2020
Hirschman goes back to back on September 13 at Evergreen Raceway- Austin starts last in 17th and gets 3rd
(September 13). For the second week in a row Matt Hirschman proved to be the best in asphalt modified racing. Rookie of the year hopefuls Chris Turbush and Jack Ely lead the field to the green flag with Ely getting the jump into turn one on the outside and would take the top spot early. Hirschman would start the 50 lap event in the tenth starting spot and would slowly creep his way towards the front.. Only two cautions flew throughout the race and Ely was setting a torid pace. Ely would lead the first thirty five circuits, but Hirschman would use an inside move off of turn four to over take the top spot and cruise to his fifth win in six races. Austin Beers ended up third after starting seventeenth, followed by Jerry Hildebrand and Zane Zeiner.
Modifieds: Matt Hirschman, Jack Ely, Austin Beers, Jerry Hildebrand, Zane Zeiner, Chris Turbush, Eddie McCarthy, Paul Mankoski, Jesse Strohl, Roger Coss, Earl Paules, Jacob Kerstetter, Brian Defebo, Jim Gavek, Wayne Szerencsits, Wes Gilbert, Bobby Jones
800th run Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified feature on asphalt to Austin Beers; Earl Paules (2), Geno Steigerwalt, Jon Moser, Cody Kohler, Al Arthofer and Paul French Jr., are class champions
(SEPTEMBER 12) It was a very busy and productive evening of racing at Mahoning Valley Speedway with all seven divisions in action as part of Championship Night and each class title fight did not disappoint as the respective point battles all came down to the wire.
Earl Paules capped off his night with a pair of titles, taking top honors in both the Modifieds Sportsman Modifieds, Geno Steigerwalt emerged number one in the Late Models, Jon Moser took his second straight and record fourth Street Stock championship, Cody Kohler annexed his second crown in the Pro 4s, Al Arthofer repeated in the Hobby Stocks while Paul French Jr., became the inaugural Rookie Hobby Stock titlist.
The Modified feature was also a milestone event, marking the 800th race on pavement beginning in 1970 with Austin Beers scoring his second straight victory in a wild affair. Beers once again came from the 15th starting spot, was caught up in a pair of skirmishes, made three pits stops and still powered his way to the front. He passed Bobby Jones on a lap 26 restart and then cruised the rest of the way for what was nothing short of an exhausting race. Beers was first involved in a lap three dust-up and another on lap 11. All total he had to make three spots but after his third time out of the pits on the 11th lap he then put on a thrilling drive as he began picking off cars lap by lap, moving up to third with 19 complete. With Jones leading at that point Beers was going toe-to-toe with Jesse Strohl for second. These two future stars waged a sizzling battle, Beers finally snagged the spot with 12 laps to go while Jones was maintaining a decent lead. However, when the caution waved 10 laps from the finish, Beers utilized that restart to seize the lead and go on to win the landmark 800th feature race and congratulated in Victory Lane by the first winner asphalt winner Bob McCullough. “I can honestly tell you that being in Victory Lane is the last place I thought I’d be after the kind of race we had tonight. We got beat up out there and then to get here is amazing,” said Beers. “The car was a little tight towards the end and I think the damage just turned out to be cosmetic so we were good to go. There was a great point battle tonight and I gave those guys room and respect and then passing Bobby (Jones) for the lead, he’s one of the very best here and he gave me room and I can’t thank him enough for the clean driving.” With his third place tally Paules earned the championship, his third such with the class and record tying seventh at Mahoning Valley. Strohl had another great run settling for fourth while top rookie Sean Verwys rounded out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (35-laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Bobby Jones, 3. Earl Paules, 4. Jessie Strohl, 5. Sean Verwys, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Jack Ely, 8. Josh Scherer, 9 Frankie Althouse, 10. Jacob Kerstetter, 11. Wes Gilbert, 12. Heath Metzger, 13. Terry Markovic, 14. Rod Snyder Jr, 15 Nick Bear, 16 John Markovic, 17 Brian DeFebo, 18 Lou Strohl, 19 Jared Ahner, 20 Don Wagner, DNS BJ Wambold
Hirschman Takes Record Evergreen Payout on September 6th - Austin has no luck as Harmonic Balance bolts comes out
Matt Hirschman will go down as one of the greatest modified drivers of our time as continues is dominance at Evergreen Raceway. Hirschman set fast time earlier in the afternoon with a blistering lap of 13.254 seconds and received a $500 bonus courtesy of Green Mountain Excavating. The 100 lap main event would start heads up from time trials putting “Big Money” Matt on the pole position. Austin Kochenash would an lead early but have to fend off northeast modified ace Ron Silk and Hirschman as the laps clicked off. A lap 19 caution would slow the show as Earl Paules’ motor let loose in turns 3 and 4. As the race resumed, we would see the longest stretch of green flag laps until the yellow flew on lap 75 just as Silk was able to maneuver around Kochenash. All 18 cars remaining on track darted to the pits for service. Hirschman would come off the track in third, but out first position. He would only be challenged on restarts the remainder of the way by Silk and Zane Zeiner and cashed in at 7,500 dollars leading the remaining laps. Chuck Hossfeld and Roger Coss would round out the top 5.
RESULTS:
Tour Modifieds: MATT HIRSCHMAN, Ron Silk, Zane Zeiner, Chuck Hosfeld, Roger Coss, Jack Ely, Daren Scherer, Brian Defebo, Johnathan Mandato, Bobby Jones, Chris Turbush, Chris Young, Todd Baer, Jerry Hildebrand , Artie Pedersen III, Austin Kochenash, Paul Monkoski, Jim Gavek, Paul Frantz, Austin Beers, Earl Paules
Austin Beers from 15th to 1st at Mahoning Valley and wins for first time in DeLange 45 Modified on September 5
(September 5) When Austin Beers was presented the opportunity to take over the ride of his legendary father, Eric Beers, in the infamous No. 45 for car owners Dave and Laura DeLange, there was no indecision for the 17-year old. In just five races since first getting into the mount on June 27 for a RoC event at Lake Erie Speedway, the second generation racer scored a fan pleasing victory Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway over seasoned veteran Rod Snyder Jr. Beers made an impressive drive to the front too, coming from 15th to first and in the process pulled off his race winning move by getting by renowned track star Snyder Jr., on lap 20. From there on it was as if watching his father as he did time and again, simply pulling away with each passing lap and leaving the field far enough behind en route to the checkers. “This feels amazing winning with Dave and Laura DeLange who believed in me and I’m so glad to drive their race car and win at my home track. To get this win with the 45 car is a huge confidence booster,” an elated Beers said afterwards. “The track was awesome and the car was on rails. To come from 15th to first is a testament to the great team effort and no doubt winning a Modified feature here at Mahoning Valley – this is the biggest win of my career.” At the start of the 35 lap contest Kyle Strohl assumed the early lead and was gapping from the pack. Some distance back second place running Terry Markovic was holding off Snyder, Nick Baer and Brian DeFebo in what was a very tight battle. Then on lap 16 Strohl’s large lead was erased when the caution waved for point leader Lou Strohl who came to a halt. On the restart Snyder, who had just moved to second prior to the yellow, used his classic outside line style and shot to the front. A lap later saw Beers race his way into second. For fans of Mahoning Valley is was nothing new to see Snyder, a five time Modified track champion, waging battle with Eric Beers, as they have a combined 76 wins. Snyder, however, was now taking that fight with Austin and it was just like days of old. Snyder held steady to the outside while the younger Beers took his car low. Side-by-side they then went at it and on lap 19 while approaching Turn 3 Snyder bobbled just a tad. That was all Beers needed as he came out the leader at the conclusion of the circuit. From there to the finish he was on cruise control beating Snyder by nearly two seconds. “He’s (Snyder) a heck of a racer and he gave me a lot of room and respect out there. Rod and all these guys here are great racers and champions and it’s definitely hard to get through the field but tonight it all came together,” noted Beers. In Victory Lane the first to congratulate the happy winner where car owners the DeLange’s. “Austin is a great young talent and I’ve had faith in him for the past two years as we watched him run these Modifieds and this year we made the change to put him in the seat and it’s paid off nicely,” said Dave DeLange. “We couldn’t be more proud and happy for him and his entire family.” Josh Scherer netted a solid third and in the process assumed the point lead with one regular season race to go. Baer had a great run in taking fourth while rookie Jesse Strohl notch a career best fifth. Eric Kocher was the Street Stock winner but his stop in Victory Lane wasn’t without debate.
