Mahoning Valley Speedway Late Model 50 to take place August 26
The rain postponed Late Model 50 that was originally slated for July 1 will now be held on Saturday, August 26. Race time is 7:00 pm.The race will also be run as a “cone race format.” The Modifieds and Street Stocks will also run as cone races. Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks will fill out the running order. Adult general admission is $16. Grandstands open at 5:00 pm. This will also be the final 7:00 pm start time as the speedway will revert back to 6:00 pm on Saturday, September 2 and remain with that time through the balance of the season. Taking place this Saturday, August 19 it will be a $10 general admission for a five division program of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus there will be a number of restored Dorney Park Speedway cars on hand that will be displayed at the beginning of the night and then run an exhibition later in the evening. It will also be Kids Carnival Night. Mahoning Valley Speedway Special Events Coordinator Karen Bortz has put together a fun-filled evening for the younger set with a carnival theme atmosphere starting at 5:00 pm. The upcoming Bill Teel Memorial on Saturday, September 16 is taking shape as well and lap money will be taking place this Saturday for the special race that will consist of four 16-lap features paying $1016 to win each plus $1016 going to the overall winner. Orders will also be taken for the commemorative Bill Teel t-shirts. There will be early paid practice for anyone interested starting at 1:30 pm and runs until 4:30. Regular warmups will take place from 5:30 to 6:30. Pit gates open at 12:30. Driver registration will be from 4:00 – 5:15.
Mahoning Valley speedway returns to action August 19 with five classes of stock cars + Kids Carnival
After taking a scheduled weekend off, Mahoning Valley Speedway will be back in action this coming Saturday evening, August 19 at 7:00 pm with a five division program which will include Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks. The Dirt Mods have the night off.
All of the aforementioned classes will compete in a regular set of heat and feature events.
It will also be Kids Carnival Night. Mahoning Valley Speedway Special Events Coordinator Karen Bortz has put together a fun-filled evening for the younger set with a carnival theme atmosphere.
There is an assortment of games on tap, a meet and greet with Paw Patrol plus Chase & Minion from Country Junction - World's Largest General Store Event Center. Additionally there will be face painting, a sand art table, bounce house, dunk tank and photo booth. A special appearance by Buster the Clown caps off the affair.
A special thanks to the great sponsors for making the Kids Carnival Night possible including Country Junction Event Center, Lehighton Ford, Great Clips with Christen Strohl and Nikki Althouse, Tito Juice Slushies’ and Steve Tito, Sand Art Table courtesy of drivers Jamie Smith and Jeremy Miller, Scruffy To Fluffy Paw Spa, Subway,
Texas Roadhouse - Trexlertown, Randy Schaffer Signs, Broadway Speed Shop and Crazy Train Racing.
The committee of volunteers are to be commended for the tireless hours in helping to organize the event.
Front gates opens at 5:00 pm which will the start of the Kids Carnival activities. Heat racing begins at 7:00 pm. There will be early paid practice for anyone interested starting at 1:30 pm and runs until 4:30. Regular warmups will take place from 5:30 to 6:30. Pit gates open at 12:30. Driver registration will be from 4:00 – 5:15.
Adult Grandstand general admission is $10. Children 10 and under are FREE.
For additional information log onto www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com or on Facebook at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Kris Graver scores 4th Mahoning Modified win…Mike Sweeney’s 7th Late Model victory was close call
(LEHIGHTON, PA. 8-5-17) A week ago Kris Graver took the lead from Kyle Strohl with five laps to go only to see his shot at winning slip away when Brian DeFebo passed him with two circuits remaining. Fast-forward to this past Saturday night and the same scene was being played out only this time Graver was not letting neither Strohl nor fast closing DeFebo spoil his night as he raced to a division best fourth Modified win of the season. “Last week I didn’t have the car to win and Brian (DeFebo) has been really fast this year,” said Graver. “Tonight when I got near the front I could see that Kyle was pretty much checking out and was absolutely the car to beat. I was also lucky to restart double file on a late caution and I stayed right with him when we went back green. He was getting tight and that played in my favor.” When the race got underway Kevin Graver Jr., took advantage of his pole starting spot to jump out front for the early lead. Lou Strohl and Bobby Jones had him well covered, however, and never allowed much breathing room.
While that threesome battled for the lead, K. Strohl was lurking in their shadow. He would first take care of business with Jones on lap 10 and then relegated L. Strohl back to third two laps later. Keeping that forward thrust of momentum going, K. Strohl zipped his way around Ke. Graver at the completion of lap 16. At that point there was little question as to his maintaining the lead as he was strong enough to pull away from the pack. After midway a handful of cautions kept the action tight and although he was still the persuasive car, K. Strohl had to handle the restarts in order to keep the race in his hands. Jones was one driver who sought to make the best of each of those re-goes as several times he saw the opportunity but each time K. Strohl turned him away. Although he was running in the top five by lap 22, Kr. Graver was not a factor until a caution with six laps to go put an end to the fine run of Jones who was pinched by a Joey Jarowicz and went spinning. It would be on that restart that Kr. Graver, now second, was able to make his race winning move. For K. Strohl all he could do was watch from behind as well as hold off DeFebo who came alongside him at the checkers. “I thought to not try and push the issue after that restart. He (Kr. Graver) clearly had the better car,” said Strohl. “We we’re really good and running strong but then the last six laps of the race we just got extremely tight and that’s been a problem for us the last few weeks.” Jack Ely had his fourth straight top five in garnering fourth while Don Wagner raced from 19th to fifth. “You can tell there was a full moon because it was a little crazy out there tonight and it was all about having patience definitely and luck on your side to try and make it through everything,” noted Kr. Graver. “This year we just continue to work hard week in and week out. We wanted to sell the car at the beginning of the year and no one offered to buy it.”
Mike Sweeney may have picked up his seventh Late Model win of the year but it wasn’t without some debate in the process.
Lorin Arthofer II had been leading the event but was being heavily pursued by Sweeney. After several attempts to pass on the outside, Sweeney then changed to the low lane. With four laps to go he made a squeeze play on Arthofer that had had some questioning the motive as over aggressive. As it stood Sweeney had the win while Arthofer had to settle for his fifth runner-up and third in a row.
“It kind of started a few laps before that on a restart,” explained Sweeney. “I knew following Lorin earlier in the race that he was tight and I thought that he was going to give me some room on the outside on the restart but the lane wasn’t there. “So I figured to use the bottom to pass him and he kind of started throwing some blocks on me and I got into his quarter panel a little bit and loosed him up. We got together and both bobbled and both saved it and we went on to victory and he was second,” he continued.
“I sure he not so happy about it was a racing deal and this is bullring racing.”
It may have taken BJ Wambold years to get his first stock car win but only a few weeks for victory number two.
Wambold held off point leader Jon Moser and Cody Geist en route to his second Street Stock verdict in a month’s time.
Mike Stofflet raced to his 10th consecutive Dirt Modified win of the season with a strong run that saw him lead 19 of 20 laps. It also marked his 30th overall win.
Pro 4 point leader Kevin Stein ended a run of six runner-up finishes in the last eight starts with a stop in Victory Lane.
Stein took the lead on lap one and remained in charge the rest of the way, although Johnny Bennett was giving him all he could handle with each lap that clicked off. At the checkers Stein was not to be denied and collected up his second win of the year.
Devin Schmidt raced to his second Hobby Stock win of the season by holding off Ryan Berger in the process. Schmidt passed Berger four laps from the end en route to his first win since Opening Night.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. Kyle Strohl, 3. Brian DeFebo, 4. Jack Ely, 5. Don Wagner, 6. Gene Bowers, 7. Brian Labar, 8. James Pritchard Jr., 9. Joey Jarowicz, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Lou Strohl, 12. Brian Romig Sr., 13. Nick Baer, 14. Terry Markovic, 15. Roger Heffelfinger Jr., 16. Bobby Jones, 17. DJ Wagner, 118. Troy Bollinger, 9. Kevin Graver Jr., 20. Eric Beers DNQ: Paul Frantz, Mike Piechota
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Lorin Arthofer II, 3. Broc Brown, 4. Jacob Nemeth, 5. Jacob Kerstetter, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. George Ramos, 8. Eric Kocher, 9. Kenny Hein, 10. Paul Skodacek, 11. Brian Romig Jr., 12. Dylan Osborn, 13. Chris Anderson, 14. Frankie Althouse
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. BJ Wambold, 2. Jon Moser, 3. Cody Geist, 4. Mark Deysher, 5. Corey Edelman, 6. Jamie Smith, 7. Steven Steigerwalt, 8. Todd Ahner, 9. Stacey Brown, 10. Alan Schlenker, 11. Shayne Geist, 12. Jared Ahner, 13. Jillian Long, 14. Rick Reichenbach, 15. Ken Erney Jr. DNS: Kevin Weierbach
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Denise Devine, 4. Joe Corrigan
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Kevin stein, 2. Johnny Bennett, 3. Jeremy Guerra, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Tucker Muffley, 6. Randy Schaffer
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Devin Schmidt, 2. Ryan Berger, 3. Michael Wambold, 4. Brayden Spencer, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Justin Merkel, 7. Shawn Kistler, 8. Tiffany Wambold, 9. Travis Solomon, 10. Paul Effrig, 11. Taylor Schmidt, 12. Avery Arthofer, 13. Trisha Connolly, 14. Nicholas Kerstetter, 15. Colton Perry, 16. Al Arthofer, 17. Mark Schwalm, 18. Colton Breiner, 19. Beau Drobot DNS: Rich Mutarelli DNQ: Arland Moyer Jr.
Brian DeFebo comes from 15th to win second straight Mahoning Valley Modified main
(July 29, 2017) Brian DeFebo put on an exciting drive in coming from 15th to first and in doing so won for a second straight week and third time this season at Mahoning Valley Speedway. DeFebo pulled off a thrilling outside pass on Kris Graver with two laps to go in taking the popular verdict which comes as important factor in his quest for a possible championship. He is currently in a tight battle at the top of the standings with Graver and Eric Beers and has made no bones about the importance of the numbers game being played out between the three titans. “We’re definitely having fun right now and we take every race as it comes. The best way to overcome our point deficit that we’re at is be the leader at all times. So with that we’re not going to worry about what everyone else is doing. We’ll keep going out and try to win heat races and win features and the points will play out,” said DeFebo. DeFebo had his work cut out for him for much of the 35 lap run. Starting so deep in the pack he had to bide his time but with the first 18 laps going nonstop it was a challenge in passing cars. “When the races here run nonstop like it was going you just have to stay in line and play the chess game as best you can. You think you make the right move and then you don’t. In the beginning it was tough because everyone was stacked up. I had a faster car then I was able to run because everyone was side-to-side,” he said. Lou Strohl and Kyle Strohl where setting the early pace. On lap seven K. Strohl squeezed to the inside for the lead. Jack Ely and Nick Baer were close at hand while John Markovic hovered in fifth. The fast and close paced action got a breather on lap 18 for a minor incident. When racing resumed K. Strohl and L. Strohl where going two-wide for the lead. Likewise Ely and Baer were doing much of the same while Graver appeared behind that group. Graver, who has been making excellent use of the top lane, wasn’t hesitating to yet again take that route towards the front and in short order made the race for the lead a rowdy three car battle. There was no room for error as all three run tightly huddled. Then with eight laps to go DeFebo was there as well. He, however, had to deal with Ely and there was a touchy moment when they contacted with one another and DeFebo made a huge save to avoid the wall. “Near the end of the race a car ran me out a little bit and I almost got the car sideways and I thought I have to save it or else the season is done,” said DeFebo. In the meantime there was still the intense action for the lead and with four laps to go L. Strohl tried to go underneath K. Strohl while Graver remained high. Clearly something had to give and unfortunately for K. Strohl he got spun. Officials relegated the L. Strohl to the rear for his part in initiating the episode. For the restart Graver was in charge with DeFebo second. One would think that it would be a simple few laps that Graver had to turn but DeFebo had his mindset on victory and shot to the outside for the race winning pass. “I’m not content to finish second and it goes back to points don’t matter but they do matter so I had no choice but to go to the outside,” said DeFebo. “Morgantini Racing Engines turned this motor around and made it a really strong Mahoning Valley engine and I can’t thank the guys there enough and of course Gary Slusser and Jim Yamelski who work countless hours all week in the shop.” Ely had a solid third with Beers and Baer rounding out the top five.
Mike Sweeney scored his sixth Late Model win in 11 starts this season and for the second time his top placing would come after a rough outing from the previous race that he wrecked out from. Sweeney, matter of fact, was thrashing just hours before the race as the team was still making repairs to the chassis that incurred the night prior at Evergreen Raceway. “It’s a testament to my team. Last night at Evergreen we finished second but when we got home we ended up cutting half the chassis up because of a things we found broke. We worked on the car until after 4 o’clock this afternoon,” said Sweeney. “Then after our heat race we found some bent parts in the front that we ended up changing and we really didn’t know how the feature would play out.” There would be no worries for Sweeney as he found himself running second by lap five behind an impressive Jacob Nemeth. Once getting around him for the lead it was clear sailing for Sweeney as the race went nonstop and in the process he was able to pull to a three car length advantage at the checkers. Jake (Nemeth) is a great young driver and he races hard and clean. He gave me a good run tonight and it took a few laps to get around him and he held his own. His time is coming,” said Sweeney.
Alan Schlenker is racing full time at Mahoning for the first time in nearly 10 years but despite the hiatus he never lost his knack for getting around the tight bullring. Schlenker had to work his tail off in trying to pass Jillian Long for the lead but once he accomplished that with nine laps to go he was perfect to the finish, winning for the first time since 2008.
In another strong effort, Cody Kohler reeled off his fifth Pro 4 win of the season in just six starts.
The Hobby Stocks ran a special 40 lap feature and Paul Effrig won the exhausting main that was all side-by-side for the lead from start to finish. Effrig dealt with a handful of others for the front spot and at the finish was only a half car length ahead of Austin Beers.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Kris Graver, 3. Jack Ely, 4. Eric Beers, 5. Nick Baer, 6. John Markovic, 7. Roger Heffelfinger, 8. Gene Bowers, 9. Troy Bollinger, 10. Brian Romig, 11. Brian Labar, 12. Kyle Strohl, 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. Lou Strohl, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Paul Frantz, 17. Wes gilbert, 18. Kevin Graver, 19. Ron Haring Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Jacob Nemeth, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. George Ramos, 8. Broc Brown, 9.Kenny Hein, 10. Eric Kocher, 11. Chris Anderson, 12. Jacob Kerstetter, 13. Paul Skodacek, 14. Dylan Osborn
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Alan Schlenker, 2. Jill Long, 3. Rick Reichenbach, 4. Stacey Brown, 5. Jared Ahner, 6. Shane Geist, 7. Todd Ahner, 8. Steven Steigerwalt, 9. Jamie Smith, 10.Mark Deysher, 11. BJ Wambold, 12. Cody Geist, 13.Ken Erney, 14. Kevin Weierbach, 15. Josh Huber, 16. Eric Kocher, 17. Jon Moser, 18. Corey Edelman
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Jake Kibler, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Randy Schaffer, 5. Kevin Stein, 6. Tucker Muffley, 7. Jeremy Guerra, 8. Johnny Bennett DNS: Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (40 Laps): 1. Paul Effrig, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Shawn Kistler, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Tiffany Wambold, 6. Cody Geist, 7. Al Arthofer, 8. Beau Drobot, 9. Trisha Connolly, 10. Travis Solomon, 11. Taylor Schmidt, 12. Justin Merkel, 13. Colton Perry, 14. Brayden Spencer, 15. Ryan Berger, 16. Steven McDonough, 17. Michael Wambold, 18. Colton Breiner, 19. Avery Arthofer, 20. Devin Schmidt, DNS: Todd Geist
THE RACE TO 100: Beers, DeFebo near milestone wins
Northeastern Pennsylvania racing fans are very lucky in a sense.
Tracks with different surfaces are dotted throughout the region, with generations enjoying watch some of the best drivers compete on those tracks over the years. Drivers have become legendary with multitudes of wins and championships. In terms of dirt tracks, it is not uncommon to see a handful of Class A stars with win totals that have exceeded 100. Hazleton’s Ross Perchak leads this area with 180 trips to Victory Lane. But when it comes to asphalt racing, Tony and Matt Hirschman are the only drivers from this immediate locale to accomplish the feat. Tony was the first with his early wins coming at Dorney Park, Mahoning Valley and Evergreen before he amassed most of his victories on the NASCAR tour. Matt has 26 wins at Evergreen to date and many more on the road, including 35 on the Race of Champions Tour. Soon, the Hirschmans may be getting some company as two very popular racers are zeroing in on the century mark.
Northampton’s Eric Beers and Brian DeFebo of Berwick have been at the top of their respective games in short-track asphalt racing over the past three decades. Go to either Evergreen Raceway or Mahoning Valley Speedway and their names are immediate picks for a win. In the past two weeks they earned victories.When DeFebo won at Mahoning Valley a week ago, it elevated his all-time career win total to 92. The previous week when Beers took the checkers, it pushed his number of asphalt victories to 98.
“It’s not something you really think about when you’re racing. When you’re young and coming up and all you want is to get that first win and then a couple more,” Beers said. “It’s hard to put into perspective and it’s a lofty goal. This is something that makes you know that you really have an accomplished career.” Looking back, their paths have crossed many times, especially between Evergreen and Mahoning Valley, where many of those wins came against each other. “This is really amazing to know how close you are to such an unthinkable number. For me, it’s been an awesome ride so far and we’re not ready to stop any time soon,” DeFebo said. DeFebo rules many of the top categories at Evergreen, where he is the all-time wins leader including the most in a modified with 56. He also has 10 late model triumphs and 18 thriller victories, the class he first won in during the 1993 season. With wins comes championships and DeFebo has a track-leading six title trophies. The “King of the ’Green’’ year-ending extra distance race has seen his name in first place on four occasions. With 84 wins at the one-third-mile oval, no one comes close to DeFebo. Joe Hoffman is a distant second with 49. And, at Mahoning Valley where he is racing a full season for the first time in 11 years and won twice thus far, his win total is six. Of those victory lane visits, he owns a 100-lap main triumph, a distance which only the elite have been lucky to enjoy. DeFebo also was Mahoning’s first Poker Series champion. Another win has come at the former Tioga Speedway in New York. “I have been really blessed and lucky to have raced for the same car owner my whole career, that being my mom (Sophie Welsh),’’ DeFebo said. “We have won a lot together as a team and when you surround yourself with the right people then good things will come your way.” Beers had a bit of a jump on DeFebo as he got his career rolling in 1986 at Dorney Park Speedway, where his first win came that rookie year in a late model. Two years later he was racing a modified at Mahoning Valley. Although it took him until 1991 to garner his first win there, he has stacked up impressive numbers nonetheless. Like his counterpart, Beers is the leading modified winner at 54 and counting. And when it comes to the big shows, they don’t get much better then him as he has won 100-lappers 11 times, each paying him a minimum of $3,000. It is a mark he shares with Matt Hirschman. Beers earned modified titles at Mahoning in 1992, 2013 and 2016. Beers, of course, is no stranger to Evergreen, where he crossed the finish line in first place 22 times and has a pair of championships in 1994 and 2001. While both drivers have done their fair share of racing away from their home tracks, Beers can claim a tad more success as he has won on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and scored the crown jewel of asphalt modified racing with a victory at the prestigious Sunoco Race of Champions held at New York’s Oswego Speedway in 2004. Beers also enjoyed winning trips to Florida during February Speed Weeks at New Smyrna Speedway’s World Series of Asphalt Racing “Nothing comes easy,’’ Beers said. “When I started at Mahoning and then went to Evergreen, we won a lot of races, but my goal was to move on and race against the best. I did that locally and then on the touring series and I think, by going out on the road, it helped to make me the driver I am today.” In a way, DeFebo and Beers are the Richard Petty and David Pearson of their time. Winning is the reason they race, but they have the highest regard for one another — a trait that has been a key factor to their stellar careers. “I have so much respect for Brian (DeFebo). He has always been a class act to run with no matter where it was at and it’s always been good to run with him over the years,” Beers said. DeFebo echoed the same lines. “Eric (Beers) is the guy to beat whenever he’s at the track. But rest assured you, he will always race you clean and respectful. He didn’t get to all those wins by not racing smart. It’s an honor to know that he and I are close to the 100-win mark.”
Brian DeFebo nets his second Mahoning Modified win: 14-year old Broc Brown best in Late Models
(July 15, 2017) Brian DeFebo found out that you never say never. As it turned out he found good fortune with a car that he had no plans to bring back to Mahoning Valley Speedway after its last appearance ended in the wall during a 2016 meet. However, the previous week’s feature his regular mount had an engine problem and he was forced to bring out the car he reserves for touring events. The car proved worthy as DeFebo drove to his second win of the season, defeating fellow title hopefuls Eric Beers and Kris Graver in the 35-lap contest. “My guys busted on me because I said this car would never see Mahoning Valley again because the last time it was here it ended up in the wall and needed a clip so I ate my words tonight and that’s okay,” said DeFebo, who also won on Opening Night. “You take the good with the bad. It’s ironic because last week at this time we were down because we were good in the points. We suffered a setback after our bad finish but we bounced back this week. Racing here can be an emotional roller coaster. We won, it’s good and we just have to race every race as its own from here on out and let the points fall where they may.” When the race began Ron Haring Jr., and Lou Strohl shared the front row. The pair would then head the pack. DeFebo, who started fourth, was right behind them while battling with Jack Ely. The front pack then got an added participant when Graver joined the fray by lap eight. All this was taking place under a tight blanket with Haring keeping everyone in check. Ely and Strohl where side-by-side in the battle for second while Graver was just ahead of DeFebo. The pace was moving along steadily with spots among the top five going back and forth, expect for leader Haring. That changed on lap 15 as DeFebo finally found a lane that he could execute from and squared up behind Haring. Three laps later he would be running the high groove to the lead. The same lap Haring suddenly got loose on the back straight. As he tried to correct he bumped into the side of oncoming Beers. Others had to quickly back down and unfortunately for Kevin Graver Jr., he slid against the wall and prompted a caution. “I was kind of biding my time and waiting for a lane to open up and then I saw (Kris) Graver go to the outside and it was at that point I knew I had to run defense and offense at the same time. Once a lane opened which was the outside I was able to go,” explained DeFebo. When the action resumed DeFebo would have K. Graver and Beers chasing him the rest of the way. Graver was looking to use the same outside line that DeFebo utilized to the lead but each time he was turned away. In the final laps Beers was doing the same but neither he nor Graver could get the job done as DeFebo held on for the verdict. “To win two races so far is a testament to my great crew. Gary Slusser lives at my shop and he makes these cars very good. I can’t thank him enough as well as Jim Yamelski and his daughter Genevieve. I’m having fun and it’s all thanks to the people I have around me,” said DeFebo.
Broc Brown was able to shake off several tough weeks of hard luck and stake claim to his first Late Model win of the season. Having the benefit of starting pole he got off to a good start and hurriedly drove away from the pack to a comfortable lead. That gap, however, was wiped away by a caution on lap six when point leader Mike Sweeney went around after contact with another car and was forced to pit for damage. He did return prior to the race restarting. Unfortunately Sweeney was right back in again when a lap later he was the victim of another incident. As for Brown he was lined up along Eric Kocher when the action resumed. Back under green the lead went to Kocher but it was a short stint as Brown rebounded back to the front. He would also have Jeremy Miller on his tail and not long after Lorin Arthofer joined the fight. The 14-year old though kept his focus, especially on the final laps when Arthofer was in second and tried a last ditch run on Brown but to no avail.
In Street Stock action you can now add Shayne Geist to the list of winners. A rookie in the division this season, Geist patiently bided his time in getting around Jillian Long and afterwards held his line which was the key to detaining a bevy of combatants that applied all types of pressure. Notwithstanding the blitz of Jamie Smith, Jared Ahner, Jon Moser and Alan Schlenker, Geist drove perfectly to the checkers for the well-earned victory.
Mike Stofflet once again was the best of the Dirt Mods as he captured an unprecedented ninth straight win in as many starts. Stofflet gives all the credit to his grandfather and legendary Mahoning/Dorney Park ace Clarence Ruppert for his knowledge and expertise in car set-up which has reflected in the phenomenal year that has thus far been superlative
In the Pro 4 feature it appeared to be a short night for Jake Kibler due to a mechanical failure. But by the end of the night there was celebration in the form of victory. Kibler had his car on the trailer after a carburetor malfunction but luckily to the rescue came 2016 champion Josh Scherer who reached out with a spare. After making the switch Kibler then went out and led every lap of the feature, winning for a third time this season
Avery Arthofer picked up her second Hobby Stock win of the season. After taking the lead from Nick Kerstetter on lap seven Arthofer then romped the rest of the way with a very solid outing.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Eric Beers, 3. Chris Graver, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Jack Ely, 6.John Markovic, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Ron Haring Jr., 9. Gene Bowers, 10. Nick Bear, 11. Joey Jarowicz, 12. Kevin Graver, 13. Bobby Jones
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Broc Brown, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Jeremy Miller, 5. Eric Kocher, 6. George Ramos, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Jacob Nemeth, 10. Dylan Osborn, 11. Mike Sweeney, 12. Robbie Kutz
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Shayne Geist, 2. Jamie Smith. 3. Jared Ahner, 4. Jon Moser, 5. Alan Schlenker, 6. Stacey Brown, 7. Todd Ahner, 8. Steve Hoffman, 9. Rick Reichenbach, 10. Eric Kocher, 11. Mark Deysher, 12. Steven Steigerwalt, 13. BJ Wambold, 14. Jill Long, 15. Bobby Kibler Jr., 16. Ken Erney, 17. Cody Geist, 18. Corey Edelman DNS: Lyndsay Buss
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler, 4. Denise Devine, 5. Jack Ely
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Johnny Bennett, 4. Jeremy Guerra, 5. Tucker Muffley
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Avery Arthofer, 2.Trisha Connolly, 3. Devin Schmidt, 4. Tiffany Wambold, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Austin Beers, 7. Rich Mutarelli, 8.Michael Wambold, 9. Nicolas Kerstetter, 10. Ryan Berger, 11. Justin Merkel, 12. Todd Geist, 13. Travis Solomon, 14. Al Arthofer, 15. Brayden Spence, 16. Taylor Schmidt, 17. Tyler Nemeth, 18. Joey Visnosky, 19. Colton Perry DNS: Hunter Iatalese
The rain postponed Late Model 50 that was originally slated for July 1 will now be held on Saturday, August 26. Race time is 7:00 pm.The race will also be run as a “cone race format.” The Modifieds and Street Stocks will also run as cone races. Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks will fill out the running order. Adult general admission is $16. Grandstands open at 5:00 pm. This will also be the final 7:00 pm start time as the speedway will revert back to 6:00 pm on Saturday, September 2 and remain with that time through the balance of the season. Taking place this Saturday, August 19 it will be a $10 general admission for a five division program of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus there will be a number of restored Dorney Park Speedway cars on hand that will be displayed at the beginning of the night and then run an exhibition later in the evening. It will also be Kids Carnival Night. Mahoning Valley Speedway Special Events Coordinator Karen Bortz has put together a fun-filled evening for the younger set with a carnival theme atmosphere starting at 5:00 pm. The upcoming Bill Teel Memorial on Saturday, September 16 is taking shape as well and lap money will be taking place this Saturday for the special race that will consist of four 16-lap features paying $1016 to win each plus $1016 going to the overall winner. Orders will also be taken for the commemorative Bill Teel t-shirts. There will be early paid practice for anyone interested starting at 1:30 pm and runs until 4:30. Regular warmups will take place from 5:30 to 6:30. Pit gates open at 12:30. Driver registration will be from 4:00 – 5:15.
Mahoning Valley speedway returns to action August 19 with five classes of stock cars + Kids Carnival
After taking a scheduled weekend off, Mahoning Valley Speedway will be back in action this coming Saturday evening, August 19 at 7:00 pm with a five division program which will include Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks. The Dirt Mods have the night off.
All of the aforementioned classes will compete in a regular set of heat and feature events.
It will also be Kids Carnival Night. Mahoning Valley Speedway Special Events Coordinator Karen Bortz has put together a fun-filled evening for the younger set with a carnival theme atmosphere.
There is an assortment of games on tap, a meet and greet with Paw Patrol plus Chase & Minion from Country Junction - World's Largest General Store Event Center. Additionally there will be face painting, a sand art table, bounce house, dunk tank and photo booth. A special appearance by Buster the Clown caps off the affair.
A special thanks to the great sponsors for making the Kids Carnival Night possible including Country Junction Event Center, Lehighton Ford, Great Clips with Christen Strohl and Nikki Althouse, Tito Juice Slushies’ and Steve Tito, Sand Art Table courtesy of drivers Jamie Smith and Jeremy Miller, Scruffy To Fluffy Paw Spa, Subway,
Texas Roadhouse - Trexlertown, Randy Schaffer Signs, Broadway Speed Shop and Crazy Train Racing.
The committee of volunteers are to be commended for the tireless hours in helping to organize the event.
Front gates opens at 5:00 pm which will the start of the Kids Carnival activities. Heat racing begins at 7:00 pm. There will be early paid practice for anyone interested starting at 1:30 pm and runs until 4:30. Regular warmups will take place from 5:30 to 6:30. Pit gates open at 12:30. Driver registration will be from 4:00 – 5:15.
Adult Grandstand general admission is $10. Children 10 and under are FREE.
For additional information log onto www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com or on Facebook at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Kris Graver scores 4th Mahoning Modified win…Mike Sweeney’s 7th Late Model victory was close call
(LEHIGHTON, PA. 8-5-17) A week ago Kris Graver took the lead from Kyle Strohl with five laps to go only to see his shot at winning slip away when Brian DeFebo passed him with two circuits remaining. Fast-forward to this past Saturday night and the same scene was being played out only this time Graver was not letting neither Strohl nor fast closing DeFebo spoil his night as he raced to a division best fourth Modified win of the season. “Last week I didn’t have the car to win and Brian (DeFebo) has been really fast this year,” said Graver. “Tonight when I got near the front I could see that Kyle was pretty much checking out and was absolutely the car to beat. I was also lucky to restart double file on a late caution and I stayed right with him when we went back green. He was getting tight and that played in my favor.” When the race got underway Kevin Graver Jr., took advantage of his pole starting spot to jump out front for the early lead. Lou Strohl and Bobby Jones had him well covered, however, and never allowed much breathing room.
