ -3 10 21 76S Rod Snyder Jr Lehighton, PA 11 11 27 11 Tony Hanbury Owego, NY 16 12 16 95K Jacob Kerstette Allentown, PA 4 13 8 88 Lou Strohl Lou Strohl Palmertown, PA -5 14 15 53 Brian Defebo Berwick, PA 1 15 19 51 Jayden Harman sugarloaf, PA 4 16 18 71 James Pritchard Oak Ridge, NJ 2 17 13 22 Don Wagner Don Wagner Wharton, NJ -4 18 17 3S Daren Scherer Binghamton, NY -1 19 20 3B Jaden Brown Kunkletown, PA 1 20 2 X John Bennett Lehighton, PA -18 21 22 0 Randall Richard 1 22 26 41 Todd Baer New Tripoli, PA 4 23 9 44 Kyle Strohl -14 24 23 29 Cody Kohler Schnecksville, PA -1 25 24 87 Thomas Flanagan Bethlehem, PA -1 26 25 40 Tommy Rought Rome, PA -1 27 7 1 Nick Schaeffer Lehighton, PA
RACE OF CHAMPIONS MODIFIED SERIES SET FOR DIFFERENT TYPE OF EVENT AT MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024 Race of Champions and Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified competitors are gearing up to return to Mahoning Valley Speedway for a unique event this Sunday, May 19. Series and Track Management are awarding “show up” points to competitors so they may lay it all on the line and go for a victory in the 100-lap event where only one (1) set of tires will be required. The race, the “Spring Zing” 100 will take center stage Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm.The event will be 100-laps and will not count caution laps with double-file racing through the completion of lap 90. Qualifying will be traditional group green-white-checker qualifying along with ten (10) lap qualifying races and a redraw. Driver’s will have to manage their tires throughout the duration of the event with no tire changes for the race.“We are looking forward to it,” stated Jack Ely from Wall, NJ, who earned his first Series victory last year at Mahoning and finished second in the season ending championship standings. “Mahoning is tricky. It can be a great track or it can jump and bite you. It’s fast and multiple groove and our Series is extremely competitive so Sunday’s race along with the Mahoning regulars will prove to be very exciting.”Qualifying for the 100-lap event will begin at 4:00pm on Sunday, May 19 along with a full card of Mahoning racing. Modified competitors are invited to practice at the track on Saturday.
MAY 11: Lehighton, PA - Cody Geist fends off Johnny Bennett and Brandon Christman in a bumper bashing thriller to pick up his first win of the young 2024 season at the Mahoning Valley Speedway!
The Street Stock division undoubtedly had its fair share of lead changes and thrilling battles throughout the 30-lap main event on Saturday evening as bumpers were being used and limits were being tested. Brandon Christman led the field to the green with Johnny Bennett on his outside to begin the race. As the race went on, Cody Geist shuffled his way to the inside of Bennett, completing the trio of drivers who would check out from the rest of the field. Geist would go on to make his way up to the driver side door of Christman’s #41, where they would battle side by side for over ten laps with Bennett trailing. After a mid race restart, the “X” Wooly Bully of Johnny Bennett would make his way into second position, applying pressure to the rear bumper of Christman. With both cars losing grip in the midst of their battle over the long run, Geist was able to sneak his pink #40 underneath the both of them to take the lead, where he would remain to pick up his first win of the season.
The Hobby Stock division was also on the schedule, slated to run 25 circuits on the quarter-mile track. Cody Boehm led the field to the green in his #78 cavalier with the #23 of Travis Solomon on his outside. Solomon made quick work of Boehm, taking the lead by the exit of turn 2. Solomon would check out from the rest of the field, leaving a hornets nest of cars battling from third to sixth. The hard charger of the race was the #18 of Corey Edelman, who put on a clinic running his patented third groove for the entirety of the race, making his way from the thirteenth starting position into the top five.