Modified Feature Finish (35-laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Rod Snyder Jr., 3. Josh Scherer, 4. Nick bear, 5. Jesse Strohl, 6. Eric Kocher, 7. Brian DeFebo, 8. Earl Paules, 9. Kyle Strohl, 10. John Markovic, 11. Jared Ahner, 12. Sean Verwys, 13. Terry Markovic, 14. Jacob Kerstetter, 15. Gene Bowers, 16. BJ Wambold, 17. Avery Arthofer, 18. Lou Strohl, 19. Bobby Jones
Marvin Bartholomew 85-lap Tribute was third straight win for Matt Hirschman in Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series - Austin gets 2nd after starting 14th
(AUGUST 22, 2020) The Marvin Bartholomew 85-lap Tribute marked the fourth race in the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS) and for the third straight time Matt Hirschman was savoring in the accolades of victory.
Hirschman showed his prowess by coming from 14th on the grid and moving into the lead after 51 laps. From there on he drove smooth and steady, holding off Austin Beers by 1.286-seconds in claiming his 21st win at Mahoning Valley. “We’re making a habit of this (MVSHoFS) and it’s a good thing. Each time we come we try to get better from Opening Night and through the last few times I feel we’ve improved. I keep trying and it’s paying off. Tonight we had to pass a lot of cars and use patience,” said Hirschman who collected $2850 for his efforts and also assumed the Series point lead with one event remaining. Fittingly the pole, via a revenge draw, went to Lou Strohl, grandson of the night’s honoree Bartholomew and at the drop of the race commencing green he grabbed the lead over Todd Baer, Nevin George, Bobby Jones and Josh Scherer. Jones would then use a lap 10 restart to charge by Strohl for the lead. Not long afterwards a thrilling side-by-side battle took place for second spot between George and Jack Ely while staying glued to the rear bumper of Jones. As the intense battle of that trio waged on Hirschman was gradually making his way frontward and by lap 22 was shown in fourth. Ely, running the outside line, had finally gotten by George on lap 32 and then kept that push going as he pulled alongside Jones. Racing two-by-two Ely had just edged ahead to the lead when a caution waved for a spinning Earl Paules. Two laps after the restart Ely found himself facing off with Hirschman and despite every effort to fend off the potent No. 60, it was not to be as the race winning pass was made just as the 51st circuit was completed. “We had a good race with the 19 (Ely). I knew we had enough time and I was just waiting to see if he was going to open the door enough that we wouldn’t have an issue for space,” said Hirschman. While Hirschman remained planted out front Beers was making headway. After a pit stop for a tire change near mid-race Beers then staged a charge. With 12 laps to go he was dueling with Don Wagner for second, eventually taking the spot with seven reaming. A caution five tours left gave reason for a shootout but Hirschman proved the better of the two in gaining the score. “The car really worked well on the top once we got that tire and it was on rails,” said Beers who notched his best 2020 finish. “I think if we had a double file restart on that last caution instead of single file I may have had something for him (Hirschman) but he was tough and always is.” Austin Kochenash, who came into the event as the Series point leader, also put on a drive. He made several pit stops and each time back was picking off cars in moving towards the front. Time then ran out on him and he settled for third. Wagner had a very strong run too, maintaining a top-5 spot for most of the race while Paules rounded out the top five
Modified Feature Finish (85-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Gene Bowers, 8. Josh Scherer, 9. Jack Ely, 10. Nevin George, 11. Louis Horvath, 12. Blake Barney, 13. Todd Baer, 14. Jacob Kerstetter, 15. Brian DeFebo, 16. Nick Baer, 17. Joh Markovic, 18. Lou Strohl, 19. Sean Verwys, 20. Jesse Strohl, 21. Rod Snyder Jr., 22. Kyle Strohl DNQ: Terry Markovic, Jesse Strohl, BJ Wambold
Austin has a great run at Lake Erie Speedway for the RoC Tour Race August 15th - leading laps and finishing 4th
The Race of Champions Modified Series made its second visit of the season to Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Speedway for the 31st running of the Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak 110, honoring two of of Western New York's Modified legends. Although the race is typically held at the Lancaster Speedway, COVID-19 guidelines kept the race from it's New York home and pushed it just south of the NY/PA border. That didn't stop the racing action from being exciting and allowing the Modified community to remember the lives of Druar and Jankowiak. With 110 laps being the distance as the combination of Druar's #37 and Jankowiak's #73, it would be Race of Champions Modified Series newcomer Kevin Timmerman and defending series champion Patrick Emerling leading the field to green. It wouldn't take long and Emerling would jump out to the early lead as Timmerman slowly began to fade his was towards the tail end of the top 10 over the opening stint of the race. Filling in behind Emerling would be young sensation Austin Beers and Kyle Ebersole. Through the beginning stages, the top three ran nose to tail until a caution on lap 32 would shake things up. Emerling, Mike Leaty, Andy Jankowiak and a host of other drivers would pit while under caution for a tire, putting them to the rear of the field and handing the lead over to Beers. As the green flag waved, Beers would jump to the top spot, securing his first laps led with the Race of Champions. He would stay out front as many of the drivers who had pitted had a hard time coming back through the field. Another caution on lap 60 would help tighten the field back up as the remainder of the cars would come down and take their tire for the race. The only drivers to not pit would be TJ Potrzebowski and Kirk Totten as they would lead the field back to racing. This cycle of drivers coming to pit road would put Emerling as the first driver to have already pitted in the fourth position. With the restart coming on lap 67, it made the battle for the lead intense as a $730 bonus awaited the leader of lap 73. As Potrzebowski and Totten duked it out side by side for the top spot, Emerling would put heavy pressure on the leaders, trying to score the bonus as well. He would make a daring three-wide move to the line on lap 73 to take the lead as the field made its way through the first set of corners. From there, it was all Patrick Emerling. After a few late cautions and a challenge from teammate Mike Leaty, Emerling would hang on to claim the win. "We just had an awesome car tonight. We were able to keep our track position pretty good. We pitted a little on the early side there, but I knew we had a good enough car to get the job done," Emerling tolld Speed51.com. "I knew if we were out front, I didn't think we couldn't get passed. It was a good night, we just had a strategy and the team executed. It was a good way to honor Tony (Jankowiak) and Tommy (Druar) and we had a lot of fun." Coming across the line behind Emerling was his L2 Autosport teammate, Mike Leaty. After making his way through the field from pitting early in the event, he was able to challenge Emerling for the win but came up just a little short. "The team was spot on. We had good pit srtategy and a really good racecar all night. We just came out behind Pat (Emerling) there and he beat me through traffic I guess and I couldn't get around him. We were pretty much the same speed or he might have been just a tick better. We were really close," explained Leaty. "It was a fun race, I love Lake Erie Speedway. Love running the Tommy//Tony race in honor of the Druars and Jankowiaks. We had fun, just came up one spot short tonight." Rounding out the podium at Lake Erie Speedway was Andy Jankowiak. After running just outside of the top 10 for much of the race, a charge in the late stages would bring the #12x home in the third position. "We had to pit when they did because we were behind them. So we had to pit when they did. It took us a little while to get through traffic so we pitted about 30 laps later and I got to third with about 20-25 laps to go. We really could have used a caution a little bit sooner," said Jankowiak. "They were good. I had a 30 lap fresher right rear so I had my opportunity to go get them. We were working them over, I think we were a tick better. It's just tough here. We couldn't really run the bottom like we did last time here and they were kinda running the top, so when you're running the same lane as them it's tough to pass. Like I said, we put a little pressure on them there at the end but too little, too late."
Pos Start Driver Hometown Car
1 2 Patrick Emerling Orchard Park, NY 07
2 4 Mike Leaty Williamson, NY 25
3 12 Andy Jankowiak Tonawanda, NY 12X
4 3 Austin Beers Northampton, PA 45B
5 5 Kyle Ebersole Mooresville, NC 5
6 8 Daryl Lewis Jr. Ontario, NY 10
7 17 Scott Wylie Blasdell , NY 14W
8 13 Tommy Catalano Ontario, NY 54C
9 24 Daren Scherer Binghamton, NY 3
10 14 Danny Knoll Jr Amherst, NY 17K
11 18 Timmy Catalano Ontario, NY 45C
12 6 Jack Ely Wall Township, NJ 54E
13 1 Kevin Timmerman Ontario, NY 17T
14 21 Amy Catalano Ontario, NY 56
15 15 T.J. Potrzebowski Elmira, NY 72
16 7 George Skora III Eden, NY 44
17 16 Bryan Sherwood APALACHIN, NY 95
18 19 Tyler Catalano Ontario, NY 64
19 11 Kreig Heroth Fort Plain, NY 00
20 9 Owen Bednasz Lakeview, NY 2
21 10 Kirk Totten Lockport, NY 11
22 20 Bill Mislin Buffalo, NY 99
23 26 Jim Gavek Effort, PA 21
24 25 Jeff Szafreniec Akron, NY 83
25 23 Jeremy Haudricourt Bliss, NY 39
26 22 Alan Bookmiller Castile, NY 40B
Zane Zeiner and Matt Hirschman are winners in Tony Fisher Memorial Twin 25s at Evergreen Raceway August 8 that saw Austin finish 3rd and should have won the 2nd feature
Austin: "P10 in the last race. Unfortunately was leading with 4 to go and evergreen made a decision to take me off the track when they saw I had fluid on my car from when I blew the rack the race before. I’m disappointed with the outcome because we had the car to win that race at the end. Just have to thank all my crew for everything they do and everyone that supports me. Off to Lake Erie in the 45!"
