Late race pass nets Matt Hirschman $5000 Mahoning Valley Octoberfast win over impressive upstart Austin Beers, 

(LEHIGHTON 10-13-18) To fans of eastern Pennsylvania short track asphalt racing the names of Hirschman and Beers are synonymous when it comes to the ranks of Modified competition. For years the two iconic racing families, who both hail from Mud Lane in Northampton, have shared countless headlines, many of those coming in one-two finishes between Mahoning Valley, Dorney Park and Evergreen Speedway’s.  Tony Hirschman had gone up against numerous cars owned by the late Dale Beers. Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman took the battle to new heights over the past two decades and on Saturday night at Mahoning Valley during the annual Octoberfast the torch was passed on the next generation as 15-year old Austin Beers showed that he is ready to carry on the duel. In the 150-lap contest M. Hirschman made his racing winning move with four laps to go over A. Beers and claimed the $5000 first place prize. It would be Hirschman’s sixth consecutive victory, 14th of 2018 and 16th at Mahoning, three of them coming in the Octoberfast.  But make no mistake all eyes were on the younger Beers who clearly was in route to a monumental victory had it not been for the late caution that dramatically changed the outcome. While most everyone pitted at some point Beers was one of only three others, (Josh Scherer/DJ Wagner), who stayed out the entire race gambling with the same set of tires and it almost paid off. However, when Joey Jarowicz spun four laps from the end Hirschman would use that restart to make his race winning pass with an inside pass off turn two.  “That last caution won me the race otherwise Austin Beers was going to win this thing. It was an incredible run that he had. When he was leading and I was second and the race was going on I knew I was settling for runner-up – I wasn’t going to pass him,” bottom-lined Hirschman. 
“I kept thinking back to my first big win I had at Evergreen (Raceway) at the King of the Green and his dad finished second to me. It was at that moment I thought that how awesome this is and how this kid is going to win this big race just like myself and his dad did in 2001.”  Hirschman has been a dominant force everywhere he has run this year and when he brought that winning momentum to Mahoning Valley, his first time at the track in two seasons, the thought was on everyone’s mind as to would his streak go on or could one of the always tough-to-beat Mahoning regulars put it to a halt. For quite some time it seemed as though that would be the case. Pole sitter Austin Kochenash led the early going with Lou Strohl keeping in a close second. Hirschman, who started fifth, joined the front pair by lap eight and thus began a torrid three car battle. After 20 laps Hirschman barely shook off Strohl for second and would then latch on to the back end of Kochenash while Gene Bowers moved to third.  Still under tight conditions, Hirschman attempted an inside move for the lead on lap 30 but fell short and made contact with the leader, sending him spinning and several other scattering. He had felt the move was merited at that time as Bowers was looking to get by from the outside. In hindsight, though, he comprehended that it may have been too soon for the endeavor.  “I didn’t need to but there was a car that came up alongside me on the outside and it looked like he was going to go by us both. The 66 (Kochenash) was holding me up some and I thought ‘Well it might be time to get ahead of him with other faster cars breathing down my neck,” said Hirschman.  “I made an inside move down the front straight and I thought I was in but we don’t race with radios here and that’s kind of how it goes. It was probably not the right move at that time and what the end result was but had I just passed him I might have stayed out the whole race like Austin (Beers) did.” Afterwards Kochenash and Hirschman both pitted while Bowers took control of the race. Scherer and Beers would swap back and forth for second. Kyle Strohl entered into the fray with 50 laps complete. Bowers, who lost in this same race last year by a whisker to Bobby Jones, was looking for redemption and had it going nicely despite that Beers and Strohl where fixated on his rear tail. After numerous two-wide laps with Beers second place fell to Strohl and he began an all-out run at the Bowers, successfully taking over the front spot on lap 94. On the same tour Beers followed and was runner-up. 10 laps later a caution would wave and on that re-go Beers would overtake Strohl for the lead. Through a series of pit stops and hard charging Kochenash had worked his way back to third with 50 laps to go. Likewise Hirschman had motored back into the front five by lap 118. At the helm Beers was showing that he was going to make it tough for anyone to try and pass him. He was very confident in his car’s handling and even disregarded a pre-race team strategy to pit around lap 100.  With the laps wearing on Beers was looking closer to becoming an upset winner as Strohl and Kochenash could only watch from second and third. Then on lap 132 the action slowed the action for a minor incident and again three laps later for a spinning car. By then Kochenash had advanced to second and Hirschman made some fancy moves to take third. The pair would then engage a in a dogfight for second and few laps back under green and Hirschman was there. Heading into the waning circuits it was looking more and more as though Beers was on his way to victory until that ill-fated caution waved four laps from the end. “I was definably going to be satisfied with second, no complaints. My experience probably paid off and all I can say is what a future that kid has. Things didn’t quite work out the way I had anticipated early but you never give up,” said Hirschman. “It’s always exciting to be here at Mahoning and it’s never over until the last lap and its fun. I’ll be back that’s for sure.” Strohl was very fast at the end and settled for third with an impressive Scherer taking fourth over Kochenash who rounded out the top five. “My dad wanted me to come in at lap 100 but I was second then and just decided to stay out. The car was great tonight. To be leading one of these event was very humbling against such a stout field,” noted Beers afterwards. “I just ran my own race and if I got beat then so be it. Finishing second to a gut like Matt Hirschman – we’ll take that.” There were 22 cars on hand with Hirschman, Beers and Kevin rex Jr., annexing heat wins. 

Modified Feature Finish (150 Laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Kyle Strohl. 4. Josh Scherer, 5. Austin Kochenash, 6. Lou Strohl, 7. Gene Bowers, 8. DJ Wagner, 9. Ron Haring Jr., 10. John Markovic, 11. Todd Baer, 12. Don Wagner, 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. Terry Markovic, 15. Kristy Arthofer, 16. Cody Geist, 17. Jesse Strohl


SPEED51.com STORY

Big Money Beats a Pair of Young Guns at Octoberfast
October 15, 2018 • 


One hundred and fifty laps of green flag racing around the ¼-mile Mahoning Valley Speedway (PA) came down to a four-lap duel between two Mud Lane residents from nearby Northampton, Pennsylvania during Saturday night’s seventh annual Octoberfast event.The familiar Matt Hirschman carried a busy yet successful stretch into Saturday night, winning at five different tracks in five races since Labor Day weekend.  The new kid on the block was teenager Austin Beers, who aside from a championship season rookie in a Sportsman Modified, had only select starts in the headlining division on used tires and a couple disappointing outings elsewhere.Beers remained calm and collected, winning his heat race and comfortably leading numerous laps late in the going in true veteran fashion.  The breakthrough win looked to be entirely his, until four laps remained.  Toward the rear of the lead lap cars, another local teenage sensation, Joey Jarowicz, spun on the frontstretch, requiring the need for the yellow flag to be flown.A single-file restart, based on speedway rules toward the conclusion of a race, kept Beers in command, but as has been seen on many occasions over the years, Hirschman was able to set him up to make the pass during the final dash to the finish.  One major factor perhaps was that Beers had run the entire set of distance on the same set of tires in which he took the green flag.“When I had gotten second, (Austin Beers) was running a great line, and if the caution didn’t come out we were going to finish second,” Hirschman, now a three-time Octoberfast winner, told Speed51.com.  “I would have been super excited for him.  I had thought on that run when I was in second, I remembered my first big win was at King of the Green at Evergreen (Raceway in nearby St. Johns, PA) and his dad (Eric Beers) finished second to me.  That was such a big deal because at that time he was the top guy on the local circuit, and I thought about how this is going to be so cool if he wins this big race and I finish second to him.“That last restart, I wasn’t going to give up or give it to him.  I was going to try for it and that was key.   I had pitted for tires and that last restart was where it showed up, and it did.  We just had that one move to make, made it a good one, and I was able to get by him.  Otherwise, I know he’s going to be hating that caution because he had it, but he’ll learn that’s how the racing game goes.”Despite getting passed, Beers gave it his all to fight back in a final challenge for the win, but was all smiles upon climbing out to the cheering crowd as the runner-up.
“I’m pretty proud with second,” Beers noted.  “I didn’t know if I was going to run this race a week ago and to run here and get second to Matt, you can’t lose to anybody better here tonight.  I congratulated him and he gave me a little pep talk about how I did great and stuff, so it was cool.”Before victory lane proceedings began, Beers and third-place finisher, 2016 Octoberfast winner and leader of laps on this night Kyle Strohl, walked over to Hirschman’s car in which the veteran driver gave each a complimentary message on their performance while still in the driver seat of his own Modified.“I truly thought both of those kids had a great chance to win this race tonight, and I probably had more confidence in them than they had in themselves,” Hirschman commended.  “A run like that will surely give you some confidence.  I’ve watched them race more than I’ve raced with them, but they race the right way.  It’s really cool to run with those two kids.  They are the future; there’s no doubt about it.  There’s going to be one-twos coming and I’ll be on the other end of them.  It almost was tonight.”Hirschman’s method of getting to the front was not in the most conventional of ways due to an incident racing for the lead only 30 laps into the feature.  Austin Kochenash, racing in his family team’s home-built chassis, was out front during much of the early going.  Hirschman was coming on strong and so were quite a few other competitors, such as local favorites Kevin Rex Jr. and Gene Bowers.  Contact ensued, sending Kochenash for a spin in front of the field, slight damage to Hirschman’s ride, and the end of the night for Rex.Both Kochenash and Hirschman primarily viewed it as a racing deal and had a discussion at length in the pits after the checkered flag, but have a prior history of altercations at area facilities.“(Hirschman) thinks he was in far enough and if the left rear is far enough then I guess he is, but I’m most mad at the fact that if I did this to him, he would be getting his crew of people together like he did at Evergreen to get me thrown out of there,” a frustrated Kochenash commented post-race.  “He preaches that he’s the cleanest driver here and he’s just as big a hack as we all are.” While both drivers continued on, and Kochenash rallied to second position at one point, the strategy and story in the end were different for the Danielsville, Pennsylvania driver.“We had to put a tire on after that spin, so we could only put one more on (after that),” Kochenash indicated.  “With these tires you can’t come through the field like with the Hoosiers with just one tire, so it made no sense coming in anymore and just rode out with what we had.  Beers gave me all the room that I needed to try and make the pass, but my tires were just too far gone at that point.” Kochenash finished fifth behind an impressive run for a relative newcomer to Modified racing, Josh Scherer.  Hirschman added his vantage-point of the incident as well.“His pace was backing up the field and slowing me up, and I was plenty content to be there, but then (Kevin Rex Jr.) came up next to me and looked like he was going to drive by both of us,” Hirschman explained.  “I did a crossover, surged up underneath, and it’s tight quarters here and by the time you get to the other end of the straightaway, which there really is none, he was coming back down and I was already there.  It didn’t work out so now, in hindsight, you can say it was too early.  Had the pass worked, it wouldn’t even be a discussion, because I thought it was a good attempt to pass.“They’re going to view it differently, and we both kind of came out on the short end of it, but there was still a long race ahead of us.”Hirschman was able to continue for the time being on the rubber in which he started the race.  Teams were allotted to exchange for up to two fresh tires during the distance, in which he did around halfway.
“I had some damage to my car, had to come in and adjust on that, pit for tires, and I didn’t give up,” Hirschman said.  “It actually probably hurt my chances at winning and if it wasn’t for a couple late cautions and restarts, we weren’t going to win.  The cautions played out right.  In the end, you have to take them for what it’s worth.”Last year’s Octoberfast featured a thrilling three-wide finish to the line, but 2018 was not the best for any of those racers this time around.  2017 winner Bobby Jones and 2013 winner Zane Zeiner were sidelined early with mechanical issues, while the aforementioned Bowers inherited the lead after the turning point on lap 30 but faded to seventh in the final running order.Hirschman was not in the field on that particular night, and as a matter of fact, this was his first appearance on track at one of his home facilities in two and a half years.  It was also his first start on the American Racer compound utilized and first for his team’s No. 60 in victory lane at Mahoning Valley.  He hopes that another win under differing conditions can carry over to a few more victories before the year ends, including the upcoming weekend’s inaugural Commonwealth Classic at Richmond Raceway (VA). “I’d like to think that there’s still maybe a few out there for us,” Hirschman added.  “Last year we put together two real long ones like this.  This year, we couldn’t string together wins until recently, but we’ve done it in four different cars at six different race tracks, and all kinds of different tires.  It’s really incredible, the success and the win ratio.  It truly is something not to take for granted.  This is a time in your career to try and do this because it’s just not going to last forever.”Next up for Hirschman will be the inaugural Commonwealth Classic at Richmond Raceway next Saturday.  Race fans will be able to watch that event via a live pay-per-view broadcast on Speed51.com.