While that threesome battled for the lead, K. Strohl was lurking in their shadow. He would first take care of business with Jones on lap 10 and then relegated L. Strohl back to third two laps later. Keeping that forward thrust of momentum going, K. Strohl zipped his way around Ke. Graver at the completion of lap 16. At that point there was little question as to his maintaining the lead as he was strong enough to pull away from the pack. After midway a handful of cautions kept the action tight and although he was still the persuasive car, K. Strohl had to handle the restarts in order to keep the race in his hands. Jones was one driver who sought to make the best of each of those re-goes as several times he saw the opportunity but each time K. Strohl turned him away. Although he was running in the top five by lap 22, Kr. Graver was not a factor until a caution with six laps to go put an end to the fine run of Jones who was pinched by a Joey Jarowicz and went spinning. It would be on that restart that Kr. Graver, now second, was able to make his race winning move. For K. Strohl all he could do was watch from behind as well as hold off DeFebo who came alongside him at the checkers. “I thought to not try and push the issue after that restart. He (Kr. Graver) clearly had the better car,” said Strohl. “We we’re really good and running strong but then the last six laps of the race we just got extremely tight and that’s been a problem for us the last few weeks.” Jack Ely had his fourth straight top five in garnering fourth while Don Wagner raced from 19th to fifth. “You can tell there was a full moon because it was a little crazy out there tonight and it was all about having patience definitely and luck on your side to try and make it through everything,” noted Kr. Graver. “This year we just continue to work hard week in and week out. We wanted to sell the car at the beginning of the year and no one offered to buy it.”
Mike Sweeney may have picked up his seventh Late Model win of the year but it wasn’t without some debate in the process.
Lorin Arthofer II had been leading the event but was being heavily pursued by Sweeney. After several attempts to pass on the outside, Sweeney then changed to the low lane. With four laps to go he made a squeeze play on Arthofer that had had some questioning the motive as over aggressive. As it stood Sweeney had the win while Arthofer had to settle for his fifth runner-up and third in a row.
“It kind of started a few laps before that on a restart,” explained Sweeney. “I knew following Lorin earlier in the race that he was tight and I thought that he was going to give me some room on the outside on the restart but the lane wasn’t there. “So I figured to use the bottom to pass him and he kind of started throwing some blocks on me and I got into his quarter panel a little bit and loosed him up. We got together and both bobbled and both saved it and we went on to victory and he was second,” he continued.
“I sure he not so happy about it was a racing deal and this is bullring racing.”
It may have taken BJ Wambold years to get his first stock car win but only a few weeks for victory number two.
Wambold held off point leader Jon Moser and Cody Geist en route to his second Street Stock verdict in a month’s time.
Mike Stofflet raced to his 10th consecutive Dirt Modified win of the season with a strong run that saw him lead 19 of 20 laps. It also marked his 30th overall win.
Pro 4 point leader Kevin Stein ended a run of six runner-up finishes in the last eight starts with a stop in Victory Lane.
Stein took the lead on lap one and remained in charge the rest of the way, although Johnny Bennett was giving him all he could handle with each lap that clicked off. At the checkers Stein was not to be denied and collected up his second win of the year.
Devin Schmidt raced to his second Hobby Stock win of the season by holding off Ryan Berger in the process. Schmidt passed Berger four laps from the end en route to his first win since Opening Night.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. Kyle Strohl, 3. Brian DeFebo, 4. Jack Ely, 5. Don Wagner, 6. Gene Bowers, 7. Brian Labar, 8. James Pritchard Jr., 9. Joey Jarowicz, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Lou Strohl, 12. Brian Romig Sr., 13. Nick Baer, 14. Terry Markovic, 15. Roger Heffelfinger Jr., 16. Bobby Jones, 17. DJ Wagner, 118. Troy Bollinger, 9. Kevin Graver Jr., 20. Eric Beers DNQ: Paul Frantz, Mike Piechota
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Lorin Arthofer II, 3. Broc Brown, 4. Jacob Nemeth, 5. Jacob Kerstetter, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. George Ramos, 8. Eric Kocher, 9. Kenny Hein, 10. Paul Skodacek, 11. Brian Romig Jr., 12. Dylan Osborn, 13. Chris Anderson, 14. Frankie Althouse
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. BJ Wambold, 2. Jon Moser, 3. Cody Geist, 4. Mark Deysher, 5. Corey Edelman, 6. Jamie Smith, 7. Steven Steigerwalt, 8. Todd Ahner, 9. Stacey Brown, 10. Alan Schlenker, 11. Shayne Geist, 12. Jared Ahner, 13. Jillian Long, 14. Rick Reichenbach, 15. Ken Erney Jr. DNS: Kevin Weierbach
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Denise Devine, 4. Joe Corrigan
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Kevin stein, 2. Johnny Bennett, 3. Jeremy Guerra, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Tucker Muffley, 6. Randy Schaffer
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Devin Schmidt, 2. Ryan Berger, 3. Michael Wambold, 4. Brayden Spencer, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Justin Merkel, 7. Shawn Kistler, 8. Tiffany Wambold, 9. Travis Solomon, 10. Paul Effrig, 11. Taylor Schmidt, 12. Avery Arthofer, 13. Trisha Connolly, 14. Nicholas Kerstetter, 15. Colton Perry, 16. Al Arthofer, 17. Mark Schwalm, 18. Colton Breiner, 19. Beau Drobot DNS: Rich Mutarelli DNQ: Arland Moyer Jr.
Brian DeFebo comes from 15th to win second straight Mahoning Valley Modified main
(July 29, 2017) Brian DeFebo put on an exciting drive in coming from 15th to first and in doing so won for a second straight week and third time this season at Mahoning Valley Speedway. DeFebo pulled off a thrilling outside pass on Kris Graver with two laps to go in taking the popular verdict which comes as important factor in his quest for a possible championship. He is currently in a tight battle at the top of the standings with Graver and Eric Beers and has made no bones about the importance of the numbers game being played out between the three titans. “We’re definitely having fun right now and we take every race as it comes. The best way to overcome our point deficit that we’re at is be the leader at all times. So with that we’re not going to worry about what everyone else is doing. We’ll keep going out and try to win heat races and win features and the points will play out,” said DeFebo. DeFebo had his work cut out for him for much of the 35 lap run. Starting so deep in the pack he had to bide his time but with the first 18 laps going nonstop it was a challenge in passing cars. “When the races here run nonstop like it was going you just have to stay in line and play the chess game as best you can. You think you make the right move and then you don’t. In the beginning it was tough because everyone was stacked up. I had a faster car then I was able to run because everyone was side-to-side,” he said. Lou Strohl and Kyle Strohl where setting the early pace. On lap seven K. Strohl squeezed to the inside for the lead. Jack Ely and Nick Baer were close at hand while John Markovic hovered in fifth. The fast and close paced action got a breather on lap 18 for a minor incident. When racing resumed K. Strohl and L. Strohl where going two-wide for the lead. Likewise Ely and Baer were doing much of the same while Graver appeared behind that group. Graver, who has been making excellent use of the top lane, wasn’t hesitating to yet again take that route towards the front and in short order made the race for the lead a rowdy three car battle. There was no room for error as all three run tightly huddled. Then with eight laps to go DeFebo was there as well. He, however, had to deal with Ely and there was a touchy moment when they contacted with one another and DeFebo made a huge save to avoid the wall. “Near the end of the race a car ran me out a little bit and I almost got the car sideways and I thought I have to save it or else the season is done,” said DeFebo. In the meantime there was still the intense action for the lead and with four laps to go L. Strohl tried to go underneath K. Strohl while Graver remained high. Clearly something had to give and unfortunately for K. Strohl he got spun. Officials relegated the L. Strohl to the rear for his part in initiating the episode. For the restart Graver was in charge with DeFebo second. One would think that it would be a simple few laps that Graver had to turn but DeFebo had his mindset on victory and shot to the outside for the race winning pass. “I’m not content to finish second and it goes back to points don’t matter but they do matter so I had no choice but to go to the outside,” said DeFebo. “Morgantini Racing Engines turned this motor around and made it a really strong Mahoning Valley engine and I can’t thank the guys there enough and of course Gary Slusser and Jim Yamelski who work countless hours all week in the shop.” Ely had a solid third with Beers and Baer rounding out the top five.
Mike Sweeney scored his sixth Late Model win in 11 starts this season and for the second time his top placing would come after a rough outing from the previous race that he wrecked out from. Sweeney, matter of fact, was thrashing just hours before the race as the team was still making repairs to the chassis that incurred the night prior at Evergreen Raceway. “It’s a testament to my team. Last night at Evergreen we finished second but when we got home we ended up cutting half the chassis up because of a things we found broke. We worked on the car until after 4 o’clock this afternoon,” said Sweeney. “Then after our heat race we found some bent parts in the front that we ended up changing and we really didn’t know how the feature would play out.” There would be no worries for Sweeney as he found himself running second by lap five behind an impressive Jacob Nemeth. Once getting around him for the lead it was clear sailing for Sweeney as the race went nonstop and in the process he was able to pull to a three car length advantage at the checkers. Jake (Nemeth) is a great young driver and he races hard and clean. He gave me a good run tonight and it took a few laps to get around him and he held his own. His time is coming,” said Sweeney.
Alan Schlenker is racing full time at Mahoning for the first time in nearly 10 years but despite the hiatus he never lost his knack for getting around the tight bullring. Schlenker had to work his tail off in trying to pass Jillian Long for the lead but once he accomplished that with nine laps to go he was perfect to the finish, winning for the first time since 2008.
In another strong effort, Cody Kohler reeled off his fifth Pro 4 win of the season in just six starts.
The Hobby Stocks ran a special 40 lap feature and Paul Effrig won the exhausting main that was all side-by-side for the lead from start to finish. Effrig dealt with a handful of others for the front spot and at the finish was only a half car length ahead of Austin Beers.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Kris Graver, 3. Jack Ely, 4. Eric Beers, 5. Nick Baer, 6. John Markovic, 7. Roger Heffelfinger, 8. Gene Bowers, 9. Troy Bollinger, 10. Brian Romig, 11. Brian Labar, 12. Kyle Strohl, 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. Lou Strohl, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Paul Frantz, 17. Wes gilbert, 18. Kevin Graver, 19. Ron Haring Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Jacob Nemeth, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. George Ramos, 8. Broc Brown, 9.Kenny Hein, 10. Eric Kocher, 11. Chris Anderson, 12. Jacob Kerstetter, 13. Paul Skodacek, 14. Dylan Osborn
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Alan Schlenker, 2. Jill Long, 3. Rick Reichenbach, 4. Stacey Brown, 5. Jared Ahner, 6. Shane Geist, 7. Todd Ahner, 8. Steven Steigerwalt, 9. Jamie Smith, 10.Mark Deysher, 11. BJ Wambold, 12. Cody Geist, 13.Ken Erney, 14. Kevin Weierbach, 15. Josh Huber, 16. Eric Kocher, 17. Jon Moser, 18. Corey Edelman
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Jake Kibler, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Randy Schaffer, 5. Kevin Stein, 6. Tucker Muffley, 7. Jeremy Guerra, 8. Johnny Bennett DNS: Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (40 Laps): 1. Paul Effrig, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Shawn Kistler, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Tiffany Wambold, 6. Cody Geist, 7. Al Arthofer, 8. Beau Drobot, 9. Trisha Connolly, 10. Travis Solomon, 11. Taylor Schmidt, 12. Justin Merkel, 13. Colton Perry, 14. Brayden Spencer, 15. Ryan Berger, 16. Steven McDonough, 17. Michael Wambold, 18. Colton Breiner, 19. Avery Arthofer, 20. Devin Schmidt, DNS: Todd Geist
THE RACE TO 100: Beers, DeFebo near milestone wins
Northeastern Pennsylvania racing fans are very lucky in a sense.
Tracks with different surfaces are dotted throughout the region, with generations enjoying watch some of the best drivers compete on those tracks over the years. Drivers have become legendary with multitudes of wins and championships. In terms of dirt tracks, it is not uncommon to see a handful of Class A stars with win totals that have exceeded 100. Hazleton’s Ross Perchak leads this area with 180 trips to Victory Lane. But when it comes to asphalt racing, Tony and Matt Hirschman are the only drivers from this immediate locale to accomplish the feat. Tony was the first with his early wins coming at Dorney Park, Mahoning Valley and Evergreen before he amassed most of his victories on the NASCAR tour. Matt has 26 wins at Evergreen to date and many more on the road, including 35 on the Race of Champions Tour. Soon, the Hirschmans may be getting some company as two very popular racers are zeroing in on the century mark.
Northampton’s Eric Beers and Brian DeFebo of Berwick have been at the top of their respective games in short-track asphalt racing over the past three decades. Go to either Evergreen Raceway or Mahoning Valley Speedway and their names are immediate picks for a win. In the past two weeks they earned victories.When DeFebo won at Mahoning Valley a week ago, it elevated his all-time career win total to 92. The previous week when Beers took the checkers, it pushed his number of asphalt victories to 98.
“It’s not something you really think about when you’re racing. When you’re young and coming up and all you want is to get that first win and then a couple more,” Beers said. “It’s hard to put into perspective and it’s a lofty goal. This is something that makes you know that you really have an accomplished career.” Looking back, their paths have crossed many times, especially between Evergreen and Mahoning Valley, where many of those wins came against each other. “This is really amazing to know how close you are to such an unthinkable number. For me, it’s been an awesome ride so far and we’re not ready to stop any time soon,” DeFebo said. DeFebo rules many of the top categories at Evergreen, where he is the all-time wins leader including the most in a modified with 56. He also has 10 late model triumphs and 18 thriller victories, the class he first won in during the 1993 season. With wins comes championships and DeFebo has a track-leading six title trophies. The “King of the ’Green’’ year-ending extra distance race has seen his name in first place on four occasions. With 84 wins at the one-third-mile oval, no one comes close to DeFebo. Joe Hoffman is a distant second with 49. And, at Mahoning Valley where he is racing a full season for the first time in 11 years and won twice thus far, his win total is six. Of those victory lane visits, he owns a 100-lap main triumph, a distance which only the elite have been lucky to enjoy. DeFebo also was Mahoning’s first Poker Series champion. Another win has come at the former Tioga Speedway in New York. “I have been really blessed and lucky to have raced for the same car owner my whole career, that being my mom (Sophie Welsh),’’ DeFebo said. “We have won a lot together as a team and when you surround yourself with the right people then good things will come your way.” Beers had a bit of a jump on DeFebo as he got his career rolling in 1986 at Dorney Park Speedway, where his first win came that rookie year in a late model. Two years later he was racing a modified at Mahoning Valley. Although it took him until 1991 to garner his first win there, he has stacked up impressive numbers nonetheless. Like his counterpart, Beers is the leading modified winner at 54 and counting. And when it comes to the big shows, they don’t get much better then him as he has won 100-lappers 11 times, each paying him a minimum of $3,000. It is a mark he shares with Matt Hirschman. Beers earned modified titles at Mahoning in 1992, 2013 and 2016. Beers, of course, is no stranger to Evergreen, where he crossed the finish line in first place 22 times and has a pair of championships in 1994 and 2001. While both drivers have done their fair share of racing away from their home tracks, Beers can claim a tad more success as he has won on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and scored the crown jewel of asphalt modified racing with a victory at the prestigious Sunoco Race of Champions held at New York’s Oswego Speedway in 2004. Beers also enjoyed winning trips to Florida during February Speed Weeks at New Smyrna Speedway’s World Series of Asphalt Racing “Nothing comes easy,’’ Beers said. “When I started at Mahoning and then went to Evergreen, we won a lot of races, but my goal was to move on and race against the best. I did that locally and then on the touring series and I think, by going out on the road, it helped to make me the driver I am today.” In a way, DeFebo and Beers are the Richard Petty and David Pearson of their time. Winning is the reason they race, but they have the highest regard for one another — a trait that has been a key factor to their stellar careers. “I have so much respect for Brian (DeFebo). He has always been a class act to run with no matter where it was at and it’s always been good to run with him over the years,” Beers said. DeFebo echoed the same lines. “Eric (Beers) is the guy to beat whenever he’s at the track. But rest assured you, he will always race you clean and respectful. He didn’t get to all those wins by not racing smart. It’s an honor to know that he and I are close to the 100-win mark.”
Brian DeFebo nets his second Mahoning Modified win: 14-year old Broc Brown best in Late Models
(July 15, 2017) Brian DeFebo found out that you never say never. As it turned out he found good fortune with a car that he had no plans to bring back to Mahoning Valley Speedway after its last appearance ended in the wall during a 2016 meet. However, the previous week’s feature his regular mount had an engine problem and he was forced to bring out the car he reserves for touring events. The car proved worthy as DeFebo drove to his second win of the season, defeating fellow title hopefuls Eric Beers and Kris Graver in the 35-lap contest. “My guys busted on me because I said this car would never see Mahoning Valley again because the last time it was here it ended up in the wall and needed a clip so I ate my words tonight and that’s okay,” said DeFebo, who also won on Opening Night. “You take the good with the bad. It’s ironic because last week at this time we were down because we were good in the points. We suffered a setback after our bad finish but we bounced back this week. Racing here can be an emotional roller coaster. We won, it’s good and we just have to race every race as its own from here on out and let the points fall where they may.” When the race began Ron Haring Jr., and Lou Strohl shared the front row. The pair would then head the pack. DeFebo, who started fourth, was right behind them while battling with Jack Ely. The front pack then got an added participant when Graver joined the fray by lap eight. All this was taking place under a tight blanket with Haring keeping everyone in check. Ely and Strohl where side-by-side in the battle for second while Graver was just ahead of DeFebo. The pace was moving along steadily with spots among the top five going back and forth, expect for leader Haring. That changed on lap 15 as DeFebo finally found a lane that he could execute from and squared up behind Haring. Three laps later he would be running the high groove to the lead. The same lap Haring suddenly got loose on the back straight. As he tried to correct he bumped into the side of oncoming Beers. Others had to quickly back down and unfortunately for Kevin Graver Jr., he slid against the wall and prompted a caution. “I was kind of biding my time and waiting for a lane to open up and then I saw (Kris) Graver go to the outside and it was at that point I knew I had to run defense and offense at the same time. Once a lane opened which was the outside I was able to go,” explained DeFebo. When the action resumed DeFebo would have K. Graver and Beers chasing him the rest of the way. Graver was looking to use the same outside line that DeFebo utilized to the lead but each time he was turned away. In the final laps Beers was doing the same but neither he nor Graver could get the job done as DeFebo held on for the verdict. “To win two races so far is a testament to my great crew. Gary Slusser lives at my shop and he makes these cars very good. I can’t thank him enough as well as Jim Yamelski and his daughter Genevieve. I’m having fun and it’s all thanks to the people I have around me,” said DeFebo.
Broc Brown was able to shake off several tough weeks of hard luck and stake claim to his first Late Model win of the season. Having the benefit of starting pole he got off to a good start and hurriedly drove away from the pack to a comfortable lead. That gap, however, was wiped away by a caution on lap six when point leader Mike Sweeney went around after contact with another car and was forced to pit for damage. He did return prior to the race restarting. Unfortunately Sweeney was right back in again when a lap later he was the victim of another incident. As for Brown he was lined up along Eric Kocher when the action resumed. Back under green the lead went to Kocher but it was a short stint as Brown rebounded back to the front. He would also have Jeremy Miller on his tail and not long after Lorin Arthofer joined the fight. The 14-year old though kept his focus, especially on the final laps when Arthofer was in second and tried a last ditch run on Brown but to no avail.
In Street Stock action you can now add Shayne Geist to the list of winners. A rookie in the division this season, Geist patiently bided his time in getting around Jillian Long and afterwards held his line which was the key to detaining a bevy of combatants that applied all types of pressure. Notwithstanding the blitz of Jamie Smith, Jared Ahner, Jon Moser and Alan Schlenker, Geist drove perfectly to the checkers for the well-earned victory.
Mike Stofflet once again was the best of the Dirt Mods as he captured an unprecedented ninth straight win in as many starts. Stofflet gives all the credit to his grandfather and legendary Mahoning/Dorney Park ace Clarence Ruppert for his knowledge and expertise in car set-up which has reflected in the phenomenal year that has thus far been superlative
In the Pro 4 feature it appeared to be a short night for Jake Kibler due to a mechanical failure. But by the end of the night there was celebration in the form of victory. Kibler had his car on the trailer after a carburetor malfunction but luckily to the rescue came 2016 champion Josh Scherer who reached out with a spare. After making the switch Kibler then went out and led every lap of the feature, winning for a third time this season
Avery Arthofer picked up her second Hobby Stock win of the season. After taking the lead from Nick Kerstetter on lap seven Arthofer then romped the rest of the way with a very solid outing.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Eric Beers, 3. Chris Graver, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Jack Ely, 6.John Markovic, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Ron Haring Jr., 9. Gene Bowers, 10. Nick Bear, 11. Joey Jarowicz, 12. Kevin Graver, 13. Bobby Jones
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Broc Brown, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Jeremy Miller, 5. Eric Kocher, 6. George Ramos, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Jacob Nemeth, 10. Dylan Osborn, 11. Mike Sweeney, 12. Robbie Kutz
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Shayne Geist, 2. Jamie Smith. 3. Jared Ahner, 4. Jon Moser, 5. Alan Schlenker, 6. Stacey Brown, 7. Todd Ahner, 8. Steve Hoffman, 9. Rick Reichenbach, 10. Eric Kocher, 11. Mark Deysher, 12. Steven Steigerwalt, 13. BJ Wambold, 14. Jill Long, 15. Bobby Kibler Jr., 16. Ken Erney, 17. Cody Geist, 18. Corey Edelman DNS: Lyndsay Buss
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler, 4. Denise Devine, 5. Jack Ely
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Johnny Bennett, 4. Jeremy Guerra, 5. Tucker Muffley
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Avery Arthofer, 2.Trisha Connolly, 3. Devin Schmidt, 4. Tiffany Wambold, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Austin Beers, 7. Rich Mutarelli, 8.Michael Wambold, 9. Nicolas Kerstetter, 10. Ryan Berger, 11. Justin Merkel, 12. Todd Geist, 13. Travis Solomon, 14. Al Arthofer, 15. Brayden Spence, 16. Taylor Schmidt, 17. Tyler Nemeth, 18. Joey Visnosky, 19. Colton Perry DNS: Hunter Iatalese
Mahoning Valley Speedway to honor late champion Bill Teel with special memorial race September 16
(LEHIGHTON, PA. 7-12-17) Mahoning Valley Speedway has had a great number of champions over the years. The names are part of an amazing history. There are the select few who have been lucky to win more than one title during their career and those who made a lasting impression long after their racing days ended. Bill Teel is one of those drivers who not only won Mahoning Valley championships but amassed a legion of fans that to this day consider him one of the all-time best. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone with a bad word to say about Teel. Teel passed away in 2012. He who won Modified titles in 1988, 1990 and 2000 and will be honored with a memorial event on Saturday, September 16. The Bill Teel Memorial will consist of four 16 lap Modified features paying $616 to win each plus lap money and contingencies. The overall top finisher will receive a huge trophy and have a guaranteed starting spot for the Octoberfast 200 on October 28. The 16 is significant in the fact it was Teel’s signature car number and ironically when he won his last feature on July 8, 2000, it would be his 16th. Modified drivers will be lined up for the first 16 lap feature via regular weekly handicap points. The next three races will be an invert for positions 6 – 20 provided all drivers are on the lead lap at the respective finishes. In-between features cars will be pitted in the staging area. This will be a non-point race, however there will be 50 show up points towards this year’s final standings. Anyone wishing to sponsor a lap can do so at $10 per lap by contacting Dene Smith at 610-392-8653. More information will be ongoing. Also on the card that evening will be Mahoning’s Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks. A rain date of September 23 in in place if need be.
(LEHIGHTON, PA. 7-12-17) Mahoning Valley Speedway has had a great number of champions over the years. The names are part of an amazing history. There are the select few who have been lucky to win more than one title during their career and those who made a lasting impression long after their racing days ended. Bill Teel is one of those drivers who not only won Mahoning Valley championships but amassed a legion of fans that to this day consider him one of the all-time best. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone with a bad word to say about Teel. Teel passed away in 2012. He who won Modified titles in 1988, 1990 and 2000 and will be honored with a memorial event on Saturday, September 16. The Bill Teel Memorial will consist of four 16 lap Modified features paying $616 to win each plus lap money and contingencies. The overall top finisher will receive a huge trophy and have a guaranteed starting spot for the Octoberfast 200 on October 28. The 16 is significant in the fact it was Teel’s signature car number and ironically when he won his last feature on July 8, 2000, it would be his 16th. Modified drivers will be lined up for the first 16 lap feature via regular weekly handicap points. The next three races will be an invert for positions 6 – 20 provided all drivers are on the lead lap at the respective finishes. In-between features cars will be pitted in the staging area. This will be a non-point race, however there will be 50 show up points towards this year’s final standings. Anyone wishing to sponsor a lap can do so at $10 per lap by contacting Dene Smith at 610-392-8653. More information will be ongoing. Also on the card that evening will be Mahoning’s Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks. A rain date of September 23 in in place if need be.
Mahoning Valley Speedway to offer $10 grandstand admission on July 22
Mahoning Valley Speedway promoter Floyd Santee has always had the best interest at heart for his fans and race teams. He strives to present a good, quality program but knows that there are times when a race promoter must take that extra step to show appreciation for the support that comes their way each week. To show his thanks, Santee is cutting back the grandstand gate admission on Saturday, July 22 to $10 for a six division show. It’s a $4 saving that Santee knows can go a long way, especially for at track such as Mahoning Valley which is very family oriented. The $10 night of racing will include regular features for the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus the Micro Stocks will be in action. The Dirt Mods will have that night off. Main gates open at 5:00 pm with racing beginning at 7:00 pm. Santee is also having a second $10 night with the same line-up on Saturday, August 19. The coming Saturday evening, July 15 will be a regular six division show for all track classes. There is also a Kids Design and T-Shirt Contest sponsored by Rick and Stephanie Reichenbach. This contest is open to kids 12 years and under and feature three age groups: 4 & under, 5 -8, 9-12. Only white T-shirts are allowed to be used for the contest. Artwork must be original – no pictures or iron on. (Designed by child and only the child. One entry per child.) Parents may assist children 1 year old and younger. Design your T-shirt with striking eye catching designs fabric paint, fabric markers. Please attach a piece of paper with the child's full name and age. With shirt on a hanger to be hung for spectators viewing and judging. Artwork must consist of designs that could be placed on the front or back of a youth t-shirt that captures your favorite driver at Mahoning Valley. The T-shirt entries will be judged by colors, creativity, neatness and overall effect. Top 3 in each age group will be awarded a prize. There will be one (1) overall winner. Any questions regarding this contest please contact Mahoning Valley Speedway Kids Coordinator Karen Geist Bortz. Mahoning Valley Speedway will close out the month of Saturday, July 29 with a 40-lap/$400-to-win main event for the Hobby Stocks
They tried but the young guns where no match for Eric Beers: Mike Sweeney notch 50th career Late Model win
(July 8, 2017) Eric Beers outdueled a pair of young guns to take the lead and then held off top contender Kris Graver for his second Modified win of the year. Front row starter Ely and Strohl remained in that order when the 35-lap event got going while eighth starting Beers joined them after a lap two restart. Then began an intensely contested battle. Ely led the pack while Strohl and Beers went two-wide while also going after the leader. On lap 23 Strohl was running on the bottom and saw a chance to get past Ely. As he dived underneath there was slight contact that caused Ely to slide a bit to the right and Strohl as well had to gather himself from spinning. Beers would capitalize from that as he was high enough to throttle past them and take over the lead. Not surprising point leader Graver was coming on by this point and got around Strohl and Ely with eight laps to go. Beers, however was in good shape to the finish and would notch his 54th career Mahoning win. “That was some good racing out there tonight,” said Beers. “The three of us where under a blanket for at least 20 laps. I was trying to get on the outside of Jack (Ely) and Kyle (Strohl) at the same time was shooting to the inside of him and they made some contact and I was able to then get a good run to finally take the lead.” The always improving Joey Jarowicz found a burst of speed over the final laps and took home a career best third. Ely and Strohl held on to complete the top five. The racing program was almost cut short when a passing rain shower during warm-ups put a question mark on the rest of the evening. After a pole by the drivers it was decided to make a go of it although the track was a bit tricky to drive. “It was pretty slick. The low groove had a little bit of grip and there was not a whole lot on the top but the bottom line is we’re racing on a Saturday night,” said Beers.
“I want to say a happy birthday to our promoter Floyd Santee. Hats off to him for sticking with the show and getting it all in tonight. Everyone stuck together and there may not have been a whole lot of gripe due to all the rain in the past two days but man did we put on a good show.”
Mike Sweeney not only raced to his division leading fifth Late Model victory of the season but it was also a personal milestone as he notched his 50 career win with that class. The feature was a cone race and under a process of cautions Sweeney was able to move to second spot by lap eight at which point he was behind Jeremy Miller. Two laps later Sweeney was charging past Miller for the lead and once in front it was a smooth and steady ride to the checkers. It was also his second win in a row, following a victory the previous week at Evergreen Raceway. Frankie Althouse, Miller, Lorin Arthofer and Broc Brown rounded out the front five. “The cautions came out at the right times and we were able to choose the right lane for the restarts. We won last week at Evergreen and then to come back here and park in Victory Lane that’s what we work so hard for,” said Sweeney, who is the leading asphalt Late Model winner throughout the Northeast in 2017 with six wins to date.
Stacey Brown passed Jillian Long for the lead on lap four and would go the rest of the way from the top spot in capturing his first Street Stock win of the season.
Brown did a fine job of holding back his opposition as he showed little signs of wavering. Jon Moser was able to claw his way to second spot over the final half dozen laps but Brown had him covered.
In the Dirt Mods Mike Stofflet raced to a track record eighth consecutive feature win and in dominating fashion as he was the only car on the lead lap by race’s end.
Cody Kohler should think about more trips home from North Carolina where he attends school. For a fourth time in five starts Kohler scored a Pro 4 victory. His other finish was a scant second.