Austin: "P3 in race one. Had another fast car but lost my power steering after getting up to 2nd. One more race to go! Starting 10th!"
By DINO OBERTO
The Annual Tony Fisher Memorial for Modifieds at Evergreen Raceway saw a pair of premier Modified standouts capture the twin-25 lap mains as Zane Zeiner and Matt Hirschman shared the glory. In race one Zeiner finally upended the always dominating Hirschman while the second main went the way of Hirschman.After finishing second to Hirschman more times than not over the past few seasons including the last time here on August 19, Zeiner was not to be denied his time to shine race number one.Driving the Billy Ray Pruitt No. 22, Zeiner held off a hard charging Hirschman for his first Modified win here since 2017 and the 40th overall victory for the Bath driver at Evergreen. “It finally feels good to get a win again and I had to do what I had to in order to hold him (Hirschman) off late in the run and making sure I had my A-game with the restarts,” said Zeiner. “We’ve gained in some areas and I know there’s still more left in the car. We came back this week and the car is much better than when I gave the lead up to him last time here. We just have to tweak it a little more and then I feel we’ll have a tough car to pass.” By luck of the draw Zeiner drew the pole and would quickly take the lead over Lou Strohl, Brian DeFebo, Chuck Hossfeld and Austin Beers. After a restart on lap three DeFebo and Beers advanced to second and third respectively. With six laps complete Beers settled into second spot and began putting pressure on the leader. Despite having a few restarts to aid him, Beers was unable to get by Zeiner although he was making valid attempts from the outside. “Austin (Beers) tried to snooker me a there but we have just a little bit more experience than he has right now but the kid’s come along good,” noted Zeiner. The Zeiner/Beers battle continued to wage on until a restart on lap 16 which saw 12th starting Hirschman pick up the runner-up spot. From there to the checkers it was nip and tuck as Zeiner maintained a solid line in fending off Hirschman. “This is a really emotional day because it’s my first win in a Modified since Jeff (Willet) passed away. He really did so much for my career and also Gunnar started out today in his first full Modified ride with me so there was a lot going on and it really feels great,” said Zeiner.
The second feature came down to a wild affair over the final laps. Hirschman would pass Zeiner with two laps to go and go on to victory but it was during the last four laps that turned the race in several directions. Hossfeld and Wayne Szerencsits shared the front row but before a lap was scored the yellow waved when several cars collided in turn two including that of Szerencsits. On the restart Hossfeld once again took charge and would lead over a very strong running Brian Sones and Beers.The action amongst that trio was intense as Sones and Beers stayed side-by-side while keeping close tabs on Hossfeld. With five laps to go Hossfeld was in a position to win for the first time in Pennsylvania but the pressure was still concentrated on him from Sones and Beers. Then on lap 21 his hopes suddenly where dashed when he was pinched under extreme close racing and slid into the Turn 2 wall. Several facets then occurred before the field was reset. Sones was cited by officials for his part in the incident and after pleading his case but to no benefit, he parked his car. At that point Beers was figured to be the race leader but he too was a victim of hardship. Prior to the caution his car was smoking and officials motioned him to the side to check the issue and it was deemed that he was leaking fluid. Beers and his crew asserted that was not the case, however, he was told to go the pits all the same. He was able to return albeit out of contention. When the field was sorted Earl Paules was at the helm over Johnathan Mandato, Zeiner and Hirschman. When the action resumed the lead fight hit fever pitch as Paules, Mandato and Zeiner went three-wide for the top spot. Zeiner, who was on the bottom, emerged as the new leader while Hirschman powered his way to second on his tail. Wih two laps to go Hirschman went to the inside of Zeiner in turn one and came out ahead but a caution negated his effort. On the ensuing restart, however, Hirschman took to the outside and passed Zeiner at the continuation of the race and held on for his third Evergreen win in four 2020 starts. “We worked hard in both these features, coming from 14th to second in the first one and then 11th to first so we definitely passed the most cars by far and really had a good day,” said Hirschman who has now tied Russ Frantz for second on the all-time Modified wins list with 35. “It was crazy. Zane (Zeiner) made that three-wide move underneath and I tried to follow through. I wasn’t close at first and I was thinking maybe he would get pinched off and I would try and jump to the outside. Overall it was tough out there for everyone,” said Hirschman. Mandato scored third with Paules and Oltra rounding out the top five. Hirschman was also the overall winner of the Fisher Memorial and earned a guaranteed starting spot in the September 6 Tom Casagrande Memorial.
1st Modified feature finish (25-laps): 1. Zane Zeiner, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Roger Coss, 5. Chris Turbush, 6. Brian DeFebo, 7. Brandon Oltra, 8. Brain Sones, 9. Earl Paules, 10. Sal Alcardi, 11. Wayne Szerencsits, 12. Chuck Hossfeld, 13. Chris Ridsdale, 14. Bobby Jones, 15. Daren Scherer, 16. Jim Gaver, 17. Gunnar Zeiner, 18. Brian Rygielski, 19. Lou Strohl, 20. Tyler Catalano, 21. Andrew Monkowski DNS: Jonathan Mandato
2nd Modified feature finish (25-laps) 1. Hirschman, 2. Z. Zeiner, 3. Mandato, 4. Paules, 5. Oltra, 6. DeFebo, 7. Scherer, 8. Alcardi, 9. Coss, 10. Beers, 11. Gaver, 12. Monkowski, 13. Catalano, 14. G. Zeiner, 15. Turbush, 16. Hossfeld, 17. Sones, 18. Jones, 19. Ridsdale, 20. Rygielski, 21. Strohl, 22. Szerencsits
60over car number returns to Victory Lane as Matt Hirschman wins Doug Hoffman Tribute at Mahoning Valley Speedway August 1 while Austin has a rack break again and Eric comes up just short
Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway was a fitting honor to the late Doug Hoffman as Matt Hirschman drove the No. 60over, a number carried by Hoffman to countless wins, to victory in the Doug Hoffman Modified 60-lap Tribute, which was race #3 of the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS). In a way it was fitting also in the fact that like Hoffman, Hirschman began his career locally and then went on the road to gain national acclaim. This was his second straight win in the Series and 20th at Mahoning Valley for Hirschman.
“This whole Hall of Fame Series is nice to recognize these past great drivers and this one probably means the most to me because of having the 60over on the car,” said Hirschman. “Doug’s ability to win at his home tracks and also on the road at just about anywhere he went – I’d like to think that I’m following that same path he took. He’s one of the all-time great drivers from this area and we carry the same number and tonight to add the “over” on it was extra special.” A redraw put Josh Scherer and Todd Baer on the front row and at the onset of the 60-lap event Baer jumped to the front while Bobby Jones clutched onto second. During the early going Baer and Jones had a thrilling battle enduring while Scherer watched closely from third and was fending off sixth starting Hirschman. On a lap 10 restart Jones was able to get the lead and a fast moving Brain DeFebo advanced to second with Hirschman now third and Austin Kochenash up to fourth ahead of Baer. Hirschman then went to the inside of DeFebo and after a few double-wide laps he grabbed second and continued on towards Jones. Try as he may Jones was doing all he could to make his car wide in order to protect his lead but in what is rather emblematic of Hirschman, when he wants the top spot he seizes at will and on lap 20 that was just the case. Not to take away from the fact that behind the him was a group of heavy hitters in the likes of Jones, DeFebo, Kochenash, Chuck Hossfeld and Eric Beers yet as they fought closely together they could not seem to gather up to Hirschman. Near the end Kochenash had worked into second and a restart with two laps to go saw the decent lead of Hirschman get wiped away and gave a thought of a shootout to the checkers, however, when the race resumed there was no denying the once again stellar performance of Hirschman who went on the claim the $2500 victory. “This was a shorter race tonight and it was just go from the start and go as fast as I could,” said Hirschman. “We’ve been working to get a faster race car and I need to say a big thanks to my family, crew and sponsors for all the incredible support.” Kochenash, Eric Beers, Jones and DeFebo rounded out the top five. It was the second straight time that Kochenash was second to Hirschman and add his fourth in the first Series race, he remains the point leader heading into the Marvin Bartholomew 85-lap Tribute on August 22. “I tried to go as fast I can to catch Matt (Hirschman) and do whatever it took to win because this race meant a lot to me. Doug (Hoffman) let me start racing here when I was 12-years old and he taught me how to race and would make me start in the back until I was good enough to start passing cars, ” said Kochenash. “Unfortunately I didn’t really have tires left at the end to go and we just had to settle for second again. I could just never get quite close enough to mount a challenge.”