-By Aaron Creed, Speed51.com National Correspondent – Twitter: @aaron_creed

Octoberfast 2018 Results

1 60 Matt Hirschman 150
2 19 Austin Beers 150
3 44 Kyle Strohl 150
4 03 Josh Scherer 150
5 66 Austin Kochenash 150
6 88 Lou Strohl 150
7 28 Gene Bowers 150
8 24 DJ Wagner 150
9 85 Ron Haring Jr. 150
10 95 John Markovic 150
11 41 Todd Baer 150
12 22 Don Wagner 150
13 02 Joey Jarowicz 150
14 92 Terry Markovic 149
15 77 Kristy Arthofer 148
16 18 Cody Geist 73
17 51 Jesse Strohl 48
18 48 Kevin Rex Jr. 30
19 76 Zane Zeiner 30
20 29 Tyler Haydt 30
21 53 Brian Defebo 10
22 1 Bobby Jones 8​



KING OF THE GREEN  - AUSTIN 14th Sports Mod

October 6:  The 3rd annual King of the Green under the promotion of Jason Makarewicz got off to an excellent start for a number of drivers. Lafayette New Jersey’s Roger Coss picked up his first Modified win of any kind at Evergreen Raceway on Saturday leading all 75 laps in the Evergreen Modifieds. Coss would not have it easy by any means at anytime having to fend off seasoned veteran Zane Zeiner and Brandon Oltra. An early caution on lap 1 would collect Austin Beers and Neil Rutt III, Rutt would continue Beers afternoon was over before it even got started. A few more yellows flew before the longest green flag run of the day between laps 20 and 51 when on lap 51 Joey Jarowicz would spin off of turn 4. Coss continued to lead and had begun to stretch his advantage to over a half a straightaway over Oltra and Zeiner. A lap 71 restart would line up Oltra and Zeiner right to the back bumper of the Jeff’s Service station number 21.  Coss would hold on to win over Oltra, Zeiner Jerry Hildebrand and Neil Rutt III would complete the top 5.

Evergreen Modifieds (75) 1. Roger Coss 2. Oltra 3. Zeiner 4. Hildebrand 5. Rutt 6. Baer 7. Joe Degracia 8. Mike Pollack 9. Joey Jarowicz 10. Jacob Balliet 11. Jesse Strohl 12. Rich Lapolt 13. Josh Oswald 14. Austin Beers

DeLange camp pleased with 2018 looking to 2019
The DeLanges are veteran owners who have fielded asphalt Modified entries for many years, including the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour through 2012 and in recent years the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series.  "My heart was pumping with excitement when we had both cars in the top five late in the race Saturday at Lake Erie," Dave DeLange said. "It was actually the best race of the year for both our cars at that point." 
Ely's fifth place outing Saturday was his season high Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series result. Beers best efforts in 2018 were a pair of fifths, one at Chemung Speedway, Aug. 4 and Lancaster Speedway, Aug. 18.  "In the biggest race of the year last Saturday it was just a pleasure to see both our guys do so well," Dave DeLange said. Beers has driven for DeLange Racing since 2009 and Ely joined, later a few seasons ago. 
"The competition is very good in the ROC series," Dave DeLange said. "You've got at least 10 drivers who can win a feature at any time. Our goal all along always has been to run against the best possible. We returned to the ROC mainly because of the new management. Joe Skotnicki (Race of Champions director) has done a wonderful job of bringing that tour back to the way it should be. It triggered our move back. "Things in the ROC are run efficiently, professionally. It's a good atmosphere. Joe insists on drivers driving with respect for each other and that means a lot. To me it's on par with the NASCAR tour. With Laura and I it's a family effort." The DeLange team has committed to run the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series in 2019, returning with Beers and Ely.

RACE OF CHAMPIONS WEEKEND  - ERIC FINISHES 7th - AUSTIN 23rd,  SPORTS MOD AUSTIN FINISHES
Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pennsylvania, became the most prolific winner in the history of the Race of Champions after capturing his 6th career and 4th consecutive in the 68th edition of the event at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Penn., to close out Presque Isle Downs & Casino Race of Champions weekend. Hirschman’s victories came on three distinctly different type tracks in Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome, Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway and Lake Erie, which is a 3/8-mile progressively banked oval.

“This is really unreal for us, we had a great car today but the pit stop strategy was challenging,” stated Hirschman following the race. “Things went our way and we were able to manage the tires and use the race tracks multiple lanes to our advantage and put ourselves in a position to win. The track provides two wide racing all over it and it must have been a great race to watch because there were so many battles. It takes everything to win this race and to do it six times now is humbling and very special. This race means a great deal to my family. My Dad (Tony Hirschman) has won it four times. It is an incredible feeling and this truly means a great deal to all of us.”
Hirschman took home $12,500 for the win. Hirschman started the 250-lap race from second and took the lead from Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y., and held the top spot for until lap 144 when pit cycling began.  Six different drivers took their turn at the top position during the event; Hossfeld, Austin Kochenash of Danielsville, Pa., Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, N.Y., Daren Scherer of Binghamton, N.Y., and Eric Beers of Northampton, Pa., before Hirschman took back the top spot for good on lap 203. Hossfeld and Jankowiak were battling for the Race of Champions title before Jankowiak’s engine expired late in the race. Hossfeld went on to finish second and clinch his fourth series crown. Kochenash finished third for the second straight season. Jimmy Zacharias of Candor, N.Y., finished fourth and Jack Ely of Wall, N.J., rounded out the top-five. Hossfeld set fast time during green-white-checker qualifying while Kochenash, Danny Knoll, Jr., of North Tonawanda, N.Y., and Ely won the qualifying races.  During post-race inspection several items were specifically inspected including; compression, the ignition system, MSD Box, transmission and carburetors. All cars passed inspection.

On Friday night Jeremie Haudricort of Bliss, N.Y., scored his first ever Race of Champions Sportsman Modified Series victory over George Skora of Eden, N.Y., and Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. 

John Julicher, Sr., (former Late Model driver and two-time Race of Champions Late Model winner); David Kerper (former Race of Champions employee) and “The Fans” were all inducted into the Race of Champions Hall-of-Fame and will be recognized on the Al Gerber Race of Champions Memorial Trophy.

Feature Finish; Saturday, September 29, 2018

68th Annual Race of Champions 250
Presque Isle Downs & Casino Race of Champions Weekend
Lake Erie Speedway, North East, Pennsylvania
Finishing Position, Starting Position, Car Number, Driver, Laps Completed, Reason Out (If Any)
Pos Starting Position No. Name Laps
1 2 60 Matt Hirschman 250
2 1 22 Chuck Hossfeld
3 7 66 Austin Kochenash
4 6 71 Jimmy Zacharias
5 9 54 Jack Ely
6 4 07 Patrick Emerling
7 3 45 Eric Beers
8 12 88 Scott Wylie
9 13 25 Mike Leaty
10 15 3 Daren Scherer
11 8 17 Danny Knoll, Jr.
12 10 65 George Skora, III
13 18 26 J.R. Kent
14 11 19 Dave Schneider
15 23 0 Randall Richards
16 19 40 Alan Bookmiller
17 20 32 Tyler Rypkema
18 21 65l Daryl Lewis, Jr. 250
19 17 34 John Fortin 209
20 5 12x Andy Jankowiak 195 Engine
21 24 74 Sherri Hogan 134 Over Heating
22 16 59 Karl Hehr 105 Electrical
23 25 19b Austin Beers 81 Over Heating
24 26 00 Connor Sellars 66 Mechanical
25 14 95 Bryan Sherwood 60 Mechanical
26 22 1 Chris Risdale 3 Mechanical

Time of Race: 1 hour 42 minutes 52 seconds Average Speed 54.800 mph Margin of victory: .629 seconds