The Hobby Stock feature was quite the barnburner as Tiffany Wambold made a bold inside pass on Colton Perry in the final corner of the final lap for her second win of the year. After nine races Wambold becomes the first driver to repeat in the class.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Eric Beers, 2.Kristopher Graver, 3. Joey Jarowicz, 4. Jack Ely, 5. Kyle Strohl, 6. Nick Baer, 7. John Markovic, 8. Don Wagner, 9. Terry Markovic, 10. Kevin Graver, 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. Lou Strohl, 13. Roger Heffelfinger, 14. Bobby Jones, 15. Brain DeFebo
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Jeremy Miller, 4. Lorin Arthofer II, 5. Broc Brown, 6. Jacob Nemeth, 7. Kenny Hein, 8. Jacob Kerstetter, 9. George Ramos, 10. Dylan Osborn, 11. Eric Kocher
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Stacey Brown, 2. Jon Moser, 3. Todd Ahner, 4. Jared Ahner, 5. Jill Long, 6. Mark Deysher, 7. Shayne Geist, 8. Steven Steigerwalt, 9. Josh Mooney, 10.Eric Kocher, 11. Corey Edelman, 12. Alan Schlenker, 13.Bobby Kibler Jr, 14. Dennis Buss, 15.Jamie Smith, 16. Ken Erney, 17. Josh Huber, 18. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Larry Beers, 4. Denise Devine, 5. Bill Sittler Jr.
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Jake Kibler, 4. Johnny Bennett, 5. Jeremy Guerra, 6. Ken Reeder, 7. Tucker Muffley, 8. Josh Kuronya, 9. Tanner Laybourn DNS: Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Tiffany Wambold, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Austin Beers, 5. Travis Solomon, 6. Colton Perry, 7. Shawn Kistler, 8. Devin Schmidt, 9. Brayden Spencer, 10. Trisha Connolly, 11. Paul Effrig, 12. Ryan Berger, 13. Justin Merkel, 14. Jeff Biegley, 15. Joey Visnosky, 16. Al Arthofer, 17. Todd Geist, 18. Avery Arthofer, 19. Nicholas Kerstetter, 20. Cody Geist DNQ: Colton Breiner
Carl Altemose dominates his way to Big and Small Car Enduro wins
Mahoning Valley Speedway may have lost its regular Saturday evening stock car program to rain but Sunday dawned bright and beautiful for what would be a full afternoon of Enduros, Demos and Karts. And, for Carl Altemose the day became his personal playground as he simply dominated in the Enduro’s. First up was the Big Car Enduro where he dashed to the lead at the drop of the green and from there proceeded to put on a driving clinic as he led every lap of the timed race. Altemose has been affiliated with numerous winners at Mahoning Valley but this marked the first time as a driver that he would enjoy the spoils of victory. When the Small Car Enduro got underway Jake Jones was able to lead the first few laps but by the four time around Altemose was at the helm and from there to the finish would never look back. He was perfect in dicing and slicing his way through traffic while all the while maintaining a decent lead. When all was said and done Altemose was credited with leading 187 laps and a grand total of 270 for the day. Jones was second and did his best to keep pace with the winner. Kevin Kruczek continues to make strides in the Enduro races as he was a solid third. Dylan Kibler had a career day in fourth with Devin Schmidt rounding out the top five. In the Jr. Enduro feature Jacob Boehm turned in an absolute dominating performance as he led every lap of the 20-minute contest en route to his career first victory. The Micro Stock main was a race that was decided at the finish line as Alex Greenzweig overtook Bob Wagner by a hair. In the early going Tyler Wagner was leading with Greenzweig hot on his tail. As the pair entered turn three on lap eight, Greenzweig was flanked to the right of Wagner. Contact was made and Wagner spun. Oncoming traffic was immediately upon him and with nowhere to go Walt Mueller slammed full steam. Mueller’s car got airborne before coming to a grinding halt. Badly shaken Mueller was taken off by the EMT’s for observation and later released. When the action resumed Bobby Wagner was now in charge. He was holding off Roger Snyder and then Larry Ealey but with five laps to go Greenzweig was back in the picture and drafting Wagner for the lead. Nose-to-tail they stayed until the last corner of the last lap when Greenzweig went to the outside. Drag racing to the checkers Greenzweig just nipped Wagner by .008-seconds for the thrilling outcome. In the 20-lap Champ Kart feature Paul White was able to lead every lap but unfortunately was disqualified during postrace inspection due to a tech infraction. Awarded the victory was Scott Neary. Neary ran second from the get-go and was on the rear bumper of White along with Richie Spaide. At the finish it was another thriller as Neary tried to slingshot by White with Spaide in tow. In the Small Car Demo Mark Rihler was the victor while Kevin Behler took score in the Big Car Demo
Small Car Enduro Finish (190): 1. Carl Altemose, 2. Jake Jones, 3. Kevin Kruczek, 4. Dylan Kibler, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Cody Boehm, 7. Kevin Wachter, 8. Kevin Behler, 9. Hunter Iatalese, 10. Rich Davidson, 11. Matt Wentz, 12. Scott German, 13. Evan Styer, 14. Ben Everett, 15. Cody Geist, 16. Justin Merkel, 17. Todd Baer, 18. Corey Styer, 19. Jacob Kerstetter DNS: Beau Drobot
Big Car Enduro Finish (83): 1. Carl Altemose, 2. Lyndsay Buss, 3. BJ Wambold, 4. Jake Kibler
Jr. Enduro Finish (84): 1. Jacob Boehm, 2. Hunter Iatalese, 3. Darrian Cascioli, 4. Emily Dougherty
Micro Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Alex Greenzweig, 2. Bob Wagner, 3. Roger Snyder, 4. Larry Ealey, 5. Steven Freundt, 6. San Dell Luff, 7. Chad Weaver, 8. Jason Stermer, 9. James Counterman Jr., 10. Scott Kotran, 11. Walt Mueller, 12. Tyler Wagner
Champ Kart Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Scott Neary, 2. Richie Spaide, 3. Trevor Jones, 4. Marshall Mast, 5. Brian Decosta, 6. Roger Guest DQ: Paul White
JULY 1: Due to the forecast of afternoon and evening thunderstorms and rain
we must unfortunately cancel today's race card.Sunday, July 2nd, events get underway at 2:00 pm
with Enduro, Demo, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts.
Enduro’s, Demo’s, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts are returning for a Sunday afternoon show at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway on July 2.
Taking place at 2:00 pm, the speedway will present three classes of Enduro cars including Big, Small and Jr. along with two classes of Demo Derbies which will be Big and Small Car.
The Enduro events will pay a minimum of $400 to win but depending on car count as much as $2000 if as many as 80 cars are signed in. The Enduro entry fee is $40 per car which includes the transponder. If 20 or more cars are entered in each Demo Derby they will conduct heats with the payout being $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations.
The Champ Kart race will pay $400 to win and be pro-rated from second spot back. Kart entry fee is $25 plus $6 for transponder.
Pit gates will open at 11:00 am. Registration will be held from 11:30 to 1:00. Cost to enter the pits is $20 per person. There will be a set of warm-ups for the Micro Stocks and Champ Karts. A driver meeting will take place at 1:30. Admission to the grandstands, which opens at 1:00 pm, is $10 for adults. Kids 10 and under are free. The Saturday prior, July 1, the speedway will host a complete six division show of stock cars with the headline being a 50-lap, $1200-to-win feature for the Late Models. The Speedway has also announced that July 22 and August 19 will be $10 admission nights.
Kris Graver scores Modified and TQ wins; Frankie Althouse is best in Late Models
June 24, 2017) Kris Graver has been riding a wave of good fortune of late and he reached the crest with yet another stirring performance. Fresh off his second Modified win of the season, the 24-year old star claimed two more wins on Saturday night which included his third Mod victory and for the first time in his career took the checkers in the accompanying ATQMRA feature. “It’s always a great feeling to be able to win two (features) in one night plus this makes it two in a row with the Modified,” an exuberant Graver said.“Eric Beers was in this same position last year, winning a lot of races but as you know your luck can change in an instant. We’ll continue to take it race by race. Eric (Beers), Brian DeFebo and so many others can be in the shoes we are right now so we have to keep working hard and make the car better.” Graver’s Modified win began from the 10th starting spot. At the outset Jack Ely would be in command of the going but a strong running Nick Baer was making matters tough. Thanks to a restart on lap six, Baer was able to blast past Ely while Graver had managed to work to third by then. It soon became a two-wide battle for the lead and with a clear outside lane to do his bidding from, Graver moved to the front as the 17th circuit got underway. Baer, who has been noticeably improved in this his sophomore season, remained in line with Graver and made several attempts to regain the helm. “He (Baer) ran a really great race, very clean and I thank him for that and that goes for everyone else,” said Graver. “I just was able to hit the lines again and get to the front. I like to go to the top because it seems more guys have been using the bottom lane so that’s what has been working for us.” While Graver was able to pull ahead during the closing laps, Bear was facing fierce opposition from DeFebo, who came into the night as the point leader. He was alongside Baer with seven laps to go but they suddenly touched wheels. That forced DeFebo to back off and cost him the spot. Baer went on to equal his career best finish in second while Bobby Jones, Beers and DeFebo completed the top five.
In the TQ main Graver was behind the wheel of the Matt Janisch owned No. 48. When the race got under way it would Janisch, who was driving the Alan Mollet’s No. 51, jumping out the early lead with Buddy Sload a close second. Known for their lighting quick speed around the Mahoning bullring, Janisch and Sload began zipping in and out of traffic in short order. Sload took advantage of the traffic and would maneuver past Janisch after six laps. Still in their path remained Graver and two laps after Sload took the lead he had advanced to second. On lap 10 a caution was out for a spinning Cole Mullen. Graver then put his years of home track advantage to good use as he outgunned Sload on the restart and set sail to his first every TQ victory. “I cannot begin to explain how crazy it is to drive one of these cars as this track,” offered Graver. “We’re turning 9 (seconds) flat and going a second and a half faster than the Modified. There is virtually no time to react. I have an amazing amount of respect for the guys in the TQ’s.” By winning with the TQ Graver has moved into a very exclusive club, becoming only the third driver to win in five different divisions at Mahoning Valley, which included his uncle, Kevin Graver Jr., and Mike Quinn. “I can’t thank Matt Janisch and my crew enough for giving me a pair of great cars tonight. You’re only as good as the people you’re surrounded by. I also have to give a nod to American Racer Tire for continuing to give us a great tire. I feel that is has really equaled out the playing field here this season.”
In Late Model action Frankie Althouse was in the right place at the right time. Sitting fourth, Althouse had been watching the lead battle between Jeremy Miller and Broc Brown while at the same time racing hard with Jacob Kerstetter. The lead pair had been putting in torrid duel. Miller was showing the way but Brown had been coming on quickly from the outside line. Pulling even with Miller by lap 15, Brown then surged to the front at the start of the 18th tour. However, Miller became a bit over-aggressive and made contact off turn two that caused Brown to spin. For his part officials parked Miller while Brown had to restart from the rear. The lead was now in the hands of Kerstetter but as the event resumed Althouse wasted no time in thrusting ahead and over the remaining laps cruised to his second win of the season.
When your name is Wambold and you race at Mahoning Valley Speedway it’s only natural that you win races. From the patriarch George, his sons Brian and Michael and granddaughter Tiffany. There was, however, one missing from that list, that was until Saturday evening when BJ Wambold earned his first ever victory, coming in the 30-lap Street Stock main. Wambold would jump to the early lead and was holding off Lonnie Behler Sr. Then after a lap 13 restart Behler was able to overpower his way into the front spot. Wambold far from giving up though as he kept a solid hold of the bottom lane and by lap 18 was back in front. Then rest of the way he kept busy fending off Behler and then a very hot running Rick Reichenbach. But Wambold turned perfect laps on his way to the elusive win number one and add his name to the family winning heritage.
In the Dirt Mods Mike Stofflet celebrated his 30th birthday by notching an all-time track record eighth consecutive feature win. Stofflet had the lead from the outset and never looked back, solidly taking an 8.3–second margin of victory.
The Pro 4 feature was quite the barnburner as Jake Kibler nipped Kevin Stein at the line for the verdict. The pair were engaged in a scorching side-by-side battle as they swapped the lead back and forth. On the final lap Stein had the slightest edge but Kibler never backed down. Coming off the final turn on the final lap Kibler hustled inside of Stein, making contact that upset the leader’s car. It was just enough for Kibler to eke by for the checkers.
Kevin Behler raced to his career first feature win which came after hard fought run in the 25-lap Hobby Stock show. Behler worked by Travis Solomon on lap 12 and then labored untiringly against Rich Mutarelli and Devon Schmidt en route to securing the win.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Chris Graver, 2. Nick Bear, 3. Bobby Jones, 4. Eric Beers, 5. Brian DeFebo, 6. Jack Ely, 7. Kyle Strohl, 8. Don Wagner, 9. Brian Romig, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Brian Romig Jr., 12. Lou Strohl
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Jacob Kerstetter, 3. Kenny Hein, 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Jacob Nemeth, 6. Broc Brown, 7. George Ramos, 8. Dylan Osborn, 9. Chris Anderson, 10. Lorin Arthofer, 11. Jeremy Miller
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. BJ Wambold, 2. Rick Reichenbach, 3. Jared Ahner, 4. Corey Edelman, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Alan Schlenker, 7. Jamie Smith, 8. Lonnie Behler, 9. Steven Steigerwalt, 10. Todd Ahner, 11. Shayne Geist, 12. Stacey Brown, 13. Mark Deysher, 14. Jill Long, 15. Josh Huber, 16. Bobby Kibler Jr.
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Bill Sittler, 3. Frankie Parastino, 4. Larry Beers, 5. Denise Devine
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. John Bennett, 4. Ken Reeder, 5. Tanner Laybourn, 6. Jason Finken, 7. Tucker Muffley, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Kailyn Beers
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Kevin Behler 2. Rich Mutarelli, 3. Devon Schmidt, 4. Brayden Spencer, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Michael Wambold, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Travis Solomon, 9. Todd Geist, 10. Colton Perry, 11. Al Arthofer, 12. Jeff Biegley, 13. Ryan Berger, 14. Cody Geist, 15. Avery Arthofer, 16. Trisha Connolly, 17. Paul Effrig, 18. Justin Merkel, 19. Joey Visnosky, 20. Seth VanFossen, 21. Alton Snyder Jr., 22. Lyndsay Buss DNQ: Nicholas Kerstetter, Colton Breiner, Taylor Schmidt
Mahoning Valley Speedway to be well represented at the 1st Annual Steel Stacks Grand Prix this Sunday
Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified Champion Eric Beers and Up and coming modified young Gun Jack Ely will be part of the Reliable Auto Body Team this Sunday, June 18 in the inaugural Steel Stacks Grand Prix at Arts Quest, next to the Sands Casino, Bethlehem. Eric and Jack will join forces with the Legend Frank Cozze, along with local racing stars Briggs Danner and Mike Bednar under the direction of team captains: Lou Ortelli and Ashley Ortelli.
It’s a high-speed, winner-takes-all race through the streets of SteelStacks as up to 30 teams compete in the first SteelStacks Grand Prix 12 noon-4 p.m. Go-karts featuring teams fielded by area businesses race through SteelStacks on a course designed especially for the race by Lehigh Valley Grand Prix. The half-mile track winds through PNC Plaza before cars zip down First Street, reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour on the straightaway. Racing aficionados can watch all the action track-side, including ‘grandstands’ set up just for the event.
As the checkered flag drops at the SteelStacks Grand Prix on June 18, it’s time for the public to get in on all the go-kart racing action as ArtsQuest and Lehigh Valley Grand Prix offer a public racing session. Members of the public are invited to jump behind the wheel of a high-speed go-kart and test their driving skills as they reach speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Cost for the public racing session includes safety briefing, helmet and eight minutes of track time; proceeds will go to support ArtsQuest and its free programming for the community. Racers will be assigned a race time (between 4 and 5:30pm) based on the order in which they register. ArtsQuest will contact racers 48 hours prior to confirm times. Other attractions during the day include: Media race featuring local media celebrities, Car show presented by Chevy 21, Food vendors and food trucks and a Mario Kart gaming tourney at the ArtsQuest Center.
For more info about the event visit www.steelstacks.org or follow SteelStacks on Facebook. For more info on Reliable Auto Body visit www.reliableautobody.com.
See you at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Leighton PA every Saturday night. For a complete schedule and more info about the action track go to www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com.
Strong running Kris Graver notches second Mahoning Modified win of ‘17
(June 10, 2017) In winning for a second time this season, Kris Graver enjoyed one of those finer nights of his career. Graver started ninth and within five laps was running third. Two laps later he checked into second and by lap 12 worked by then leader Kyle Strohl. Once at the front he as was able to outrun his competition by a significant margin, making it a race for second. His only worry came when a caution waved just prior to the final lap that put top guns John Markovic, Bobby Jones, and Eric Beers behind him but when the action resumed there was no problem in taking this 12th win in a Modified and 45th overall at Mahoning Valley. “The car felt really good and we’re still working in it to get better. I want to thank everyone for running me clean and the crew for giving me an awesome car tonight,” said Graver. Joey Jarowicz jumped to the lead at the outset but on the second go-around Strohl was in command with Markovic in tow. On lap three the action came to a grinding halt when several cars got together on the front straight. Strohl was still in charge after things got cleared and ready to resume. Markovic was in a tight battle with Graver who unseated him for the spot in a few laps and then went after Strohl. Taking the outside lane as his line of attack, Graver was alongside Strohl by lap nine and removed him from the lead three laps later. “The longer he (Strohl) ran the tighter I could see he was getting. I was a little tight too and wasn’t sure what to do at first but as we went on I knew it was time to go. I kept working at from the outside and it paid off. Kyle ran me very clean,” said Graver. This also led to a long stretch of green flag laps which allowed Graver to flex his muscle. As he did the trio of Markovic, Jones and Beers waged a torrid dogfight. Graver was on cruise control, however, until the late race caution put those aforementioned on his tail. “You always have to worry when you got those guys behind you but like I said the car was so good tonight. You just have to keep that out of your head and focus on hitting your marks and do what you have to in order to get the job done,” said Graver. “I think some of was due to the American Racer tires. This was the second week we’re running the same set and they’ve (American Racer) really given us a good product. Markovic got second while Beers just nipped Jones at the line for third. Since 2008 Graver has racked up 45 overall wins, placing him sixth all-time at Mahoning. “It’s very overwhelming to think that I’ve reached that many wins. I grew up here and have watched so many greats over that time. It’s never easy at this place and it’s an honor to know we’ve accomplished that against so many others,” noted Graver.
Mike Sweeney got back to his winning ways as he notched his fourth win in seven starts this season but first since April 29.
Sweeney raced into the lead after escaping an opening lap melee just in front of him. On the restart he was lined up on the outside of Chris Anderson and would then out-power him once the first lap was scored. Afterwards it would be a smooth and steady run for the current point leader as he had very little trouble maintaining his lead. There was some slight concern on the final lap when the caution waved and previous week winner Jacob Kerstetter was in second but once the race restarted there was no issue for Sweeney who eased into his 40th career Late Model win at Mahoning Valley
Jamie Smith is off to perhaps his best ever season as he won his second Street Stock feature in a month’s time. mith took the lead on lap two and then withstood an onslaught of advances from Mark Deysher and Alan Schlenker. But despite the intense competition he remained solid en route to win number two. Deysher continues to be force, notching his third runner-up in the last four races.
It has come as no surprise that Mike Stofflet won another Dirt Modified feature. This time may have been his best yet as he went to the lead on the opening lap and was approaching the second and third place cars until a caution put the halt to him lapping the field. Nonetheless he was again the top car, taking his sixth straight win.
Jason Finken may be a true blue rookie but watching his performances throughout the season would have one differ. Finken has been fast and strong from day one and on Saturday night he capped it all off with his career first win in the 20-lap Pro 4 main. Finken went by Kailyn Beers and on lap eight and was perfect the rest of the way.
Paul Effrig has enjoyed a fair amount of success over the years in the higher classes but for 2017 he looked to have a more laid back season and thus joined the Hobby Stock division. He soon found out that the entry level class is anything but as the opposition is extremely tough. But Effrig is a seasoned veteran who adapted to the change in short order and can now add a Hobby Stock victory to his resume. He grabbed the lead over Colton Perry on lap 10 and then held back a bevy of on-comers in scoring his first win since a Late Model victory in 2014.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. John Markovic, 3. Eric Beers, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Brian DeFebo, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Don Wagner, 9. James Pritchard, 10. Terry Markovic, 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. DJ Wagner, 13. Nick Baer, 14. Joey Jarowicz, 15. Brian Romig Sr., 16. Jack Ely, 17. Brian Romig Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Jacob Kerstetter, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Lorin Arthofer, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. Dylan Osborn,8. Chris Anderson, 9. Robbie Kutz, 10. Jacob Nemeth, 11. Eric Kocher, 12. George Ramos. 13. Broc Brown
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jamie Smith, 2. Mark Deysher, 3. Alan Schlenker, 4. Jared Ahner, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Steven Steigerwalt, 7. Corey Edelman, 8. Rick Reichenbach, 9. Jillian Long, 10. Stacey Brown, 11. Todd Ahner, 12. Shayne Geist, 13. Lonnie Behler Sr., 14. Eric Kocher, 15. Bobby Kibler J., 16. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler Jr.
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jason Finken, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Jeremy Guerra, 4. Johnny Bennett, 5. Tucker Muffley, 6. Kailyn Beers, 7. Tanner Laybourn, 8. Ken Reeder DNQ: Jake Kibler
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Paul Effrig, 2. Kevin Behler, 3. Jeff Biegley, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Avery Arthofer, 6. Trisha Connolly, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Ryan Berger, 9. Colton Perry, 10. Lyndsay Buss, 11. Austin Beers, 12. Cody Geist, 13. Devin Schmidt, 14. Al Arthofer, 15. Michael Wambold, 16. Travis Solomon, 17. Jay Visnosky, 18. Nicholas Kerstetter, 19. Alton Snyder Jr., 20. Seth VanFossen, 21. Jesse Strohl DNQ: Colton Breiner, Todd Geist, Brayden Spencer
Mahoning Valley Speedway moves to summer start time schedule this Saturday with 7:00 pm
(June 6, 20170 Beginning this Saturday evening, June 10, Mahoning Valley Speedway will begin its summer start time of 7:00 pm. The 7:00 pm start will run through August 26 and then switch back to the 6:00 pm go time for the remainder of the season.On the card for this week will be a regular six division program of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.Kids Big Wheel races will take place during intermission.Early paid practice will now begin at 1:30 and run to 4:30. Regular warmups will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 and the first heat will roll off at 7:00 pm. Pit gates open at 12:30.Driver registration will be from 4:00 – 5:15. Grandstands will open at 5:00 pm. Adult admission is $14, $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE. On Saturday, June 17 all regular track classes will be in action. Please note there will be no Dirt Mod special feature as previously listed on the schedule.
First career win for Ron Haring Jr., comes in front of biggest crowd of season at Mahoning Valley Speedway
(JUNE 3, 2017) In making the transition from dirt to asphalt racing, Ron Haring Jr., has come a long way in a short period of time. The 28-year old from Alburtis earned his career first feature win on Saturday evening at Mahoning Valley Speedway which was witnessed by a packed grandstand on Brown-Daub KIA Fan Appreciation Night. For the past eight years Haring spent his weekends running Modifieds at Grandview and Big Diamond Speedway’s and with very limited results. He felt that a change was in order and during this past off season he acquired a pavement Modified and prepared himself for the tight confines of Mahoning Valley. Despite never having run on asphalt, Haring steadily adapted, keeping himself clear of trouble and learning with each lap. Now in just his sixth start he became an instant hero with his fine outing. And, taking into consideration that he held off the all-time leader in eastern Pennsylvania short track pavement wins, Brian DeFebo, there was good reason to see why he was beaming afterwards from his defining achievement. “It’s all the guys who help me out like my dad, Shayne and Todd Geist, Doug Bell and so many people who have supported me and it all came full circle tonight,” said Haring. “When I was running on dirt I had limited help and to run here it doesn’t take as much compared to that racing.” Haring started on the outside front row and by lap three zipped by Josh Scherer for the lead. A lap later Terry Markovic moved to second. The race was reeling off rapidly as green flag action was the setting for this one. With Haring showing the way he controlled the pace very well while also turning back the ongoing challenges of Markovic. Scherer was holding steady in third with Kris Graver and Bobby Jones making up the top five As the race began to come into the final laps, slower traffic was in play. On lap 33 Haring and Markovic were able to get by but as for the rest of the pack it was harrowing situation that unfolded. Everyone from third place back were in a tight pack which included the back marker car. Coming into turn four, Scherer, who was on the bottom lane, touched wheels with the car to his right and suddenly vaulted overtop and came to a grinding halt head on in the front straight wall. His car was badly damaged but thankfully he walked away unscathed. Several others were also eliminated in the incident including last week’s winner Kyle Strohl, Joey Jarowicz and Graver, who was the only one able to return after pitting. Austin Kochenash was blacked flag also for his involvement. After the cleanup it was a single file restart with Haring, Markovic, DeFebo, Jones and Eric Beers in line. With no laps to spare DeFebo was wasting little time as he stormed past Markovic and on the final tour went to the outside of the leader but was unable to make the pass, giving the unforgettable victory to Haring. “I just tried to hit my marks and once I got to the lapped car I wanted to get around him as quick as I could and I was going to try and use him as a cushion but then the caution came out,” said Haring. “It got very tough at the end when (Brian) DeFebo got up alongside of me. “During that caution I just kept drilling in my head to stay focused. I knew it was going to be a single file restart which played in my favor. I didn’t want to spin the tires on the restart too and not blow it. It was a good setup for tonight and actually the car was fast right from the beginning of the year.” Although he had to settle for second, DeFebo was able to regain the point lead. Markovic had great night in garnering third while Jones and Beers completed the top five.
Jacob Kerstetter notched his second career win in the Late Model feature. Getting to the checkers first though was a hard fought affair to say the least. Kerstetter came from the inside of row two to grab the lead after the opening lap. He was then locked horns with Lorin Arthofer II who at most times was making continued attempts to pass him on the outside. Arthofer finally got it done after a lap 17 restart but it would be short lived as Kerstetter powered right back on the ensuing circuit. The pressure was still on for Kerstetter as not only did Arthofer keep up the stress but point leader Mike Sweeney had the afterburners going strong. With five laps to go Sweeney went to second spot and in short order was hounding the race leader. Using the outside groove, Sweeney was beside Kerstetter and would be scored as the leader as they received the white flag. However, as they went two-wide through turns one and two, there was contact and Sweeney suddenly went into a spin. Kerstetter stayed the course and was back in front for the restart and would hold back Arthofer for the exhausting win. “I hated that racing incident at the end with (Mike) Sweeney. That’s not how I wanted it to go but thanks to my team we showed in the past few weeks that this car has come to life and we just never gave up,” said Kerstetter.
Jared Ahner got a win of redemption in the 30-lap Street Stock feature. A week ago Ahner came up just short after leading 70 of 75 laps and had to settle for second place. This week, however, he was not to be denied. After some thrilling two-wide laps for the lead with Jillian Long, Ahner went to the front for keeps on lap 15 and remained smooth and steady to the finish over a very persistent Mark Deysher.
Mike Stofflet held off Frank Parastino for his unprecedented fifth consecutive Dirt Mod win.
Cody Kohler has got a good knack for winning in the Pro 4s of late as he outraced Kevin Stein for his third win in four starts. Kohler advanced to the lead after an opening lap scuffle reset the field. He then held back Stein over the 20-lap distance in gaining the verdict.
For Ryan Berger, the third time was the charm when it came to leading in the Hobby Stocks. For the third straight week Berger was able to lead the feature but in the previous two he dropped out and had to settle for disappointing finishes due to mechanical gremlins. This time around all systems where working in sync and Berger easily outclassed the rest of the stout field to become the sixth winner in as many races.
Tyler Wagner took the lead at the outset of the Micro Stock main and then had to fend off fast charging Alex Greenzweig en route to his first win of the season with the traveling club.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Ron Haring Jr., 2. Brian DeFebo, 3. Terry Markovic, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Nick Bear, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Brian Romig, 9. Gene Bowers, 10. Jack Ely, 11. John Markovic, 12. Kristopher Graver, 13. Brian Romig Jr., 14. Josh Scherer, 15. Joey Jarowicz, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Austin Kochenash
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Jacob Kerstetter, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Chris Anderson, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Jacob Nemeth, 6. George Ramos, 7. Kenny Hein, 8. Geno Steigerwalt, 9. Jeremy Miller, 10. Robbie Kutz, 11. Mike Sweeney, 12. Dylan Osborn
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jared Ahner, 2. Mark Deysher, 3. Josh Mooney, 4. Corey Edelman, 5. Rick Reichenbach, 6. Jon Moser, 7. Alan Schlenker, 8. Stacey Brown, 9. Todd Ahner, 10. Jill Long, 11. Shayne Geist, 12. Lonnie Behler, 13. Steve Steigerwalt, 14. Jamie Smith, 15. Logan Boyer, 16. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Jason Finken, 5. Jeremy Guerra, 6. Tanner Laybourn, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Johnny Bennett DNS: Jake Kibler
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Berger, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Paul Effrig, 5. Cody Geist, 6. Devin Schmidt, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Alton Snyder Jr., 9. Avery Arthofer, 10. Rich Mutarelli, 11. Kevin Behler, 12. Justin Merkel, 13.Jeff Biegley, 14. Travis Solomon, 15. Al Arthofer, 16. Nicolas Kerstetter, 17. Brayden Spencer, 18. Trisha Connolly, 19. Thomas Hunsicker Jr., 20. Todd Geist DNQ: Lyndsay Buss, Colton Perry, Travis Nothstein, Jay Visnosky, Seth VanFossen
Micro Stock Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Tyler Wagner, 2. Alex Greenzweig, 3. Roger Snyder, 4. Larry Ealey, 5. Wayne Krenn, 6. Tom Arntz, 7. Walt Mueller, 8. Steven Freundt, 9. Bob Wagner
“Real Deal” Kyle Strohl bags Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified laurel
(MAY 27, 2017) There’s a reason why Palmerton’s Kyle Strohl is referred to as the “Real Deal.” In five years’ time he continues to build on a career that doesn’t cease to amaze as his accomplishments are adding up more and more. In Saturday night’s 35-lap Modified feature Strohl had a fan thrilling battle with Nick Baer and Jack Ely en route to scoring his first win of the season. For the 17-year old high school senior it pushed his career win total in stock cars to 30, a number that drivers three times his age and with decades of racing have not come close to. “It’s unbelievable. Who can say that at 17-years old they won 30 features and at a track as tough as Mahoning Valley Speedway. It’s a huge achievement and I can’t thank my crew and especially my dad enough for all the long hard hours and work,” said Strohl. Baer would jump to the early lead and right away had Ely and Strohl hooked up with him. The trio of young talent soon went into a dazzling battle as they went lap after lap under a tight blanket. Baer was holding his line perfectly in order to keep Ely and Strohl, who battled side-by-side in his path. That’s just who the race was going until the first and only caution waved on lap 23 when Ron Haring Jr., began slowing on the back straight and was hit by the oncoming car of Joey Jarowicz. When the restart took place Strohl was alongside Baer. Feeling confident that this would be his best chance at seizing the lead, he outgunned Baer for the top spot and over the final 12 laps would keep him behind him in securing the victory. “If feels real good to get this win tonight. We had been fast since the season began but we just couldn’t quite dial the car in the way we wanted to and tonight we had the set-up right,” said Strohl. “He (Baer) was protecting his line just right and I maybe could have forced it in there but I could have also wrecked us all. I wanted to win but not that way. It brought back old times in the Pro 4s with Nick and I. I always have enjoyed racing with him. He’s a good clean driver.” Austin Kochenash was strong all race long and on that same lap 23 restart he went around Ely and came home third. Kris Graver rounded out the top five and in the process has moved to the top of the point standings.