Modified Feature Finish (60-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Eric Beers, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Brian DeFebo, 6. Chuck Hossfeld, 7. Nick Bear, 8. John Markovic, 9. Earl Paules, 10. Josh Scherer, 11. Mike Stofflet, 12. Terry Markovic, 13. Kyle Strohl, 14. Don Wagner, 15. Sean Verwys, 16. Gene Bowers, 17. Rod Snyder, 18. Todd Bear, 19. Jacob Kerstetter, 20. Lou Strohl, 21. Austin Beers DNQ: Heath Metzger, Jesse Strohl, Louie Horvath, BJ Wambold
Austin comes home with a solid 4th place finish in the Delange 45 Car at Mahoning Valley Speedway on July 18
(JULY 20) For Kyle Strohl, the 2020 season got off to a rough start as the always exciting young talent suffered through a bad wreck that led to him finding a back-up ride for the next race out. That race regrettably, did not fare well in the results column either. Strohl then rebounded in week three with a solid top five coming in the George Wambold 81-lap Tribute race and completed his full rally of being a front runner with a wire-to-wire run in Saturday night’s Modified feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway. Strohl started on the outside of pole sitter Jacob Kerstetter and when the action began he was quick to jump out front to the early lead. Despite getting overtaken at the start, Kerstetter stayed close with Strohl as the race settled into a good rhythm over the first dozen laps. Noticeably making headway over that stint was Lou Strohl who worked up to third by lap nine and then began putting the pressure on Kerstetter as they began a side-by-side battle. A lap 12 caution put a halt to the action but when the race restarted L. Strohl stayed tucked behind leader K. Strohl and drove up to second spot. From there on K. Strohl knew his best line of defense would be to protect the bottom and he did so, forcing the very persistent L. Strohl to do his bidding from the outside lane. It was a close nip and tuck fight to the finish and only over the final laps was K. Strohl able to gain some breathing room. This week we finally got a lucky spot to start up front and the car was working good and I just held the bottom as best I could because I knew the top runners would be coming,” said K. Strohl. “Lou (Strohl) gave me a great race and he was very tough. My car started to get tight toward the end and I had to then use up my part of the track to seal the deal.” Interestingly after K. Strohl wrecked hard on Opening Night he then drove the same car that L. Strohl almost beat him in, the Matt Higgins owned No. 88. “Matt’s car runs really good I can attest to that and but for us tonight we were fortunate enough to have the upper hand,” he added. Although he had to settle for second the hard fought effort of L. Strohl did come with a bonus as he moved into the point’s lead, holding that standings position for the first time since 2008. While the Strohl and Strohl show was going on Nick Baer was making an impressive run as well. In the final 12 laps he had moved into third spot and then did a fine job of fending off Austin Beers who drove from deep in the pack and Earl Paules in rounding out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (35-laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Lou Strohl, 3. Nick Bear, 4. Austin Beers, 5. Earl Paules, 6. John Markovic, 7. Sean Verwys, 8. Terry Markovic, 9. BJ Wambold, 10. Jacob Kerstetter, 11. Josh Scherer, 12. Rod Snyder Jr., 13. Brian DeFebo, 14. Gunnar Zeiner, 15. Mike Stofflet, 16. Peyton Arthofer, 17. Louie Howvath, 18. Heath Metzger
Austin crashes out early and Eric comes up just a little short as Matt Hirschman wins George Wambold Tribute on July 11 at Mahoning Valley Speedway
(JULY 11) Northampton’s Matt Hirschman turned in solid performance in picking up his first win of the season at Mahoning Valley Speedway, netting top honors in the George Wambold Tribute 81-lap main. The event was race number #2 of the 2020 Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS) and was an acknowledgment to the legendary Wambold, a multi-time track champion and many time winner. “This was very special to win a race in honor of George Wambold who was definitely one of the big names in eastern Pennsylvania racing,” said Hirschman from Victory Lane. “He was one of those tough guys that wheeled cars without power steering and head rests and any of that stuff and I can always appreciate those drivers. They were way tougher than today’s drivers and it’s nice that we’re honoring these guys with this Series.” Second starting Kochenash had grabbed the lead from the drop of the green over Nick Baer. Within 10 laps point leader Bobby Jones and seventh starter Hirschman where running in tow. By lap 18 Hirschman had took control of second. Kochenash, however, stayed attentive to his lead and kept Hirschman busy in trying both high and low lanes to make a pass over the next 24 laps. Just prior to a caution coming out on lap 43, Hirschman finally nipped him for the top spot and not long afterwards was facing off against Eric Beers. Beers and Hirschman where in contention to win in the first MVSHoFS event from the previous month but a tangle between them negated the thinkable outcome. On a lap 45 restart Beers had showed the power and out-dueled Hirschman for the lead but one lap later it would go back to the Harry’s U-Pull-It No. 60. From there on Hirschman wasn’t taking any chances as he stayed a few car lengths out ahead of the pack en route to his 19th career win at Mahoning Valley. “The thing here at Mahoning is you have to run as hard as you can because you never know what’s going on behind you but overall it was a good race,” explained Hirschman. “I was able to test the outside a little with the 72 (Kochenash) and then eventually with a couple moves on the bottom so it was good racing between us and then with Eric (Beers) on the restarts,” he continued. “You can’t really save anything here. Starting seventh we were able to make progress right away. You have to keep moving and you can’t always just settle in here, that’s the kind of track it is and why the racing is really good here.” After Hirschman took the lead for keeps Kochenash and Beers waged a great battle with the Wentz Auto Body No. 72 securing the spot in the final laps. Don Wagner bounced back and forth during the race before securing a hard-earned fourth and likewise with Kyle Strohl who edged Blake Barney in rounding out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (81-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Eric Beers, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Kyle Strohl, 6. Blake Barney, 7. Eddie McCarthy, 8. Roger Cross, 9. Gene Bowers, 10. Chuck Hossfeld, 11. Sean Verwys, 12. Jacob Kerstetter, 13. Lou Strohl, 14. Mike Stofflet, 15. Bobby Jones, 16. BJ Wambold, 17. Todd Bear, 18. Nick Bear, 19. Brian DeFebo, 20. Heath Metzger, 21. Josh Scherer, 22. Earl Paules, 23. Rod Snyder Jr., 24. Austin Beers, DNQ: Jack Ely, Ricky Collins, Terry Markovic, Jason Arthofer, John Markovic
Matt Hirschman completes weekend sweep with victory at Evergreen Raceway on June 28 while Austin was the show early in the race and leading until a late race restart to finish 3rd
(6-28-20) Matt Hirschman had a long and hectic weekend but it paid dividends as he made bookends of the state of Pennsylvania, winning Saturday night at Lake Erie Speedway in Erie for the season opener on the Sunoco Race of Champions Tour and afterwards drove across the Keystone State to Evergreen Raceway in St. Johns where he pulled off another victory in less than 12 hours. Hirschman thrusted by Austin Beers on the second try of a lap 61 restart and then held off fast charging Zane Zeiner for his 34th career Modified win at Evergreen. “It’s just good to be back racing and this wasn’t easy to do with the distance between here and Erie and I really need to thank my guys. Some did both, some did yesterday and some today but it was a total team effort and I appreciate all the hours and miles on the road they put in,” said Hirschman after scoring his second 75-lap verdict of the weekend. All total Hirschman and Company put in 12 hours and 772 miles of driving back and forth between his Northampton home, Erie and St. Johns. They left Erie Speedway a little past midnight, went back to the shop, adjusted the car and then headed off to Evergreen. This was the first Modified race of the season at Evergreen and when the 20-car starting field came to the race commencing green it was pole sitter Chuck Hossfeld in Tom Wanick’s No. 1W shooting out front over Jack Ely, Austin Beers and Earl Paules. As Hossfeld led and had Ely two car lengths back, Beers and New Jersey invader Jimmy Blewett where waging a torrid side-by-side dual, a fight that eventually went to Beers by lap 10. Beers then began the same fight with his teammate Ely within the next two laps, finally advancing to second with 15 circuits complete. While Hossfeld still showed the way Beers was making headway and just as he did with Blewett and Ely, he quickly caught the leader and made it yet another exciting double wide battle. His efforts were compensated with 16 laps complete as he executed a clean outside pass on Hossfeld. Once in front Beers began to slowly distance himself from the pack