Lead Changes: 7 between 6 drivers [Chuck Hossfeld, 1-6], [Matt Hirschman, 7-144], [Hossfeld, 145-147], [Austin Kochenash, 148-180], [Andy Jankowiak, 181-182], [Daren Scherer,183-201], [Eric Beers, 202-203], [Matt Hirschman, 203-250]
Speed51.com “Top of the Board” Award; Chuck Hossfeld (14.812 seconds @ 91.142 mph)
Paved Track Qualifying Race Winners; Austin Kochenash (1); Danny Knoll, Jr. (1); Jack Ely (1)
Jerico Performance “Jammin’ Gears Awards”; Randall Richards (Advanced 8 positions in feature)
US Army Top Performer Award; Chuck Hossfeld (14.888 seconds @ 90.677 mph)
Jan “Pops” Leaty Award – Leader Lap 25 – Matt Hirschman
$100 Bicknell Racing Products Certificate Award (Third Place) – Austin Kochenash
MyRacePass “Free Pass” Award – John Fortin
Speed51 “Every Lap Matters” Fastest Practice Lap – Matt Hirschman


Feature Finish; Friday, September 28, 2018
Race of Champions Asphalt Sportsman Modified Series
Lake Erie Speedway, North East, Pa.
Finishing Position, Car Number, Driver, Laps Completed, Reason Out (If Any)

Pos No. Name

1 39 Jeremy Haudricourt
2 65NY George Skora III
3 07 Patrick Emerling
4 51 Shawn Nye
5 10 Mike Fiebelkorn
6 1 Tony Hanbury
7 7 Kevin Timmerman
8 94 Zack Curren
9 32 Tyler Rypkema
10 44 Scott Wylie
11 65 Andy Lewis
12 41 Andy Jankowiak
13 00 Connor Sellars
14 8 Chris Finnochario
15 11K Ricky Knapp
16 1 Mike Leaty
17 74 Sherri Hogan
18 2 Owen Bednasz
19 36 David Koslowski
20 20 Nick Morich
21 98 Charlie Sharpsteen
22 11 Bob Weber
23 84 Neal Dietz
24 6 Tom Alloco
25 71 Jimmy Zacharias
26 27 Jake Vernon
27 09 Mike Ramos
28 87 Matt Druar
29 96 Don Pringle
30 19 Austin Beers
31 33 Eddie Hawkins

Qualifying Race Winners; Neil Dietz; George Skora, III; Kevin Timmerman; Mike Fiebelkorn


Eric able to get a hard fought 7th pace finish  LANCASTER, N.Y. (September 23, 2018) 
Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA won the 30th annual U.S. Open 125 Race of Champions Modified Series event on Sunday afternoon at Lancaster National Speedway for his record-tying fifth U.S. Open Modified win. In additional action from U.S. Open Sunday, Tommy Catalano of Ontario, N.Y. won the 30-lap Race of Champions Late Model Series event. Rich Sharpe of Lancaster won the Advance Auto Parts Street Stock U.S. Open feature for the third year in a row.The 30th edition of the U.S. Open 125 featured an all Catalano front row as brothers Tommy and Timmy Catalano drew the top two spots during the redraw. They lined up in front of Hirschman and Mike Leaty for the opening green flag. Tommy Catalano and Hirschman launched from their inside row starting positions to take first and second place on the opening lap.Catalano and Hirschman broke away from the pack early on with Leaty running third. Chuck Hossfeld made his way from the eighth starting position to fourth place. The caution flag came out for just the second time on lap 43 when Chris Ridsdale spun out in turn 1. Close to half of the field pitted during the caution period, including Leaty, Hossfeld, Patrick Emerling, Daren Scherer, Daryl Lewis, Jr., and George Skora III.Catalano and Hirschman stayed out along with Timmy Catalano, Tyler Rypkema, Danny Knoll, Jr. and Scott Wylie. Hirschman took advantage of the lap 50 restart to take the lead from Catalano from the outside of the front row. His stay in first place was short lived, however, as Catalano managed to take back on lap 54. Catalano drove under Hirschman down the frontstretch to regain the top spot. While Catalano and Hirschman battled for the lead, the cars that pitted for a new tire were barnstorming their way back to the front of the field led by Leaty, Hossfeld and Andy Jankowiak. Leaty took over second from Hirschman on lap 64. It looked like Leaty would then track down Catalano, but two laps later slid out of the groove in turn 2 to give the runner-up spot back to Hirschman. The yellow flag flew for the third time on lap 79 when Eric Beers spun into the grass off of turn 4. Hirschman used this opportunity to make his tire stop and surrendered his track position. This put Leaty back in second followed by Jankowiak and Emerling. Jankowiak, the 2017 U.S. Open 125 winner, needed just two laps after the restart to get by Leaty and Catalano to take the lead on lap 90.Jankowiak had command of the field with 25 laps to go followed by Leaty, Skora, Emerling and Hirschman. Hirschman got by Emerling and Skora on lap 103 to take back third. The final caution period of the race happened on lap 103 when Daryl Lewis, Jr. spun out in turn 3. Hirschman dispatched of Leaty for second shortly after the ensuing restart. On lap 110, Hirschman dove under Jankowiak down the front straightaway, and by the time the pair exited turn 2 Hirschman had taken the lead. Hirschman then cruised the final 15 laps to score his fifth U.S. Open Modified victory. He tied Chuck Hossfeld for most Modified win in the 30 years of the event.

U.S. Open 125 Finish: MATT HIRSCHMAN, Andy Jankowiak, Mike Leaty, Patrick Emerling, Tommy Catalano, George Skora III, Eric Beers, Scott Wylie, Chuck Hossfeld, Tyler Rypkema, Timmy Catalano, Daryl Lewis, Jr., Karl Hehr, Danny Knoll, Jr., Alan Bookmiller, Larry Jackson, Amy Catalano, Chris Ridsdale, Daren Scherer, Jack Ely DNS: Chris Finocchario


Austin Beers wins 2nd championship in 2 years in 2 different divisions

(9-22-18)  26 years ago Eric Beers battled Earl Paules for his first Modified championship. Fast-forward to Saturday night and Paules was again going for a title against a Beers only this time it would be with the Sportsman Modifieds and with Eric’s 15-year son Austin Beers. As to be expected the night began with thrilling drama as A. Beers started out just two points better than Paules. When the heat was concluded Paules garnered enough markers to begin the feature two points to the good.  When the race got underway BJ Wambold was holding the lead while Beers and Paules race second and third. Beers knew what his best title option was and going for the win and during the first 14 laps he would make every effort to get past Wambold. Then with a restart on lap 15 Beers took that at his best time to strike, motoring to front from the outside. For the remaining 10 laps he then put enough of a gap on the rest of the pack to secure the victory and earn the inaugural class championship.

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. BJ Wambold, 3. Zane Zeiner, 4. Earl Paules, 5. Blair Culhane, 6. Kassidy Altemose, 7. Avery Arthofer, 8. Devin Schmidt



Brian DeFebo’s 5th win has him poised to repeat as Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified champion


(LEHIGHTON 9-15-18) Brian DeFebo picked up his fifth win of the season and in doing so essentially put himself in line for a second straight track championship.

DeFebo came from 12th on the grid and during a two lap period worked his way past Earl Paules and Ron Haring Jr., to advance into the lead. With 10 laps remaining thereafter he would wrangle off his top point opponents Kyle Strohl and Bobby Jones in securing his 14th Modified victory at Mahoning Valley. “The best way to win this championship is to just do what we’ve been doing all year and that’s come out here and win,” said DeFebo.  The race didn’t exactly come to DeFebo until the first caution had waved 9 laps into the 35-lap event. During those nonstop laps Haring Jr., was setting a great pace while fending back Paules. Gene Bowers was running third with Nick Baer fourth. DeFebo had advanced to fifth by lap 11 but with the torrid pace progressing on by Haring it was a demanding order to make headway.  When the action was halted for a Kristy Arthofer spin on lap 19, Haring would be on his toes during the restart to not allow Paules the chance to work by him.  DeFebo, however, used that opportunity to move by Bowers.  With Paules now in his sights DeFebo would swoop underneath him on lap 24 in turn 4 and the next time around would replicate that same tactic on Haring for the lead.  “The car was good both high and low and I saw the opportunities tonight to go to the bottom and it worked in our favor,” explained DeFebo.  “I was trying to be protectively cautious and keep a little gap in case something happened during that long green flag run. Then when the opportunity arose I knew I had to go. I want to win races and we do this to win races and we’re having fun doing it.”  Strohl and Jones combatted in a fierce dogfight over the final laps while both pursing DeFebo. Haring Jr., capped off his great run at the front with a very respectable fourth while Paules rounded out the top five.

Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Kyle Strohl, 3. Bobby Jones, 4. Ron Haring Jr., 5. Earl Paules, 6. Gene Bowers, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Zane Zeiner, 9. Nick Baer, 10. Terry Markovic, 11. Don Wagner, 12. Kristy Arthofer, 13. Kevin rex Jr., 14. John Markovic, 15. Austin Beers, 16. JJ Pacovich, 17. Jesse Strohl, 18. BJ Wambold, 19. Joey Jarowicz, 20. Josh Scherer, 21. Austin Kochenash, 22. TJ Kemmerer


Josh Scherer realizes a racing goal with Mahoning Modified win; Jeremy Miller picks up 4th Late Model victory; Jon Moser tops in $1000 Street Stock run

September 1 - Since first strapping into a Modified a year ago it’s safe to say that Josh Scherer has come full circle after his very impressive end to end run to victory Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway.  Just five races into last season, Scherer was involved in a grinding wreck that destroyed his car and abruptly ended his year there. He vowed right then and there to rebuild and return. Steadily things began coming together and four starts back into action Scherer realized a personal dream of winning a Modified feature.  “I can’t even describe the way it feels right now. I always wanted to race a Modified and right now I wouldn’t want to race anything else,” said Scherer, who is a former Pro 4 champion. Starting on the pole Scherer blasted to the front and soon began to make it a race for second as he was sailing way ahead of the pack with ease during a stretch of 18 nonstop laps. When a caution flew on lap 20 Scherer had to give-up a nearly four second lead. As the race restarted Bobby Jones and Lou Strohl would be on Scherer’s tail but again he gunned it and would power ahead.  As Scherer was commanding the way, Jones and Strohl had a nice duel going for second spot. Jones would eventually secure the position and then take advantage of a few cautions afterwards to work on overtaking the leader. He actually came close on the final restart of the race with six laps to go.  Jones attempted to crisscross Scherer but the leader was on his toes and over the deciding laps stayed solid on his way to stamping his name among Modified winners. Interesting was the fact the Jones actually set the winning car up.  “The car was prefect,” bottomed-line Scherer. “This is just so unreal and I can’t believe we put it all together tonight. There was so many hours and nights that went into getting this car back together and I can’t thank everyone enough for the amazing help and support especially Bobby Jones who set the car up for tonight.”
Taking third was point leader Brian DeFebo with Austin Kochenash and Strohl completing the top five. For a second place finisher Jones was just as happy as the winner and showed his delight towards Scherer while congratulating him in Victory Lane.  “Well that will be the last time I set up that car up,” quipped Jones. “But he’s a great guy and I would help him any day of the week. He’s a good friend and he comes over to help us all the time and I’m glad it was me giving him his first Modified win.  “Believe me I didn’t give it easy to him. That last restart I played on a little bit more experience on him but he never got over excited and kept plugging away. He drove me real clean.”