The Pro-4 division showed up with one of the healthier fields of cars that the division has seen in quite some time. Cody Kohler was able to take the lead from pole-sitter, Aiden Boucher on the first lap from his second starting position. From here on out, Kohler wouldn’t look back because if he did, he would see the front bumper of the #18 Pinto of Bobby Kibler Jr., who would relentlessly trail him for the ensuing 19 laps. Kibler was able to close the gap to Kohler’s back bumper to less than half of a car length at times, however, Kohler would remain unfettered en route to his second victory of the season with Kibler Jr. and Aiden Boucher rounding out the top 3.
The 602 Crate Modified division took to the pavement for their 30 lap feature with Todd Baer at the helm. The #41 of Baer would take the green flag with the #51 of Jayden Harman on the outside, however, this wouldn’t last long as Baer marched away from the field from the jump. Richard Collins Jr. would see his way to second position showing great speed until mechanical issues anchored him back to a fourth place finish, leaving Avery Arthofer and Branden Sullivan to complete the top 3.
The Hobby Stock Futures division was set to take place with the 54 of Adam Steigerwalt leading the field to green for the third consecutive week. Steigerwalt, once again proved why he is the top threat in the division, leading every single lap of the 15 lap event. Steigerwalt did, however, have to endure a lot of pressure from runner-up, Rodney Breiner, who had the fastest car on the track, running a 12.248 second lap time.
Race #1 of the Microstock Racing Series at Mahoning Valley Speedway saw a great turnout of 17 Microstocks and great racing coming down to a photo finish at the end of 20 Laps. Eric Trautman beat out Alex Greenzweig by 0.048 seconds to capture his first Saturday Night Microstock Win at MVS. Kenny Dengler would round out the podium in 3rd with Anthony Wood (4th) and Billy LaRue (5th) rounding out the Top 5.
HOBBY STOCK FEATURE: 1) Travis Solomon 2) Cody Boehm 3) Jake Kibler 4) James Tout 5) Corey Edelman 6) Trisha Connoly 7) Tony Hilliard 8)Maggie Wambold 9) Dave Kerr 10) Brian Romig Jr. 11) Dave Imler Jr. 12) Stephen McDonough 13) Michael Wambold STREET STOCK FEATURE: 1) Cody Geist 2) John Bennett 3) Brandon Christman 4) Rich Moser 5) Todd Ahner 6) Greg Long 7) Jamie Smith 8)Josh Kuronya 9) Peyton Arthofer 10) Dennis Buss 11) Thomas Flanagan 12) Jacob Boehm DNS: Tommy Flanagan FUTURES FEATURE: 1) Adam Stiegerwalt 2) Rodney Breiner 3) Connor Shotwell 4) Arland Moyer Jr. 5) Ken Breiner 6) Jeremy Henry 7) Gabi Steigerwalt 8)Al Gildner 9) Sarabeth Mesko 10) Justin Merkel Jr. 11) Derek Davies 12) Liam McDonough 13) Chaz Takacz PRO-4 FEATURE: 1) Cody Kohler 2) Bobby Kibler Jr. 3) Aiden Boucher 4) Tyler Poole 5) Chris Yob 6) Jason Finken 7) Colton Breiner 8)James Yons 9) Kadie Pursell 10) Rich Pursell 11) Ian Szalku DNS: Bobby Kibler Sr. 602 CRATE-MODS FEATURE: 1) Todd Baer 2) Avery Arthofer 3) Brandon Sullivan 4) Richard Collins Jr. 5) Jayden Harman 6) Deegan Underwood Microstock Racing Series Feature Results: 1. Eric Trautman 2. Alex Greenzweig 3. Kenny Dengler Jr. 4. Anthony Wood 5. Billy LaRue 6. Harry Burd 7. Ian McGuire 8. Scott Miller 9. Wayne Krenn 10. Brian DaCosta 11. Caden Miller 12. Walker Sutphin 13. Tim Flyte 14. Tom Ervin 15. Mike Haskins 16. Logan Crout 17. Eric Platt
April 27: Great Night for "The Real Deal" Kyle Strohl
Lehighton, PA -”The Real Deal” Kyle Strohl bests Lou Strohl in Saturday’s 35 lap thriller at the Mahoning Valley Speedway after a hail-mary crossover with less than three laps to go, marking the Palmerton, PA native’s first victory of the young 2024 season. Weather may have deterred some race fans on Saturday night, however, the drivers and track crew held steady and diligently worked to get the track ready for some thrilling racing. On the card for Saturday night were the Hobby Stock Futures and the three makeup features from 2023’s Fall Brawl, including the Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, and the Pro-4 divisions. Headlining the night for the second straight week were the “Mighty” Modifieds, which certainly did not disappoint.