but the move would in due course be his demise. As the race went non-stop from laps 21 to 61 it took a toll on his tires. “I told my dad (crew chief Eric Beers) before the race that I wanted to get out front early because I felt my car was better out there. So when I led those laps I was also trying to save as much as I could but by be then the right front (tire) was going away,” said Beers, who like Hirschman, also did the nearly 800 mile trek between Lake Erie and Evergreen Speedways. “The right front was going away from racing hard on the top and that’s what eventually backed us up.” When the action halted for a spin by Ron Silk, Beers now had Hirschman flanked alongside him for the restart. The first try at going back to green was negated as officials called out Hirschman for jumping the start. The second try, however, was textbook for the standout star as he used the outside lane to make his race winning move, completing the pass off Turn 2. As the laps began to tick down Zeiner, driving in just his second race for car owner Billy Ray Pruitt, had powered his way up to second but from there could not mount a challenge on Hirschman, even with a last chance restart two laps from the finish. “Matt (Hirschman) can fire off on the restarts a little bit better than us but I’m not sure if he was playing with us there when we went on the long green stretch. It seemed like towards the end I could keep digging but passing him was going to be a different story,” expressed Zeiner. “We had our car set-up for a long run and it was good but we’re still missing a little bit to beat that 60 car.” Beers held on for third. Blewett made his first Evergreen start a hard earned fourth while Ely was very solid all race long and took a respectable fifth. During the 40-lap green flag stint Hirschman had been picking his way towards the front. He had already been in the top five by lap 19. With 42 laps complete has was zeroed in on runner-up Ely and the next time by would go low in Turn 2 in gaining the runner-up spot. Afterwards he was using each passing lap to reel in Beers. “I was only inching in on him (Beers) on that long run. So the restart helped me for sure but there was still laps to go,” explained Hirschman. “It was fun that way to have green flag racing like that and a good long run and to make passes without having to worry about the next restart. It was good clean racing with Austin and Zane and with Jimmy Blewett and Jack Ely before that.”
Modified Feature Finish (75-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Zane Zeiner, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Jimmy Blewett, 5. Jack Ely, 6. Earl Paules, 7. Roger Coss, 8. Ton Silk, 9. Chris Turbush, 10. Johnathan Mandato, 11. Ricky Ross, Jr., 12. Anthony Sesely, 13. Chuck Hossfeld, 14. Brandon Oltra, 15. Dom Fattaruso, 16. Bobby Jones, 17. Joey Merlino, 18. Brian DeFebo, 19. Austin Kochenash, 20. Lou Strohl DNQ: Brian Sones, Blake Barney, Jim Gavek, Ricky Collins
MATT HIRSCHMAN CONTINUES HIS DOMINANCE OF LAKE ERIE SPEEDWAY ON JUNE 27 WITH “BASH BY THE LAKE” WIN WHILE AUSTIN HAS A GREAT DEBUT IN THE DELANGE 45 MODIFIED
(JUNE 27). Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pennsylvania, continued his dominance at Lake Erie Speedway this past Saturday night as he scored the opening night Series victory in the “Bash by the Lake” 75 for the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series. Hirschman has won the last six races at the North East, Pa., speed plant, dating back to the surprise victory by Will Thomas of Sharpsville, Pa., in 2016. It was Hirschman’s 48th career Race of Champions series victory. “It was a big night for us,” stated Hirschman. “Things have obviously been different this year and we are happy to come out and do our things. I love Lake Erie, it has been a great race track for me. I’m very thankful the show worked out. The weather didn’t look so good this week. We had a great car, a good draw and things just went our way. I hope the next race comes sooner rather than later, but whenever it is, we will be ready.” Hirschman topped Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, N.Y., finished second after a late race charge at Hirschman. Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y., the defending series champion finished third. Mike Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., finished fourth with Timmy Catalano of Ontario, N.Y., rounding out the top-five.
1 3 Matt Hirschman Northampton, PA 60
2 11 Andy Jankowiak Tonawanda, NY 12X
3 5 Patrick Emerling Orchard Park, NY 07
4 7 Mike Leaty Williamson, NY 25
5 2 Timmy Catalano Ontario, NY 45C
6 15 Danny Knoll Jr Amherst, NY 17K
7 10 Kyle Ebersole Mooresville, NC 5
8 6 Bryan Sherwood APALACHIN, NY 95
9 4 Austin Beers Northampton, PA 45B
10 12 Jeremy Haudricourt Bliss, NY 39
11 9 Jack Ely Wall Township, NJ 54E
12 8 Daren Scherer Binghamton, NY 3
13 14 Amy Catalano Ontario, NY 56
14 19 Chris Risdale Rochester, NY 1
15 16 Bill Mislin Buffalo, NY 99
16 20 Scott Wylie Blasdell , NY 14
17 13 Owen Bednasz Lakeview, NY 4
18 18 Daryl Lewis Jr. Ontario, NY 10
19 1 Tommy Catalano Ontario, NY 54C
20 17 Kirk Totten Lockport, NY 11
21 21 Kyle Hutchinson East Aurora, NY 57X
22 22 Chris Finocchario Macedon, NY 8
From No Time To “Showtime”…Jimmy Blewett wins in first start at Mahoning Valley Speedway on June 13 - Eric gets spun out while leading - Austin's rack goes just 10 laps into the race
(JUNE 13) “Showtime” Jimmy Blewett made his first ever visit to Mahoning Valley worthwhile, scoring a rousing a $2950 victory in the John “Peepers” Yerger Tribute before a full house of fans. Blewett was both good and lucking en-route to the verdict. Despite that fact that he never turned a lap on the tough ¼-mile bullring, he raced strong inside the top five from the drop of the green. Then while running third he caught a huge break when front runners Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman tangled and sent to the rear of the field. From there on Blewett withstood the advances of track regular Josh Scherer on his way to scoring the popular win. The raced ended nine laps shy of the advertised 77 lap distance due to an ongoing rash of cautions. Blake Barney did a great job in garnering a career best Mahoning finish of third. Austin Kochenash drove to a solid fourth while upstate New York invader Chuck Hossfeld battled his way to fifth. By luck of the draw Beers and Todd Baer shared front row honor. This was the first time since August of 2017 that Beers was back in action here and he wasted little time in showing his prowess for getting around the tight confines of Mahoning Valley. Eighth place starter Hirschman thrust forward in a hurry and was on Beers’ tail giving him quite a bit of pressure. Time and again he tried to grab the lead but each time his efforts where thwarted as Beers maintained a good line of defensiveness to hold back Hirschman’s advances. Hirschman also had numerous occasions to utilize restarts to overtake Beers as an abundance of cautions plagued the race. All that while defending track champion Bobby Jones was hovering closely in third with Blewett fourth. Interruptions would abound as the race wore on and take its toll on many including Jones who on lap 37 went spinning off turn four. With that Blewett was now third but ahead of him the Beers/Hirschman battle was still waging and all he could do was ride and watch. Then on lap 60 the race broke wide open when the front pair got together in turn three. Hirschman was looking to seize an opening on Beers but as they drove into the corner the door got closed and there was contact. Beers went sliding and made a great save of hitting the inside wall off turn four. For his part Hirschman was directed to the rear with Beers for the restart. For Blewett it was the right place at the right time as he inherited the lead with Scherer now second. Unfortunately yellow fever would persist on and in the sake of longevity and a warning to drivers, the race was called with eight laps to go. “This is like the complete opposite of what happens at my home track. I don’t think Matt (Hirschman) meant to take Eric (Beers) out. It was just hard racing there at the end and I’d rather be lucky,” said Blewett. “My guys gave me a great car and I can’t thank Eric Beers enough for all the help he gave me going into this race. My crew chief Rob Ornsbee, my engine builder Tom Martino but most of all my car owner Scott Brannick. Between him and my grandfather the last four years they’ve really been there when I needed things.” Known for his winning ways, Blewett notwithstanding entered the race optimistic never having turned a lap here. He practiced well, ran second in his heat then stayed steady in the race before coming into the lead. He then held off Scherer perfectly who kept the pressure on him to the checkers. “The first thing coming here was to just make the show. There are really good regulars here and I did a lot of watching of videos and in-car cameras. I knew it was going to be stiff competition just to qualify,” said Blewett. “I felt that if I can come out to this with a top five it will be great. I don’t go anywhere where that I don’t show up and don’t think I can win. This feels good and I look forward to coming back.”