Despite being jostled around from an early dust-up, Jeremy Miller fought back to win his first Late Model feature of the season that by a combination of luck and good driving. With five laps to go then leader Jacob Kerstetter was holding steady at the head of the pack with some intense pressure coming from Lorin Arthofer II. As they entered turn two Arthofer pinched Kerstetter and sent him spinning. Both drivers were then sent to the rear for the restart and when the action resumed Broc Brown was at the helm with Miller alongside. Miller vaulted his way quickly past Brown and held his ground to the checkers.
The Street Stocks contested in a 75-lap race and throughout the run Jared Ahner was having his way with the field, leading at times by as much as a half a lap. However, as the waning laps began coming into play, Ahner found himself in fierce tussle with the top two point men, Jon Moser and Stacey Brown, while also fighting the handle of a loose handling car. Moser, who is one the masters of extra distance Street Stock races, was making a statement that he wanted this one and with six laps to go he went low on Ahner and sped off from there to the $900 first place payoff and 30th overall win of his career. Ahner held on for a season best second with Brown settling for third.
Mike Stofflet raced his way into the Mahoning Valley Speedway record books. By taking the Dirt Mod feature he became the top winner with the class with 22 victories plus he tied the record for consecutive wins at four in a row.
Kevin Stein will always remember May 27, 2017 and not just because it happens to be his birthday but he can add his career first win in the Pro 4 feature. Stein went by Kailyn Beers on lap two and to do everything possible to hold off Cody Kohler on the final lap. When the pair crossed under the checkers Stein got the verdict by a scant .043-second margin of victory.
When Avery Arthofer took the win in the Hobby Stock main, it not only was her first win of the year but it had huge significance in motor sports as well. This was the third consecutive race that a female driver won, something that never before has occurred at this track and for all intent and purposes at any weekly short track. Arthofer inherited the lead when early leader Ryan Berger dropped out on lap eight. She then raced firmly the rest of the way and won over Tiffany Wambold, who started the female win streak.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Nick Bear, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Jack Ely, 5. Kristopher Graver, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Brian DeFebo, 8. Eric Beers, 9. Lou Strohl, 10. Terry Markovic, 11. Josh Scherer, 12. Brian Romig Jr., 13. Ron Haring Jr., 14. Joey Jarowicz
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Jeremy Miller, 2. Broc Brown, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Jacob Nemeth, 6. George Ramos, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. Chris Anderson, 9. Lorin Arthofer, 10. Dylan Osborn, 11. Kenny Hein
Street Stock Feature Finish (75 Laps): 1. Jon Moser, 2. Jared Ahner, 3. Stacey Brown, 4. Todd Ahner, 5. Steve Hoffman, 6. Lonnie Behler, 7. Corey Edelman, 8. Shayne Geist, 9. Joe Mooney, 10. Josh Mooney, 11. Alan Schlenker, 12. BJ Wambold, 13. Rick Reichenbach, 14. Jill Long, 15. Jamie Smith, 16. Mark Deysher, 17. Josh Huber, 18. Joe Stangle, 19. Bob Kibler Sr.
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler, 4. Larry Beers
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1.Kevin Stein, 2. Cody Kohler, 3. John Bennett, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Ken Reeder, 6. Tucker Muffley, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Avery Arthofer, 2. Tiffany Wambold, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Brayden Spencer, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Devin Schmidt, 7. Lyndsay Buss, 8. Travis Solomon, 9. Cody Geist, 10. Jeff Biegley, 11. Trisha Connolly, 12. Al Arthofer, 13. Seth VanFossen, 14. Nicholas Kerstetter, 15. Michael Wambold, 16. Alton Snyder Jr., 17. Ryan Berger, 18. Colton Perry, 19. Justin Merkel, 20. Kevin Behler, 21. Paul Effrig DNQ: Jay Visnosky
Kris Graver overcomes recent woes in notching Mahoning Modified win; Frankie Althouse’s Late Model wins puts and end Mike Sweeney’s streak
(5-20-17) In the first three races of 2017 at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Lehighton’s Kris Graver could have and maybe even should have won a feature. His No. 01 has been consistently fast but unfortunately luck, not the good kind, got the best of him and to say it has been frustrating is an understatement. On Saturday evening Graver was again fast only this time he was not to be denied his chance to shine. Making an outside pass on Jack Ely with four laps to go, Graver notched his first win of the young season and 44th overall. “Patience was definitely the key tonight. The car was great and my hats off to my grandfather (Kevin Graver Sr.,) my uncle (Kevin Graver Jr.,) and Jimmy Wismer for helping with the set-up,” said Graver When the race commenced Joey Jarowicz set out as the early leader and for the second time in as many races the 16-year old was impressively showing himself worthy of handling a Modified as he firmly controlled the field over the first 22 laps. Ely was running second by 12 and stayed close to the leader but was not able to make a serious enough stab at passing. Hovering behind the front pair were Graver and Bobby Jones. The race was motoring along smoothly for Jarowicz until lap 22 when a caution waved due to a scary crash involving Rick Kirkendall who hit hard into the third turn wall. Although his mount was severally damaged, Kirkendall walked away from the scene under his own power. When the race resumed Ely wasted no time in dashing past Jarowicz while Jones leaped to second. Ely and Jones then began a spirited battle as they fought closely for the front spot. Jones was looking very much like he could get by Ely but his efforts when for naught after a lap 28 caution thwarted his effort. On the ensuing start Jones lost second to Graver who would then go topside and began moving in on Ely. As they prepared to complete the 30th lap Graver had his nose out front and would then stay there the rest of the way for the liberating victory. “Jack (Ely) did a great job and he ran me very clean. He didn’t run me to the wall like it seemed I’ve been having to deal with of late,” said Graver. “Bobby (Jones) was also strong as usual and Joey (Jarowicz) has really been impressive. For someone who has limited laps here he’s been doing a hell of job and he’s bound to get a win very soon.”; Austin Kochenash, point leader Brian DeFebo and Eric Beers completed the top five.
For Graver, the win was gratifying in more ways than one. His 2017 plans originally were to see him run on dirt but circumstances changed all that prior to the start of this year. “I’m just shocked to be standing in Victory Lane again. I went from selling the car last year to no one buying it, then buying a SpeedSTR and ended up selling that due to no sponsors. I wound up back with the Modified and this win really makes all that frustration go away. Hopefully we can get a few more of these” said Graver.
For Frankie Althouse, it was just a matter of time in parking his Late Model in Victory Lane and all the time he needed was a mere 4:31 to go the nonstop distance for his first win of the season and in the process putting a stop to the five race win streak of Mike Sweeney. Althouse took the lead at the outset and was in a torrid fight with Lorin Arthofer II as they went nose-to-tail and side-by-side lap after lap. Not to be undone, Sweeney joined in with nine laps to go and would unseat Arthofer by the 20th circuit. But despite turning quicker laps, Sweeney could not make his way around Althouse who scored the upbeat victory. “We actually started out pretty bad today. We came out for early practice and our lap times were off. We then put a new set of tires on the car and it helped out a bit but we still had to make some changes for the feature and we finally got it drivable,” explained Althouse. “It helped that we went caution free because you always know Mike (Sweeney) is coming and the car got a little snug towards the end. He’s on his game right now but I know if we can get a little more consistent we and everyone else can give him a run for his money.”;
It’s hard to imagine a driver as smooth and quick as Rick Reichenbach has been shut out of winning since 2010 but he put all that behind him after a thrilling win in the 30-lap Street Stock feature.
Throughout the entire run Reichenbach had to fend off one after another including that of Mark Deysher who gave him fits over the final laps. Although he was working the wheel of a loose car as well as the insistence of Deysher, Reichenbach never wavered en route to the long overdue verdict.
Mike Stofflet raced to his third Dirt Mod win. It was his toughest to date too as he had to work hard in taking the lead from Bill Sittler Jr. but once he cleared him he was able to ease on to his record tying 21st class win.
Jake Kibler notched his first Pro 4 win of the year and was quick to dedicate the victory to the late Ward Crozier Sr., who for years prepared his engine.
Trisha Connolly is the newest winner in the Hobby Stocks and it comes in just her third time in a feature race. Connolly inherited the lead from Mike Berger who bowed out under a lap three caution. Shecthen did a great job during several restarts and in the end held off fast closing Michael Wambold for the unforgettable win.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. Jack Ely, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Brian DeFebo, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Terry Markovic, 9. Nick Baer, 10. Joey Jarowicz, 11. Don Wagner, 12. John Markovic, 13. Brian Romig Jr., 14. Ron Haring Jr., 15. Kyle Strohl, 16. Rick Kirkendall, 17. Josh Scherer
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Mike Sweeney, 3. Lorin Arthofer, 4. Kenny Hein, 5. Chris Anderson, 6. Jacob Kerstetter, 7. Paul Skodacek, 8. George Ramos, 9. Robbie Kutz, 10. Jeremy Miller
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Rick Reichenbach, 2. Mark Deysher, 3. Stacey Brown, 4. Jill Long, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Jamie Smith, 7. Steve Hoffman, 8. Corey Edelman, 9. Shayne Geist, 10. Todd Ahner, 11. BJ Wambold, 12. Eric Kocher, 13. Jared Ahner, 14. Randy Ahner Jr., 15. Joe Stangle
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Bill Sittler Jr., 3. Frank Parastino
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Jason Finken, 4. John Bennett, 5. Jeremy Guerra, 6. Ken Reeder, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Tim Laybourn, 9. Tucker Muffley, 10. Tyler Stangle
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Trisha Connolly, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Jeff Biegley, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Al Arthofer, 7. Austin Beers, 8. Tiffany Wambold , 9. Travis Solomon, 10. Brayden Spencer, 11. Cody Geist, 12. Nicolas Kerstetter, 13. Justin Merkel, 14. Colton Perry,
15. Shawn Kistler, 16. Kevin Behler, 17. Avery Arthofer, 18. Ryan Berger, 19. Paul Effrig, 20. Lyndsay Buss DNS: Alton Snyder Jr., DNQ: Jay Visnosky, Jesse Strohl
Mahoning Valley Speedway May 13 races are rained out.
The races scheduled for this evening, May 13 at Mahoning Valley Speedway have been cancelled due to rain.
This is the second straight week and third time this season that rain has forced the cancelation of events.
Looking ahead to Saturday, May 20 all six track classes will be running including Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus there will be a Small Car Demo Derby. The Pro 4s will race in a feature only.
The Demo will be held at the conclusion of all feature events. It is limited to 20 cars. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver.
Also next Saturday there is a Banner Contest. The contest will be broken down into four age groups. All entries should be brought to the track that night. Prizes will be awarded to each winner from each age category.
Rules are as follow:
1. Age groups: 4 and under, 5 -7, 8-11 and 12- Adults
2. Materials: Banners/Posters must be made of cardboard, poster board, crayons, color pencils, paint, beads, chenille stems assorted colors, foam letters and numbers only should be used.
NO PICTURES & AIRBRUSHING ALLOWED!
3. Size: Banner/Posters cannot exceed 3 feet in height and 10 feet in length.
4. Only 1 (one) entry per child/adult will be allowed. (Parents/Guardians are limited to verbal assistance only).
5. All banners/posters must be an individual effort and be free-handed originals.
6. First and last name must be on the back of all posters along with age.
7. Judging will be based on creativity, color and originality.
NO TRACED PICTURES PLEASE.
Brian DeFebo and Eric Beers head up Saturday Mahoning action as co-point leaders
What do you get when you put two drivers with a combined 9 Modified titles along with 200 career wins together, including one each for both this season?
Brian DeFebo and Eric Beers, the co-point leaders battling for supremacy at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
After three weeks of racing that’s how they stand and heading into the upcoming race meet on Saturday, May 13, either one of the other is hoping the ranking won’t be shared.
Those well-versed veterans have to keep in mind that right behind them is a number of young guns who also have the same status in mind as Austin Kochenash, Kyle Strohl and Kris Graver are right in tune to swoop in and grab the top spot.
They along with the entire Modified contingent will be back in action this coming Saturday, May 13 for a complete show of stock car racing at the paved ¼-mile oval.
Joining the with the Modifieds will be Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus the touring Micro Stocks.
Late Model leader Mike Sweeney is riding a wave of three straight wins in 2017 and five in a row dating back to the final two events of last season. Jon Moser has leaped back to the top of the points with the Street Stocks. Mike Stofflet has a hold on the Dirt Mod lead while young Johnny Bennett has recently secured the Pro 4 points and despite record numbers in the Hobby Stocks, Devon Schmidt continues showing the way.
The grandstands will open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $14. $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE.
Pits will open at 11:30 am for anyone who would like to partake in early paid practice which will run from noon to 3:00. Regular practice begins at 4:30. Sign-ins are from 3-4:15. Heats get underway at 6:00 pm.
Iconic Mahoning Valley Speedway promoter Ward Crozier Sr., passes
On Friday, May 5, the northeast racing community lost a legend when Ward Crozier Sr., passed away. Crozier was 79-years old and resided in Lehighton with his wife Dottie, whom he was married to for 56 years.
Crozier was race driver from the 1960’s and into the 2000’s on both dirt and asphalt and although he had limited success, he is best remembered for his exploits as a track promoter and Harmony, Nazareth and Mahoning Valley Speedway’s.
It was Mahoning Valley Speedway in his hometown of Lehighton that Crozier rose to his most noted prominence, which he and Dottie ran from 1987 to 1993.
At the end of the 1986 season Dorney Park Speedway in Allentown closed its doors leaving the many faithful pavement racers of the area without a track. The cars at Dorney, Sportsman and Late Models, were somewhat exclusive to that track. Thanks to the heads-up thinking of Crozier, he stepped in knowing that a track was available to keep alive the racing.
In early 1987, Ward and Dottie where able to make a deal with land owner Charlie Abrachinsky to reopen Mahoning Valley Speedway, a ¼-mile oval that had been sitting dormant the past 10 years.
With the help of family, friends and racers, the Crozier’s went to work installing grandstands (the old Nazareth National dirt track stands) for the first time and also built a concrete outside wall, replacing the old wooded guard rails. A number of other upgrades were made and when the track held its first race meet on May 9 of that year, the Crozier’s were rewarded with a packed house and full pit area.
The weekly races under Crozier’s reign where considered some of the best years at Mahoning. Crozier was able to build a solid and loyal base – fans that had a true passion for the sport and the drivers they deeply supported.
He introduced new classes starting in 1988 with the Pro 4 division which at first was known as the 4-Cylinder Stocks. The class grew so big that he split it into a 4-Cylinder Convertible division. 29 years and 636 races later and the class is still going strong.
In 1993 he initiated the D/A Mod class, D/A standing for dirt/asphalt. That class launched the stock car careers of such notables as Nevin George and Anthony and Amanda Sesely.
George Wambold and John Markovic, the 1987 Mahoning Modified and Late Model champions respectively, are still going strong today.
Crozier had a uniqueness all his own, doing many things in an unconventional style, from the cars he drove to the way he ran his track. He was the “MacGyver” of short track racing.
He once built a makeshift water pump out of half a car that was lying around the Nazareth Speedway property. The wreckage was towed to the pit area and placed next to the second turn water hole. From there, Ward made a pump using the car’s engine as the method of propulsion. As time marched on, parts and pieces fell off the car but the device itself was still pumping on Nazareth’s final night of racing.
When faced with a problem one week of a backup in the ladies’ bathroom in the Nazareth pit area, Ward ultimately solved the clog by blasting it with a fire hose. He later observed that the commode was filled with what he referred to as ‘woman’s unmentionables’. “There was also a spark plug in there,” Ward noted. “I have no idea what that was being used for.”;
When contemplating taking over Mahoning Valley Speedway and rebuilding it, he was looking for investors. One he asked about it was Steve Barrick from Program Dynamics Inc. (PDI). The two met for dinner at Nazareth Diner in mid-winter. They talked for the better part of four hours.
During that time the pair drank a dozen cups of black coffee. Ward said he drank coffee to that extent every day of the year. Steve was up for the next two days, coming off an acute caffeine high. Steve ultimately could not be involved with Ward’s venture, instead becoming a concessionaire as the track’s program publisher. According to Barrick Mahoning Valley was at one time PDI’s most successful track for program book sales.
It is safe to characterize his relationship with Nazareth promoter Jerry Fried as often contentious. Jerry was particularly disenchanted with Ward racing at Nazareth when he was on the track payroll.
One night, Ward was in the third Modified heat race of the night and as it happened, the third heat was the key race of the night in that its completion meant that more than half of the races were run, thus voiding the rainchecks. Ordinarily unimportant, this was a hot button issue this night because the skies overhead became leaden with rain. At the beginning of the fifth lap in the ten lap heat race, Ward slammed into the first turn fence, tearing the front end off his car. The red flag came out, then as if on cue the rain poured down. Race cancelled, race incomplete, rain checks were good, and Jerry blamed Ward for costing him a race.
Nazareth track photographer Bob Snyder recollected a harrowing incident on one particular night.
“Ward got the bright idea to hang me out over the backstretch on the old electrical ladder truck they used to photograph a modified heat race. Reluctantly I agreed and he hung me over the track. As the Modifieds took the green and came roaring down the backstretch the ladder started to drop. I screamed at Ward and he pulled out just as the cars passed underneath. Needless to say I never got the shot!” recalled Snyder.
In their first season as Mahoning Valley’s promoters, Ward and Dottie donated the proceeds of one of the mid-summer races to the family of a young child who was fighting a battle against cancer.
On a venture to New Smyrna Speedway during Speed Weeks, Crozier was sitting on the grid alongside the late Richie Evans. While the entire field was in the contemporary low-slung pavement Modifieds, Crozier brought one of his homebuilt upright cars as to which Evans yelled out to him, “Hey Crozier, how’s the weather up there, Is it looking like rain?”
Even though Crozier sold his share of the track in 1993, he remained a fixture every year since. His son Ward Jr., daughter, Betty Christman, son-in-law Barry Christman Sr., grandson, Barry Christman Jr., and son-in-law Rich Pursell are all winning race drivers there.
His viewing will take place on Tuesday, May 9 at the Reichel Funeral Home, 323 E. 21st Street in Northampton, Pa. from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm and on Wednesday from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
It seems fitting in a way that his Tuesday viewing comes 30 years to the day that he and Dottie re-opened Mahoning Valley Speedway.
The Crozier legacy has lasted these past three decades and it is with heavy hearts that we bid a sad farewell to Ward, perhaps the person most responsible for keeping pavement racing alive in eastern Pennsylvania throughout that time.
May 6 races are cancelled due to rain forecast
With a forecast that calls for all day rain, officials at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway had no other choice but to call off the scheduled evening of stock car racing which was to consist of all six regular track classes plus the touring Micro Stocks.
The action now turns to Saturday, May 13 with a complete card of heats and features for the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus Micro Stocks.
Main gates open at 4:00 pm with racing beginning at 6:00 pm.
APRIL 30, 2017
Cody Geist wins Sunday Enduro at Mahoning valley Speedway
Mahoning Valley Speedway played host to a special Sunday afternoon show that consisted of Enduro’s and a Demo Derby.
Highlighting the day was a Small Car Enduro that featured nonstop action from start to finish as the 4-cylinder cars took up all parts of the circular ¼-mile paved oval and in a down-to-the-wire finish, Cody Geist annexed a very exciting victory. The win was significant in that it was on the anniversary of his popular dad, “Hollywood” Todd Geist winning his first career feature 29 years to the day. Jake Jones grabbed the lead first but after 14 laps Carl Altemose went to the front and was soon schooling the rest of the pack until having to make a pit stop for a tire change on lap 79. Altemose had been a lap ahead of everyone to that point. With that Kevin Kruczek was now the new leader and despite never turning a lap at the track, he showed great poise. Paul Mercante stepped up next before Jones retook the lead in the midst of a four-wide bid that included, Geist and Kruczek. Throughout the late half of the race that foursome would run in close tandem and over the final 30 laps Jones and Geist began swapping the lead. It wasn’t until the final nine laps that Geist would lead for good and although he was very shaky in the last few tours, the two-time and defending Hobby Stock champion held on for his first every win with and Enduro. Jones, Kruczek, Mercante and Ricky Kirkendall completed the top five.
The Big Car Enduro may have been light on cars but it was quite the opposite as far as the action. Jake Kibler took the lead on the 50th lap and would be the leader from there to the end but prior to that Devon Schmidt and TJ Kapish were front runners as well. Matter of fact Kapish was cruising with ease as the leader until Schmidt knocked him from contention, forcing him to pit for a left rear tire. From there on Kibler had gained five laps up and coasted to his first ever Enduro win and 25th overall.
In the Jr. Enduro feature Jacob Boehm went to front after the first lap and would hold it there until lap 43 when he made contact with Emily Dougherty and cut a tire. He was forced to pit and in the process handed the led over to Darian Cascioli. By the time Boehm returned to action Cascioli was one lap up and remained there until the conclusion, earning his career first win at Mahoning Valley.
Complementing the day was Big and Small Car Demo Derby. John Ritter survived over Devon Schmidt in the Small Car battle while Carson Gaston lasted to win in the Big Car showdown.
APRIL 29, 2017
Eric Beers masters his way to 75-lap Mahoning Modified win; Mike Sweeney stays undefeated in Late Models
After somewhat of a slow start to the 2017 season, defending Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified track champion Eric Beers got back to his winning ways and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the “Master of Faster” showed his trademark grace and style in notching the first place tally in the extra distance 75-lap event that. With the change to American Racer as the track tire, Beers had issues in finding a good set-up at first. The previous week he did come on late and recoded a solid runner-up to Bobby Jones. After watching his performance from last evening it is safe to say the team has go things figured out as it was classic Beers motoring his way to his 53rd career Mahoning win. Beers needed nearly 50 laps to secure the lead as he had a thrilling duel with upstart Joey Jarowicz. But, once he landed the number one spot he was able to maintain a safe distance over those battling for second and would go on to a car length margin of victory over Brian DeFebo. Austin Kochenash, Kyle Strohl and Kris Graver completed the top five. “We struggled through pre-season practice and on Opening Night. We came back last week with a vengeance and got a little bit better and tonight we showed them what we had,” said Beers, who pocketed $2500 for the victory. At the outset outside pole sitter Jarowicz took the lead and was followed by Jack Ely and Don Wagner. Jarowicz was by far the show stopper as the sophomore driver was putting in his best run to date and never let Ely get close enough to make a serious challenge. Beers was hanging back in fifth spot until a restart on lap 15. At that point he stepped past Lou Strohl, Wagner and Ely within a six lap run and was now focused on the leader. However, Jarowicz proved himself well against the veteran. Over the next 25 laps it was an awe-inspiring battle between the pair with Beers doing everything possible to get by. Yet each time he was turned away as Jarowicz would not allow him access.
It wasn’t until lap 46 that Beers finally slipped ahead for the lead. Unfortunately that would also be the end to Jarowicz’s great run as he suddenly lost control and had his back end get out from under him in turn one and brought out a caution. “Joey (Jarowicz) ran a heck of a race and he was tough. He was running such a good line and I tried him on the top and I tried him on the bottom and I just couldn’t do it. The kid did a great job,” said Beers. When the race resumed Beers showed the way and while he would be in control the rest of the distance, second place was a different story as Kochenash, DeFebo, Graver and Kyle Strohl where in a tight pack. Ten laps from the finish a caution was out and it was a final chance for those aforementioned to make a run at Beers. Kochenash tried as he may but Beers once again had the upper hand. DeFebo was hooked up on the outside lane and ran down Kochenash for second. He was able to get in behind Beers but time was not on his side and he settled for second. DeFebo and Beers are now sharing the point lead after three races. “The car really didn’t change from the beginning of the race to the end. American Racer has given us a decent product and I think we still have a little bit more work to make them a little better but overall we had a good car tonight,” said Beers.
“Refuse to loose” has become all the buzz around the Mike Sweeney pits. Sweeney has stayed perfect thus far in 2017 and dating back to the final two races of last season, the defending Late Model champion has reeled off five wins in a row. This time it took a bit of time and the help of a caution to aid Sweeney in moving to the lead and eventual win. For the first 17 laps Lorin Arthofer II was making it his race, cruising nicely ahead with a sizeable lead. Jeremy Miller was second and fending off Sweeney. Ufortunately for Arthofer his spread was wiped away when a caution bunched the field. When the race was restarted Sweeney was alongside, but not for long. Within one lap he was zipping by and heading on to familiar territory, Victory Lane. “Luck was a big factor in tonight’s win and that caution was a big help. These guys have been running me hard as could be and we need to keep doing our homework during the week because they’re getting fast,” said Sweeney. “I don’t know how long we can ride this streak but we’ll keep it going as long as we can.”; Arthofer settled for second with Miller third.
Although Jamie Smith was able to lead every lap of the Street Stock feature, it was by no means an easy task as the entire 30-lap distance he was under close pursuit by one after another, but despite the onslaught he stayed the course. He may also be glad that the race didn’t last much longer too as Jon Moser was powering in a hurry in the closing laps and was pulling alongside Smith as they dashed under the checkers.
Mike Stofflet picked up his second Dirt Mod win and he did it in much the same way as his first by easily overpowering his counterparts. Stofflet went to the lead on lap two and from there on he was in cruise control.
For the second time in three Pro 4 races Cody Kohler made the trip from North Carolina and stopped off in Victory Lane. Kohler made a breathtaking three-wide advance into the lead over Jake Kibler and Johnny Bennett with five laps to go. He then held off Ken Reeder en route to making it two for two in 2017.
In the Hobby Stocks Tiffany Wambold had a very fast car as she thrust her way to the front of the pack with five laps remaining and scored her first win of the year.
Modified Feature Finish (75 Laps): 1. Eric Beers, 2. Brian DeFebo, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Kris Graver, 6. Jack Ely, 7. Nick Baer, 8. John Markovic, 9. Rick Kirkendall, 10. Bobby Jones, 11. Lou Strohl, 12. Josh Scherer, 13. James Prichard, 14. Joey Jarowicz, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Don Wagner, 17. Ron Haring Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Jeremy Miller, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Jacob Kerstetter, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. George Ramos, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Robbie Kutz, 10. Broc Brown
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jamie Smith, 2. Jon Moser, 3. Todd Ahner, 4. Shayne Geist, 5. Eric Kocher, 6. Alan Schlenker, 7. Corey Edelman, 8. Stacey brown, 9. Mark Deysher, 10. Jill Long, 11. Dan Freundt, 12, Jared Ahner, 13. Rick Reichenbach, 14. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler Jr., 4. Larry Beers
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Ken Reeder, 3. Johnny Bennett, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Jason Finken, 6. Kevin Stein, 7.Kailyn Beers, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Tucker Muffley, 10. Ryan Graver
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Tiffany Wambold, 2. Jeff Biegley, 3. Avery Arthofer, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Travis Solomon, 7. Nicholas Kerstetter, 8. Colton Perry, 9. Devin Schmidt, 10. Lyndsay Buss, 11. Brayden Spencer, 12. Carl Altemose, 13. Michael Wambold, 14. Kevin Behler, 15. Shawn Kistler, 16. Taylor Schmidt, 17. Paul Effrig, 18. Aton Snyder Jr., 19. Ryan Berger, 20. Justin Merkel, 21. Cody Geist DNS: Trisha Connolly DNQ: Jesse Strohl, Thomas Hunsicker Jr., Al Arthofer, Trisha Connolly, Travis Nothstein, Jay Visnosky
$2500-to-win Modified 75-lapper Saturday.Enduro and Demo Sunday
This coming Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30, there will be plenty of pavement pounding going on Mahoning Valley Speedway. Saturday will be the first big show for the Modifieds as the headline class will be racing for a $2500 first place prize and going a distance of 75 laps.Joining the Modifieds will be all regular track classes which include Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
Grandstand gates open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $20.The pits will open at 11:30 for those wishing to take in early paid practice which will run from Noon to 3:00 pm. Regular warm-ups begin shortly after 4:00. Heat races get underway at 6:00.
On Sunday afternoon starting at 2:00 the speedway will present an Enduro and Demo Derby which was postponed from April 1.
Sunday admission to the grandstands is $10 for adults. Kids 10 and under are free. The Enduro will be Big Car, Small Car and Jr. classes and the Demo Derby will be contested in a pair of divisions, Big Car and Small Car. The Enduro race winners can earn as much as $2000 for their respective victories if 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder, vehicle and driver. The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros. If 20 or more cars are entered in each Demo division the payout is $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations. Rules can also be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link. All those who advance to the features via heats will receive 2-points. For the feature 5-points will go to the winner, 4-points for second and 3-points to third. A Demo Derby champion will be crowned at the end of the season following the upcoming demo dates on July 2 and again on October 15. The top three point finishers at the conclusion of those three events will collect $500, $300 and $200 correspondingly along with trophies.Pit gates will open at 11:00 am. Registration will be held from 11:30 to 1:00. Cost to entry the pits is $20 per person.