To kick off the evening, the Hobby Stock Futures division took the stage. Adam Steigerwalt, for the second week straight led the field to green, and once again drove away from the field. The only competition Steigerwalt had to endure was the #87 machine of Sarabeth Mesko on an early restart. From then on, Steigerwalt cruised to victory, winning his second straight 15 lap feature.
The first makeup feature of the night was the Pro-4 division, slated to run their first 25 lap feature of the season. Bob Kibler Sr. was undoubtedly the fastest car on the track when mechanical failure took him out of the race with 5 to go. Cody Kohler, who is no stranger to victory lane in the Pro-4 division, took total control of the race from then on, taking his first victory of the season in his red, white, and blue #29 Pinto.
Next on the card was the 50 lap “Cone Race” Street Stock feature which had originally been slotted for last year’s season finale. The event was highly anticipated for the division’s regulars, as Rick Wallace & family had organized a rather generous payout for the division, which did not go without appreciation from the drivers. The #05 of Austin Santee was appointed to lead the field to green, with a strong field of cars behind him. Santee would go on to lead laps early, maintaining the highly contested bottom line for the first ten to fifteen laps. With everybody fighting over the same, desired real estate, Eric Kocher saw this as an opportunity, as he slowly crept around the top 5 cars in the outside groove. Kocher, most recently dominating the season opener, maintained his course to go on to lead the remainder of the 50 lap feature whilst enduring three separate cautions. Jillian Snyder once again was following Kocher for the majority of the race, but passing the #20 car of Kocher was once again an insurmountable feat. Following Snyder, was the #56 of Frankie Althouse, putting together an impressive run after last week’s mechanical misfortune. Rounding out the top 5 were the #05 of Austin Santee and the #41 of Brandon Christman, who spent about 20 laps in the outside groove to make his way into the top 5.
The final preliminary bout to the Modifieds were the Hobby Stocks, who were scheduled for 35 laps under the lights. Leading the field to the green was the #2 car of Trisha Connolly, who had a terrific bounce back performance after a disappointing season opener, failing to finish on the lead lap. Connolly and crew made the significant and necessary adjustments to get the gray and green #2 machine in victory lane for the first time since 2022. Connolly did so with no lack of competition, as the field of four cylinders were clashing it out behind her, never leaving her with any room for comfort. While undergoing the relentless pressure of Shayne Geist’s #19, Connolly was fortunate to be up front, as there was melee ensuing behind her leading to a frightening wreck in turn 1. As the intensity picked up and traffic shuffled, the #78 of Cody Boehm, the #81jr of Michael Wambold, and the #81 of Maggie Wambold were involved in a gruesome collision which involved both Michael Wambold and Maggie Wambold having a scary collision with the turn 1 wall. Fortunately, all drivers were able to walk away from the incident, with hefty repairs to be made to their cars.