Austin Beers picked up his third Sportsman Modified and in the process unseated Earl Paules for the division point lead with two races to go.  Beers ran side-by-side with Kassidy Altemose for a pair of laps before locking in the lead on lap four of 25. Paules was up to second and did make a run at Beers but he would later slip back and on the final lap watch as Altemose would run underneath him and claim a career best second.

Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Josh Scherer, 2. Bobby Jones, 3. Brian DeFebo, 4. Austin Kochenash, 5. Lou Strohl, 6. John Markovic, 7. Kyle Strohl. 8. Jack Ely, 9. Joey Jarowicz, 10. Nick Bear, 11. Earl Paules, 12. Kristy Arthofer, 13. Ron Haring Jr., 14. DJ Wagner, 15. Gene Bowers, 16. Kevin Rex, 17. Zane Zeiner 

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Kassidy Altemose, 3. Earl Paules, 4. BJ Wambold, 5. Joseph Popovich, 6. Blair Culhane, 7. Avery Arthofer

Kyle Strohl takes Mahoning 75 lapper.  19-year old wins for the fourth time this season

August 25 - Despite the fact that Kyle Strohl is frequently surrounded by drivers who are twice his age and have years of experience over him, the 19-year old continues to mature and nurture into a stellar talent in pavement Modified racing. K. Strohl added to his rising stock with a hard-fought victory over veterans Zane Zeiner and Lou Strohl in Saturday night’s 75-lap feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway. Using a lap 28 restart to gain the lead from Don Wagner he would never relinquished it from there but there was constant pressure to the end from Zeiner and L. Strohl. “I could feel them in there quite a few times so I just held my line. I knew I had to be on my game because those big dogs where coming,” said Strohl, who pocketed $2500 and now matches Brian DeFebo with a class high four wins.  A redraw from heats saw Austin Kochenash and K. Strohl bring the field of 21 to Bob Stull’s race commencing green. Kochenash then set the early pace with K. Strohl and Wagner in tow. From the outside lane Wagner was able to take second and by lap 11 began to come up on the leader. After some thrilling two-wide laps, he cleared Kochenash with 17 in.  On lap 28 a caution tighten the field and it was that restart that Kochenash’s shot of getting back to the lead faded when he spun in turn 3. The ensuing restart would place K. Strohl to second. 16th starting Zeiner was up to third with Kevin Rex Jr., fourth. When the action resumed K. Strohl had the upper hand and powered by Wagner.  “My car was really good but my clutch was slipping and I was having trouble gaining anything on restarts,” said Wagner. “My only chance was to get out front and run away with it and hope that we didn’t have a lot of cautions but that wasn’t the case. Kyle (Strohl) had a little bit better car than mine.” With the help of a few more cautions over the next dozen laps, Zeiner and L. Strohl were able to make quick work of Wagner and once the final 25 laps began it would become a torrid three car battle for the win. Lap by lap Zeiner tried to show his nose while L. Strohl was likewise displaying enough strength to go after both cars in front of him. Notwithstanding K. Strohl was up to all challenges and kept his concentration on the big prize.“I really didn’t worry about the lead at the beginning. I wanted to save my tires for near the end because I didn’t know how the car was going to work so I just followed them (Kochenash/Wagner) and hope for the best,” said K. Strohl.  “My car was getting tighter and tighter as the race went but the cautions where helping me a lot. I just kept heating up the right rear and it helped me out.” Zeiner may have needed just a few more laps as he was close to striking when the race ended. He was awarded the Speed Sport 
“It was really tough out there because we were so equal. I’m really proud of my guys after coming here tonight and struggling in our heat,” said Zeiner.  “The car wasn’t right and we made a phone call to (crew chief) Barry Kuhnel and he hit it right on the dot. We’re really looking for big things down the road here.”  L. Strohl settled for a solid third with Kochenash and Wagner rounding out the top five.

Modified Feature Finish (75 Laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Zane Zeiner, 3. Lou Strohl, 4. Austin Kochenash, 5. Don Wagner, 6. Brian DeFebo, 7. Kevin Rex, 8. James Pritchard, 9. Todd Bear, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Austin Beers, 12. Nick Bear, 13. Josh Scherer, 14. Joey Jarowicz, 15. Kristy Arthofer, 16. Kassidy Altemose, 17. Jesse Strohl, 18. Gene Bowers, 19. Earl Paules, 20. Wes Gilbert, 21. Bobby Jones


MATT HIRSCHMAN SCORES ROD SPALDING CLASSIC 75 AT CHEMUNG SPEEDROME  - August 4
Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa., showed why he is a contender whenever he shows up with the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series on Saturday at the Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome. Hirschman captured his second win of the 2018 season, which is the 42nd of his Race of Champions career. Hirschman came from 12th and took the lead from his neighbor Eric Beers of Northampton, Pa., on the 45th circuit around the challenging speedway. “We had a good night, but drawing 12th made it challenging,” stated Hirschman in victory lane. “We had a good car and things worked out our way tonight. Andy (Jankowiak) was coming and we’ve had a couple of good races. I’m just happy to honor some great racing history and my good friend Ed McGuire here tonight. Rod Spalding and the Spalding Foundation has been such a big of our sport. This is a great way for us to end a great night.”
Jack Ely of Wall Township, N.J., drew the pole and was flanked by Beers on the start. Ely led the opening lap before Beers took the top spot for the next 44 circuits. Hirschman patiently worked his way through traffic and moved past Beers on lap 45. Hirschman was able to keep Andy Jankowiak of Buffalo, N.Y., at bay as the duo charged to the checkered, reversing their roles of July 21 at Hillside Buffalo where Jankowiak won and Hirschman finished second.  Daryl Lewis of Ontario, N.Y., continued his impressive season with another third place finish. In the seven races so far, Lewis has yet to finish outside of the top-ten and has recorded four top-five finishes. Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y., finished 4th with Beers rounding out the top-five. Hirschman scored the Speed 51 “Top of the Board” Award in group qualifying with a lap of 14.581 seconds (92.586 mph). Hossfeld, Roger Coss of Lafayette, N.J. and Skora won the three qualifying races.

Feature Finish

Rod Spalding Classic (75-laps)
Chemung Speedrome, Chemung, N.Y.
Finishing Position, Car Number, Driver, Laps Completed, Reason Out (If Any)

Finish Starting Position No. Name Laps
1 12 60 Matt Hirschman 75
2 8 12x Andy Jankowiak
3 4 10 Daryl Lewis,Jr.
4 5 22 Chuck Hossfeld
5 2 45 Eric Beers
6 21 26 JR Kent
7 6 25 Mike Leaty
8 9 65 George Skora, III
9 7 17c Roger Coss
10 1 54e Jack Ely
11 18 95 Bryan Sherwood
12 25 4 Zack Knowlden
13 15 53 Brian Defebo
14 14 07 Patrick Emerling
15 24 40 Alan Bookmiller 74
16 16 3 Daren Scherer 74
17 10 66 Austin Kochenash 70
18 22 59 Karl Hehr 64
19 20 17 Danny Knoll 52
20 16 54c Tommy Catalano 23 Accident
21 17 72 TJ Potrzebowski 23 Accident
22 13 32 Tyler Rypkema 23 Accident
23 19 45c Timmy Catalano 23 Accident
24 11 5 Kyle Ebersole 23 Accident
25 26 64 Amy Catalano 1 Clutch
26 23 40 Tommy Rought 0

Time of Race: 40 minutes and 35 seconds Average Speed: 42.053 mph Margin of Victory: 1.084 seconds
Lead Changes: 2 among 3 drivers. (Jack Ely 1, Eric Beers 2-45, Matt Hirschman 46-75 )
Speed51.com “Top of the Board” Award; Matt Hirschman (14.581 seconds @ 92.586 mph)
Paved Track Qualifying Race Winners; Chuck Hossfeld (5); Roger Coss (1); Daryl Lewis, Jr. (2); Matt Hirschman (2)
Jerico Performance “Jammin’ Gears Awards”; JR Kent (Advanced 15 positions in feature)
US Army Top Performer Award; Jack Ely (14.906 seconds @ 90.568 mph lap 7)
Jan “Pops” Leaty Award – Leader Lap 25 – Mike Leary
$100 Bicknell Racing Products Certificate Award (Third Place) – Daryl Lewis, Jr.
MyRacePass “Free Pass” Award – (No Eligible Driver, No “Free Pass” Given during race”)


Brian DeFebo reaches milestone 100th career win with fourth Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified win: Austin Beers wins 2nd Sportsman Modified feature of the year

(July 28, 2018)  Brian DeFebo added another feather in his already filled hat of career racing accomplishments, this one coming in a milestone achievement by scoring his 100th overall feature win, coming in Saturday night’s Modified main at Mahoning Valley Speedway.