The Enduro payout is as follows:
80 or more cars
1. $2000, 2. 800, 3. 550, 4. 300, 5. 225, 6. 175, 7. 125, 8. 100, 9. 75, 10-15. 50
70 or more cars
1. $1500, 2. 700, 3. 500, 4. 250, 5. 200, 6. 150, 7. 100, 8. 75, 9-12. 50
50 or more cars
1. $1000, 2. 500, 3. 300, 4. 200, 5. 150, 6. 100, 7. 75, 8-10. 50
40 or more cars
1. $600, 2. 300, 3. 200, 4. 150, 5. 100, 6. 50, 7. 50
30 or more cars
1. $500, 2. 250, 3. 150, 4. 100, 5. 50, 6. 50
29 or less cars
1. $400, 2. 200, 3. 100, 4. 75, 5. 50
April 22, 2017
Resilient Bobby Jones holds off Eric Beers in close Mahoning Modified action; Mike Sweeney races to record 4th straight Late Model win
It takes a veteran driver to make the best of a bad situation and in the case of Bobby Jones that’s just what he did after winning Saturday night’s 35-lap Modified feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Jones was at wits end in trying to get his car to work right. A week ago on Opening Night he led a few laps after starting pole but the car soon faded. Leading up to that time he and the team continued to struggle during pre-season practice getting the handle as well as adapting to the new American Racer tires. Jones’ frustration was so bad that he was ready to throw in the towel and not even race this week. His determination, however, drove him to make one more try and the result was a much needed confidence booster in the form of victory. Admittedly he wasn’t the fastest car on track as defending champion Eric Beers was coming on like gangbusters but his experience and more importantly his never-give-up-attitude enabled him to overcome those woes. “After what I felt was an embarrassing showing I had last week I went home and just parked the car, it was just that bad,” said Jones after notching his 35th career win. “I really had no intention of racing today and as a matter of fact we didn’t leave the shop until five o’clock. Earlier in the week I got sick and had to go to the hospital and even missed work. But it bothered me that we were so bad on Opening Night and I had to know if we fixed it and here we are (Victory Lane).”; A noticeably improved Joey Jarowicz led the field to the green and would led the opening circuit. Third starting Jones jumped right into second spot and after a lap one restart slipped into the lead. The race then went into a nonstop rhythm and Jones was showing how his last ditch efforts with adjustments were paying off as he had a respectable lead going. Meanwhile Lou Strohl held second and was tailing a few car lengths back. By midrace Beers had suddenly come to life. He entered into the top five by lap 18 and was waging a terrific battle with Austin Kochenash and Don Wagner. Once he shook free he then reeled in Strohl and took that spot eight laps from the finish. At that point Jones had built a safe lead and it seemed as though he would have no worries heading into the final laps. Beers, though, was not done with his charge and was quickly chipping away as the laps clicked on. With four to go he had caught Jones and was making valid attempts from every angle to get by. Despite his heroic efforts, Jones shielded his ground and held on for a close decision. “We were really good in the beginning but then we lost stagger as the race went on. In the end it wasn’t so easy to drive. I think had it been another few laps we would have been in trouble,” said Jones.Kyle Strohl, Lou Strohl and Kochenash completed the top five. Jones was not the only one who was relieved from the pressure of frustration. Beers too was overcoming a number of issues and his showing proved that. “We made a lot of changes and we definitely got better tonight and we’re going in the right direction. I feel that with a few more adjustments and as the track comes in a little bit more we’ll be putting on some more exciting shows on like you saw tonight,” said Beers. “Bobby is a great racer and a great guy and I had fun racing with him. I could have done a few other maneuvers and maybe cut underneath him but there wasn’t a whole lot of grip out there tonight. It was like putting an egg under the throttle and just being easy.”; It was also a tough week for the Jones’ car owner Ivan Morgan. His mom Audrey passed away on Thursday.“This one is for her and for them. Hopefully it will make them heal a little bit during this time,” offered Jones.
Mike Sweeney’s stock continues to rise as the reigning Late Model champion not only won for a second straight week, but dating back to the final two races of 2016, he set a class record for consecutive wins at four in a row. Sweeney also proved that the American Racer tire is a solid performer as he began the event from seventh spot and then weaved by car after car until reaching then leader Jeremy Miller in just eight laps. Biding his time, he then set-up his race winning pass with an inside move on lap 14 and from there on cruised to the record setting win. Miller remained second with Frankie Althouse third.
In Street Stock action Zach Graver went from last to first in a week’s time as the 2015 champion parlayed his front row starting spot into victory. Graver took the lead on lap two and was cruising steadily along until a mid-race caution wiped out a then huge lead. When the race resumed Josh Mooney was making a serious stab at him but within five green flag laps Graver was back to building on his lead and would go on to take his first win of 2017.
Johnny Bennett notched his career first win, taking the score in the Pro 4s. Bennett, who was within a scant few inches of doing the same on Opening Night, took the lead away from Jason Finken just past halfway and then held off Jake Kibler en route to the memory making night.
In the Hobby Stocks it was Austin Beers laying claim to a stirring victory after he and runner-up Michael Wambold battled for the glory. Beers, who went from eighth to first in five laps, did a fine job of holding off Wambold and well-earning his second career win.
Brett Bieber was uncontested in winning the All-Star Slingshot feature.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Bobby Jones, 2. Eric Beers, 3. Kyle Strohl, 4. Lou Strohl, 5. Austin Kochenash, 6. Don Wagner, 7. Rick Kirkendall, 8. Brian DeFebo, 9. Kris Graver, 10. Joey Jarowicz, 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. Drew Reinhold, 13. Nick Baer, 14. Tommy Rought DNS: Jack Ely
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Jeremy Miller, 3. Lorin Arthofer II, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Broc Brown, 6. Kenny Hein, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. George Ramos, 9. Jacob Nemeth, 10. Robbie Kutz, 11. Paul Skodacek, 12. Dylan Osborn, 13. Chris Anderson
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Zach Graver, 2. Josh Mooney, 3. BJ Wambold, 4. Joe Mooney, 5. Corey Edelman, 6. Alan Schlenker, 7. Eric Kocher, 8. Jillian Long, 9. Jared Ahner, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Mark Deysher, 12. Stacey Brown, 13. Todd Ahner, 14. Jon Moser, 15. Jamie Smith, 16. Shayne Geist, 17. Josh Scherer, 18. Dan Freundt, 19. Joe Stangle, 20 Jeremy Scheckler DNQ: Josh Huber, Steve Hoffman
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Johnny Bennett, 2. Jake Kibler, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Kevin Stein, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Jason Finken, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Tucker Muffley, 9. Jeremy Guerra, 10. Tyler Stangle
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (17 Laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Cody Geist, 4. Devin Schmidt, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Frank Hughes, 7. Brayden Spencer, 8. Trisha Connolly, 9. Rich Mutarelli, 10. Travis Solomon, 11. Al Arthofer, 12. Kevin Behler, 13. Justin Merkel, 14. Jeff Biegley, 15. Jesse Strohl, 16. Taylor Schmidt, 17. Shawn Kistler, 18. Tiffany Wambold, 19. Avery Arthofer, 20. Colton Perry, 21. Nicholas Kerstetter, 22. George Wambold DNQ: Lyndsay Buss, Kristy Arthofer, Nate Henry, Alton Snyder Jr., Ryan Berger, Mike Snyder
All-Star Slingshot Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Brett Bieber, 2. Joe Toth, 3. Dakota Kohler
Saturday, April 15:
Opening Day: all regular track classes + ATQMRA
Brian DeFebo ends Mahoning Valley Speedway drought with Opening Night victory; Mike Sweeney, Jon Moser, Mike Stofflet, Cody Kohler and Devon Schmidt take class wins
(LEHIGHTON, PA. 4-15-17) When it comes to naming the elite of eastern Pennsylvania asphalt racers, Berwick’s Brian DeFebo stands tall among the many. His accomplishments have earned him the number one ranking in career wins and on Saturday evening at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway he added to his legacy by scoring the Opening Night laurels with a hard fought victory against a stout field of Modified equals.
The thing is, despite win after win and numerous championships, when it comes to Mahoning Valley DeFebo has been snake bitten, having not won here since 2006. Not for lack of trying and certainly there was times when a victory looked evident but unfortunately he always seemed to be on the wrong side of luck. Years of frustration at the paved ¼-mile oval where now wiped away as the venerable driver of the Sophie Welsh owned No. 53 drove to his second Opening Night win which was 11 years to the day. “It just finally feels good to get this saga over with here. After all the aggravation and the hard work we can breathe a sigh of relief,” said DeFebo, who now has 91 career feature wins. This was his sixth at Mahoning Valley. “This is a tough place to win at and it makes it exciting when you do. I still get goosebumps.”; DeFebo started on the outside of row one and would chase closely alongside leader Bobby Jones. With the outside lane as his line of attack, he was then able to slip past the leader on lap seven. His work was far from over, however, as a host of others gave him all he could handle as from there on he was in full defensive mode. Lou Strohl looked very quick and was locking horns with DeFebo and next came Austin Kochenash and Kyle Strohl who likewise showed plenty of speed. By the waning laps Kris Graver was showing his hand. At any given time the later trio was swapping second spot while also making valid attempts at the lead. But each time DeFebo was able to fend them off by shouldering a line good enough to keep anyone from overtaking him. “We were good in the heat race. We have a really fast, good set-up for during the day and we only have to tweak a bit for at night,” explained DeFebo. At the finish it was Kochenash just nipping Graver for runner-up while John Markovic got dialed in late and was fourth over Strohl. This also marked a new era for the track as the American Racer tires were used in full competition for the first time. “It’s a rolling science project for right now and everyone has it,” said DeFebo. “It is nice to say we are the first to win a Modified race at Mahoning on American Racer’s. This is a good tire and I feel it will hold up to many laps here. In the long haul it will be better for everyone.”;
In the past several years Late Model standout Mike Sweeney has been garnering win after win, well over 20 just during the three most recent seasons. But despite that run of success which included winning the 2016 Late Model title, the one thing missing from his bucket list was an Opening Night victory. Sweeney can now chalk that one off as he notched the verdict with a two car length score over top rival Frankie Althouse.
Both drivers began the race from the front row with Althouse taking control at first. But by lap three Sweeney was easing his Ford ahead of the pack and from there on set sail for the checkers. Although Althouse kept him honest, Sweeney maneuvered nicely past traffic without giving up any distance. It was his 39th time winning at Mahoning.
Jon Moser closed out 2016 number one in points with the Street Stocks and that’s just how he started 2017. Confidently showing why he earned the title, Moser came into the night at the top of his game as he led every lap. He would have Jared Ahner give him a great run but there was no denying his flawlessness en route to victory. Mike Stofflet had no trouble in cruising to victory in the Dirt Moods as he took the lead from the get-go and never looked back from there to the finish.
Former Pro 4 champion Cody Kohler made his 8-hour ride up from North Carolina where he attends college well worth the trip as the rising star took first place honors in a squeaker over Johnny Bennett.|
The Hobby Stock class made Opening Night a rousing one as a record 29 cars signed in, the most ever for a single race day. Plenty of cars indeed but of them all Devon Schmidt was the fastest as he withstood a torrid battle with Avery Arthofer to claim the win.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Kris Graver, 4. John Markovic, 5. Kyle Strohl, 6. Eric Beers, 7. Nick Baer, 8. Don Wagner, 9. Rick Kirkendall, 10. Lou Strohl, 11. Blake Barney, 12. Ron Haring Jr., 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. Bobby Jones, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Drew Reinhold
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Lorin Arthofer II, 4. Broc Brown, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Chris Anderson, 7. Barry Kutz, 8. George Ramos, 9. Dylan Osborn, 10. Kenny Hein
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jon Moser, 2. Jared Ahner, 3. Alan Schlenker, 4. Stacey Brown, 5. Todd Ahner, 6. Mark Deysher, 7. Dan Freundt, 8. Corey Edelman, 9. Eric Kocher, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Jillian Long, 12. Shayne Geist, 13. Jamie Smith, 14. Joe Stangle, 15. Josh Scherer, 16. Josh Huber, 17. Joe Mooney, 18. Matt Wentz, 19. Josh Mooney, 20. Zach Graver DNQ: BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Ray Deemer, 3. Bill Sittler Jr.
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Johnny Bennett, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Tyler Stangle, 6. Kevin Stein, 7. Ryan Graver, 8. Kailyn Beers, 9. Josh Kuronya, 10. Jeremy Guerra DNS: Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Deon Schmidt, 2. Aver Arthofer, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Michael Wambold, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Travis Solomon, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Brayden Spencer, 9. Shane Kistler, 10. Kevin Behler, 11. Jeff Biegley, 12. Taylor Schmidt, 13. Cody Geist, 14. Justin Merkel, 15. Austin Beers, 16. Nicholas Kerstetter, 17. Ryan Berger, 18. Lyndsay Buss, 19. Frank Hughes, 20. George Wambold DNQ: Alton Snyder Jr., Trisha Connolly, Scott Kotran, Jesse Strohl, Brandon Auman, Thomas Hunsicker Jr., Al Arthofer, Colton Perry, Jim Neiman, Tyler Lucas
Mahoning Valley Speedway looks ahead to April 15 for '17 Season Opener
Mahoning Valley Speedway had its planned season opener postponed this past Saturday, April 8 due to excessive water that the track took on from late week rains. The popular Lehighton paved ¼-mile oval will now go with Saturday, April 15 at 6:00 pm for the commencement of 2017.
The racing line-up will consist of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks will contest in a complete show of heats and features. Plus the American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association will be making the organization's season opening meet as well.
There will be a bicycle giveaway with approximately eight bikes being awarded to lucky young contestants 12 years of age and under. Entry is absolutely free and must be in between from 4 pm- 6 pm. No entries will be taken after 6 pm. Mahoning Valley would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the businesses, race teams and fans for making the bike giveaway a huge success and to track Kids Activities Coordinator Karen Bortz for organizing it all. The grandstands will open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $14. $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE. Pits will open at 11:00 am for anyone who would like to partake in early paid practice which will run from noon to 3:00. Regular practice begins at 4:30. Sign-ins are from 3-4:15. The All Star Slingshots will be on the card at Mahoning Valley on Saturday, April 22 as a part of that night’s stock car program. The Dirt Mods will be off that evening
Mahoning Valley Speedway Cancels Opening Night due to flooding Issues; Sunday open practice added
Due to the past two days of heavy rain which in turn caused flooding and ongoing water seepage to the track surface and surrounding grounds, officials at Mahoning Valley Speedway had no choice but to cancel Saturday’s season opener.
Even with the rains easing up the water problem remains and thus it was in everyone’s best interest to push back the opener to the following Saturday, April 15 at 6:00 pm.
While no action will take place tomorrow evening, on Sunday, April 9, the track will be running an open practice from noon to 4:00 pm. Pit gates will open at 11:30. The cost to practice is $25 per car and $10 per person in the pits. Grandstands are free for Sunday’s session.
Saturday, April 15 will now be the season opening night and feature all six regular tracks classes
including Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus the ATQMRA will launch their 2017 season as well. Heat races begin at 6:00 pm
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Great turnout for Mahoning Valley Speedway Test-and-Tune has everyone pumped for April 8 Opening Night
With approximately 70 cars on hand for the final day of Test and Tune, Mahoning Valley Speedway wrapped up the pre-season activities and it’s now all systems full steam ahead for the start of the 2017 season set for Saturday, April 8. Sunday’s Test and Tune showed that racers of the paved ¼-mile oval are indeed anxious to get rolling, evident by the impressive turnout of cars, one of the best in recent years.Throughout the day-long practice session drivers continually made laps to dial-in setups for the upcoming opener and judging by unofficial lap times it should be quite competitive across all six classes. There was also a great look into the pride of their race cars as many teams unveiled eye-catching paint schemes and there is more to come. The focus now switches to the first point paying race of the year with Opening Day 2017. The program will be made up of all six regular track classes including Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks. Heat races begin at 6:00 pm. The grandstands will open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $14. $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE.
Pits will open at 11:00 am for anyone who would like to partake in early paid practice which will run from noon to 3:00. Regular practice begins at 4:30. Sign-ins are from 3-4:15. The following week, April 15, the ATQMRA joins the stock car regulars for their season opener.
UPDATE: Due to the inclement weather and the pending conditions Mahoning Valley Speedway has postpone the racing activity that was to take place on Saturday, April 1. Enduros, Demo Derby’s and Micro Stocks were on the docket. This event will be rescheduled at later date ASAP. Anyone who had preregistered for the Enduros or Demos will be refunded if they wish.
The Sunday, April 2 Test and Tune will be held from noon to 4:pm. Pits open at 11:30. It will be $25 per car and $10 per person to enter the pits. Grandstands are free.
Enduros, Demos and Micro Stocks this Saturday at Mahoning Valley
Although the regular weekly point racing is still two weeks away, Mahoning Valley Speedway is excited nonetheless with the presentation of the first racing event of the new season that will be taking place this coming Saturday, April 1.
Beginning at 2:00 pm a complete program of Enduros, Demo Derby and Micro Stocks will be held. Grandstand admission is $10. Kids 10-years old and under are free. There will be three classes of Enduros. Big Car, Small Car and Jr.’s. The Enduro race winners can earn as much as $2000 for their respective victories if 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder, vehicle and driver. The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros. For the Demo Derby’s there are two classes, Big Car and Small Car. If 20 or more cars are entered in each division the payout is $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations. Rules can also be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link. All those who advance to the features via heats will receive 2-points. For the feature 5-points will go to the winner, 4-points for second and 3-points to third. A Demo Derby champion will be crowned at the end of the season following the upcoming demo dates on July 2 and again on October 15. The top three point finishers at the conclusion of those three events will collect $500, $300 and $200 correspondingly along with trophies. This Saturday’s race card is also highlighted by the Micro Stocks. They will be featured a number of times throughout the season and for the first time since 1999 there will be a track champion crowned. Pit gates will open at 11:00 am. Registration will be held from 11:30 to 1:00. Cost to entry the pits is $20 per person.On Sunday, April 2 from noon to 4:00 pm, the final Test and Tune day will be held.
Opening Day 2017 will get the green flag on Saturday, April 8 at 6:00 pm featuring all six regular track classes of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
Mahoning Valley racers give good grades after first test of American Racer tires
Mahoning Valley Speedway completed its first weekend of Test and Tune that saw drivers across all six regular track classes as well as a number of touring groups make the best of the two day dust-off. And, while this was indeed the ideal opportunity to shake down their rides in preparation of Opening Night on April 8, more importantly it served as the first test for the American Racer tires which is now the new official track tire, replacing Hoosier. American Racer representatives Fred Woodward and Pat “Mick” McCombie were on hand throughout the day Saturday and made it a point to stop and talk with each team to help with questions and concerns It seemed in short order that much of the apprehension of running with the new brand quickly went by the wayside not long after a few laps by each driver were turned. The general consensus was all good. “From the reaction we’ve gotten from everyone it’s what we’d had hoped for,” said Woodward. “The guys seemed pretty pleased and I think the main thing that they we were really concerned about was stagger and I feel as though we got them what they were looking for. Most of what we heard is that our tires come in quicker than the previous brand. We wanted to make this an easy transition and so far so good.”; Austin Kochenash had his Gary Wentz owned No. 72 Modified on hand and despite running on a set of American Racer tires he ran with last season at Wyoming County International Speedway and had over 150 laps, he noted that there was still good grip. “It was good and we along with everyone else just has to get used to them. You’re going to have to make a couple changes with set-ups but from what I can tell it will be fine,” said Kochenash, a two-time winner at Mahoning last season. Frankie Althouse finished second to Late Model champion Mike Sweeney last year and put his tires to a hard test. “Overall I was very pleased. We went out on a new set and we clocked in just as fast as last year’s times if not a little bit faster. The car felt really good on them and even after 50 laps they held up really well,” said Althouse. “We actually limited the number of changes we did over the winter because of the new tires. They gripped well and we also got some good side bite.”; Dirt Modified standout Mike Stofflet only made one only one practice run but it was enough to satisfy him with the performance of the tires. “It was good enough to put the car on the trailer after one round so I guess you could say the car was pretty good,” said Stofflet. “I was concerned because the American Racer is a little softer with their compound on the sidewall so we just changed some pressures to compensate for that. What I really liked was how fast they came in and they seem to stick really well.”; 2016 Street Stock champion Jon Moser was getting around the paved ¼-mile oval in swift fashion and like most others gave his approval. “I was quite impressed and from what I saw from our laps the tire worked awesome. I think everyone will be real happy with them,” said Moser. Hobby Stocks were out in full force and for many of the entry level racers they all liked how the American Racer’s handled. “I really liked them. After about two-three laps they seemed to hook up right away. There was grip and bite each time off the corners,” said Ryan Berger, a two-time ’16 winner. “The car felt great and they (tires) where hooking up and I was making some fast laps. I was getting great grip off the corners and it was pulling me right out of the turns nice. I really think the American Racer will be excellent in the Hobby Stocks.”
As of now there will be another day of Test and Tune on Sunday, April 1 from noon to 4:00 pm. Opening Night follows six days later on Saturday, April 8 at 6:00 pm feature all six regular track classes which includes Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
Enduros, Demos, Micro Stocks and testing days will begin the action at Mahoning Valley Speedway
The first on track activity for Mahoning Valley Speedway is just two weeks away when on Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26, drivers will be able to shake down their rides during Test and Tune days. A third Test and Tune will be held on Sunday, April 2.
The track will be open on those aforementioned dates from noon to 4:00 pm. It will be $25 per car and $10 per person to entry the pits. Grandstand admission for Test and Tune days is free.The first contested racing will take place on Saturday, April 1 with a Big/Small Car and Jr. Enduros along with Big/Small Car Demo Derby’s plus Micro Stocks.The Enduro race winners can earn as much as $2000 for their respective victories if 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder and vehicle. Pit fee is $20 per person and $10 grandstand admission. The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros. Racing begins at 1:00 p.m.There is a pre-entry cost of $40 if applicants have the proper paper work filed no later than Sunday, March 26. Starting line-ups will be determined by registration. A limit of 100 cars has been designated.You can send all pre-entries to: Chip Santee, 5406 Mountain Road, Germansville, PA 18053. Please include the class, either Small Car Enduro or Jr. Enduro, name, age, car # and phone #. Entries can also be dropped off at the track during the Test and Tune days of March 25-26. Please make checks payable to Mahoning Valley Speedway.For the Demo Derby’s there are two classes, Big Car and Small Car. If 20 or more cars are entered in each division the payout will is $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations. Rules can be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link. Demo Derby’s being held on April 1, July 2 and October 15 will award points and a champion will be crowned. All those who advance to the features via heats will receive 2-points. For the feature 5-points will go to the winner, 4-points for second and 3-points to third. The top three point finishers at the conclusion of the three events will collect $500, $300 and $200 correspondingly along with six, three and two foot trophies.
On April 1 the Micro Stocks will be featured also along with a number of times throughout the season and for the first time since 1999 there will be a track champion crowned.
The regular season will get underway with Opening Day 2017 on Saturday evening, April 8 at 6:00 pm for all regular divisions which include Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
The Enduro payout is as follows:
80 or more cars
1. $2000, 2. 800, 3. 550, 4. 300, 5. 225, 6. 175, 7. 125, 8. 100, 9. 75, 10-15. 50
70 or more cars
1. $1500, 2. 700, 3. 500, 4. 250, 5. 200, 6. 150, 7. 100, 8. 75, 9-12. 50
50 or more cars
1. $1000, 2. 500, 3. 300, 4. 200, 5. 150, 6. 100, 7. 75, 8-10. 50
40 or more cars
1. $600, 2. 300, 3. 200, 4. 150, 5. 100, 6. 50, 7. 50
30 or more cars
1. $500, 2. 250, 3. 150, 4. 100, 5. 50, 6. 50
29 or less cars
1. $400, 2. 200, 3. 100, 4. 75, 5. 50
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Mahoning Valley Speedway is anxously looking forward to its first competitive action of the 2017 season when on Saturday, April 1, there will be Big/Small Car and Jr. Enduros along with Big/Small Car Demo Derby’s plus Micro Stocks.
For the Enduro racers there can be as much as $2000 for winning their respective events. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. If 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day in each of the classes then first place prize money stands at an impressive $2000.The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros.
The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder and vehicle. Pit fee is $20 per person and $10 grandstand admission. The racing begins at 1:00 p.m.
There is a pre-entry cost of $40 if applicants have the proper paper work filed no later than Sunday, March 26. Starting line-ups will be determined by registration. There will be a limit of 100 cars.
You can send all pre-entries to: Chip Santee, 5406 Mountain Road, Germansville PA 18053. Please include the class, either Small Car Enduro or Jr. Enduro, name, age, car # and phone #.
Entries can also be dropped off at the track during the Test and Tune days of March 25-26.
Last season Mahoning Valley Speedway brought back the popular Demo Derby’s and it was well received, so much so that continued interest has prompted track management to not only bring back the Demos but award points at each showing this season that will go towards a Demo Derby champion.
If 20 or more cars are entered in each division the payout will be $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner.
If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third.
The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations.
Rules can be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link.
The Micro Stocks, which have been a long standing supporter of the speedway, will be featured a number of times throughout the season and for the first time since 1999 there will be a track champion.
The regular season will get underway with Opening Day 2017 on Saturday evening, April 8 at 6:00 pm.
For additional information log onto www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com or on Facebook at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
The Enduro payout is as follows:
80 or more cars
1. $2000, 2. 800, 3. 550, 4. 300, 5. 225, 6. 175, 7. 125, 8. 100, 9. 75, 10-15. 50
70 or more cars
1. $1500, 2. 700, 3. 500, 4. 250, 5. 200, 6. 150, 7. 100, 8. 75, 9-12. 50
50 or more cars
1. $1000, 2. 500, 3. 300, 4. 200, 5. 150, 6. 100, 7. 75, 8-10. 50
40 or more cars
1. $600, 2. 300, 3. 200, 4. 150, 5. 100, 6. 50, 7. 50
30 or more cars
1. $500, 2. 250, 3. 150, 4. 100, 5. 50, 6. 50
29 or less cars
1. $400, 2. 200, 3. 100, 4. 75, 5. 50
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Mahoning Valley Speedway releases 2017 schedule…Modifieds to run 200 laps at Octoberfast
The official 2017 race schedule for Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway has been released and a very aggressive slate of events will make up the upcoming season.
It all begins in late March with pre-season Test and Tune and continues through October with the annual Octoberfast.
All weekly track classes will be back in action which includes Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks along with a variety of others such as the TQ midgets of the American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association, the All-Star Slingshots, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts. Also getting track time in 2017 will be Enduro racers which will consist of Big Car, Small Car and Jr. Enduros. Last year also saw the return of Demo Derby’s and they too will be on the docket at select dates.
The headline Modified division will partake in a handful of extra distance/money races and culminate during the seventh annual Octoberfast. This year will feature the longest race in track history as 200 laps will make up the $6000-to-win main.
Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks will all get special shows during the course of the season.
Track management has decided to include a championship for Enduro racers this year and likewise for the visiting Micro Stock competitors.
Also announced for 2017 will be a summer start time of 7:00 pm which will begin on June 10 and continue through August 26.
Test and Tune days will open up the year with pre-season track time days on March 25-26 and April 1-2. The April 1 date will also be a day of racing for Enduros along with a Demo Derby.
Open Day 2017 will be held on Saturday, April 8 at 6:00 pm with all regular track classes. The action then rolls on from Spring and onto Fall with Octoberfast on October 28. Floyd Santee returns to the helm as track promoter for his seventh year of running the show at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Recently it was revealed that American Racer will be the new track tire. On Saturday, January 7 representative Fred Woodring of American Racer will attend the special general meeting being held at the Slatedale Fire House in Slatedale to discuss the change and field questions and concerns about the American Racer tire.
The meeting, which begins at noon, is open to driver and owner only.
Mahoning Valley Speedway promoter Floyd Santee has always had the best interest at heart for his fans and race teams. He strives to present a good, quality program but knows that there are times when a race promoter must take that extra step to show appreciation for the support that comes their way each week. To show his thanks, Santee is cutting back the grandstand gate admission on Saturday, July 22 to $10 for a six division show. It’s a $4 saving that Santee knows can go a long way, especially for at track such as Mahoning Valley which is very family oriented. The $10 night of racing will include regular features for the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus the Micro Stocks will be in action. The Dirt Mods will have that night off. Main gates open at 5:00 pm with racing beginning at 7:00 pm. Santee is also having a second $10 night with the same line-up on Saturday, August 19. The coming Saturday evening, July 15 will be a regular six division show for all track classes. There is also a Kids Design and T-Shirt Contest sponsored by Rick and Stephanie Reichenbach. This contest is open to kids 12 years and under and feature three age groups: 4 & under, 5 -8, 9-12. Only white T-shirts are allowed to be used for the contest. Artwork must be original – no pictures or iron on. (Designed by child and only the child. One entry per child.) Parents may assist children 1 year old and younger. Design your T-shirt with striking eye catching designs fabric paint, fabric markers. Please attach a piece of paper with the child's full name and age. With shirt on a hanger to be hung for spectators viewing and judging. Artwork must consist of designs that could be placed on the front or back of a youth t-shirt that captures your favorite driver at Mahoning Valley. The T-shirt entries will be judged by colors, creativity, neatness and overall effect. Top 3 in each age group will be awarded a prize. There will be one (1) overall winner. Any questions regarding this contest please contact Mahoning Valley Speedway Kids Coordinator Karen Geist Bortz. Mahoning Valley Speedway will close out the month of Saturday, July 29 with a 40-lap/$400-to-win main event for the Hobby Stocks
They tried but the young guns where no match for Eric Beers: Mike Sweeney notch 50th career Late Model win
(July 8, 2017) Eric Beers outdueled a pair of young guns to take the lead and then held off top contender Kris Graver for his second Modified win of the year. Front row starter Ely and Strohl remained in that order when the 35-lap event got going while eighth starting Beers joined them after a lap two restart. Then began an intensely contested battle. Ely led the pack while Strohl and Beers went two-wide while also going after the leader. On lap 23 Strohl was running on the bottom and saw a chance to get past Ely. As he dived underneath there was slight contact that caused Ely to slide a bit to the right and Strohl as well had to gather himself from spinning. Beers would capitalize from that as he was high enough to throttle past them and take over the lead. Not surprising point leader Graver was coming on by this point and got around Strohl and Ely with eight laps to go. Beers, however was in good shape to the finish and would notch his 54th career Mahoning win. “That was some good racing out there tonight,” said Beers. “The three of us where under a blanket for at least 20 laps. I was trying to get on the outside of Jack (Ely) and Kyle (Strohl) at the same time was shooting to the inside of him and they made some contact and I was able to then get a good run to finally take the lead.” The always improving Joey Jarowicz found a burst of speed over the final laps and took home a career best third. Ely and Strohl held on to complete the top five. The racing program was almost cut short when a passing rain shower during warm-ups put a question mark on the rest of the evening. After a pole by the drivers it was decided to make a go of it although the track was a bit tricky to drive. “It was pretty slick. The low groove had a little bit of grip and there was not a whole lot on the top but the bottom line is we’re racing on a Saturday night,” said Beers.