Modified Feature Finish (77-laps): 1. Jimmy Blewett, 2. Josh Scherer, 3. Blake Barney, 4. Austin Kochenash, 5. Chuck Hossfeld, 6. Eric Beers, 7. John Markovic, 8. Rod Snyder Jr., 9. Tyler Truex, 10. Bobby Jones, 11. Matt Hirschman, 12. Todd Baer, 13. Eddie McCarthy, 14. Patrick Emerling, 15. Kyle Strohl, 16. Earl Paules, 17. Nick Baer, 18. Brian DeFebo, 19. Don Wagner, 20. Ron Silk, 21. Terry Markovic, 22. Jason Arthofer, 23. Austin Beers, 24. Jack Ely DNQ: Roger Coss, Lou Strohl, Heath Metzger, Gene Bowers, Sen Verwys, Jacob Kerstetter, Jim Gaver, Mike Stofflet, BJ Wambold
AUSTIN BEERS NIPS DAD ERIC FOR QUICK TIME AND GUARANTEED PICK IN OPENING DAY FEATURE REDRAW
(JUNE 7) Eric Beers made his official return to Mahoning Valley Speedway a meaningful one by out-timing everyone for the guaranteed redraw pick in advance of the June 13 Opening Day John “Peepers” Yerger Memorial 77-lap Tribute, which is race number one of the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series. Everyone that is with the exception of one driver, his 17-year old son Austin, who stole the thunder of his celebrated father, who is Mahoning’s all-time Modified wins leader, by going 10.088-seconds to the elder Beers’ 10.134-seconds. The timed dashes where part of the track’s Test and Tune days which actually began back on March 14 but was halted afterwards due the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed this past weekend. Brandon Christman, a rookie and Jesse Bollinger, also took top honors in the Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks respectively and will head into Opening Night worry free as they too are automatically locked in the redraw for feature starting spots. The Modified quick time was sponsored by MYRACENEWS.com which posted a $100 bonus to the fastest driver. The classes where divided in groups for two sessions and 5-lap runs per session. When E. Beers drove onto the blacktop in session one it marked his first official time in action at Mahoning since August 2017 and he immediately darted to the top of the speed charts. However, no sooner did the next and final group take to the clock then A. Beers blasted ahead of dad and all the rest. His 10.088-second lap was the fastest such for a Modified since 2016.
“It really felt good out there today and that despite we were on used tires. Really I need to thank my dad because he did a lot of the set-up on the car and when you can out run him here at Mahoning Valley that says a lot,” said A. Beers.
“This is huge knowing how many good drivers where here today and will be here next week too and so much pressure is off us now. The fans are going to be in for a great show with a lot of Modifieds and I can’t wait to come back Saturday and go for the win in the Peepers Tribute.”
Todd Baer, 10.222, Tyler Haydt 10.231 and Austin Kochenash 10.238 rounded out the top five. The Yerger Tribute will pay $2250 to win and $500 for 10th. Christman came into the weekend with the fastest time from March 14 and it held up over the past weekend, giving the third generation rookie driver an impressive outing for his upcoming feature debut.aLikewise Bollinger showed his hand three months ago and when Test and Tune began and he then added and insurance lap with his 12.130 circuit.
Hirschman goes back to back on September 13 at Evergreen Raceway- Austin starts last in 17th and gets 3rd
(September 13). For the second week in a row Matt Hirschman proved to be the best in asphalt modified racing. Rookie of the year hopefuls Chris Turbush and Jack Ely lead the field to the green flag with Ely getting the jump into turn one on the outside and would take the top spot early. Hirschman would start the 50 lap event in the tenth starting spot and would slowly creep his way towards the front.. Only two cautions flew throughout the race and Ely was setting a torid pace. Ely would lead the first thirty five circuits, but Hirschman would use an inside move off of turn four to over take the top spot and cruise to his fifth win in six races. Austin Beers ended up third after starting seventeenth, followed by Jerry Hildebrand and Zane Zeiner.
Modifieds: Matt Hirschman, Jack Ely, Austin Beers, Jerry Hildebrand, Zane Zeiner, Chris Turbush, Eddie McCarthy, Paul Mankoski, Jesse Strohl, Roger Coss, Earl Paules, Jacob Kerstetter, Brian Defebo, Jim Gavek, Wayne Szerencsits, Wes Gilbert, Bobby Jones
800th run Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified feature on asphalt to Austin Beers; Earl Paules (2), Geno Steigerwalt, Jon Moser, Cody Kohler, Al Arthofer and Paul French Jr., are class champions
(SEPTEMBER 12) It was a very busy and productive evening of racing at Mahoning Valley Speedway with all seven divisions in action as part of Championship Night and each class title fight did not disappoint as the respective point battles all came down to the wire.
Earl Paules capped off his night with a pair of titles, taking top honors in both the Modifieds Sportsman Modifieds, Geno Steigerwalt emerged number one in the Late Models, Jon Moser took his second straight and record fourth Street Stock championship, Cody Kohler annexed his second crown in the Pro 4s, Al Arthofer repeated in the Hobby Stocks while Paul French Jr., became the inaugural Rookie Hobby Stock titlist.
The Modified feature was also a milestone event, marking the 800th race on pavement beginning in 1970 with Austin Beers scoring his second straight victory in a wild affair. Beers once again came from the 15th starting spot, was caught up in a pair of skirmishes, made three pits stops and still powered his way to the front. He passed Bobby Jones on a lap 26 restart and then cruised the rest of the way for what was nothing short of an exhausting race. Beers was first involved in a lap three dust-up and another on lap 11. All total he had to make three spots but after his third time out of the pits on the 11th lap he then put on a thrilling drive as he began picking off cars lap by lap, moving up to third with 19 complete. With Jones leading at that point Beers was going toe-to-toe with Jesse Strohl for second. These two future stars waged a sizzling battle, Beers finally snagged the spot with 12 laps to go while Jones was maintaining a decent lead. However, when the caution waved 10 laps from the finish, Beers utilized that restart to seize the lead and go on to win the landmark 800th feature race and congratulated in Victory Lane by the first winner asphalt winner Bob McCullough. “I can honestly tell you that being in Victory Lane is the last place I thought I’d be after the kind of race we had tonight. We got beat up out there and then to get here is amazing,” said Beers. “The car was a little tight towards the end and I think the damage just turned out to be cosmetic so we were good to go. There was a great point battle tonight and I gave those guys room and respect and then passing Bobby (Jones) for the lead, he’s one of the very best here and he gave me room and I can’t thank him enough for the clean driving.” With his third place tally Paules earned the championship, his third such with the class and record tying seventh at Mahoning Valley. Strohl had another great run settling for fourth while top rookie Sean Verwys rounded out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (35-laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Bobby Jones, 3. Earl Paules, 4. Jessie Strohl, 5. Sean Verwys, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Jack Ely, 8. Josh Scherer, 9 Frankie Althouse, 10. Jacob Kerstetter, 11. Wes Gilbert, 12. Heath Metzger, 13. Terry Markovic, 14. Rod Snyder Jr, 15 Nick Bear, 16 John Markovic, 17 Brian DeFebo, 18 Lou Strohl, 19 Jared Ahner, 20 Don Wagner, DNS BJ Wambold
Hirschman Takes Record Evergreen Payout on September 6th - Austin has no luck as Harmonic Balance bolts comes out
Matt Hirschman will go down as one of the greatest modified drivers of our time as continues is dominance at Evergreen Raceway. Hirschman set fast time earlier in the afternoon with a blistering lap of 13.254 seconds and received a $500 bonus courtesy of Green Mountain Excavating. The 100 lap main event would start heads up from time trials putting “Big Money” Matt on the pole position. Austin Kochenash would an lead early but have to fend off northeast modified ace Ron Silk and Hirschman as the laps clicked off. A lap 19 caution would slow the show as Earl Paules’ motor let loose in turns 3 and 4. As the race resumed, we would see the longest stretch of green flag laps until the yellow flew on lap 75 just as Silk was able to maneuver around Kochenash. All 18 cars remaining on track darted to the pits for service. Hirschman would come off the track in third, but out first position. He would only be challenged on restarts the remainder of the way by Silk and Zane Zeiner and cashed in at 7,500 dollars leading the remaining laps. Chuck Hossfeld and Roger Coss would round out the top 5.