Using a restart on lap 17 to get by Kyle Strohl for the lead, DeFebo then held the spot to the finish for the memorable making night. “It’s awesome. Through my entire career my mother (car owner, Sophie Welsh) has always given me the best equipment. My team is as good as it gets and they work every day of the week on making the car run so good,” said a very overjoyed DeFebo from Victory Lane.  “We’re having so much fun down here. For years we had our struggles but for now it’s all about some great times.” It was his second straight and class leading fourth victory of the season. He won his first career race in 1993 in a Thriller/Factory Stock car.  Despite having to settle for the runner-up spot, Strohl was pleased none-the-less. He was quite the worthy advocate too considering the car he ran was a lesser powered Sportsman Modified. His regular ride was not available due to a mechanical problem and with little options to race this night he turned to car owner Eric Beers who was fine with handing over the reins of his son Austin’s No. 19 into the capable hands of Strohl. Earlier in the night the same car had won the Sportsman feature.  Strohl started 10th and made use of a few early cautions as well as some fancy driving to pass cars and by lap nine was dueling alongside Nick Baer. Both were on the rear bumper of race leader Ron Haring Jr.  On the 13th tour Haring got loose in turn three and would spin from the lead. Strohl had just nipped Baer for second and was elevated to the leader position under the yellow. One lap after the restart DeFebo took the runner-up spot.  Strohl never wavered once the race resumed as his line of resistance was working perfectly in keeping DeFebo at bay. At one point he even set the fastest lap of the race and one of the quickest laps of the season. However, when a caution put the front two side-by-side for a restart on lap 17, it was then that DeFebo was able to conclusively snatch the lead and drive off to the century mark victory.  “I have to go back to the Bill Teel Memorial race when I was set to start alongside Austin Beers. I went to his dad and said he has to start faster but Eric (Beers) said the car won’t go. I actually used that conversation to my advantage tonight when it came to the restart between Kyle (Strohl) and myself,” said DeFebo. “He (Strohl) did an awesome job, starting in the back the way he did. I followed him up through and tried to get underneath him then I looked to the outside and he had me covered up there too.”  Bobby Jones, Gene Bowers and Baer rounded out the top five. “It was an amazing piece I had to drive tonight and I can’t thank the Beers’ family enough for letting me run the car,” said Strohl, who along with Jones are keeping in check with DeFebo for the championship. “There were a few times when Brian was looking on both sides of me and I thought this won’t last long but we put up a fight. The car just got tight near the end and the better man won. I’m proud to have been second to Brian on his 100th win.”

Austin Beers for a second time held off Earl Paules in a thrilling battle Sportsman Modifieds. Beers led from the outset and would have to contend with Paules virtually every lap on route to victory.

Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Kyle Strohl, 3. Bobby Jones, 4. Gene Bowers, 5 . Nick Bear, 6. John Markovic, 7. Earl Paules, 8. Kristy Arthofer, 9. Ron Haring Jr., 10. Lou Strohl, 11. Terry Markovic, 12. Jesse Strohl, 13. Josh Scherer, 14. Wes Gilbert

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Earl Paules, 3. BJ Wambold, 4. Joseph Pacovich, 5. Blair Culhane, 6. Kassidy Altemose, 7. Joe King Jr., 8. Avery Arthofer

Jankowiak Holds Off Big Money for Big RoC Modified Win - Eric guts out a tough 5th place finish

Holland, N.Y July 21, 2018 . – Andy Jankowiak of Buffalo, N.Y., maneuvered around Scott Wylie of Blasdell, N.Y., on lap 15, survived several restarts and held off a hard-charging Matt Hirschman to win the Thunder in the Hills 100 at The Track @ Hillside Buffalo that was formerly Holland International Speedway. The track was the site of Jankowkiak’s first series victory which Hirschman also finished second in. It was the fifth Modified Series victory of Jankowiak’s Race of Champions career.  “We needed this tonight,” stated Jankowiak from victory lane. “I knew Matt (Hirschman) was back there and coming and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Matt is one of the best and to beat him always makes you feel good. We had a good car tonight and I knew I needed to save some for the end but it is tough to gauge that. We had just enough to get the job done. I have to take thank Tom, Erin, Bud and all of the people associated with our team. My first win in a modified came here so this one is pretty special.”Wylie inherited the pole position as pole winner, via the redraw, Zack Knowlden of Horseheads, N.Y., elected to start at the rear of the field. Wylie and Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y., led the field to the green. Wylie took the early lead before Jankowiak slipped to the top spot.Hirschman, who finished second, pitted just past halfway in the race for adjustments worked his way back to the front to get near Jankowiak’s in the closing laps, but it was to no avail. Hossfeld finished third. Bryan Sherwood of Binghamton, N.Y., finished fourth in his first race of the season. Eric Beers of Northampton, Pa., advanced the most positions from 16th to finish 5th. Hirschman posted the Speed 51 “Top of the Board” Award in group qualifying with a lap of 13.759 seconds (98.118 mph).  Hirschman, Jack Ely of Wall, N.J., and Wylie won the three qualifying races.

Thunder in the Hills 100 Results

1 4 12x Andy Jankowiak 100
2 10 60 Matt Hirschman
3 3 22 Chuck Hossfeld
4 8 95 Bryan Sherwood
5 16 45 Eric Beers
6 7 3 Daren Scherer
7 12 10 Daryl Lewis Jr.
8 15 32 Tyler Rypkema
9 18 40 Alan Bookmiller
10 17 0 Randall Richards
11 13 71 Danny Knoll, Jr.
12 11 65 George Skora, III 89
13 2 88 Scott Wylie 81 Accident
14 6 54 Jack Ely 76 Accident
15 14 59 Karl Hehr 75 Over Heating
16 9 66 Austin Kochenash 44 Engine
17 5 28 Kreig Heroth 32 Spark Plug
18 1 4 Zack Knowlden 21 Engine
19 19 1 Chris Risdale 1 Oil Leak


Brian DeFebo reaches 99th career win with another Mahoning Modified win; Mike Sweeney cracks win column for the first time this season; Sage Karam impressive in Dirt Mod and Street Stock debut - AUSTIN FINISHES 3rd

(JULY 14, 2018) Brian DeFebo wrapped up a great weekend, winning his second Modified feature in two days. Fresh off a Friday night verdict at Evergreen Raceway, DeFebo was able to continue on his winning ways Saturday evening at Mahoning Valley Speedway.  The seventh starting DeFebo would make quick work of Joey Jarowicz in taking the lead on lap 15. From there on he remained smooth as he held off Bobby Jones for his third win of the season and registered his 99th overall career win.“We’re at 99 (wins) now and it’s exciting. I love racing here at Mahoning Valley. For years it was a struggle but these past two years it’s been nothing but fun,” said DeFebo, who continues to maintain the class point lead and seeks a second straight championship.“I can’t thank (crew chief) Gary Slusser enough. He’s the brains behind this deal. He spends countless hours and from that we have good race cars.”  At the onset Ron Haring Jr., jumped into the lead but had unceasing pressure coming from Jarowicz. Haring also had to contend with Jones who was giving him much of the same opposition on his outside.For Haring it was full defensive mode as several times Jarowicz was able to stick his nose inside the leader while at the same time doing whatever necessary to fend off Jones. Unfortunately it all came to a head on lap 13 when the No. 85 got tripped up just past the start finish line and went spinning from the lead.On the restart Jarowicz was shown as the new leader over Jones and DeFebo. Just one lap after the race restarted, DeFebo made his race winning move by going to the low side in whizzing to the front. Jarowicz and Jones continued a great dogfight to the end with Jones getting the runner-up spot. John Markovic and Gene Bowers rounded out the top five.“There wasn’t much racing on the outside tonight so we had to adapt and take down low,” said DeFebo. “Once you get into the lead you then have to go into a defensive style of driving. We have good group of drivers down here and they all race you hard and clean.

In the Winner’s Circle for the Sportsman Modified feature it became a very emotionally charged scene as 15-yeat old Avery Arthofer had just notched her first win with the class and was greeted by her entire family with hugs and tears of joy.  A previous winner in Hobby Stocks, Arthofer is in her first season with the Sport Mods and in the race was able to fend off track kingpin Earl Paules for the memorable victory and caring on a family legacy of winning at Mahoning Valley.

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Avery Arthofer, 2. Earl Paules, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Blair Culhane, 5. Richard Lapolt, 6. Jacob Balliet, 7. Kassidy Arthofer, 8. BJ Wambold



Austin Beers Finishes 19, 17, 13, 16 in Bill Teel Memorial 

Kyle Strohl, James Pritchard Jr., Tyler Haydt and Joey Jarowicz are Teel Memorial winners…John Markovic is overall champion

​(JUNE 30, 2018) It came as no surprise that a season high 24 Modifieds came out to be part of the 2nd Annual Bill Teel Memorial Modified 4-16s. Teel, a past 3-time champion and car owner champion, made an indelible impression with so many people. It was evident by the wonderful turnout both in the pits and grandstands.
​
The event is unique with four 16-lap features – that being the signature car number run by Teel throughout his career. The quick stints made for some thrilling action and outcomes which is exactly how the night panned out.    After all was said and done Kyle Strohl, James Pritchard Jr., Tyler Haydt and Joey Jarowicz took respective checkered flags while John Markovic was declared the overall winner by virtue of his average finishing place across the four mains.