“I want to say a happy birthday to our promoter Floyd Santee. Hats off to him for sticking with the show and getting it all in tonight. Everyone stuck together and there may not have been a whole lot of gripe due to all the rain in the past two days but man did we put on a good show.”
Mike Sweeney not only raced to his division leading fifth Late Model victory of the season but it was also a personal milestone as he notched his 50 career win with that class. The feature was a cone race and under a process of cautions Sweeney was able to move to second spot by lap eight at which point he was behind Jeremy Miller. Two laps later Sweeney was charging past Miller for the lead and once in front it was a smooth and steady ride to the checkers. It was also his second win in a row, following a victory the previous week at Evergreen Raceway. Frankie Althouse, Miller, Lorin Arthofer and Broc Brown rounded out the front five. “The cautions came out at the right times and we were able to choose the right lane for the restarts. We won last week at Evergreen and then to come back here and park in Victory Lane that’s what we work so hard for,” said Sweeney, who is the leading asphalt Late Model winner throughout the Northeast in 2017 with six wins to date.
Stacey Brown passed Jillian Long for the lead on lap four and would go the rest of the way from the top spot in capturing his first Street Stock win of the season.
Brown did a fine job of holding back his opposition as he showed little signs of wavering. Jon Moser was able to claw his way to second spot over the final half dozen laps but Brown had him covered.
In the Dirt Mods Mike Stofflet raced to a track record eighth consecutive feature win and in dominating fashion as he was the only car on the lead lap by race’s end.
Cody Kohler should think about more trips home from North Carolina where he attends school. For a fourth time in five starts Kohler scored a Pro 4 victory. His other finish was a scant second.
The Hobby Stock feature was quite the barnburner as Tiffany Wambold made a bold inside pass on Colton Perry in the final corner of the final lap for her second win of the year. After nine races Wambold becomes the first driver to repeat in the class.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Eric Beers, 2.Kristopher Graver, 3. Joey Jarowicz, 4. Jack Ely, 5. Kyle Strohl, 6. Nick Baer, 7. John Markovic, 8. Don Wagner, 9. Terry Markovic, 10. Kevin Graver, 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. Lou Strohl, 13. Roger Heffelfinger, 14. Bobby Jones, 15. Brain DeFebo
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Jeremy Miller, 4. Lorin Arthofer II, 5. Broc Brown, 6. Jacob Nemeth, 7. Kenny Hein, 8. Jacob Kerstetter, 9. George Ramos, 10. Dylan Osborn, 11. Eric Kocher
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Stacey Brown, 2. Jon Moser, 3. Todd Ahner, 4. Jared Ahner, 5. Jill Long, 6. Mark Deysher, 7. Shayne Geist, 8. Steven Steigerwalt, 9. Josh Mooney, 10.Eric Kocher, 11. Corey Edelman, 12. Alan Schlenker, 13.Bobby Kibler Jr, 14. Dennis Buss, 15.Jamie Smith, 16. Ken Erney, 17. Josh Huber, 18. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Larry Beers, 4. Denise Devine, 5. Bill Sittler Jr.
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Jake Kibler, 4. Johnny Bennett, 5. Jeremy Guerra, 6. Ken Reeder, 7. Tucker Muffley, 8. Josh Kuronya, 9. Tanner Laybourn DNS: Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Tiffany Wambold, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Austin Beers, 5. Travis Solomon, 6. Colton Perry, 7. Shawn Kistler, 8. Devin Schmidt, 9. Brayden Spencer, 10. Trisha Connolly, 11. Paul Effrig, 12. Ryan Berger, 13. Justin Merkel, 14. Jeff Biegley, 15. Joey Visnosky, 16. Al Arthofer, 17. Todd Geist, 18. Avery Arthofer, 19. Nicholas Kerstetter, 20. Cody Geist DNQ: Colton Breiner
Carl Altemose dominates his way to Big and Small Car Enduro wins
Mahoning Valley Speedway may have lost its regular Saturday evening stock car program to rain but Sunday dawned bright and beautiful for what would be a full afternoon of Enduros, Demos and Karts. And, for Carl Altemose the day became his personal playground as he simply dominated in the Enduro’s. First up was the Big Car Enduro where he dashed to the lead at the drop of the green and from there proceeded to put on a driving clinic as he led every lap of the timed race. Altemose has been affiliated with numerous winners at Mahoning Valley but this marked the first time as a driver that he would enjoy the spoils of victory. When the Small Car Enduro got underway Jake Jones was able to lead the first few laps but by the four time around Altemose was at the helm and from there to the finish would never look back. He was perfect in dicing and slicing his way through traffic while all the while maintaining a decent lead. When all was said and done Altemose was credited with leading 187 laps and a grand total of 270 for the day. Jones was second and did his best to keep pace with the winner. Kevin Kruczek continues to make strides in the Enduro races as he was a solid third. Dylan Kibler had a career day in fourth with Devin Schmidt rounding out the top five. In the Jr. Enduro feature Jacob Boehm turned in an absolute dominating performance as he led every lap of the 20-minute contest en route to his career first victory. The Micro Stock main was a race that was decided at the finish line as Alex Greenzweig overtook Bob Wagner by a hair. In the early going Tyler Wagner was leading with Greenzweig hot on his tail. As the pair entered turn three on lap eight, Greenzweig was flanked to the right of Wagner. Contact was made and Wagner spun. Oncoming traffic was immediately upon him and with nowhere to go Walt Mueller slammed full steam. Mueller’s car got airborne before coming to a grinding halt. Badly shaken Mueller was taken off by the EMT’s for observation and later released. When the action resumed Bobby Wagner was now in charge. He was holding off Roger Snyder and then Larry Ealey but with five laps to go Greenzweig was back in the picture and drafting Wagner for the lead. Nose-to-tail they stayed until the last corner of the last lap when Greenzweig went to the outside. Drag racing to the checkers Greenzweig just nipped Wagner by .008-seconds for the thrilling outcome. In the 20-lap Champ Kart feature Paul White was able to lead every lap but unfortunately was disqualified during postrace inspection due to a tech infraction. Awarded the victory was Scott Neary. Neary ran second from the get-go and was on the rear bumper of White along with Richie Spaide. At the finish it was another thriller as Neary tried to slingshot by White with Spaide in tow. In the Small Car Demo Mark Rihler was the victor while Kevin Behler took score in the Big Car Demo
Small Car Enduro Finish (190): 1. Carl Altemose, 2. Jake Jones, 3. Kevin Kruczek, 4. Dylan Kibler, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Cody Boehm, 7. Kevin Wachter, 8. Kevin Behler, 9. Hunter Iatalese, 10. Rich Davidson, 11. Matt Wentz, 12. Scott German, 13. Evan Styer, 14. Ben Everett, 15. Cody Geist, 16. Justin Merkel, 17. Todd Baer, 18. Corey Styer, 19. Jacob Kerstetter DNS: Beau Drobot
Big Car Enduro Finish (83): 1. Carl Altemose, 2. Lyndsay Buss, 3. BJ Wambold, 4. Jake Kibler
Jr. Enduro Finish (84): 1. Jacob Boehm, 2. Hunter Iatalese, 3. Darrian Cascioli, 4. Emily Dougherty
Micro Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Alex Greenzweig, 2. Bob Wagner, 3. Roger Snyder, 4. Larry Ealey, 5. Steven Freundt, 6. San Dell Luff, 7. Chad Weaver, 8. Jason Stermer, 9. James Counterman Jr., 10. Scott Kotran, 11. Walt Mueller, 12. Tyler Wagner
Champ Kart Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Scott Neary, 2. Richie Spaide, 3. Trevor Jones, 4. Marshall Mast, 5. Brian Decosta, 6. Roger Guest DQ: Paul White
JULY 1: Due to the forecast of afternoon and evening thunderstorms and rain
we must unfortunately cancel today's race card.Sunday, July 2nd, events get underway at 2:00 pm
with Enduro, Demo, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts.
Enduro’s, Demo’s, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts are returning for a Sunday afternoon show at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway on July 2.
Taking place at 2:00 pm, the speedway will present three classes of Enduro cars including Big, Small and Jr. along with two classes of Demo Derbies which will be Big and Small Car.
The Enduro events will pay a minimum of $400 to win but depending on car count as much as $2000 if as many as 80 cars are signed in. The Enduro entry fee is $40 per car which includes the transponder. If 20 or more cars are entered in each Demo Derby they will conduct heats with the payout being $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations.
The Champ Kart race will pay $400 to win and be pro-rated from second spot back. Kart entry fee is $25 plus $6 for transponder.
Pit gates will open at 11:00 am. Registration will be held from 11:30 to 1:00. Cost to enter the pits is $20 per person. There will be a set of warm-ups for the Micro Stocks and Champ Karts. A driver meeting will take place at 1:30. Admission to the grandstands, which opens at 1:00 pm, is $10 for adults. Kids 10 and under are free. The Saturday prior, July 1, the speedway will host a complete six division show of stock cars with the headline being a 50-lap, $1200-to-win feature for the Late Models. The Speedway has also announced that July 22 and August 19 will be $10 admission nights.
Kris Graver scores Modified and TQ wins; Frankie Althouse is best in Late Models
June 24, 2017) Kris Graver has been riding a wave of good fortune of late and he reached the crest with yet another stirring performance. Fresh off his second Modified win of the season, the 24-year old star claimed two more wins on Saturday night which included his third Mod victory and for the first time in his career took the checkers in the accompanying ATQMRA feature. “It’s always a great feeling to be able to win two (features) in one night plus this makes it two in a row with the Modified,” an exuberant Graver said.“Eric Beers was in this same position last year, winning a lot of races but as you know your luck can change in an instant. We’ll continue to take it race by race. Eric (Beers), Brian DeFebo and so many others can be in the shoes we are right now so we have to keep working hard and make the car better.” Graver’s Modified win began from the 10th starting spot. At the outset Jack Ely would be in command of the going but a strong running Nick Baer was making matters tough. Thanks to a restart on lap six, Baer was able to blast past Ely while Graver had managed to work to third by then. It soon became a two-wide battle for the lead and with a clear outside lane to do his bidding from, Graver moved to the front as the 17th circuit got underway. Baer, who has been noticeably improved in this his sophomore season, remained in line with Graver and made several attempts to regain the helm. “He (Baer) ran a really great race, very clean and I thank him for that and that goes for everyone else,” said Graver. “I just was able to hit the lines again and get to the front. I like to go to the top because it seems more guys have been using the bottom lane so that’s what has been working for us.” While Graver was able to pull ahead during the closing laps, Bear was facing fierce opposition from DeFebo, who came into the night as the point leader. He was alongside Baer with seven laps to go but they suddenly touched wheels. That forced DeFebo to back off and cost him the spot. Baer went on to equal his career best finish in second while Bobby Jones, Beers and DeFebo completed the top five.
In the TQ main Graver was behind the wheel of the Matt Janisch owned No. 48. When the race got under way it would Janisch, who was driving the Alan Mollet’s No. 51, jumping out the early lead with Buddy Sload a close second. Known for their lighting quick speed around the Mahoning bullring, Janisch and Sload began zipping in and out of traffic in short order. Sload took advantage of the traffic and would maneuver past Janisch after six laps. Still in their path remained Graver and two laps after Sload took the lead he had advanced to second. On lap 10 a caution was out for a spinning Cole Mullen. Graver then put his years of home track advantage to good use as he outgunned Sload on the restart and set sail to his first every TQ victory. “I cannot begin to explain how crazy it is to drive one of these cars as this track,” offered Graver. “We’re turning 9 (seconds) flat and going a second and a half faster than the Modified. There is virtually no time to react. I have an amazing amount of respect for the guys in the TQ’s.” By winning with the TQ Graver has moved into a very exclusive club, becoming only the third driver to win in five different divisions at Mahoning Valley, which included his uncle, Kevin Graver Jr., and Mike Quinn. “I can’t thank Matt Janisch and my crew enough for giving me a pair of great cars tonight. You’re only as good as the people you’re surrounded by. I also have to give a nod to American Racer Tire for continuing to give us a great tire. I feel that is has really equaled out the playing field here this season.”
In Late Model action Frankie Althouse was in the right place at the right time. Sitting fourth, Althouse had been watching the lead battle between Jeremy Miller and Broc Brown while at the same time racing hard with Jacob Kerstetter. The lead pair had been putting in torrid duel. Miller was showing the way but Brown had been coming on quickly from the outside line. Pulling even with Miller by lap 15, Brown then surged to the front at the start of the 18th tour. However, Miller became a bit over-aggressive and made contact off turn two that caused Brown to spin. For his part officials parked Miller while Brown had to restart from the rear. The lead was now in the hands of Kerstetter but as the event resumed Althouse wasted no time in thrusting ahead and over the remaining laps cruised to his second win of the season.
When your name is Wambold and you race at Mahoning Valley Speedway it’s only natural that you win races. From the patriarch George, his sons Brian and Michael and granddaughter Tiffany. There was, however, one missing from that list, that was until Saturday evening when BJ Wambold earned his first ever victory, coming in the 30-lap Street Stock main. Wambold would jump to the early lead and was holding off Lonnie Behler Sr. Then after a lap 13 restart Behler was able to overpower his way into the front spot. Wambold far from giving up though as he kept a solid hold of the bottom lane and by lap 18 was back in front. Then rest of the way he kept busy fending off Behler and then a very hot running Rick Reichenbach. But Wambold turned perfect laps on his way to the elusive win number one and add his name to the family winning heritage.
In the Dirt Mods Mike Stofflet celebrated his 30th birthday by notching an all-time track record eighth consecutive feature win. Stofflet had the lead from the outset and never looked back, solidly taking an 8.3–second margin of victory.
The Pro 4 feature was quite the barnburner as Jake Kibler nipped Kevin Stein at the line for the verdict. The pair were engaged in a scorching side-by-side battle as they swapped the lead back and forth. On the final lap Stein had the slightest edge but Kibler never backed down. Coming off the final turn on the final lap Kibler hustled inside of Stein, making contact that upset the leader’s car. It was just enough for Kibler to eke by for the checkers.
Kevin Behler raced to his career first feature win which came after hard fought run in the 25-lap Hobby Stock show. Behler worked by Travis Solomon on lap 12 and then labored untiringly against Rich Mutarelli and Devon Schmidt en route to securing the win.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Chris Graver, 2. Nick Bear, 3. Bobby Jones, 4. Eric Beers, 5. Brian DeFebo, 6. Jack Ely, 7. Kyle Strohl, 8. Don Wagner, 9. Brian Romig, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Brian Romig Jr., 12. Lou Strohl
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Jacob Kerstetter, 3. Kenny Hein, 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Jacob Nemeth, 6. Broc Brown, 7. George Ramos, 8. Dylan Osborn, 9. Chris Anderson, 10. Lorin Arthofer, 11. Jeremy Miller
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. BJ Wambold, 2. Rick Reichenbach, 3. Jared Ahner, 4. Corey Edelman, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Alan Schlenker, 7. Jamie Smith, 8. Lonnie Behler, 9. Steven Steigerwalt, 10. Todd Ahner, 11. Shayne Geist, 12. Stacey Brown, 13. Mark Deysher, 14. Jill Long, 15. Josh Huber, 16. Bobby Kibler Jr.
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Bill Sittler, 3. Frankie Parastino, 4. Larry Beers, 5. Denise Devine
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. John Bennett, 4. Ken Reeder, 5. Tanner Laybourn, 6. Jason Finken, 7. Tucker Muffley, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Kailyn Beers
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Kevin Behler 2. Rich Mutarelli, 3. Devon Schmidt, 4. Brayden Spencer, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Michael Wambold, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Travis Solomon, 9. Todd Geist, 10. Colton Perry, 11. Al Arthofer, 12. Jeff Biegley, 13. Ryan Berger, 14. Cody Geist, 15. Avery Arthofer, 16. Trisha Connolly, 17. Paul Effrig, 18. Justin Merkel, 19. Joey Visnosky, 20. Seth VanFossen, 21. Alton Snyder Jr., 22. Lyndsay Buss DNQ: Nicholas Kerstetter, Colton Breiner, Taylor Schmidt
Mahoning Valley Speedway to be well represented at the 1st Annual Steel Stacks Grand Prix this Sunday
Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified Champion Eric Beers and Up and coming modified young Gun Jack Ely will be part of the Reliable Auto Body Team this Sunday, June 18 in the inaugural Steel Stacks Grand Prix at Arts Quest, next to the Sands Casino, Bethlehem. Eric and Jack will join forces with the Legend Frank Cozze, along with local racing stars Briggs Danner and Mike Bednar under the direction of team captains: Lou Ortelli and Ashley Ortelli.
It’s a high-speed, winner-takes-all race through the streets of SteelStacks as up to 30 teams compete in the first SteelStacks Grand Prix 12 noon-4 p.m. Go-karts featuring teams fielded by area businesses race through SteelStacks on a course designed especially for the race by Lehigh Valley Grand Prix. The half-mile track winds through PNC Plaza before cars zip down First Street, reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour on the straightaway. Racing aficionados can watch all the action track-side, including ‘grandstands’ set up just for the event.
As the checkered flag drops at the SteelStacks Grand Prix on June 18, it’s time for the public to get in on all the go-kart racing action as ArtsQuest and Lehigh Valley Grand Prix offer a public racing session. Members of the public are invited to jump behind the wheel of a high-speed go-kart and test their driving skills as they reach speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Cost for the public racing session includes safety briefing, helmet and eight minutes of track time; proceeds will go to support ArtsQuest and its free programming for the community. Racers will be assigned a race time (between 4 and 5:30pm) based on the order in which they register. ArtsQuest will contact racers 48 hours prior to confirm times. Other attractions during the day include: Media race featuring local media celebrities, Car show presented by Chevy 21, Food vendors and food trucks and a Mario Kart gaming tourney at the ArtsQuest Center.
For more info about the event visit www.steelstacks.org or follow SteelStacks on Facebook. For more info on Reliable Auto Body visit www.reliableautobody.com.
See you at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Leighton PA every Saturday night. For a complete schedule and more info about the action track go to www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com.
Strong running Kris Graver notches second Mahoning Modified win of ‘17
(June 10, 2017) In winning for a second time this season, Kris Graver enjoyed one of those finer nights of his career. Graver started ninth and within five laps was running third. Two laps later he checked into second and by lap 12 worked by then leader Kyle Strohl. Once at the front he as was able to outrun his competition by a significant margin, making it a race for second. His only worry came when a caution waved just prior to the final lap that put top guns John Markovic, Bobby Jones, and Eric Beers behind him but when the action resumed there was no problem in taking this 12th win in a Modified and 45th overall at Mahoning Valley. “The car felt really good and we’re still working in it to get better. I want to thank everyone for running me clean and the crew for giving me an awesome car tonight,” said Graver. Joey Jarowicz jumped to the lead at the outset but on the second go-around Strohl was in command with Markovic in tow. On lap three the action came to a grinding halt when several cars got together on the front straight. Strohl was still in charge after things got cleared and ready to resume. Markovic was in a tight battle with Graver who unseated him for the spot in a few laps and then went after Strohl. Taking the outside lane as his line of attack, Graver was alongside Strohl by lap nine and removed him from the lead three laps later. “The longer he (Strohl) ran the tighter I could see he was getting. I was a little tight too and wasn’t sure what to do at first but as we went on I knew it was time to go. I kept working at from the outside and it paid off. Kyle ran me very clean,” said Graver. This also led to a long stretch of green flag laps which allowed Graver to flex his muscle. As he did the trio of Markovic, Jones and Beers waged a torrid dogfight. Graver was on cruise control, however, until the late race caution put those aforementioned on his tail. “You always have to worry when you got those guys behind you but like I said the car was so good tonight. You just have to keep that out of your head and focus on hitting your marks and do what you have to in order to get the job done,” said Graver. “I think some of was due to the American Racer tires. This was the second week we’re running the same set and they’ve (American Racer) really given us a good product. Markovic got second while Beers just nipped Jones at the line for third. Since 2008 Graver has racked up 45 overall wins, placing him sixth all-time at Mahoning. “It’s very overwhelming to think that I’ve reached that many wins. I grew up here and have watched so many greats over that time. It’s never easy at this place and it’s an honor to know we’ve accomplished that against so many others,” noted Graver.
Mike Sweeney got back to his winning ways as he notched his fourth win in seven starts this season but first since April 29.
Sweeney raced into the lead after escaping an opening lap melee just in front of him. On the restart he was lined up on the outside of Chris Anderson and would then out-power him once the first lap was scored. Afterwards it would be a smooth and steady run for the current point leader as he had very little trouble maintaining his lead. There was some slight concern on the final lap when the caution waved and previous week winner Jacob Kerstetter was in second but once the race restarted there was no issue for Sweeney who eased into his 40th career Late Model win at Mahoning Valley
Jamie Smith is off to perhaps his best ever season as he won his second Street Stock feature in a month’s time. mith took the lead on lap two and then withstood an onslaught of advances from Mark Deysher and Alan Schlenker. But despite the intense competition he remained solid en route to win number two. Deysher continues to be force, notching his third runner-up in the last four races.
It has come as no surprise that Mike Stofflet won another Dirt Modified feature. This time may have been his best yet as he went to the lead on the opening lap and was approaching the second and third place cars until a caution put the halt to him lapping the field. Nonetheless he was again the top car, taking his sixth straight win.
Jason Finken may be a true blue rookie but watching his performances throughout the season would have one differ. Finken has been fast and strong from day one and on Saturday night he capped it all off with his career first win in the 20-lap Pro 4 main. Finken went by Kailyn Beers and on lap eight and was perfect the rest of the way.
Paul Effrig has enjoyed a fair amount of success over the years in the higher classes but for 2017 he looked to have a more laid back season and thus joined the Hobby Stock division. He soon found out that the entry level class is anything but as the opposition is extremely tough. But Effrig is a seasoned veteran who adapted to the change in short order and can now add a Hobby Stock victory to his resume. He grabbed the lead over Colton Perry on lap 10 and then held back a bevy of on-comers in scoring his first win since a Late Model victory in 2014.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. John Markovic, 3. Eric Beers, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Brian DeFebo, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Don Wagner, 9. James Pritchard, 10. Terry Markovic, 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. DJ Wagner, 13. Nick Baer, 14. Joey Jarowicz, 15. Brian Romig Sr., 16. Jack Ely, 17. Brian Romig Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Jacob Kerstetter, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Lorin Arthofer, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. Dylan Osborn,8. Chris Anderson, 9. Robbie Kutz, 10. Jacob Nemeth, 11. Eric Kocher, 12. George Ramos. 13. Broc Brown
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jamie Smith, 2. Mark Deysher, 3. Alan Schlenker, 4. Jared Ahner, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Steven Steigerwalt, 7. Corey Edelman, 8. Rick Reichenbach, 9. Jillian Long, 10. Stacey Brown, 11. Todd Ahner, 12. Shayne Geist, 13. Lonnie Behler Sr., 14. Eric Kocher, 15. Bobby Kibler J., 16. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler Jr.
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jason Finken, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Jeremy Guerra, 4. Johnny Bennett, 5. Tucker Muffley, 6. Kailyn Beers, 7. Tanner Laybourn, 8. Ken Reeder DNQ: Jake Kibler
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Paul Effrig, 2. Kevin Behler, 3. Jeff Biegley, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Avery Arthofer, 6. Trisha Connolly, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Ryan Berger, 9. Colton Perry, 10. Lyndsay Buss, 11. Austin Beers, 12. Cody Geist, 13. Devin Schmidt, 14. Al Arthofer, 15. Michael Wambold, 16. Travis Solomon, 17. Jay Visnosky, 18. Nicholas Kerstetter, 19. Alton Snyder Jr., 20. Seth VanFossen, 21. Jesse Strohl DNQ: Colton Breiner, Todd Geist, Brayden Spencer
Mahoning Valley Speedway moves to summer start time schedule this Saturday with 7:00 pm
(June 6, 20170 Beginning this Saturday evening, June 10, Mahoning Valley Speedway will begin its summer start time of 7:00 pm. The 7:00 pm start will run through August 26 and then switch back to the 6:00 pm go time for the remainder of the season.On the card for this week will be a regular six division program of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.Kids Big Wheel races will take place during intermission.Early paid practice will now begin at 1:30 and run to 4:30. Regular warmups will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 and the first heat will roll off at 7:00 pm. Pit gates open at 12:30.Driver registration will be from 4:00 – 5:15. Grandstands will open at 5:00 pm. Adult admission is $14, $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE. On Saturday, June 17 all regular track classes will be in action. Please note there will be no Dirt Mod special feature as previously listed on the schedule.
First career win for Ron Haring Jr., comes in front of biggest crowd of season at Mahoning Valley Speedway
(JUNE 3, 2017) In making the transition from dirt to asphalt racing, Ron Haring Jr., has come a long way in a short period of time. The 28-year old from Alburtis earned his career first feature win on Saturday evening at Mahoning Valley Speedway which was witnessed by a packed grandstand on Brown-Daub KIA Fan Appreciation Night. For the past eight years Haring spent his weekends running Modifieds at Grandview and Big Diamond Speedway’s and with very limited results. He felt that a change was in order and during this past off season he acquired a pavement Modified and prepared himself for the tight confines of Mahoning Valley. Despite never having run on asphalt, Haring steadily adapted, keeping himself clear of trouble and learning with each lap. Now in just his sixth start he became an instant hero with his fine outing. And, taking into consideration that he held off the all-time leader in eastern Pennsylvania short track pavement wins, Brian DeFebo, there was good reason to see why he was beaming afterwards from his defining achievement. “It’s all the guys who help me out like my dad, Shayne and Todd Geist, Doug Bell and so many people who have supported me and it all came full circle tonight,” said Haring. “When I was running on dirt I had limited help and to run here it doesn’t take as much compared to that racing.” Haring started on the outside front row and by lap three zipped by Josh Scherer for the lead. A lap later Terry Markovic moved to second. The race was reeling off rapidly as green flag action was the setting for this one. With Haring showing the way he controlled the pace very well while also turning back the ongoing challenges of Markovic. Scherer was holding steady in third with Kris Graver and Bobby Jones making up the top five As the race began to come into the final laps, slower traffic was in play. On lap 33 Haring and Markovic were able to get by but as for the rest of the pack it was harrowing situation that unfolded. Everyone from third place back were in a tight pack which included the back marker car. Coming into turn four, Scherer, who was on the bottom lane, touched wheels with the car to his right and suddenly vaulted overtop and came to a grinding halt head on in the front straight wall. His car was badly damaged but thankfully he walked away unscathed. Several others were also eliminated in the incident including last week’s winner Kyle Strohl, Joey Jarowicz and Graver, who was the only one able to return after pitting. Austin Kochenash was blacked flag also for his involvement. After the cleanup it was a single file restart with Haring, Markovic, DeFebo, Jones and Eric Beers in line. With no laps to spare DeFebo was wasting little time as he stormed past Markovic and on the final tour went to the outside of the leader but was unable to make the pass, giving the unforgettable victory to Haring. “I just tried to hit my marks and once I got to the lapped car I wanted to get around him as quick as I could and I was going to try and use him as a cushion but then the caution came out,” said Haring. “It got very tough at the end when (Brian) DeFebo got up alongside of me. “During that caution I just kept drilling in my head to stay focused. I knew it was going to be a single file restart which played in my favor. I didn’t want to spin the tires on the restart too and not blow it. It was a good setup for tonight and actually the car was fast right from the beginning of the year.” Although he had to settle for second, DeFebo was able to regain the point lead. Markovic had great night in garnering third while Jones and Beers completed the top five.
Jacob Kerstetter notched his second career win in the Late Model feature. Getting to the checkers first though was a hard fought affair to say the least. Kerstetter came from the inside of row two to grab the lead after the opening lap. He was then locked horns with Lorin Arthofer II who at most times was making continued attempts to pass him on the outside. Arthofer finally got it done after a lap 17 restart but it would be short lived as Kerstetter powered right back on the ensuing circuit. The pressure was still on for Kerstetter as not only did Arthofer keep up the stress but point leader Mike Sweeney had the afterburners going strong. With five laps to go Sweeney went to second spot and in short order was hounding the race leader. Using the outside groove, Sweeney was beside Kerstetter and would be scored as the leader as they received the white flag. However, as they went two-wide through turns one and two, there was contact and Sweeney suddenly went into a spin. Kerstetter stayed the course and was back in front for the restart and would hold back Arthofer for the exhausting win. “I hated that racing incident at the end with (Mike) Sweeney. That’s not how I wanted it to go but thanks to my team we showed in the past few weeks that this car has come to life and we just never gave up,” said Kerstetter.
Jared Ahner got a win of redemption in the 30-lap Street Stock feature. A week ago Ahner came up just short after leading 70 of 75 laps and had to settle for second place. This week, however, he was not to be denied. After some thrilling two-wide laps for the lead with Jillian Long, Ahner went to the front for keeps on lap 15 and remained smooth and steady to the finish over a very persistent Mark Deysher.
Mike Stofflet held off Frank Parastino for his unprecedented fifth consecutive Dirt Mod win.
Cody Kohler has got a good knack for winning in the Pro 4s of late as he outraced Kevin Stein for his third win in four starts. Kohler advanced to the lead after an opening lap scuffle reset the field. He then held back Stein over the 20-lap distance in gaining the verdict.
For Ryan Berger, the third time was the charm when it came to leading in the Hobby Stocks. For the third straight week Berger was able to lead the feature but in the previous two he dropped out and had to settle for disappointing finishes due to mechanical gremlins. This time around all systems where working in sync and Berger easily outclassed the rest of the stout field to become the sixth winner in as many races.