Rounding out the night for the second week straight was the 21-car stout field of Modifieds. Unlike last week’s 75 lapper, drivers only had 35 laps to make headway towards the front of the pack which was evident from the jump. Early on in the race, there was a battle for the lead right away, as the #8 of Earl Paules was able to navigate his way from his 5th starting spot and take the lead from the #51 of pole sitter, Zach Lenardo. Soon thereafter, the battle for second place intensified between the #41 of Todd Baer and #14 of Blake Barney, resulting in the race’s first caution as Baer was sent spinning through the infield. From here on out, fans witnessed two of the track’s most seasoned veterans, Earl Paules and Lou Strohl (#88) duking it out in a respectful manner for the first 15 laps of the race. On lap 16, Paules and Strohl were neck and neck when just a couple rows behind them, a three-wide move to the bottom by the #17 of Roger Coss would send the #95 of Jacob Kerstetter into the #1 of Bobby Jones resulting in the race’s second caution. Lou Strohl, who was scored just ahead of Paules at the time of the incident, would take over the race lead for the ensuing 18 laps. With about 15 laps to go, Kyle Strohl in the green #44 would navigate his way by Paules into second position. Kyle would close the distance to Lou Strohl, making several attempts to pass in both the outside and inside grooves. With less than three laps to go, Kyle Strohl was able to set up an impeccable crossover move on Lou, giving him the lead with two to go. Lou would attempt to do the same, however, Kyle was able to close the door just enough to clear his path to victory lane for the first time in 2024.
RACE RESULTS:
HOBBY STOCK FUTURES: 1) Adam Steigerwalt 2) Sarabeth Mesko 3) Al Gildner 4) Jeremy Henry 5) Daniel Kaminsky 6) Arland Moyer Jr. 7) Justin Merkel Jr. 8)Connor Shotwell 9) Savannah Romig 10) Chaz Takacs
PRO-4s: 1) Cody Kohler 2) Colton Breiner 3) Bob Kibler Jr. 4) Kadie Pursell 5) Aiden Bocher 6) Rich Pursell 7) Bob Kibler Sr.
STREET STOCKS: 1) Eric Kocher 2) Jillian Snyder 3) Frankie Althouse 4) Austin Santee 5) Brandon Christman 6) Jacob Boehm 7) Jamie Smith 8)Todd Ahner 9) Tucker Muffley 10) Josh Kuronya 11) Tommy Flanagan 12) Dennis Buss 13) Bob Kibler Sr. DNS: Randy Green, Jason Kuhn, Jon Moser, Mike Odwazny, Nate Correll
HOBBY STOCKS: 1) Trisha Connolly 2) Shayne Geist 3) Travis Solomon 4) Jake Kibler 5) Corey Edelman 6) Jacob Boehm 7) Michael Wambold 8)Maggie Wambold 9) Cody Boehm 10) Jared Frye 11) Ray Kochin DNS: Lyndsay Buss, David Imler Jr., Don Bauder
MODIFIEDS: 1) Kyle Strohl 2) Earl Paules 3) Brian Defebo 4) Lou Strohl 5) Rod Snyder Jr. 6) Blake Barney 7) Zane Zeiner 8)Roger Coss 9) Todd Baer 10) Cody Kohler 11) Jacob Kerstetter 12) Thomas Flanagan 13) Zach Lenardo 14) Terry Markovic 15) Brian Romig Sr. 16) Nick Kerstetter 17) Don Wagner 18) John Bennett DNS: Brian Romig Jr. DQ: Bobby Jones, BJ Wambold
APRIL 20: Fans treated to a Fantastic Opening Night at Mahoning Speedway
The ROC Modified series was set to headline the season opener at Mahoning Valley Speedway packing 26 ground-pounding modifieds onto the paved quarter-mile track for a 75 lap feature. The highly anticipated event was met with a long line of race fans filing through the gates and a long line of trailers entering the pits. Throughout the majority of the day, it seemed to be a Jake Lutz takeover at Mahoning Valley Speedway. Lutz hasn’t made all that many starts at Mahoning Valley Speedway, however, after Saturday’s event, most would think he was a seasoned regular as he topped the speed charts during qualifying and won his respective heat race over some of Mahoning’s regulars. His impressive outing wouldn’t stop there, as he would quickly gain the lead from pole sitter, Zane Zeiner. From here on out, sparks were flying as the 26 car field would have its fair share of bumper bashing, tire rubbing