            In race number one Roger Coss drew the pole and was steadily maintaining the lead while Strohl stayed close behind. As the field crossed the line to complete lap 12 Strohl felt it was time to make a move and he did so by slipping underneath Coss in turn three. He would then take it home from there and collect his second straight win. “It was key to be aggressive in a short run like this. I just made sure of my tire wear and made my move at the right time. Roger Coss was very tough and he’s such a clean driver to run with,” said Strohl. “To win one of these races means so much to my family and I. Bill (Teel) was a great guy and a great racer.”  A redraw of 18 for the next race would see Roger Heffelfinger Jr., and Todd Baer on the front row. Heffelfinger wasted no time in jumping out front while Pritchard and Lou Strohl were hard-hitting on him.  Pritchard kept Heffelfinger on his toes over the first half until L. Strohl solidified second spot with six laps to go. He then began laying on all kinds of pressure to Heffelfinger. Looking repeatedly to the inside, Strohl tried to squeeze under Heffelfinger in turn two with two laps remaining. What transpired was contact and a spin that ended either drivers from a possible win.  For the restart Pritchard was at the point with Don Wagner on his tail. Not wavering, Pritchard would hold on for just his second Modified win and first since October 2012.  It was rough and we really had to work for this,” said Pritchard. “Roger Heffelfinger is one tough competitor and I was fighting him on the outside and then Lou (Strohl) got underneath me and I fell back to third. I felt the way they were racing something was going to happen and it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.”    Once again the redraw number was 18 and with that Haydt and K. Strohl would bring the field to the green. This race quickly had a good time feel to it as Teel was a longtime friend, mentor, and business partner plus championship car owner of Haydt.  |

Haydt’s ride for the night had come together just days earlier as he was called upon by car owner Robert Wagner to driver the Future Motorsports No. 29. It was only the second time in the past six years that Haydt was racing, making a comeback start in this event last year.  Haydt would take the lead and engage in a hard fought battle fending off L. Strohl throughout the distance.   “This is awesome. I never, ever wanted to win a race in all the years that we ran than one of these features tonight. Billy meant so much to me and I’m stoked,” an emotional Haydt said. “It was no cakewalk either. Lou Strohl was so tough but he ran me clean. We had struggles to get the car right but it all worked out,” he continued.  I’m so happy to give Robert Wagner his first ever win too. I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to drive his car and putting it in Victory Lane where it belongs.” 

In the final 16 Jarowicz shared the front row with Pritchard. The 17-year old made good on the pole start and darted quickly to the front. This young talent has had numerous flashes of glory in his short time in Modifieds and he certainly came of age on route to winning the night’s finale.   Behind Jarowicz were Modified kingpins Markovic, Brian DeFebo and Earl Paules. Yet he handled them flawlessly with a solid line of racing. As the checkers waved the Glenn Slocum owned No. 02 had a well-earned career first victory.   There have been a couple times that we were close to winning but for whatever reason it just wasn’t to be. It was awesome to get that first win tonight and against guys like John (Markovic), Brian (DeFebo) and Earl (Paules),” said Jarowicz.  “With the short distance there’s no holding back. Drawing the pole I knew I just had to run my race and I’d be fine. I didn’t know Bill Teel but heard so much good things about him and this was an honor to get my first win at his memorial.”

1st Modified Feature Finish (16 Laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Roger Coss, 3. John Markovic, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Austin Kochenash, 6. Tyler Haydt, 7. Ron Haring Jr., 8. Nick Baer, 9. Brian DeFebo, 10. Rick Kirkendall, 11. Earl Paules, 12. Don Wagner, 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. Lou Strohl, 15. Zane Zeiner, 16. James Pritchard Jr., 17. Todd Baer, 18. Roger Heffelfinger Jr., 19 Austin Beers, 20. Terry Markovic       

2nd Modified Feature Finish (16 Laps): 1. Pritchard Jr., 2. Wagner, 3. Paules, 4. Todd Baer, 5. DeFebo, 6. Kirkendall, 7. John Markovic, 8. Cross, 9. Haring Jr., 10. Kochenash, 11. Nick Baer, 12. Jones, 13. Zeiner, 14. Terry Markovic, 15. Lou Strohl, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Beers, 18. Haydt, 19. Heffelfinger Jr., 20. Jarowicz

3rd Modified Feature Finish (16 Laps): 1. Haydt, 2. Lou Strohl, 3. Kyle Strohl, 4. Jones, 5. DeFebo, 6. Zeiner, 7. Paules, 8. Nick Baer, 9. John Markovic, 10. Pritchard Jr., 11. Jarowicz, 12. Terry Markovic, 13. Beers, 14. Cross, 15. Todd Baer, 16. Haring Jr., 17. Kochenash, 18. Kirkendall, 19. Wagner, 20. Heffelfinger Jr. 

​4th Modified Feature Finish (16 Laps): 1. Jarowicz, 2. John Markovic, 3. DeFebo, 4. Paules, 5. Pritchard Jr., 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Baer, 8. Haydt, 9. Lou Strohl, 10. Jones, 11. Cross, 12. Zeiner, 13. Wagner, 14. Kochenash, 15. Haring Jr., 16. Beers, 17. Gene Bowers, 18. Todd Baer, 19. Terry Markovic, 20. Heffelfinger Jr


Eric finishes 10th after Tire goes funny during Race - Eric felt he had one of the best cars this night - disappointed with the result. 

The stars and cars from the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series made their way to the Lancaster National Speedway for the second time this season on Thursday night. After 60 laps of Modified action in the Ol’ Boy Cup 60, it would be .019 seconds deciding the victory in favor of Chuck Hossfeld.  
Hossfeld set quick time in qualifying to start the night, picking up the Speed51.com Top of the Board Award. He would also go on to win his heat race, along with Mike Leaty and Cam Barber taking victories in their heat races. After the heat races, the top four drivers from each heat went on to the redraw. Daryl Lewis Jr drew the number-one pill to start alongside Hossfeld who pulled number two.When the green flag flew, Lewis took off with the early lead with Hossfeld in his tire tracks. Lewis held off Hossfeld and Eric Beers early, leading the race’s first 20 circuits.On lap 20, Tommy Catalano slowed on the speedway, bringing out the race’s first caution. On the ensuing restart, Hossfeld found his way around the No. 10 of Lewis and set off with the lead. As the laps clicked off, Mike Leaty found himself getting closer to the black No. 22 of Hossfeld, reaching the second position on lap 34 from his 10th-place starting position.When the yellow flag came out for a spinning Scott Wiley, Leaty was given his opportunity. On lap 37, Leaty finally reached the rear bumper of Hossfeld and give him a tap through turns 3 and 4. From there, the race was on. Leaty dogged Hossfeld lap after lap, giving him an occasional tap in the rear bumper. Twice Leaty tried too hard and lost plenty of ground but ran Hossfeld back down in a matter of laps.When the white flag went in the air, Leaty threw everything he had at Hossfeld into turn one, driving it in deep to get next to Hossfeld on the outside. Leaty again drove in deep in three and four, pulling alongside of Hossfeld for a drag race to the checkered flag. As they crossed the line, Hossfeld claimed the thriling victory over Leaty by an incredible .019 seconds.“My spotter Henry did a great job. I knew where he was strong, so what I tried to do was, I tried to make him go around me, I wasn’t giving him the bottom if I could. If he got me, it would’ve been good for him, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on him,” Hossfeld told Speed51.com. “It was a great race, good for the fans. We won by just the smallest margin. What blows my mind is I had to let off a little early going across the start-finish line because of a couple lapped cars and if he would have gotten me there I would have been sick to my stomach. But here’s the truth, it doesn’t matter because we won.”The win was the first for Hossfeld this year, ending a Race of Champions winless drought going back into the 2016 season.
“Racing is a rollercoaster and I had mentioned that I thought we would be tough again,” he stated. “You get that sense when things are going to be good. We were down for a little bit and we struggled with the car but we’re inching back. It’s not perfect yet, it wasn’t like it was perfect, but good enough to win.”  Although Mike Leaty came up just a couple of feet short of the victory to beat Hossfeld on his home turf, he was still pleased with his result.“It would’ve been really nice to even start in the top half of the redraw. If we could’ve started around sixth, seventh, somewhere in that neighborhood, had a few more laps to work over Chuck with a little bit better tires we would have been even stronger and probably could have gotten around him,” Leaty claimed. “It’s hard to get around Chuck Hossfeld at Lancaster. But to give him that kind of run and just come up a nose short is a really good run for our team.” The Race of Champions Modified Tour will head north of the border for their next event at Jukasa Motor Speedway in Hagersville, OT Canada on July 14. Race fans will once again be able to watch that race live on Speed51.com’s Summer Thunder TV 

Ol’ Boy Cup 60 Unofficial Finish
Lancaster National Speedway (NY) – June 28, 2018

1) Chuck Hossfeld
2) Mike Leaty
3) Daryl Lewis Jr.
4) Patrick Emerling
5) Daren Scherer
6) Andy Jankowiak
7) George Skora III
8) Karl Hehr
9) Amy Catalano
10) Eric Beers
11) Scott Wylie
12) Zack Knowlden
13) Timmy Catalano
14) Kreig Heroth
15) Tyler Rypkema
16) Alan Book Miller
17) Jack Ely
18) Danny Knoll Jr.
19) Kevin Miller
20) Tommy Catalano
21) John Barber
22) Camden Barber
23) Chris Ridsdale​



​Austin Beers Finishes 3rd 

(JUNE 15 2018) 

For the first time in 20 years a Wambold has won a Modified race. BJ Wambold held off Earl Paules to the checkers in the Sportsman Mod event. Wambold started from the pole and was able to fend off Paules as well as Devin Schmidt for the popular win. His grandfather, “The Legend” George Wambold, last won a Modified feature in 1997.

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. BJ Wambold, 2. Earl Paules, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Devin Schmidt, 5. Blair Culhane, 6. Avery Arthofer, 7. Joe King Jr., 8. Kassidy Altemose

Austin Beers Finishes 2nd after starting 5th 

(JUNE 2, 2018) Mahoning Valley Speedway presented by Lehighton Ford hosted its annual Fan Appreciation Night to a great crowd and equally great racing as all seven classes provided excellent showmanship.

            Thus far during the 2018 the top five in points has been occupied by seasoned veterans led by Brian DeFebo, then Bobby Jones, John Markovic, Earl Paules and Lou Strohl.  There is a lot of wins and championships among that iconic group but next in the point’s line is 18-year old Kyle Strohl who has stayed close in their shadows and on Saturday night he showed the old masters why he is one to be reckoned with.Strohl would lead from the outset and then began to author a dominating drive as he was pulling away steadily into the waning stages of the 35-lapper. However, a caution with two to go would allow Austin Kochenash to pull in behind him for the final few tours but Strohl wasn’t about to be denied and rolled to his first win of the year and eighth time in a Modified.  “We’ve been struggling the past few weeks to get the right set-up. At intermission today we hit on something and we just put all our effort into it and it all paid off,” said Strohl, who has 31 career overall feature wins, numbers that are worthy of his aforementioned mentors.  Thanks to a string of nonstop laps, Strohl used that span to show his hand and was pulling away from the pack on each circuit.  “I was unaware of that fact. We were just holding out line and hitting our marks. I just wanted to hold my line and hope for the best,” said Strohl.  Behind him the action remained tight at Lou Strohl, Jones and Joey Jarowicz fought tooth and nail. By mid-race Kochenash was also getting in on the battle.  With just two laps to go and Strohl looking home free the caution waved for DJ Wagner who backed hard into the wall off turn two and with that went away the huge lead.  For the restart Jones was on Strohl’s tail with Kochenash sitting third. On the white flag lap Kochenash slipped by Jones and was then glued to Strohl’s rear bumper but his concentration remained on to the finish and he took the checkered flag by a scant margin.  “My heart was beating on the restart because I knew Bobby (Jones) was behind me and you always have to be on your game with him and Austin (Kochenash) too. There’s a lot of great competitors here and they all have their act together. We were behind the eight ball but I think now we’re finally starting to get it right,” said Strohl.


Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Earl Paules, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Joe King Jr., 4. Avery Arthofer, 5. Richard Lapolt, 6. Kassidy Altemose, 7. BJ Wambold



Eric finished 7th in return to the Race of Champions tour - Tire wear holds him back

Lancaster National Speedway was finally able to wave the green flag on its 60th season of racing on Saturday with the lid lifter for the X-Press Signs Stock Car Series. Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. kicked off the 2018 campaign with a win in the Queen City Clash 75 for the Race of Champions Modified Series.

Daren Scherer and Tyler Rypkema led the field of 22 RoC Modifieds to opening green flag. Scherer grabbed the early lead, but the caution flag was displayed quickly when Andy Jankowiak cut down a tire on the opening lap.  Scherer settled into the lead with Tommy Catalano coming from the third starting position to provide an early challenge. Catalano hounded Scherer as he forced the leader to run hard during the early stages. The pair pulled away from the field until the caution flag flew again on lap 17 for a spin by rookie Zack Knowlden.  The race restarted with Scherer and Catalano followed by Chuck Hossfeld, Rypkema and Emerling. Hossfeld quickly dispatched of Catalano to move into third. Emerling started the race in ninth, but was already in to the top five by this point. He passed Catalano for third on lap 33 and then set his sights on Hossfeld. Six laps later Emerling moved past Hossfeld for the runner-up position just before the caution flag came out for a spin by Karl Hehr.  Scherer and Emerling were now perched on the front row for the restart with just 36 laps to go. It took Emerling just two laps before Scherer slowed momentarily off of turn two to give up the lead. Scherer thought there was a problem with his engine, but the muffler had just fallen off. Hossfeld passed Scherer for second two laps later.  The final caution period of the night happened on lap 50 when Tommy Catalano spun in turn two. The race restarted with Emerling leading Hossfeld, Scherer, Daryl Lewis, Jr. and Eric Beers. Scherer was able to regain second from Hossfeld and Lewis also took over third from him on lap 58. The pair then tried to reel in Emerling. Scherer appeared to be catching Emerling in the turn three end of the race track, but Emerling was a little bit better through turn two. Scherer tried hard to close the gap to Emerling, but Emerling increased his margin with five laps to go.  Patrick Emerling held on to score his first RoC Modified win at Lancaster since sweeping all four Modified races in 2016. Scherer settled for second for his best RoC finish in a couple season. Lewis, Jr. finished third after having a very fast race car all day. George Skora III got caught in an early incident and then battled through a flat tire to finish fourth. Hossfeld rounded out the top five.


RESULTS
RACE OF CHAMPIONS MODIFIED SERIES
Heat Winners: Mike Leaty, Daryl Lewis, Jr., Chuck Hossfeld
Fast Qualifier: Chuck Hossfeld – 17.204 seconds

Queen City Clash 75 Finish: PATRICK EMERLING, Daren Scherer, Daryl Lewis, Jr., George Skora III, Chuck Hossfeld, Andy Jankowiak, Eric Beers, Danny Knoll, Jr., Scott Wylie, Mike Leaty, Austin Kochenash, Tommy Catalano, Bill Hebing, Kevin Miller, Karl Hehr, Tyler Rypkema, Jack Ely, Amy Catalano, Zack Knowlden, Kreig Heroth, Alan Bookmiller DNS: John Barber



Bobby Jones makes it two in a row after wild outcome in Ward Crozier Sr., Memorial

(MAY 5, 2018) Mahoning Valley Speedway had an evening of racing that the late promoter Ward Crozier Sr., would have been proud of. On a night that paid homage to his legacy, the pits had nearly 100 race cars, the grandstands where buzzing with enthusiastic fans and the racing was action filled across all seven divisions.

It fit perfectly into the style of Crozier and his concept of how racing should be held at his beloved Mahoning Valley Speedway, the paved ¼-mile oval that he brought back to life in 1987. 31 years later and the same formula changed very little.   As part of the tribute all features where run as 26-lappers which was reflective of Crozier’s racing days and his signature car number.  Bobby Jones of Palmerton got his start in racing thanks to the kind outreaching of Crozier nearly 30 years ago. Fittingly Jones was humbled when he scored a wild Modified victory, his second in a row. Jones’ first ride in a race car was aided when Crozier offered up a driver’s suit.  “I said I had to win this tonight because of him (Crozier) I’m still doing this today,” offered Jones.  And, the outcome was just as much a surprise to Jones as was everyone in attendance.  DJ Wagner was leading and looking unstoppable en route to a career first Modified win. However, with six laps to go light droplets of rain moved in and prompted the caution. The field remained on the track in order to keep the surface in tack. While touring under the yellow, Wagner abruptly exited the track and yielded the lead over to John Markovic. 
The driver’s where then asked to relay to officials if the pavement was good to go back green as the rain halted and the answer was all thumbs up. When the race resumed Markovic had Lou Strohl on his tail while Jones was third.
If the surprise of Wagner exiting wasn’t enough of a blow, no sooner did the first lap get underway the race took another wild turn. In corners three and four Markovic suddenly drifted high and made slight side contact with Strohl who was hustling for the lead. The lane opened up wide enough that Jones dove to the bottom and a thrilling three-wide pass for the lead ensued.  “It was a bit weird how everything just fell in place. Johnny (Markovic) went up and got into the 88 (Strohl) and the door opened up and I wasn’t even ready for it,” explained Jones.  For the remaining few laps point leader Brian DeFebo leaped into second and hounded Jones to the checkers.  “When they asked us to give a thumbs up or down I had mine up, I felt we really never lost the track. I didn’t realize he (Wagner) got off at first. No one ever told us to get off and to just keep rolling,” recalled Jones about the wet condition situation.  “I didn’t realize he did it at first. Honestly I think he would have won the race. The track was fine after we restarted.”  Earl Paules, Todd Baer and Markovic completed the top five.  Jones has been on a roll winning his fourth feature in the last six races dating to the prior season.  
“Four of the last six races going back to last season. I’ll take that. Right now we got it going on and I’ll ride it out as long as we can,” Jones said after picking up his 39th career win.

Broc Brown blasted by Jacob Kerstetter on lap seven and then cruised dominantly to his first Late Model win of the season in a caution free race that was over in just under five minutes.

Seeing the name Beers as the winner of a Modified race is nothing new as Eric Beers has won time and again. Saturday night the Beers Modified was again gracing Victory Lane only this time it was Eric’s son Austin who was collecting the accolades.  The 15-year old Beers drove to his career first Sportsman Modified win and did so over longtime rival of his dad, Earl Paules. The two would run toe-to-toe for the lead until Beers solidified the top spot for good with 10 laps to go and drove flawlessly to the decisive verdict.

Defending Dirt Mod champ Mike Stofflet made it known from the get-go that he was going to be the man to beat. Taking the lead from the outset Stofflet was on a mission as he stayed well ahead of the pack over the distance and notched a solid victory, his first of the year.

The Street Stock main was the 600th such feature and Corey Edelman was able to hold off a very determined Jon Moser in claiming the thrilling win.

Edelman took control of the race on lap 13 but was in heavy company the rest of the way, having to withstand Mark Deysher and eventually Moser. The finish was a squeaker as he nipped Moser by a mere .038-second margin of victory.

Cody Kohler showed plenty of swiftness on his way to a second straight Pro 4 triumph. After going around Bobby Kibler Sr., on lap eight for the lead Kohler was not about to let up and held back Barry Christman Jr., and Jake Kibler for the resounding win.

The Hobby Stock feature was cut short due to an over expected amount of cautions and track cleanup but that didn’t seem deter Al Arthofer who won for the first time. It would be hard pressed to think otherwise that it was not to be his night as Arthofer was very strong in leading every lap.

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (26 Laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Earl Paules, 3. Kassidy Altemose, 4. Blair Culhane, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Avery Arthofer, 7. BJ Wambold



Bobby Jones holds off Don Wagner for top Modified honors; Paul Koehler Jr., is best in Late Models; Earl Paules notches first win with new Sportsman class

(4-21-18) Bobby Jones could be forming a pattern it seems. Last year when Brian DeFebo won Opening Night Jones came out victorious on week two. Fast forward one year later and the same scenario played out as Jones took the week two laurels yet again.

 For the outset of the 35-lap main Don Wagner and Joey Jarowicz shared the front row. Once underway Wagner sprung to the lead with third place starter Jones in tow.  Jones was wasting little time in looking to pass Wagner and by lap four he was in motion to do so until a caution negated his effort. On the restart Jones would make good on his foiled attempt as he vaulted by for the lead.  Two laps later the second and only other caution waved which afterwards led to a quick paced run. Jones would set that tone as he ran a consistent line while keeping Wagner in check. At the checkers the personable veteran took his APS Powder Coating/Franzosa Trucking No. 1J across the line for his 38 career feature win.  Wagner followed with a solid second which made up for a lackluster Opening Night run. Gene Bowers had steady and solid race as he was third by lap seven and stayed right in line with the front pair. DeFebo and Earl Paules rounded out the top five.

Paul Koehler Jr., needed just one week to get back into the swing of winning, something he quite accustomed to. The Kingpin of asphalt Late Model racing won his first race in just his second week back after sitting out all of last season. Koehler had things going his way from early on as he notched his heat. Then when the feature began he would lead the field to the green and continue on at the top spot for the rest of the nonstop 25-lap distance, collecting his 72nd career Late Model victory.  And, although the lead was all his, Koehler was in some heavy company the whole while as Opening Night winner Frankie Althouse, Broc Brown and Mike Sweeney were stayed closely his tire tracks. None, however, could progress enough to make a pass as Koehler registered his 53rd Late Model win at Mahoning.            