Tyler Wagner took the lead at the outset of the Micro Stock main and then had to fend off fast charging Alex Greenzweig en route to his first win of the season with the traveling club.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Ron Haring Jr., 2. Brian DeFebo, 3. Terry Markovic, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Nick Bear, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Brian Romig, 9. Gene Bowers, 10. Jack Ely, 11. John Markovic, 12. Kristopher Graver, 13. Brian Romig Jr., 14. Josh Scherer, 15. Joey Jarowicz, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Austin Kochenash
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Jacob Kerstetter, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Chris Anderson, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Jacob Nemeth, 6. George Ramos, 7. Kenny Hein, 8. Geno Steigerwalt, 9. Jeremy Miller, 10. Robbie Kutz, 11. Mike Sweeney, 12. Dylan Osborn
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jared Ahner, 2. Mark Deysher, 3. Josh Mooney, 4. Corey Edelman, 5. Rick Reichenbach, 6. Jon Moser, 7. Alan Schlenker, 8. Stacey Brown, 9. Todd Ahner, 10. Jill Long, 11. Shayne Geist, 12. Lonnie Behler, 13. Steve Steigerwalt, 14. Jamie Smith, 15. Logan Boyer, 16. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Jason Finken, 5. Jeremy Guerra, 6. Tanner Laybourn, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Johnny Bennett DNS: Jake Kibler
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Ryan Berger, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Paul Effrig, 5. Cody Geist, 6. Devin Schmidt, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Alton Snyder Jr., 9. Avery Arthofer, 10. Rich Mutarelli, 11. Kevin Behler, 12. Justin Merkel, 13.Jeff Biegley, 14. Travis Solomon, 15. Al Arthofer, 16. Nicolas Kerstetter, 17. Brayden Spencer, 18. Trisha Connolly, 19. Thomas Hunsicker Jr., 20. Todd Geist DNQ: Lyndsay Buss, Colton Perry, Travis Nothstein, Jay Visnosky, Seth VanFossen
Micro Stock Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Tyler Wagner, 2. Alex Greenzweig, 3. Roger Snyder, 4. Larry Ealey, 5. Wayne Krenn, 6. Tom Arntz, 7. Walt Mueller, 8. Steven Freundt, 9. Bob Wagner
“Real Deal” Kyle Strohl bags Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified laurel
(MAY 27, 2017) There’s a reason why Palmerton’s Kyle Strohl is referred to as the “Real Deal.” In five years’ time he continues to build on a career that doesn’t cease to amaze as his accomplishments are adding up more and more. In Saturday night’s 35-lap Modified feature Strohl had a fan thrilling battle with Nick Baer and Jack Ely en route to scoring his first win of the season. For the 17-year old high school senior it pushed his career win total in stock cars to 30, a number that drivers three times his age and with decades of racing have not come close to. “It’s unbelievable. Who can say that at 17-years old they won 30 features and at a track as tough as Mahoning Valley Speedway. It’s a huge achievement and I can’t thank my crew and especially my dad enough for all the long hard hours and work,” said Strohl. Baer would jump to the early lead and right away had Ely and Strohl hooked up with him. The trio of young talent soon went into a dazzling battle as they went lap after lap under a tight blanket. Baer was holding his line perfectly in order to keep Ely and Strohl, who battled side-by-side in his path. That’s just who the race was going until the first and only caution waved on lap 23 when Ron Haring Jr., began slowing on the back straight and was hit by the oncoming car of Joey Jarowicz. When the restart took place Strohl was alongside Baer. Feeling confident that this would be his best chance at seizing the lead, he outgunned Baer for the top spot and over the final 12 laps would keep him behind him in securing the victory. “If feels real good to get this win tonight. We had been fast since the season began but we just couldn’t quite dial the car in the way we wanted to and tonight we had the set-up right,” said Strohl. “He (Baer) was protecting his line just right and I maybe could have forced it in there but I could have also wrecked us all. I wanted to win but not that way. It brought back old times in the Pro 4s with Nick and I. I always have enjoyed racing with him. He’s a good clean driver.” Austin Kochenash was strong all race long and on that same lap 23 restart he went around Ely and came home third. Kris Graver rounded out the top five and in the process has moved to the top of the point standings.
Despite being jostled around from an early dust-up, Jeremy Miller fought back to win his first Late Model feature of the season that by a combination of luck and good driving. With five laps to go then leader Jacob Kerstetter was holding steady at the head of the pack with some intense pressure coming from Lorin Arthofer II. As they entered turn two Arthofer pinched Kerstetter and sent him spinning. Both drivers were then sent to the rear for the restart and when the action resumed Broc Brown was at the helm with Miller alongside. Miller vaulted his way quickly past Brown and held his ground to the checkers.
The Street Stocks contested in a 75-lap race and throughout the run Jared Ahner was having his way with the field, leading at times by as much as a half a lap. However, as the waning laps began coming into play, Ahner found himself in fierce tussle with the top two point men, Jon Moser and Stacey Brown, while also fighting the handle of a loose handling car. Moser, who is one the masters of extra distance Street Stock races, was making a statement that he wanted this one and with six laps to go he went low on Ahner and sped off from there to the $900 first place payoff and 30th overall win of his career. Ahner held on for a season best second with Brown settling for third.
Mike Stofflet raced his way into the Mahoning Valley Speedway record books. By taking the Dirt Mod feature he became the top winner with the class with 22 victories plus he tied the record for consecutive wins at four in a row.
Kevin Stein will always remember May 27, 2017 and not just because it happens to be his birthday but he can add his career first win in the Pro 4 feature. Stein went by Kailyn Beers on lap two and to do everything possible to hold off Cody Kohler on the final lap. When the pair crossed under the checkers Stein got the verdict by a scant .043-second margin of victory.
When Avery Arthofer took the win in the Hobby Stock main, it not only was her first win of the year but it had huge significance in motor sports as well. This was the third consecutive race that a female driver won, something that never before has occurred at this track and for all intent and purposes at any weekly short track. Arthofer inherited the lead when early leader Ryan Berger dropped out on lap eight. She then raced firmly the rest of the way and won over Tiffany Wambold, who started the female win streak.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Nick Bear, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Jack Ely, 5. Kristopher Graver, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Brian DeFebo, 8. Eric Beers, 9. Lou Strohl, 10. Terry Markovic, 11. Josh Scherer, 12. Brian Romig Jr., 13. Ron Haring Jr., 14. Joey Jarowicz
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Jeremy Miller, 2. Broc Brown, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Jacob Nemeth, 6. George Ramos, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. Chris Anderson, 9. Lorin Arthofer, 10. Dylan Osborn, 11. Kenny Hein
Street Stock Feature Finish (75 Laps): 1. Jon Moser, 2. Jared Ahner, 3. Stacey Brown, 4. Todd Ahner, 5. Steve Hoffman, 6. Lonnie Behler, 7. Corey Edelman, 8. Shayne Geist, 9. Joe Mooney, 10. Josh Mooney, 11. Alan Schlenker, 12. BJ Wambold, 13. Rick Reichenbach, 14. Jill Long, 15. Jamie Smith, 16. Mark Deysher, 17. Josh Huber, 18. Joe Stangle, 19. Bob Kibler Sr.
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler, 4. Larry Beers
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1.Kevin Stein, 2. Cody Kohler, 3. John Bennett, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Ken Reeder, 6. Tucker Muffley, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Avery Arthofer, 2. Tiffany Wambold, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Brayden Spencer, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Devin Schmidt, 7. Lyndsay Buss, 8. Travis Solomon, 9. Cody Geist, 10. Jeff Biegley, 11. Trisha Connolly, 12. Al Arthofer, 13. Seth VanFossen, 14. Nicholas Kerstetter, 15. Michael Wambold, 16. Alton Snyder Jr., 17. Ryan Berger, 18. Colton Perry, 19. Justin Merkel, 20. Kevin Behler, 21. Paul Effrig DNQ: Jay Visnosky
Kris Graver overcomes recent woes in notching Mahoning Modified win; Frankie Althouse’s Late Model wins puts and end Mike Sweeney’s streak
(5-20-17) In the first three races of 2017 at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Lehighton’s Kris Graver could have and maybe even should have won a feature. His No. 01 has been consistently fast but unfortunately luck, not the good kind, got the best of him and to say it has been frustrating is an understatement. On Saturday evening Graver was again fast only this time he was not to be denied his chance to shine. Making an outside pass on Jack Ely with four laps to go, Graver notched his first win of the young season and 44th overall. “Patience was definitely the key tonight. The car was great and my hats off to my grandfather (Kevin Graver Sr.,) my uncle (Kevin Graver Jr.,) and Jimmy Wismer for helping with the set-up,” said Graver When the race commenced Joey Jarowicz set out as the early leader and for the second time in as many races the 16-year old was impressively showing himself worthy of handling a Modified as he firmly controlled the field over the first 22 laps. Ely was running second by 12 and stayed close to the leader but was not able to make a serious enough stab at passing. Hovering behind the front pair were Graver and Bobby Jones. The race was motoring along smoothly for Jarowicz until lap 22 when a caution waved due to a scary crash involving Rick Kirkendall who hit hard into the third turn wall. Although his mount was severally damaged, Kirkendall walked away from the scene under his own power. When the race resumed Ely wasted no time in dashing past Jarowicz while Jones leaped to second. Ely and Jones then began a spirited battle as they fought closely for the front spot. Jones was looking very much like he could get by Ely but his efforts when for naught after a lap 28 caution thwarted his effort. On the ensuing start Jones lost second to Graver who would then go topside and began moving in on Ely. As they prepared to complete the 30th lap Graver had his nose out front and would then stay there the rest of the way for the liberating victory. “Jack (Ely) did a great job and he ran me very clean. He didn’t run me to the wall like it seemed I’ve been having to deal with of late,” said Graver. “Bobby (Jones) was also strong as usual and Joey (Jarowicz) has really been impressive. For someone who has limited laps here he’s been doing a hell of job and he’s bound to get a win very soon.”; Austin Kochenash, point leader Brian DeFebo and Eric Beers completed the top five.
For Graver, the win was gratifying in more ways than one. His 2017 plans originally were to see him run on dirt but circumstances changed all that prior to the start of this year. “I’m just shocked to be standing in Victory Lane again. I went from selling the car last year to no one buying it, then buying a SpeedSTR and ended up selling that due to no sponsors. I wound up back with the Modified and this win really makes all that frustration go away. Hopefully we can get a few more of these” said Graver.
For Frankie Althouse, it was just a matter of time in parking his Late Model in Victory Lane and all the time he needed was a mere 4:31 to go the nonstop distance for his first win of the season and in the process putting a stop to the five race win streak of Mike Sweeney. Althouse took the lead at the outset and was in a torrid fight with Lorin Arthofer II as they went nose-to-tail and side-by-side lap after lap. Not to be undone, Sweeney joined in with nine laps to go and would unseat Arthofer by the 20th circuit. But despite turning quicker laps, Sweeney could not make his way around Althouse who scored the upbeat victory. “We actually started out pretty bad today. We came out for early practice and our lap times were off. We then put a new set of tires on the car and it helped out a bit but we still had to make some changes for the feature and we finally got it drivable,” explained Althouse. “It helped that we went caution free because you always know Mike (Sweeney) is coming and the car got a little snug towards the end. He’s on his game right now but I know if we can get a little more consistent we and everyone else can give him a run for his money.”;
It’s hard to imagine a driver as smooth and quick as Rick Reichenbach has been shut out of winning since 2010 but he put all that behind him after a thrilling win in the 30-lap Street Stock feature.
Throughout the entire run Reichenbach had to fend off one after another including that of Mark Deysher who gave him fits over the final laps. Although he was working the wheel of a loose car as well as the insistence of Deysher, Reichenbach never wavered en route to the long overdue verdict.
Mike Stofflet raced to his third Dirt Mod win. It was his toughest to date too as he had to work hard in taking the lead from Bill Sittler Jr. but once he cleared him he was able to ease on to his record tying 21st class win.
Jake Kibler notched his first Pro 4 win of the year and was quick to dedicate the victory to the late Ward Crozier Sr., who for years prepared his engine.
Trisha Connolly is the newest winner in the Hobby Stocks and it comes in just her third time in a feature race. Connolly inherited the lead from Mike Berger who bowed out under a lap three caution. Shecthen did a great job during several restarts and in the end held off fast closing Michael Wambold for the unforgettable win.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. Jack Ely, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Brian DeFebo, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Terry Markovic, 9. Nick Baer, 10. Joey Jarowicz, 11. Don Wagner, 12. John Markovic, 13. Brian Romig Jr., 14. Ron Haring Jr., 15. Kyle Strohl, 16. Rick Kirkendall, 17. Josh Scherer
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Mike Sweeney, 3. Lorin Arthofer, 4. Kenny Hein, 5. Chris Anderson, 6. Jacob Kerstetter, 7. Paul Skodacek, 8. George Ramos, 9. Robbie Kutz, 10. Jeremy Miller
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Rick Reichenbach, 2. Mark Deysher, 3. Stacey Brown, 4. Jill Long, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Jamie Smith, 7. Steve Hoffman, 8. Corey Edelman, 9. Shayne Geist, 10. Todd Ahner, 11. BJ Wambold, 12. Eric Kocher, 13. Jared Ahner, 14. Randy Ahner Jr., 15. Joe Stangle
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Bill Sittler Jr., 3. Frank Parastino
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. Jason Finken, 4. John Bennett, 5. Jeremy Guerra, 6. Ken Reeder, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Tim Laybourn, 9. Tucker Muffley, 10. Tyler Stangle
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Trisha Connolly, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Jeff Biegley, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Al Arthofer, 7. Austin Beers, 8. Tiffany Wambold , 9. Travis Solomon, 10. Brayden Spencer, 11. Cody Geist, 12. Nicolas Kerstetter, 13. Justin Merkel, 14. Colton Perry,
15. Shawn Kistler, 16. Kevin Behler, 17. Avery Arthofer, 18. Ryan Berger, 19. Paul Effrig, 20. Lyndsay Buss DNS: Alton Snyder Jr., DNQ: Jay Visnosky, Jesse Strohl
Mahoning Valley Speedway May 13 races are rained out.
The races scheduled for this evening, May 13 at Mahoning Valley Speedway have been cancelled due to rain.
This is the second straight week and third time this season that rain has forced the cancelation of events.
Looking ahead to Saturday, May 20 all six track classes will be running including Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus there will be a Small Car Demo Derby. The Pro 4s will race in a feature only.
The Demo will be held at the conclusion of all feature events. It is limited to 20 cars. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver.
Also next Saturday there is a Banner Contest. The contest will be broken down into four age groups. All entries should be brought to the track that night. Prizes will be awarded to each winner from each age category.
Rules are as follow:
1. Age groups: 4 and under, 5 -7, 8-11 and 12- Adults
2. Materials: Banners/Posters must be made of cardboard, poster board, crayons, color pencils, paint, beads, chenille stems assorted colors, foam letters and numbers only should be used.
NO PICTURES & AIRBRUSHING ALLOWED!
3. Size: Banner/Posters cannot exceed 3 feet in height and 10 feet in length.
4. Only 1 (one) entry per child/adult will be allowed. (Parents/Guardians are limited to verbal assistance only).
5. All banners/posters must be an individual effort and be free-handed originals.
6. First and last name must be on the back of all posters along with age.
7. Judging will be based on creativity, color and originality.
NO TRACED PICTURES PLEASE.
Brian DeFebo and Eric Beers head up Saturday Mahoning action as co-point leaders
What do you get when you put two drivers with a combined 9 Modified titles along with 200 career wins together, including one each for both this season?
Brian DeFebo and Eric Beers, the co-point leaders battling for supremacy at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
After three weeks of racing that’s how they stand and heading into the upcoming race meet on Saturday, May 13, either one of the other is hoping the ranking won’t be shared.
Those well-versed veterans have to keep in mind that right behind them is a number of young guns who also have the same status in mind as Austin Kochenash, Kyle Strohl and Kris Graver are right in tune to swoop in and grab the top spot.
They along with the entire Modified contingent will be back in action this coming Saturday, May 13 for a complete show of stock car racing at the paved ¼-mile oval.
Joining the with the Modifieds will be Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus the touring Micro Stocks.
Late Model leader Mike Sweeney is riding a wave of three straight wins in 2017 and five in a row dating back to the final two events of last season. Jon Moser has leaped back to the top of the points with the Street Stocks. Mike Stofflet has a hold on the Dirt Mod lead while young Johnny Bennett has recently secured the Pro 4 points and despite record numbers in the Hobby Stocks, Devon Schmidt continues showing the way.
The grandstands will open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $14. $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE.
Pits will open at 11:30 am for anyone who would like to partake in early paid practice which will run from noon to 3:00. Regular practice begins at 4:30. Sign-ins are from 3-4:15. Heats get underway at 6:00 pm.
Iconic Mahoning Valley Speedway promoter Ward Crozier Sr., passes
On Friday, May 5, the northeast racing community lost a legend when Ward Crozier Sr., passed away. Crozier was 79-years old and resided in Lehighton with his wife Dottie, whom he was married to for 56 years.
Crozier was race driver from the 1960’s and into the 2000’s on both dirt and asphalt and although he had limited success, he is best remembered for his exploits as a track promoter and Harmony, Nazareth and Mahoning Valley Speedway’s.
It was Mahoning Valley Speedway in his hometown of Lehighton that Crozier rose to his most noted prominence, which he and Dottie ran from 1987 to 1993.
At the end of the 1986 season Dorney Park Speedway in Allentown closed its doors leaving the many faithful pavement racers of the area without a track. The cars at Dorney, Sportsman and Late Models, were somewhat exclusive to that track. Thanks to the heads-up thinking of Crozier, he stepped in knowing that a track was available to keep alive the racing.
In early 1987, Ward and Dottie where able to make a deal with land owner Charlie Abrachinsky to reopen Mahoning Valley Speedway, a ¼-mile oval that had been sitting dormant the past 10 years.
With the help of family, friends and racers, the Crozier’s went to work installing grandstands (the old Nazareth National dirt track stands) for the first time and also built a concrete outside wall, replacing the old wooded guard rails. A number of other upgrades were made and when the track held its first race meet on May 9 of that year, the Crozier’s were rewarded with a packed house and full pit area.
The weekly races under Crozier’s reign where considered some of the best years at Mahoning. Crozier was able to build a solid and loyal base – fans that had a true passion for the sport and the drivers they deeply supported.
He introduced new classes starting in 1988 with the Pro 4 division which at first was known as the 4-Cylinder Stocks. The class grew so big that he split it into a 4-Cylinder Convertible division. 29 years and 636 races later and the class is still going strong.
In 1993 he initiated the D/A Mod class, D/A standing for dirt/asphalt. That class launched the stock car careers of such notables as Nevin George and Anthony and Amanda Sesely.
George Wambold and John Markovic, the 1987 Mahoning Modified and Late Model champions respectively, are still going strong today.
Crozier had a uniqueness all his own, doing many things in an unconventional style, from the cars he drove to the way he ran his track. He was the “MacGyver” of short track racing.
He once built a makeshift water pump out of half a car that was lying around the Nazareth Speedway property. The wreckage was towed to the pit area and placed next to the second turn water hole. From there, Ward made a pump using the car’s engine as the method of propulsion. As time marched on, parts and pieces fell off the car but the device itself was still pumping on Nazareth’s final night of racing.
When faced with a problem one week of a backup in the ladies’ bathroom in the Nazareth pit area, Ward ultimately solved the clog by blasting it with a fire hose. He later observed that the commode was filled with what he referred to as ‘woman’s unmentionables’. “There was also a spark plug in there,” Ward noted. “I have no idea what that was being used for.”;
When contemplating taking over Mahoning Valley Speedway and rebuilding it, he was looking for investors. One he asked about it was Steve Barrick from Program Dynamics Inc. (PDI). The two met for dinner at Nazareth Diner in mid-winter. They talked for the better part of four hours.
During that time the pair drank a dozen cups of black coffee. Ward said he drank coffee to that extent every day of the year. Steve was up for the next two days, coming off an acute caffeine high. Steve ultimately could not be involved with Ward’s venture, instead becoming a concessionaire as the track’s program publisher. According to Barrick Mahoning Valley was at one time PDI’s most successful track for program book sales.
It is safe to characterize his relationship with Nazareth promoter Jerry Fried as often contentious. Jerry was particularly disenchanted with Ward racing at Nazareth when he was on the track payroll.
One night, Ward was in the third Modified heat race of the night and as it happened, the third heat was the key race of the night in that its completion meant that more than half of the races were run, thus voiding the rainchecks. Ordinarily unimportant, this was a hot button issue this night because the skies overhead became leaden with rain. At the beginning of the fifth lap in the ten lap heat race, Ward slammed into the first turn fence, tearing the front end off his car. The red flag came out, then as if on cue the rain poured down. Race cancelled, race incomplete, rain checks were good, and Jerry blamed Ward for costing him a race.
Nazareth track photographer Bob Snyder recollected a harrowing incident on one particular night.
“Ward got the bright idea to hang me out over the backstretch on the old electrical ladder truck they used to photograph a modified heat race. Reluctantly I agreed and he hung me over the track. As the Modifieds took the green and came roaring down the backstretch the ladder started to drop. I screamed at Ward and he pulled out just as the cars passed underneath. Needless to say I never got the shot!” recalled Snyder.
In their first season as Mahoning Valley’s promoters, Ward and Dottie donated the proceeds of one of the mid-summer races to the family of a young child who was fighting a battle against cancer.
On a venture to New Smyrna Speedway during Speed Weeks, Crozier was sitting on the grid alongside the late Richie Evans. While the entire field was in the contemporary low-slung pavement Modifieds, Crozier brought one of his homebuilt upright cars as to which Evans yelled out to him, “Hey Crozier, how’s the weather up there, Is it looking like rain?”
Even though Crozier sold his share of the track in 1993, he remained a fixture every year since. His son Ward Jr., daughter, Betty Christman, son-in-law Barry Christman Sr., grandson, Barry Christman Jr., and son-in-law Rich Pursell are all winning race drivers there.
His viewing will take place on Tuesday, May 9 at the Reichel Funeral Home, 323 E. 21st Street in Northampton, Pa. from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm and on Wednesday from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
It seems fitting in a way that his Tuesday viewing comes 30 years to the day that he and Dottie re-opened Mahoning Valley Speedway.
The Crozier legacy has lasted these past three decades and it is with heavy hearts that we bid a sad farewell to Ward, perhaps the person most responsible for keeping pavement racing alive in eastern Pennsylvania throughout that time.
May 6 races are cancelled due to rain forecast
With a forecast that calls for all day rain, officials at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway had no other choice but to call off the scheduled evening of stock car racing which was to consist of all six regular track classes plus the touring Micro Stocks.
The action now turns to Saturday, May 13 with a complete card of heats and features for the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus Micro Stocks.
Main gates open at 4:00 pm with racing beginning at 6:00 pm.
APRIL 30, 2017
Cody Geist wins Sunday Enduro at Mahoning valley Speedway
Mahoning Valley Speedway played host to a special Sunday afternoon show that consisted of Enduro’s and a Demo Derby.
Highlighting the day was a Small Car Enduro that featured nonstop action from start to finish as the 4-cylinder cars took up all parts of the circular ¼-mile paved oval and in a down-to-the-wire finish, Cody Geist annexed a very exciting victory. The win was significant in that it was on the anniversary of his popular dad, “Hollywood” Todd Geist winning his first career feature 29 years to the day. Jake Jones grabbed the lead first but after 14 laps Carl Altemose went to the front and was soon schooling the rest of the pack until having to make a pit stop for a tire change on lap 79. Altemose had been a lap ahead of everyone to that point. With that Kevin Kruczek was now the new leader and despite never turning a lap at the track, he showed great poise. Paul Mercante stepped up next before Jones retook the lead in the midst of a four-wide bid that included, Geist and Kruczek. Throughout the late half of the race that foursome would run in close tandem and over the final 30 laps Jones and Geist began swapping the lead. It wasn’t until the final nine laps that Geist would lead for good and although he was very shaky in the last few tours, the two-time and defending Hobby Stock champion held on for his first every win with and Enduro. Jones, Kruczek, Mercante and Ricky Kirkendall completed the top five.
The Big Car Enduro may have been light on cars but it was quite the opposite as far as the action. Jake Kibler took the lead on the 50th lap and would be the leader from there to the end but prior to that Devon Schmidt and TJ Kapish were front runners as well. Matter of fact Kapish was cruising with ease as the leader until Schmidt knocked him from contention, forcing him to pit for a left rear tire. From there on Kibler had gained five laps up and coasted to his first ever Enduro win and 25th overall.
In the Jr. Enduro feature Jacob Boehm went to front after the first lap and would hold it there until lap 43 when he made contact with Emily Dougherty and cut a tire. He was forced to pit and in the process handed the led over to Darian Cascioli. By the time Boehm returned to action Cascioli was one lap up and remained there until the conclusion, earning his career first win at Mahoning Valley.
Complementing the day was Big and Small Car Demo Derby. John Ritter survived over Devon Schmidt in the Small Car battle while Carson Gaston lasted to win in the Big Car showdown.
APRIL 29, 2017
Eric Beers masters his way to 75-lap Mahoning Modified win; Mike Sweeney stays undefeated in Late Models
After somewhat of a slow start to the 2017 season, defending Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified track champion Eric Beers got back to his winning ways and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the “Master of Faster” showed his trademark grace and style in notching the first place tally in the extra distance 75-lap event that. With the change to American Racer as the track tire, Beers had issues in finding a good set-up at first. The previous week he did come on late and recoded a solid runner-up to Bobby Jones. After watching his performance from last evening it is safe to say the team has go things figured out as it was classic Beers motoring his way to his 53rd career Mahoning win. Beers needed nearly 50 laps to secure the lead as he had a thrilling duel with upstart Joey Jarowicz. But, once he landed the number one spot he was able to maintain a safe distance over those battling for second and would go on to a car length margin of victory over Brian DeFebo. Austin Kochenash, Kyle Strohl and Kris Graver completed the top five. “We struggled through pre-season practice and on Opening Night. We came back last week with a vengeance and got a little bit better and tonight we showed them what we had,” said Beers, who pocketed $2500 for the victory. At the outset outside pole sitter Jarowicz took the lead and was followed by Jack Ely and Don Wagner. Jarowicz was by far the show stopper as the sophomore driver was putting in his best run to date and never let Ely get close enough to make a serious challenge. Beers was hanging back in fifth spot until a restart on lap 15. At that point he stepped past Lou Strohl, Wagner and Ely within a six lap run and was now focused on the leader. However, Jarowicz proved himself well against the veteran. Over the next 25 laps it was an awe-inspiring battle between the pair with Beers doing everything possible to get by. Yet each time he was turned away as Jarowicz would not allow him access.
It wasn’t until lap 46 that Beers finally slipped ahead for the lead. Unfortunately that would also be the end to Jarowicz’s great run as he suddenly lost control and had his back end get out from under him in turn one and brought out a caution. “Joey (Jarowicz) ran a heck of a race and he was tough. He was running such a good line and I tried him on the top and I tried him on the bottom and I just couldn’t do it. The kid did a great job,” said Beers. When the race resumed Beers showed the way and while he would be in control the rest of the distance, second place was a different story as Kochenash, DeFebo, Graver and Kyle Strohl where in a tight pack. Ten laps from the finish a caution was out and it was a final chance for those aforementioned to make a run at Beers. Kochenash tried as he may but Beers once again had the upper hand. DeFebo was hooked up on the outside lane and ran down Kochenash for second. He was able to get in behind Beers but time was not on his side and he settled for second. DeFebo and Beers are now sharing the point lead after three races. “The car really didn’t change from the beginning of the race to the end. American Racer has given us a decent product and I think we still have a little bit more work to make them a little better but overall we had a good car tonight,” said Beers.
“Refuse to loose” has become all the buzz around the Mike Sweeney pits. Sweeney has stayed perfect thus far in 2017 and dating back to the final two races of last season, the defending Late Model champion has reeled off five wins in a row. This time it took a bit of time and the help of a caution to aid Sweeney in moving to the lead and eventual win. For the first 17 laps Lorin Arthofer II was making it his race, cruising nicely ahead with a sizeable lead. Jeremy Miller was second and fending off Sweeney. Ufortunately for Arthofer his spread was wiped away when a caution bunched the field. When the race was restarted Sweeney was alongside, but not for long. Within one lap he was zipping by and heading on to familiar territory, Victory Lane. “Luck was a big factor in tonight’s win and that caution was a big help. These guys have been running me hard as could be and we need to keep doing our homework during the week because they’re getting fast,” said Sweeney. “I don’t know how long we can ride this streak but we’ll keep it going as long as we can.”; Arthofer settled for second with Miller third.
Although Jamie Smith was able to lead every lap of the Street Stock feature, it was by no means an easy task as the entire 30-lap distance he was under close pursuit by one after another, but despite the onslaught he stayed the course. He may also be glad that the race didn’t last much longer too as Jon Moser was powering in a hurry in the closing laps and was pulling alongside Smith as they dashed under the checkers.
Mike Stofflet picked up his second Dirt Mod win and he did it in much the same way as his first by easily overpowering his counterparts. Stofflet went to the lead on lap two and from there on he was in cruise control.
For the second time in three Pro 4 races Cody Kohler made the trip from North Carolina and stopped off in Victory Lane. Kohler made a breathtaking three-wide advance into the lead over Jake Kibler and Johnny Bennett with five laps to go. He then held off Ken Reeder en route to making it two for two in 2017.
In the Hobby Stocks Tiffany Wambold had a very fast car as she thrust her way to the front of the pack with five laps remaining and scored her first win of the year.
Modified Feature Finish (75 Laps): 1. Eric Beers, 2. Brian DeFebo, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Kris Graver, 6. Jack Ely, 7. Nick Baer, 8. John Markovic, 9. Rick Kirkendall, 10. Bobby Jones, 11. Lou Strohl, 12. Josh Scherer, 13. James Prichard, 14. Joey Jarowicz, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Don Wagner, 17. Ron Haring Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Lorin Arthofer, 3. Jeremy Miller, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Jacob Kerstetter, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. George Ramos, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Robbie Kutz, 10. Broc Brown
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jamie Smith, 2. Jon Moser, 3. Todd Ahner, 4. Shayne Geist, 5. Eric Kocher, 6. Alan Schlenker, 7. Corey Edelman, 8. Stacey brown, 9. Mark Deysher, 10. Jill Long, 11. Dan Freundt, 12, Jared Ahner, 13. Rick Reichenbach, 14. BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Frank Parastino, 3. Bill Sittler Jr., 4. Larry Beers
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Ken Reeder, 3. Johnny Bennett, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Jason Finken, 6. Kevin Stein, 7.Kailyn Beers, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Tucker Muffley, 10. Ryan Graver
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Tiffany Wambold, 2. Jeff Biegley, 3. Avery Arthofer, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Travis Solomon, 7. Nicholas Kerstetter, 8. Colton Perry, 9. Devin Schmidt, 10. Lyndsay Buss, 11. Brayden Spencer, 12. Carl Altemose, 13. Michael Wambold, 14. Kevin Behler, 15. Shawn Kistler, 16. Taylor Schmidt, 17. Paul Effrig, 18. Aton Snyder Jr., 19. Ryan Berger, 20. Justin Merkel, 21. Cody Geist DNS: Trisha Connolly DNQ: Jesse Strohl, Thomas Hunsicker Jr., Al Arthofer, Trisha Connolly, Travis Nothstein, Jay Visnosky
$2500-to-win Modified 75-lapper Saturday.Enduro and Demo Sunday
This coming Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30, there will be plenty of pavement pounding going on Mahoning Valley Speedway. Saturday will be the first big show for the Modifieds as the headline class will be racing for a $2500 first place prize and going a distance of 75 laps.Joining the Modifieds will be all regular track classes which include Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
Grandstand gates open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $20.The pits will open at 11:30 for those wishing to take in early paid practice which will run from Noon to 3:00 pm. Regular warm-ups begin shortly after 4:00. Heat races get underway at 6:00.