side-by-side action which included many three-wide scenarios and excitement. This excitement would breed several cautions, one of which included a frightening front stretch pileup that involved a good majority of the field, stemming from contact between the 88 of Lou Strohl who climbed the side of the 76 of Rod Snyder Jr., sending them both towards the front stretch wall. All drivers were uninjured, however, the same cannot be said for their race cars. Lutz would go on to lead the majority of the race up until a lap 55 restart where he spun the tires coming out of the restart zone, allowing the 76 car of the 2023 ROC champion, Zane Zeiner to grab the lead on the high side. Lutz would battle back to the inside of Zeiner, however, a quick lap 56 caution shuffled him to the outside line for the ensuing restart. Zeiner would lead the field back to green with a fierce top 5 which would include Lutz, Roger Coss, Austin Kochenash, and Matt Hirschman. With 11 laps to go, Zeiner would forfeit the lead to the 17 of Roger Coss, which dropped him back to the third position behind the 60 of Matt Hirschman. Coss held off a hard charging Matt Hirschman on the outside when a late race caution forced the field into a single-file restart with 4 laps remaining. Coss, Hirschman, and Zeiner would make up the top 3 coming to the green with all three drivers known to always be in the mix for a long-distance victory at Mahoning Valley Speedway. When the green flag dropped, Hirschman got a tremendous jump and was able to get alongside Coss’ outside by the time they reached turn 2. Coss did all he could, making minimal contact with the 60 car, however, “Big Money” Matt Hirschman would not be denied victory in the season opener for the ROC Modified series. The top 5 would consist of Hirschman, Coss, Zeiner, Kochenash, and Kyle Strohl.
Official Results: Matt Hirschman, Roger Coss, Zane Zeiner, Austin Kochenash, Kyle Strohl, Jake Lutz, Paulie Hartwig lll, Jack Ely, Austin Beers, Tony Hanbury, Earl Paules, Don Wagner, Jacob Kerstetter, Terry Markovic, Lou Strohl, Daren Sherer, John Bennett, Todd Baer, George Skora lll, Thomas Flanagan, Randall Richard, Nick Schaeffer, Jayden Harman, Rod Snyder Jr., Tommy Rought, Cody Kohler, Daryl Lewis Jr.
The evening’s features began with the Hobby Stock futures division, showcasing the local, up-and-coming generation of talented racers. The field was led to the green by the 54 of Adam Steigerwalt who jumped out to an early lead in the 15 lap feature. His fate would be tested on multiple occasions, having a hard-charging 57 machine driven by Sarabeth Mesko knocking on his backdoor. Steigerwalt and Mesko checked out from the rest of the field early, with Mesko putting together seemingly her best performance to date looking for her first career win. Mesko was then tangled up in a wreck on lap 7, leaving Steigerwalt on the point and en-route to his first victory of 2024 with a margin of 3 seconds to second place.
Official Results: Adam Steigerwalt, Jeremy Henry, Gabi Steigerwalt, Al Gildner, Sarabeth Mesko, Chaz Takacs, Arland Moyer Jr., Justin Merkel Jr., Ken Breiner, Rodney Breiner
The Late Model feature was slotted up next for their 25 lap affair. The front row coming to the green flag consisted of the 82 of Mark Hudson on the pole, alongside the prolific 0 car driven by fan favorite, “Rock N’ Roll” Geno Steigerwalt. Once the green flag flew, that front row checked out from the rest of the field, where they would battle nose to tail in an absolute barnburner of a duel. While Hudson never faltered from the lead, the hard pressing Geno Steigerwalt never gave him room to breathe, as he never fell back more than a couple car lengths. Within the last ten laps, Hudson seemed to be battling a tight race car, allowing Steigerwalt to reduce the gap to inches. Hudson was able to hold off the 0 car, finding himself right back where he left off in 2023, in victory lane.