The much awaited debut of the Sportsman Modified finally took to the track with a respectable half-dozen cars on hand made up of a great crop of young talents. However, it would be a grand veteran who would etch his name into the record books as the very first class winner with Earl Paules taking the verdict. Avery Arthofer went into the early lead and was impressive in her Modified debut. A caution on lap eight saw Paules lined up next to her for the restart and it would be then where he seized the lead and go on to the eventual victory. 2017 Hobby Stock champion Austin Beers, who made his Modified debut the previous week with the headline division, was a firm runner-up while Arthofer held on for third.

When Jared Ahner unveiled his brand new Camaro Street Stock during pre-season testing, it turned many heads for its sleek and sharp look.  On Saturday night Ahner showed everyone that it not just looker but a very fast racecar as well. Taking the lead away from Eric Kocher on lap six, Ahner was able to fend off a very strong running Mark Deysher the rest of the way and secure his first win of 2018.

Cody Kohler had to withstand a rash of cautions not to mention the hard pressing Jake Kibler in gaining the Pro 4 win. Kohler inherited the led after Josh Kuronya spun from contention on lap two. Afterwards it was yellow fever but none of that nor the persistent Kibler could stop Kohler from his focus on winning.

In the 20-lap Hobby Stock feature it was Devin Schmidt taking the win. Schmidt needed the first five laps before taking the lead from Kevin Behler and once in front there was no stopping him.  Schmidt cruised with no trouble to the checkers while a distance back Michael Wambold nipped Travis Solomon for runner-up.

Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Bobby Jones, 2. Don Wagner, 3. Gene Bowers, 4. Brian DeFebo, 5. Earl Paules, 6. John Markovic, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Kyle Strohl, 9. Nick Baer, 10. Jarred Ahner, 11. Joey Jarowicz, 12. DJ Wagner, 13. Kristy Arthofer, 14. Jack Ely, 15. Ron Haring Jr., 16. Terry Markovic

Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Paul Koehler Jr., 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Broc Brown, 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Kenny Hein, 7. Jacob Kerstetter

Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Jared Ahner, 2. Mark Deysher, 2. Jill Long, 4. Cody Geist, 5. Jon Moser, 6. Stacey Brown, 7. Shayne Geist, 8. Bobby Kibler Jr., 9. Todd Ahner, 10. Jamie Smith, 11. Ken Reeder, 12. Corey Edelman, 13. Ken Erney III, 14. Jeremy Scheckler, 15. Eric Kocher, DNS: BJ Wambold

Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Earl Paules, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Avery Arthofer, 4. Blair Culhane, 5. Devon Schmidt, 6. Kassidy Altemose

Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Kohler, 2. Jake Kibler, 3. Bill Rooney, 4. Bobby Kibler Jr., 5. Josh Kuronya, 6. Brian Muth, 7. Tucker Muffley, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Randy Schaffer, 10. Matt Clark, 11. Tyler Stangle

Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Devin Schmidt, 2. Michael Wambold, 3. Travis Solomon, 4. Tiffany Wambold, 5. Kevin Behler, 6. Trisha Connolly, 7. Al Arthofer, 8. Justin Merkel, 9. Peyton Arthofer, 10. Ryan Berger, 11. Shawn Kistler, 12. Lyndsay Buss, 13. Hunter Iatalese, 14. Cody Boehm, 15. Kassidy Altemose, 16. Tad Snyder, 17. Adrian Dorwart, 18. Jacob Boehm, 19. Beau Drobot, 20. Taylor Schmidt



​

For Brian DeFebo, Opening Night win was déjà vu; Frankie Althouse, Cody Geist, Mark Levy, Jake Kibler and Shawn Kistler among class winners


(APRIL 14, 2018) A new era of racing was ushered in at Mahoning Valley Speedway on Saturday. Now under the leadership of Jack and Rebecca Carlino, a great Opening Night crowd poured into the track to kick-off the 2018 season.

Defending Modified champion Brian DeFebo got his year off to a great start as well, scoring the Opening Night laurels for a second straight time. And, just as he did a year ago the win came over Austin Kochenash.    DeFebo would use a last lap restart to slip below Kyle Strohl and then held back Kochenash, who also advanced on the same restart, to register his 67th career Modified win and 96th overall.  “It’s exciting to start this way and a great way to come back and defend our championship,” said DeFebo who is back behind the wheel of the Welsh Motorsports No. 53.  With a heads-up start from heat finishes to begin the 35-lap main, Joey Jarowicz and Strohl would bring the field to the race commencing green. From there Jarowicz went right to the lead and was turning solid laps in the process.  Strohl was settled in second and every few laps would make a bid at the lead. Each time, though, Jarowicz was able to guard his spot, looking very poised for his overdue first win.  With 16 laps in Strohl again went for the lead and this time was able to pull to the inside of Jarowicz. Afterwards a thrilling two-wide battle ensued. Then on the 19th tour the pair came into turn three and Jarowicz got slightly loose. He and Strohl then made incidental contact. Before Jarowicz had a chance to recover his car got completely out of line and skidded into the front straight wall and suffered race ending damage.  “That was just circumstances. Joey (Jarowicz) just got the car a little sideways. Kyle had nothing to do with that from where I was sitting,” offered DeFebo, who was riding behind the two when the incident unfolded.  Afterwards it was Strohl over DeFebo and with the laps winding it was appearing to finish that way. Unfortunately for Strohl a last lap caution waved for debris and with one last shot DeFebo powered under Strohl and took Kochenash with him.  “There was no outside line tonight. Once we had that last restart I had Austin (Kochenash) assisting me. I was then on the 44 (Strohl) and he left me just enough room,” explained DeFebo on his race winning move.  “Kyle did a great job but you have to do what you have to do in order to pass here. It’s not at a point stance right now. We’re all here tonight win and everyone wants to win the first one.” 

In Late Model action Frankie Althouse made a breathtaking three-wide pass for the lead on lap four and remained in control the rest of the distance in notching the top spot.  Two-time and defending class champ Mike Sweeney took control at the outset but it would be short lived as Broc Brown used a lap one restart to overtake him.  With Althouse in third, he then drove low two laps later to go underneath Brown while Sweeney was forced to the high outside lane. While much of the huge crowd may have gasped by what could have been a chaotic consequence, the trio of talented wheelmen held their own and settling into the lead was Althouse.  From there on it was smooth sailing for Althouse who picked up career win number 24. Brown was quick but had to settle for second while Sweeney came home third. 

Being in the right place at the right time aided Cody Geist in winning the Street Stock feature.  Corey Edelman was within reach of taking the Street Stock checkers until a late race nudge from Josh Mooney dashed his hopes.  When the field was reset Geist, who was riding third, was in charge and over the final few laps had no problem fending back 2017 division titlist Stacey Brown.  Opening Night wins are always special but when it came to the Dirt Mod event perhaps no one could have more elated then Mark Levy.

The high-spirited Levy moved into the lead during a lap one caution period after then leader Ricky Yetter had to pit for a flat.  When the race resumed Levy showed no signs of relinquishing the point as he motored around the 1/4-mile with perfect accuracy and won over Billy Lasko. It was only the second win for Levy whose last win came exactly five years and a day since then.  

Jake Kibler raced to the Pro 4 victory but it was with a heavy heart as the day prior his mother, Pat Hosier, passed away.  Kibler started from the pole and early on had a good fight going with Cody Kohler. After Kohler spun while trying for the lead on lap 8, Kibler then let second place play out to everyone else as he steadily held his position the rest of the way. Bill Rooney claimed the runner-up spot.

Shawn Kistler certainly had plenty to celebrate on this night as he finally broke through for his career first feature win, taking top honors in the Hobby Stocks. Kistler passed Lindsay Buss on lap two and from there never looked back en route to the unforgettable verdict.


Alex Greenzweig was best in class with the visiting Micro Stocks.

Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Brian DeFefo, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Earl Paules, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Lou Strohl, 6. Gene Bowers, 7. Nick Baer, 8. John Markovic, 9. DJ Wagner, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Austin Beers, 12. Bobby Jones, 13. Joey Jarowicz, 14. BJ Wambold, 15. Don Wagner, 16. Kassidy Altemose

Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Broc Brown, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Lorin Arthofer II, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Jerric Johnson, 7. Paul Koehler Jr., 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Jacob Kerstetter

Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Cody Geist, 2. Stacey Brown, 3. Bobby Kibler Jr., 4. Jillian Long, 5. Shayne Geist, 6. Todd Ahner, 7. Jamie Smith, 8. Mark Deysher, 9. DJ Wambold, 10. Ken Erney III, 11. Jared Ahner, 12. Ken Reeder, 13. Corey Edelman, 14. Josh Mooney, 15. Joe Steigerwalt, 16. Jeremy Scheckler, 17. Jason Kuhn, 18. Eric Kocher

Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mark Levy, 2. Billy Lasko, 3. Jeff Parker, 4. Billy Lowden Jr., 5. Bill Sitler Jr., 6. Corey Edelman, 7. Colton Perry, 8. Ray Deemer, 9. Vince Fegley Jr., 10. Ricky Yetter, 11. Mike Stofflet

Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Bill Rooney, 3. Randy Schaffer, 4. Cody Kohler, 5. Tucker Muffley, 6. Jeremy Guerra, 7. Bryan Muth, 8. Matt Clark, 9. Tyler Stangle DNS: Jason Finken, Bobby Kibler Sr., Johnny Bennett, Josh Kuronya

Hobby Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Shawn Kistler, 2. Lyndsay Buss, 3. Hunter Iatalese, 4. Jacob Boehm, 5. Justin Merkel, 6. Tiffany Wambold, 7. Peyton Arthofer, 8. Cody Boehm, 9. Avery Arthofer, 10. Trisha Connolly, 11. Ryan Berger, 12. Devin Schmidt, 13. Lauren Gimbi, 14. Kassidy Altemose, 15. Beau Drobot, 16. Michael Wambold, 17. Travis Solomon, 18. Colton Breiner, 19. Taylor Schmidt, 20. Al Arthofer DNS: Paul Effrig DNQ: Kevin Behler

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