RESULTS:
Tour Modifieds: MATT HIRSCHMAN, Ron Silk, Zane Zeiner, Chuck Hosfeld, Roger Coss, Jack Ely, Daren Scherer, Brian Defebo, Johnathan Mandato, Bobby Jones, Chris Turbush, Chris Young, Todd Baer, Jerry Hildebrand , Artie Pedersen III, Austin Kochenash, Paul Monkoski, Jim Gavek, Paul Frantz, Austin Beers, Earl Paules
Austin Beers from 15th to 1st at Mahoning Valley and wins for first time in DeLange 45 Modified on September 5
(September 5) When Austin Beers was presented the opportunity to take over the ride of his legendary father, Eric Beers, in the infamous No. 45 for car owners Dave and Laura DeLange, there was no indecision for the 17-year old. In just five races since first getting into the mount on June 27 for a RoC event at Lake Erie Speedway, the second generation racer scored a fan pleasing victory Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway over seasoned veteran Rod Snyder Jr. Beers made an impressive drive to the front too, coming from 15th to first and in the process pulled off his race winning move by getting by renowned track star Snyder Jr., on lap 20. From there on it was as if watching his father as he did time and again, simply pulling away with each passing lap and leaving the field far enough behind en route to the checkers. “This feels amazing winning with Dave and Laura DeLange who believed in me and I’m so glad to drive their race car and win at my home track. To get this win with the 45 car is a huge confidence booster,” an elated Beers said afterwards. “The track was awesome and the car was on rails. To come from 15th to first is a testament to the great team effort and no doubt winning a Modified feature here at Mahoning Valley – this is the biggest win of my career.” At the start of the 35 lap contest Kyle Strohl assumed the early lead and was gapping from the pack. Some distance back second place running Terry Markovic was holding off Snyder, Nick Baer and Brian DeFebo in what was a very tight battle. Then on lap 16 Strohl’s large lead was erased when the caution waved for point leader Lou Strohl who came to a halt. On the restart Snyder, who had just moved to second prior to the yellow, used his classic outside line style and shot to the front. A lap later saw Beers race his way into second. For fans of Mahoning Valley is was nothing new to see Snyder, a five time Modified track champion, waging battle with Eric Beers, as they have a combined 76 wins. Snyder, however, was now taking that fight with Austin and it was just like days of old. Snyder held steady to the outside while the younger Beers took his car low. Side-by-side they then went at it and on lap 19 while approaching Turn 3 Snyder bobbled just a tad. That was all Beers needed as he came out the leader at the conclusion of the circuit. From there to the finish he was on cruise control beating Snyder by nearly two seconds. “He’s (Snyder) a heck of a racer and he gave me a lot of room and respect out there. Rod and all these guys here are great racers and champions and it’s definitely hard to get through the field but tonight it all came together,” noted Beers. In Victory Lane the first to congratulate the happy winner where car owners the DeLange’s. “Austin is a great young talent and I’ve had faith in him for the past two years as we watched him run these Modifieds and this year we made the change to put him in the seat and it’s paid off nicely,” said Dave DeLange. “We couldn’t be more proud and happy for him and his entire family.” Josh Scherer netted a solid third and in the process assumed the point lead with one regular season race to go. Baer had a great run in taking fourth while rookie Jesse Strohl notch a career best fifth. Eric Kocher was the Street Stock winner but his stop in Victory Lane wasn’t without debate.
Modified Feature Finish (35-laps): 1. Austin Beers, 2. Rod Snyder Jr., 3. Josh Scherer, 4. Nick bear, 5. Jesse Strohl, 6. Eric Kocher, 7. Brian DeFebo, 8. Earl Paules, 9. Kyle Strohl, 10. John Markovic, 11. Jared Ahner, 12. Sean Verwys, 13. Terry Markovic, 14. Jacob Kerstetter, 15. Gene Bowers, 16. BJ Wambold, 17. Avery Arthofer, 18. Lou Strohl, 19. Bobby Jones
Marvin Bartholomew 85-lap Tribute was third straight win for Matt Hirschman in Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series - Austin gets 2nd after starting 14th
(AUGUST 22, 2020) The Marvin Bartholomew 85-lap Tribute marked the fourth race in the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS) and for the third straight time Matt Hirschman was savoring in the accolades of victory.
Hirschman showed his prowess by coming from 14th on the grid and moving into the lead after 51 laps. From there on he drove smooth and steady, holding off Austin Beers by 1.286-seconds in claiming his 21st win at Mahoning Valley. “We’re making a habit of this (MVSHoFS) and it’s a good thing. Each time we come we try to get better from Opening Night and through the last few times I feel we’ve improved. I keep trying and it’s paying off. Tonight we had to pass a lot of cars and use patience,” said Hirschman who collected $2850 for his efforts and also assumed the Series point lead with one event remaining. Fittingly the pole, via a revenge draw, went to Lou Strohl, grandson of the night’s honoree Bartholomew and at the drop of the race commencing green he grabbed the lead over Todd Baer, Nevin George, Bobby Jones and Josh Scherer. Jones would then use a lap 10 restart to charge by Strohl for the lead. Not long afterwards a thrilling side-by-side battle took place for second spot between George and Jack Ely while staying glued to the rear bumper of Jones. As the intense battle of that trio waged on Hirschman was gradually making his way frontward and by lap 22 was shown in fourth. Ely, running the outside line, had finally gotten by George on lap 32 and then kept that push going as he pulled alongside Jones. Racing two-by-two Ely had just edged ahead to the lead when a caution waved for a spinning Earl Paules. Two laps after the restart Ely found himself facing off with Hirschman and despite every effort to fend off the potent No. 60, it was not to be as the race winning pass was made just as the 51st circuit was completed. “We had a good race with the 19 (Ely). I knew we had enough time and I was just waiting to see if he was going to open the door enough that we wouldn’t have an issue for space,” said Hirschman. While Hirschman remained planted out front Beers was making headway. After a pit stop for a tire change near mid-race Beers then staged a charge. With 12 laps to go he was dueling with Don Wagner for second, eventually taking the spot with seven reaming. A caution five tours left gave reason for a shootout but Hirschman proved the better of the two in gaining the score. “The car really worked well on the top once we got that tire and it was on rails,” said Beers who notched his best 2020 finish. “I think if we had a double file restart on that last caution instead of single file I may have had something for him (Hirschman) but he was tough and always is.” Austin Kochenash, who came into the event as the Series point leader, also put on a drive. He made several pit stops and each time back was picking off cars in moving towards the front. Time then ran out on him and he settled for third. Wagner had a very strong run too, maintaining a top-5 spot for most of the race while Paules rounded out the top five
Modified Feature Finish (85-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Beers, 3. Austin Kochenash, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Gene Bowers, 8. Josh Scherer, 9. Jack Ely, 10. Nevin George, 11. Louis Horvath, 12. Blake Barney, 13. Todd Baer, 14. Jacob Kerstetter, 15. Brian DeFebo, 16. Nick Baer, 17. Joh Markovic, 18. Lou Strohl, 19. Sean Verwys, 20. Jesse Strohl, 21. Rod Snyder Jr., 22. Kyle Strohl DNQ: Terry Markovic, Jesse Strohl, BJ Wambold
Austin has a great run at Lake Erie Speedway for the RoC Tour Race August 15th - leading laps and finishing 4th