On Sunday afternoon starting at 2:00 the speedway will present an Enduro and Demo Derby which was postponed from April 1.
Sunday admission to the grandstands is $10 for adults. Kids 10 and under are free. The Enduro will be Big Car, Small Car and Jr. classes and the Demo Derby will be contested in a pair of divisions, Big Car and Small Car. The Enduro race winners can earn as much as $2000 for their respective victories if 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder, vehicle and driver. The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros. If 20 or more cars are entered in each Demo division the payout is $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations. Rules can also be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link. All those who advance to the features via heats will receive 2-points. For the feature 5-points will go to the winner, 4-points for second and 3-points to third. A Demo Derby champion will be crowned at the end of the season following the upcoming demo dates on July 2 and again on October 15. The top three point finishers at the conclusion of those three events will collect $500, $300 and $200 correspondingly along with trophies.Pit gates will open at 11:00 am. Registration will be held from 11:30 to 1:00. Cost to entry the pits is $20 per person.
The Enduro payout is as follows:
80 or more cars
1. $2000, 2. 800, 3. 550, 4. 300, 5. 225, 6. 175, 7. 125, 8. 100, 9. 75, 10-15. 50
70 or more cars
1. $1500, 2. 700, 3. 500, 4. 250, 5. 200, 6. 150, 7. 100, 8. 75, 9-12. 50
50 or more cars
1. $1000, 2. 500, 3. 300, 4. 200, 5. 150, 6. 100, 7. 75, 8-10. 50
40 or more cars
1. $600, 2. 300, 3. 200, 4. 150, 5. 100, 6. 50, 7. 50
30 or more cars
1. $500, 2. 250, 3. 150, 4. 100, 5. 50, 6. 50
29 or less cars
1. $400, 2. 200, 3. 100, 4. 75, 5. 50
April 22, 2017
Resilient Bobby Jones holds off Eric Beers in close Mahoning Modified action; Mike Sweeney races to record 4th straight Late Model win
It takes a veteran driver to make the best of a bad situation and in the case of Bobby Jones that’s just what he did after winning Saturday night’s 35-lap Modified feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Jones was at wits end in trying to get his car to work right. A week ago on Opening Night he led a few laps after starting pole but the car soon faded. Leading up to that time he and the team continued to struggle during pre-season practice getting the handle as well as adapting to the new American Racer tires. Jones’ frustration was so bad that he was ready to throw in the towel and not even race this week. His determination, however, drove him to make one more try and the result was a much needed confidence booster in the form of victory. Admittedly he wasn’t the fastest car on track as defending champion Eric Beers was coming on like gangbusters but his experience and more importantly his never-give-up-attitude enabled him to overcome those woes. “After what I felt was an embarrassing showing I had last week I went home and just parked the car, it was just that bad,” said Jones after notching his 35th career win. “I really had no intention of racing today and as a matter of fact we didn’t leave the shop until five o’clock. Earlier in the week I got sick and had to go to the hospital and even missed work. But it bothered me that we were so bad on Opening Night and I had to know if we fixed it and here we are (Victory Lane).”; A noticeably improved Joey Jarowicz led the field to the green and would led the opening circuit. Third starting Jones jumped right into second spot and after a lap one restart slipped into the lead. The race then went into a nonstop rhythm and Jones was showing how his last ditch efforts with adjustments were paying off as he had a respectable lead going. Meanwhile Lou Strohl held second and was tailing a few car lengths back. By midrace Beers had suddenly come to life. He entered into the top five by lap 18 and was waging a terrific battle with Austin Kochenash and Don Wagner. Once he shook free he then reeled in Strohl and took that spot eight laps from the finish. At that point Jones had built a safe lead and it seemed as though he would have no worries heading into the final laps. Beers, though, was not done with his charge and was quickly chipping away as the laps clicked on. With four to go he had caught Jones and was making valid attempts from every angle to get by. Despite his heroic efforts, Jones shielded his ground and held on for a close decision. “We were really good in the beginning but then we lost stagger as the race went on. In the end it wasn’t so easy to drive. I think had it been another few laps we would have been in trouble,” said Jones.Kyle Strohl, Lou Strohl and Kochenash completed the top five. Jones was not the only one who was relieved from the pressure of frustration. Beers too was overcoming a number of issues and his showing proved that. “We made a lot of changes and we definitely got better tonight and we’re going in the right direction. I feel that with a few more adjustments and as the track comes in a little bit more we’ll be putting on some more exciting shows on like you saw tonight,” said Beers. “Bobby is a great racer and a great guy and I had fun racing with him. I could have done a few other maneuvers and maybe cut underneath him but there wasn’t a whole lot of grip out there tonight. It was like putting an egg under the throttle and just being easy.”; It was also a tough week for the Jones’ car owner Ivan Morgan. His mom Audrey passed away on Thursday.“This one is for her and for them. Hopefully it will make them heal a little bit during this time,” offered Jones.
Mike Sweeney’s stock continues to rise as the reigning Late Model champion not only won for a second straight week, but dating back to the final two races of 2016, he set a class record for consecutive wins at four in a row. Sweeney also proved that the American Racer tire is a solid performer as he began the event from seventh spot and then weaved by car after car until reaching then leader Jeremy Miller in just eight laps. Biding his time, he then set-up his race winning pass with an inside move on lap 14 and from there on cruised to the record setting win. Miller remained second with Frankie Althouse third.
In Street Stock action Zach Graver went from last to first in a week’s time as the 2015 champion parlayed his front row starting spot into victory. Graver took the lead on lap two and was cruising steadily along until a mid-race caution wiped out a then huge lead. When the race resumed Josh Mooney was making a serious stab at him but within five green flag laps Graver was back to building on his lead and would go on to take his first win of 2017.
Johnny Bennett notched his career first win, taking the score in the Pro 4s. Bennett, who was within a scant few inches of doing the same on Opening Night, took the lead away from Jason Finken just past halfway and then held off Jake Kibler en route to the memory making night.
In the Hobby Stocks it was Austin Beers laying claim to a stirring victory after he and runner-up Michael Wambold battled for the glory. Beers, who went from eighth to first in five laps, did a fine job of holding off Wambold and well-earning his second career win.
Brett Bieber was uncontested in winning the All-Star Slingshot feature.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Bobby Jones, 2. Eric Beers, 3. Kyle Strohl, 4. Lou Strohl, 5. Austin Kochenash, 6. Don Wagner, 7. Rick Kirkendall, 8. Brian DeFebo, 9. Kris Graver, 10. Joey Jarowicz, 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. Drew Reinhold, 13. Nick Baer, 14. Tommy Rought DNS: Jack Ely
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Jeremy Miller, 3. Lorin Arthofer II, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Broc Brown, 6. Kenny Hein, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. George Ramos, 9. Jacob Nemeth, 10. Robbie Kutz, 11. Paul Skodacek, 12. Dylan Osborn, 13. Chris Anderson
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Zach Graver, 2. Josh Mooney, 3. BJ Wambold, 4. Joe Mooney, 5. Corey Edelman, 6. Alan Schlenker, 7. Eric Kocher, 8. Jillian Long, 9. Jared Ahner, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Mark Deysher, 12. Stacey Brown, 13. Todd Ahner, 14. Jon Moser, 15. Jamie Smith, 16. Shayne Geist, 17. Josh Scherer, 18. Dan Freundt, 19. Joe Stangle, 20 Jeremy Scheckler DNQ: Josh Huber, Steve Hoffman
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Johnny Bennett, 2. Jake Kibler, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Kevin Stein, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Jason Finken, 7. Kailyn Beers, 8. Tucker Muffley, 9. Jeremy Guerra, 10. Tyler Stangle
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (17 Laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Cody Geist, 4. Devin Schmidt, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Frank Hughes, 7. Brayden Spencer, 8. Trisha Connolly, 9. Rich Mutarelli, 10. Travis Solomon, 11. Al Arthofer, 12. Kevin Behler, 13. Justin Merkel, 14. Jeff Biegley, 15. Jesse Strohl, 16. Taylor Schmidt, 17. Shawn Kistler, 18. Tiffany Wambold, 19. Avery Arthofer, 20. Colton Perry, 21. Nicholas Kerstetter, 22. George Wambold DNQ: Lyndsay Buss, Kristy Arthofer, Nate Henry, Alton Snyder Jr., Ryan Berger, Mike Snyder
All-Star Slingshot Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Brett Bieber, 2. Joe Toth, 3. Dakota Kohler
Saturday, April 15:
Opening Day: all regular track classes + ATQMRA
Brian DeFebo ends Mahoning Valley Speedway drought with Opening Night victory; Mike Sweeney, Jon Moser, Mike Stofflet, Cody Kohler and Devon Schmidt take class wins
(LEHIGHTON, PA. 4-15-17) When it comes to naming the elite of eastern Pennsylvania asphalt racers, Berwick’s Brian DeFebo stands tall among the many. His accomplishments have earned him the number one ranking in career wins and on Saturday evening at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway he added to his legacy by scoring the Opening Night laurels with a hard fought victory against a stout field of Modified equals.
The thing is, despite win after win and numerous championships, when it comes to Mahoning Valley DeFebo has been snake bitten, having not won here since 2006. Not for lack of trying and certainly there was times when a victory looked evident but unfortunately he always seemed to be on the wrong side of luck. Years of frustration at the paved ¼-mile oval where now wiped away as the venerable driver of the Sophie Welsh owned No. 53 drove to his second Opening Night win which was 11 years to the day. “It just finally feels good to get this saga over with here. After all the aggravation and the hard work we can breathe a sigh of relief,” said DeFebo, who now has 91 career feature wins. This was his sixth at Mahoning Valley. “This is a tough place to win at and it makes it exciting when you do. I still get goosebumps.”; DeFebo started on the outside of row one and would chase closely alongside leader Bobby Jones. With the outside lane as his line of attack, he was then able to slip past the leader on lap seven. His work was far from over, however, as a host of others gave him all he could handle as from there on he was in full defensive mode. Lou Strohl looked very quick and was locking horns with DeFebo and next came Austin Kochenash and Kyle Strohl who likewise showed plenty of speed. By the waning laps Kris Graver was showing his hand. At any given time the later trio was swapping second spot while also making valid attempts at the lead. But each time DeFebo was able to fend them off by shouldering a line good enough to keep anyone from overtaking him. “We were good in the heat race. We have a really fast, good set-up for during the day and we only have to tweak a bit for at night,” explained DeFebo. At the finish it was Kochenash just nipping Graver for runner-up while John Markovic got dialed in late and was fourth over Strohl. This also marked a new era for the track as the American Racer tires were used in full competition for the first time. “It’s a rolling science project for right now and everyone has it,” said DeFebo. “It is nice to say we are the first to win a Modified race at Mahoning on American Racer’s. This is a good tire and I feel it will hold up to many laps here. In the long haul it will be better for everyone.”;
In the past several years Late Model standout Mike Sweeney has been garnering win after win, well over 20 just during the three most recent seasons. But despite that run of success which included winning the 2016 Late Model title, the one thing missing from his bucket list was an Opening Night victory. Sweeney can now chalk that one off as he notched the verdict with a two car length score over top rival Frankie Althouse.
Both drivers began the race from the front row with Althouse taking control at first. But by lap three Sweeney was easing his Ford ahead of the pack and from there on set sail for the checkers. Although Althouse kept him honest, Sweeney maneuvered nicely past traffic without giving up any distance. It was his 39th time winning at Mahoning.
Jon Moser closed out 2016 number one in points with the Street Stocks and that’s just how he started 2017. Confidently showing why he earned the title, Moser came into the night at the top of his game as he led every lap. He would have Jared Ahner give him a great run but there was no denying his flawlessness en route to victory. Mike Stofflet had no trouble in cruising to victory in the Dirt Moods as he took the lead from the get-go and never looked back from there to the finish.
Former Pro 4 champion Cody Kohler made his 8-hour ride up from North Carolina where he attends college well worth the trip as the rising star took first place honors in a squeaker over Johnny Bennett.|
The Hobby Stock class made Opening Night a rousing one as a record 29 cars signed in, the most ever for a single race day. Plenty of cars indeed but of them all Devon Schmidt was the fastest as he withstood a torrid battle with Avery Arthofer to claim the win.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Kris Graver, 4. John Markovic, 5. Kyle Strohl, 6. Eric Beers, 7. Nick Baer, 8. Don Wagner, 9. Rick Kirkendall, 10. Lou Strohl, 11. Blake Barney, 12. Ron Haring Jr., 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. Bobby Jones, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Drew Reinhold
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Lorin Arthofer II, 4. Broc Brown, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Chris Anderson, 7. Barry Kutz, 8. George Ramos, 9. Dylan Osborn, 10. Kenny Hein
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jon Moser, 2. Jared Ahner, 3. Alan Schlenker, 4. Stacey Brown, 5. Todd Ahner, 6. Mark Deysher, 7. Dan Freundt, 8. Corey Edelman, 9. Eric Kocher, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Jillian Long, 12. Shayne Geist, 13. Jamie Smith, 14. Joe Stangle, 15. Josh Scherer, 16. Josh Huber, 17. Joe Mooney, 18. Matt Wentz, 19. Josh Mooney, 20. Zach Graver DNQ: BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Ray Deemer, 3. Bill Sittler Jr.
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Johnny Bennett, 3. Ken Reeder, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Tyler Stangle, 6. Kevin Stein, 7. Ryan Graver, 8. Kailyn Beers, 9. Josh Kuronya, 10. Jeremy Guerra DNS: Jason Finken
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Deon Schmidt, 2. Aver Arthofer, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Michael Wambold, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Travis Solomon, 7. Tiffany Wambold, 8. Brayden Spencer, 9. Shane Kistler, 10. Kevin Behler, 11. Jeff Biegley, 12. Taylor Schmidt, 13. Cody Geist, 14. Justin Merkel, 15. Austin Beers, 16. Nicholas Kerstetter, 17. Ryan Berger, 18. Lyndsay Buss, 19. Frank Hughes, 20. George Wambold DNQ: Alton Snyder Jr., Trisha Connolly, Scott Kotran, Jesse Strohl, Brandon Auman, Thomas Hunsicker Jr., Al Arthofer, Colton Perry, Jim Neiman, Tyler Lucas
Mahoning Valley Speedway looks ahead to April 15 for '17 Season Opener
Mahoning Valley Speedway had its planned season opener postponed this past Saturday, April 8 due to excessive water that the track took on from late week rains. The popular Lehighton paved ¼-mile oval will now go with Saturday, April 15 at 6:00 pm for the commencement of 2017.
The racing line-up will consist of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks will contest in a complete show of heats and features. Plus the American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association will be making the organization's season opening meet as well.
There will be a bicycle giveaway with approximately eight bikes being awarded to lucky young contestants 12 years of age and under. Entry is absolutely free and must be in between from 4 pm- 6 pm. No entries will be taken after 6 pm. Mahoning Valley would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the businesses, race teams and fans for making the bike giveaway a huge success and to track Kids Activities Coordinator Karen Bortz for organizing it all. The grandstands will open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $14. $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE. Pits will open at 11:00 am for anyone who would like to partake in early paid practice which will run from noon to 3:00. Regular practice begins at 4:30. Sign-ins are from 3-4:15. The All Star Slingshots will be on the card at Mahoning Valley on Saturday, April 22 as a part of that night’s stock car program. The Dirt Mods will be off that evening
Mahoning Valley Speedway Cancels Opening Night due to flooding Issues; Sunday open practice added
Due to the past two days of heavy rain which in turn caused flooding and ongoing water seepage to the track surface and surrounding grounds, officials at Mahoning Valley Speedway had no choice but to cancel Saturday’s season opener.
Even with the rains easing up the water problem remains and thus it was in everyone’s best interest to push back the opener to the following Saturday, April 15 at 6:00 pm.
While no action will take place tomorrow evening, on Sunday, April 9, the track will be running an open practice from noon to 4:00 pm. Pit gates will open at 11:30. The cost to practice is $25 per car and $10 per person in the pits. Grandstands are free for Sunday’s session.
Saturday, April 15 will now be the season opening night and feature all six regular tracks classes
including Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks plus the ATQMRA will launch their 2017 season as well. Heat races begin at 6:00 pm
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Great turnout for Mahoning Valley Speedway Test-and-Tune has everyone pumped for April 8 Opening Night
With approximately 70 cars on hand for the final day of Test and Tune, Mahoning Valley Speedway wrapped up the pre-season activities and it’s now all systems full steam ahead for the start of the 2017 season set for Saturday, April 8. Sunday’s Test and Tune showed that racers of the paved ¼-mile oval are indeed anxious to get rolling, evident by the impressive turnout of cars, one of the best in recent years.Throughout the day-long practice session drivers continually made laps to dial-in setups for the upcoming opener and judging by unofficial lap times it should be quite competitive across all six classes. There was also a great look into the pride of their race cars as many teams unveiled eye-catching paint schemes and there is more to come. The focus now switches to the first point paying race of the year with Opening Day 2017. The program will be made up of all six regular track classes including Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks. Heat races begin at 6:00 pm. The grandstands will open at 4:00 pm. Adult general admission is $14. $2.00 off admission price for students, seniors 65 + and active Military. Children 10 and under are FREE.
Pits will open at 11:00 am for anyone who would like to partake in early paid practice which will run from noon to 3:00. Regular practice begins at 4:30. Sign-ins are from 3-4:15. The following week, April 15, the ATQMRA joins the stock car regulars for their season opener.
UPDATE: Due to the inclement weather and the pending conditions Mahoning Valley Speedway has postpone the racing activity that was to take place on Saturday, April 1. Enduros, Demo Derby’s and Micro Stocks were on the docket. This event will be rescheduled at later date ASAP. Anyone who had preregistered for the Enduros or Demos will be refunded if they wish.
The Sunday, April 2 Test and Tune will be held from noon to 4:pm. Pits open at 11:30. It will be $25 per car and $10 per person to enter the pits. Grandstands are free.
Enduros, Demos and Micro Stocks this Saturday at Mahoning Valley
Although the regular weekly point racing is still two weeks away, Mahoning Valley Speedway is excited nonetheless with the presentation of the first racing event of the new season that will be taking place this coming Saturday, April 1.
Beginning at 2:00 pm a complete program of Enduros, Demo Derby and Micro Stocks will be held. Grandstand admission is $10. Kids 10-years old and under are free. There will be three classes of Enduros. Big Car, Small Car and Jr.’s. The Enduro race winners can earn as much as $2000 for their respective victories if 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder, vehicle and driver. The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros. For the Demo Derby’s there are two classes, Big Car and Small Car. If 20 or more cars are entered in each division the payout is $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations. Rules can also be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link. All those who advance to the features via heats will receive 2-points. For the feature 5-points will go to the winner, 4-points for second and 3-points to third. A Demo Derby champion will be crowned at the end of the season following the upcoming demo dates on July 2 and again on October 15. The top three point finishers at the conclusion of those three events will collect $500, $300 and $200 correspondingly along with trophies. This Saturday’s race card is also highlighted by the Micro Stocks. They will be featured a number of times throughout the season and for the first time since 1999 there will be a track champion crowned. Pit gates will open at 11:00 am. Registration will be held from 11:30 to 1:00. Cost to entry the pits is $20 per person.On Sunday, April 2 from noon to 4:00 pm, the final Test and Tune day will be held.
Opening Day 2017 will get the green flag on Saturday, April 8 at 6:00 pm featuring all six regular track classes of Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
Mahoning Valley racers give good grades after first test of American Racer tires
Mahoning Valley Speedway completed its first weekend of Test and Tune that saw drivers across all six regular track classes as well as a number of touring groups make the best of the two day dust-off. And, while this was indeed the ideal opportunity to shake down their rides in preparation of Opening Night on April 8, more importantly it served as the first test for the American Racer tires which is now the new official track tire, replacing Hoosier. American Racer representatives Fred Woodward and Pat “Mick” McCombie were on hand throughout the day Saturday and made it a point to stop and talk with each team to help with questions and concerns It seemed in short order that much of the apprehension of running with the new brand quickly went by the wayside not long after a few laps by each driver were turned. The general consensus was all good. “From the reaction we’ve gotten from everyone it’s what we’d had hoped for,” said Woodward. “The guys seemed pretty pleased and I think the main thing that they we were really concerned about was stagger and I feel as though we got them what they were looking for. Most of what we heard is that our tires come in quicker than the previous brand. We wanted to make this an easy transition and so far so good.”; Austin Kochenash had his Gary Wentz owned No. 72 Modified on hand and despite running on a set of American Racer tires he ran with last season at Wyoming County International Speedway and had over 150 laps, he noted that there was still good grip. “It was good and we along with everyone else just has to get used to them. You’re going to have to make a couple changes with set-ups but from what I can tell it will be fine,” said Kochenash, a two-time winner at Mahoning last season. Frankie Althouse finished second to Late Model champion Mike Sweeney last year and put his tires to a hard test. “Overall I was very pleased. We went out on a new set and we clocked in just as fast as last year’s times if not a little bit faster. The car felt really good on them and even after 50 laps they held up really well,” said Althouse. “We actually limited the number of changes we did over the winter because of the new tires. They gripped well and we also got some good side bite.”; Dirt Modified standout Mike Stofflet only made one only one practice run but it was enough to satisfy him with the performance of the tires. “It was good enough to put the car on the trailer after one round so I guess you could say the car was pretty good,” said Stofflet. “I was concerned because the American Racer is a little softer with their compound on the sidewall so we just changed some pressures to compensate for that. What I really liked was how fast they came in and they seem to stick really well.”; 2016 Street Stock champion Jon Moser was getting around the paved ¼-mile oval in swift fashion and like most others gave his approval. “I was quite impressed and from what I saw from our laps the tire worked awesome. I think everyone will be real happy with them,” said Moser. Hobby Stocks were out in full force and for many of the entry level racers they all liked how the American Racer’s handled. “I really liked them. After about two-three laps they seemed to hook up right away. There was grip and bite each time off the corners,” said Ryan Berger, a two-time ’16 winner. “The car felt great and they (tires) where hooking up and I was making some fast laps. I was getting great grip off the corners and it was pulling me right out of the turns nice. I really think the American Racer will be excellent in the Hobby Stocks.”
As of now there will be another day of Test and Tune on Sunday, April 1 from noon to 4:00 pm. Opening Night follows six days later on Saturday, April 8 at 6:00 pm feature all six regular track classes which includes Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
Enduros, Demos, Micro Stocks and testing days will begin the action at Mahoning Valley Speedway
The first on track activity for Mahoning Valley Speedway is just two weeks away when on Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26, drivers will be able to shake down their rides during Test and Tune days. A third Test and Tune will be held on Sunday, April 2.
The track will be open on those aforementioned dates from noon to 4:00 pm. It will be $25 per car and $10 per person to entry the pits. Grandstand admission for Test and Tune days is free.The first contested racing will take place on Saturday, April 1 with a Big/Small Car and Jr. Enduros along with Big/Small Car Demo Derby’s plus Micro Stocks.The Enduro race winners can earn as much as $2000 for their respective victories if 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder and vehicle. Pit fee is $20 per person and $10 grandstand admission. The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros. Racing begins at 1:00 p.m.There is a pre-entry cost of $40 if applicants have the proper paper work filed no later than Sunday, March 26. Starting line-ups will be determined by registration. A limit of 100 cars has been designated.You can send all pre-entries to: Chip Santee, 5406 Mountain Road, Germansville, PA 18053. Please include the class, either Small Car Enduro or Jr. Enduro, name, age, car # and phone #. Entries can also be dropped off at the track during the Test and Tune days of March 25-26. Please make checks payable to Mahoning Valley Speedway.For the Demo Derby’s there are two classes, Big Car and Small Car. If 20 or more cars are entered in each division the payout will is $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner. If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third. The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations. Rules can be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link. Demo Derby’s being held on April 1, July 2 and October 15 will award points and a champion will be crowned. All those who advance to the features via heats will receive 2-points. For the feature 5-points will go to the winner, 4-points for second and 3-points to third. The top three point finishers at the conclusion of the three events will collect $500, $300 and $200 correspondingly along with six, three and two foot trophies.
On April 1 the Micro Stocks will be featured also along with a number of times throughout the season and for the first time since 1999 there will be a track champion crowned.
The regular season will get underway with Opening Day 2017 on Saturday evening, April 8 at 6:00 pm for all regular divisions which include Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks.
The Enduro payout is as follows:
80 or more cars
1. $2000, 2. 800, 3. 550, 4. 300, 5. 225, 6. 175, 7. 125, 8. 100, 9. 75, 10-15. 50
70 or more cars
1. $1500, 2. 700, 3. 500, 4. 250, 5. 200, 6. 150, 7. 100, 8. 75, 9-12. 50
50 or more cars
1. $1000, 2. 500, 3. 300, 4. 200, 5. 150, 6. 100, 7. 75, 8-10. 50
40 or more cars
1. $600, 2. 300, 3. 200, 4. 150, 5. 100, 6. 50, 7. 50
30 or more cars
1. $500, 2. 250, 3. 150, 4. 100, 5. 50, 6. 50
29 or less cars
1. $400, 2. 200, 3. 100, 4. 75, 5. 50
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Mahoning Valley Speedway is anxously looking forward to its first competitive action of the 2017 season when on Saturday, April 1, there will be Big/Small Car and Jr. Enduros along with Big/Small Car Demo Derby’s plus Micro Stocks.
For the Enduro racers there can be as much as $2000 for winning their respective events. The purse will be pro-rated depending on car counts. If 80 or more cars are signed-in on race day in each of the classes then first place prize money stands at an impressive $2000.The complete payoff is listed below which for all Enduros.
The Enduro entry is $50 per car which includes the transponder and vehicle. Pit fee is $20 per person and $10 grandstand admission. The racing begins at 1:00 p.m.
There is a pre-entry cost of $40 if applicants have the proper paper work filed no later than Sunday, March 26. Starting line-ups will be determined by registration. There will be a limit of 100 cars.
You can send all pre-entries to: Chip Santee, 5406 Mountain Road, Germansville PA 18053. Please include the class, either Small Car Enduro or Jr. Enduro, name, age, car # and phone #.
Entries can also be dropped off at the track during the Test and Tune days of March 25-26.
Last season Mahoning Valley Speedway brought back the popular Demo Derby’s and it was well received, so much so that continued interest has prompted track management to not only bring back the Demos but award points at each showing this season that will go towards a Demo Derby champion.
If 20 or more cars are entered in each division the payout will be $800 to win, $400 for second and $200 for third. Heats will pay $100 to the winner.
If there are features only with no heats run the winner’s share will be $600 with $300 and $150 respectively for second and third.
The cost to enter the Demo Derby is $25 per car which includes the driver. The Big Car Demo rules will follow that of the West End Fair while the Small Car Demo rules will be the same as those applied at the Carbon County Fair. ALL Demo cars must have the fuel cell and battery mounted and secured behind the driver’s compartment and conform to proper safety regulations.
Rules can be found on the Mahoning Valley Speedway website under the “Rules/Forms” link.
The Micro Stocks, which have been a long standing supporter of the speedway, will be featured a number of times throughout the season and for the first time since 1999 there will be a track champion.
The regular season will get underway with Opening Day 2017 on Saturday evening, April 8 at 6:00 pm.
For additional information log onto www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com or on Facebook at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
The Enduro payout is as follows:
80 or more cars
1. $2000, 2. 800, 3. 550, 4. 300, 5. 225, 6. 175, 7. 125, 8. 100, 9. 75, 10-15. 50
70 or more cars
1. $1500, 2. 700, 3. 500, 4. 250, 5. 200, 6. 150, 7. 100, 8. 75, 9-12. 50
50 or more cars
1. $1000, 2. 500, 3. 300, 4. 200, 5. 150, 6. 100, 7. 75, 8-10. 50
40 or more cars
1. $600, 2. 300, 3. 200, 4. 150, 5. 100, 6. 50, 7. 50
30 or more cars
1. $500, 2. 250, 3. 150, 4. 100, 5. 50, 6. 50
29 or less cars
1. $400, 2. 200, 3. 100, 4. 75, 5. 50
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Mahoning Valley Speedway releases 2017 schedule…Modifieds to run 200 laps at Octoberfast
The official 2017 race schedule for Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway has been released and a very aggressive slate of events will make up the upcoming season.
It all begins in late March with pre-season Test and Tune and continues through October with the annual Octoberfast.
All weekly track classes will be back in action which includes Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks along with a variety of others such as the TQ midgets of the American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association, the All-Star Slingshots, Micro Stocks and Champ Karts. Also getting track time in 2017 will be Enduro racers which will consist of Big Car, Small Car and Jr. Enduros. Last year also saw the return of Demo Derby’s and they too will be on the docket at select dates.
The headline Modified division will partake in a handful of extra distance/money races and culminate during the seventh annual Octoberfast. This year will feature the longest race in track history as 200 laps will make up the $6000-to-win main.
Late Models, Street Stocks, Dirt Mods, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks will all get special shows during the course of the season.
Track management has decided to include a championship for Enduro racers this year and likewise for the visiting Micro Stock competitors.
Also announced for 2017 will be a summer start time of 7:00 pm which will begin on June 10 and continue through August 26.
Test and Tune days will open up the year with pre-season track time days on March 25-26 and April 1-2. The April 1 date will also be a day of racing for Enduros along with a Demo Derby.
Open Day 2017 will be held on Saturday, April 8 at 6:00 pm with all regular track classes. The action then rolls on from Spring and onto Fall with Octoberfast on October 28. Floyd Santee returns to the helm as track promoter for his seventh year of running the show at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Recently it was revealed that American Racer will be the new track tire. On Saturday, January 7 representative Fred Woodring of American Racer will attend the special general meeting being held at the Slatedale Fire House in Slatedale to discuss the change and field questions and concerns about the American Racer tire.
The meeting, which begins at noon, is open to driver and owner only.
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2522 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East, Lehighton, PA 18235
Phone: (570) 386-4900 |