Official Results: Mark Hudson, Geno Steigerwalt, Brian Romig, Brian Romig Jr., Griffin Hendershot, Josh Oswald, Seth VanFossen
Following the Race of Champions Modifieds, fans witnessed the infamous Hobby Stock division hitting the pavement for the first time of 2024. Former division champion, Michael Wambold was appointed the pole position to kickoff the feature with Travis Solomon geared up right alongside him. Wambold came out of the gates hot, jumping to an early lead over Solomon, who managed to make up the difference by the lap 12 mark. Wambold and Solomon had a large gap to third place, Ryan Berger, when they came up on lap traffic. Wambold was quickly able to navigate through the lap cars, leaving a comfortable gap back to the 23 machine of Solomon. Wambold then cruised his way onto his first victory of the season, with Solomon and Cody Boehm rounding out the top three in the caution-free 25 lap feature.
Official Results: Michael Wambold, Travis Solomon, Cody Boehm, Dave Kerr, Jake Kibler, Jared Frye, Ryan Berger, James Tout, Corey Edelman, Maggie Wambold, Bob Wink, Trisha Connolly, Kerry Boehm, Dave Imler Jr.
To finish out the night, the Street Stock division rolled onto the track to compete in a 30 lap shootout. The 20 machine of Eric Kocher led the field to green in the pole position, jumping out to an early lead under the lights. Kocher was able to put several car lengths on the rest of the field, aside from 2023 champion, Jillian Snyder. Snyder was able to keep her 97 car within reach of Kocher, however, as the laps dwindled, she didn’t have quite enough to make the pass. Kocher would go on to take the checkered flag, leaving Jillian Snyder and the 40 car of Cody Geist to round out the top 3.
Official Results: Eric Kocher, Jillian Snyder, Cody Geist, Jacob Boehm, Austin Santee, Brandon Christman, Jamie Smith, Tucker Muffley, Shayne Geist, Todd Ahner, Gary Reinhemer, Josh Kuronya, Dennis Buss, Jeremy Scheckler, Frankie Althouse
RACE OF CHAMPIONS MODIFIED SERIES SET TO BEGIN SEASON APRIL 20 AT MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY Race of Champions Modified Series competitors are gearing up to head to Mahoning Valley Speedway for the Series opener and so are race fans. If opening day at the 1/4-mile facility is any indication of what fans are in store for than Saturday, April 20, at 6:00pm will be one of the most anticipated start times on their 2024 schedules. Matt Hirschman and Austin Beers of Northampton, Pa., will resume their battles at what is their “hometrack”. The duo has battled each other many times on the 1/4-mile track, which has helped shape their careers. “Mahoning is fun to race,” offered Hirschman, who has become one, if not arguably the top-star in Modified racing right now. “It has multiple grooves and because of the size the track, it really levels the playing field. You have to be handling, but you also have to be patient and drive precisely to get the job done. It is a lot of fun for the driver and because of the size of the track, it’s right there in front of the fans.” Austin Beers, who was the 2021 Race of Champions Modified Series titleholder. He has also enjoyed success after continuing his family tradition of racing at the Lehighton oval. Beers claimed two Race of Champions Modified Series victories in 2024 at Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome and is looking for his first Series victory at Mahoning. “We have been close and it’s really our home track,” stated Beers. ‘We’ve got more experience and been doing a lot of racing. Hopefully, we’ll be in contention at Mahoning and be able to come out on top.. I’m really looking forward to racing on home turf at Mahoming.” Qualifying for the 75-lap Series opener will begin at 6:00pm on Saturday, April 20 along with a full card of Mahoning racing.