The Race of Champions Modified Series made its second visit of the season to Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Speedway for the 31st running of the Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak 110, honoring two of of Western New York's Modified legends. Although the race is typically held at the Lancaster Speedway, COVID-19 guidelines kept the race from it's New York home and pushed it just south of the NY/PA border. That didn't stop the racing action from being exciting and allowing the Modified community to remember the lives of Druar and Jankowiak. With 110 laps being the distance as the combination of Druar's #37 and Jankowiak's #73, it would be Race of Champions Modified Series newcomer Kevin Timmerman and defending series champion Patrick Emerling leading the field to green. It wouldn't take long and Emerling would jump out to the early lead as Timmerman slowly began to fade his was towards the tail end of the top 10 over the opening stint of the race. Filling in behind Emerling would be young sensation Austin Beers and Kyle Ebersole. Through the beginning stages, the top three ran nose to tail until a caution on lap 32 would shake things up. Emerling, Mike Leaty, Andy Jankowiak and a host of other drivers would pit while under caution for a tire, putting them to the rear of the field and handing the lead over to Beers. As the green flag waved, Beers would jump to the top spot, securing his first laps led with the Race of Champions. He would stay out front as many of the drivers who had pitted had a hard time coming back through the field. Another caution on lap 60 would help tighten the field back up as the remainder of the cars would come down and take their tire for the race. The only drivers to not pit would be TJ Potrzebowski and Kirk Totten as they would lead the field back to racing. This cycle of drivers coming to pit road would put Emerling as the first driver to have already pitted in the fourth position. With the restart coming on lap 67, it made the battle for the lead intense as a $730 bonus awaited the leader of lap 73. As Potrzebowski and Totten duked it out side by side for the top spot, Emerling would put heavy pressure on the leaders, trying to score the bonus as well. He would make a daring three-wide move to the line on lap 73 to take the lead as the field made its way through the first set of corners. From there, it was all Patrick Emerling. After a few late cautions and a challenge from teammate Mike Leaty, Emerling would hang on to claim the win. "We just had an awesome car tonight. We were able to keep our track position pretty good. We pitted a little on the early side there, but I knew we had a good enough car to get the job done," Emerling tolld Speed51.com. "I knew if we were out front, I didn't think we couldn't get passed. It was a good night, we just had a strategy and the team executed. It was a good way to honor Tony (Jankowiak) and Tommy (Druar) and we had a lot of fun." Coming across the line behind Emerling was his L2 Autosport teammate, Mike Leaty. After making his way through the field from pitting early in the event, he was able to challenge Emerling for the win but came up just a little short. "The team was spot on. We had good pit srtategy and a really good racecar all night. We just came out behind Pat (Emerling) there and he beat me through traffic I guess and I couldn't get around him. We were pretty much the same speed or he might have been just a tick better. We were really close," explained Leaty. "It was a fun race, I love Lake Erie Speedway. Love running the Tommy//Tony race in honor of the Druars and Jankowiaks. We had fun, just came up one spot short tonight." Rounding out the podium at Lake Erie Speedway was Andy Jankowiak. After running just outside of the top 10 for much of the race, a charge in the late stages would bring the #12x home in the third position. "We had to pit when they did because we were behind them. So we had to pit when they did. It took us a little while to get through traffic so we pitted about 30 laps later and I got to third with about 20-25 laps to go. We really could have used a caution a little bit sooner," said Jankowiak. "They were good. I had a 30 lap fresher right rear so I had my opportunity to go get them. We were working them over, I think we were a tick better. It's just tough here. We couldn't really run the bottom like we did last time here and they were kinda running the top, so when you're running the same lane as them it's tough to pass. Like I said, we put a little pressure on them there at the end but too little, too late."
Pos Start Driver Hometown Car
1 2 Patrick Emerling Orchard Park, NY 07
2 4 Mike Leaty Williamson, NY 25
3 12 Andy Jankowiak Tonawanda, NY 12X
4 3 Austin Beers Northampton, PA 45B
5 5 Kyle Ebersole Mooresville, NC 5
6 8 Daryl Lewis Jr. Ontario, NY 10
7 17 Scott Wylie Blasdell , NY 14W
8 13 Tommy Catalano Ontario, NY 54C
9 24 Daren Scherer Binghamton, NY 3
10 14 Danny Knoll Jr Amherst, NY 17K
11 18 Timmy Catalano Ontario, NY 45C
12 6 Jack Ely Wall Township, NJ 54E
13 1 Kevin Timmerman Ontario, NY 17T
14 21 Amy Catalano Ontario, NY 56
15 15 T.J. Potrzebowski Elmira, NY 72
16 7 George Skora III Eden, NY 44
17 16 Bryan Sherwood APALACHIN, NY 95
18 19 Tyler Catalano Ontario, NY 64
19 11 Kreig Heroth Fort Plain, NY 00
20 9 Owen Bednasz Lakeview, NY 2
21 10 Kirk Totten Lockport, NY 11
22 20 Bill Mislin Buffalo, NY 99
23 26 Jim Gavek Effort, PA 21
24 25 Jeff Szafreniec Akron, NY 83
25 23 Jeremy Haudricourt Bliss, NY 39
26 22 Alan Bookmiller Castile, NY 40B
Zane Zeiner and Matt Hirschman are winners in Tony Fisher Memorial Twin 25s at Evergreen Raceway August 8 that saw Austin finish 3rd and should have won the 2nd feature
Austin: "P10 in the last race. Unfortunately was leading with 4 to go and evergreen made a decision to take me off the track when they saw I had fluid on my car from when I blew the rack the race before. I’m disappointed with the outcome because we had the car to win that race at the end. Just have to thank all my crew for everything they do and everyone that supports me. Off to Lake Erie in the 45!"
Austin: "P3 in race one. Had another fast car but lost my power steering after getting up to 2nd. One more race to go! Starting 10th!"
By DINO OBERTO
The Annual Tony Fisher Memorial for Modifieds at Evergreen Raceway saw a pair of premier Modified standouts capture the twin-25 lap mains as Zane Zeiner and Matt Hirschman shared the glory. In race one Zeiner finally upended the always dominating Hirschman while the second main went the way of Hirschman.After finishing second to Hirschman more times than not over the past few seasons including the last time here on August 19, Zeiner was not to be denied his time to shine race number one.Driving the Billy Ray Pruitt No. 22, Zeiner held off a hard charging Hirschman for his first Modified win here since 2017 and the 40th overall victory for the Bath driver at Evergreen. “It finally feels good to get a win again and I had to do what I had to in order to hold him (Hirschman) off late in the run and making sure I had my A-game with the restarts,” said Zeiner. “We’ve gained in some areas and I know there’s still more left in the car. We came back this week and the car is much better than when I gave the lead up to him last time here. We just have to tweak it a little more and then I feel we’ll have a tough car to pass.” By luck of the draw Zeiner drew the pole and would quickly take the lead over Lou Strohl, Brian DeFebo, Chuck Hossfeld and Austin Beers. After a restart on lap three DeFebo and Beers advanced to second and third respectively. With six laps complete Beers settled into second spot and began putting pressure on the leader. Despite having a few restarts to aid him, Beers was unable to get by Zeiner although he was making valid attempts from the outside. “Austin (Beers) tried to snooker me a there but we have just a little bit more experience than he has right now but the kid’s come along good,” noted Zeiner. The Zeiner/Beers battle continued to wage on until a restart on lap 16 which saw 12th starting Hirschman pick up the runner-up spot. From there to the checkers it was nip and tuck as Zeiner maintained a solid line in fending off Hirschman. “This is a really emotional day because it’s my first win in a Modified since Jeff (Willet) passed away. He really did so much for my career and also Gunnar started out today in his first full Modified ride with me so there was a lot going on and it really feels great,” said Zeiner.
The second feature came down to a wild affair over the final laps. Hirschman would pass Zeiner with two laps to go and go on to victory but it was during the last four laps that turned the race in several directions. Hossfeld and Wayne Szerencsits shared the front row but before a lap was scored the yellow waved when several cars collided in turn two including that of Szerencsits. On the restart Hossfeld once again took charge and would lead over a very strong running Brian Sones and Beers.The action amongst that trio was intense as Sones and Beers stayed side-by-side while keeping close tabs on Hossfeld. With five laps to go Hossfeld was in a position to win for the first time in Pennsylvania but the pressure was still concentrated on him from Sones and Beers. Then on lap 21 his hopes suddenly where dashed when he was pinched under extreme close racing and slid into the Turn 2 wall. Several facets then occurred before the field was reset. Sones was cited by officials for his part in the incident and after pleading his case but to no benefit, he parked his car. At that point Beers was figured to be the race leader but he too was a victim of hardship. Prior to the caution his car was smoking and officials motioned him to the side to check the issue and it was deemed that he was leaking fluid. Beers and his crew asserted that was not the case, however, he was told to go the pits all the same. He was able to return albeit out of contention. When the field was sorted Earl Paules was at the helm over Johnathan Mandato, Zeiner and Hirschman. When the action resumed the lead fight hit fever pitch as Paules, Mandato and Zeiner went three-wide for the top spot. Zeiner, who was on the bottom, emerged as the new leader while Hirschman powered his way to second on his tail. Wih two laps to go Hirschman went to the inside of Zeiner in turn one and came out ahead but a caution negated his effort. On the ensuing restart, however, Hirschman took to the outside and passed Zeiner at the continuation of the race and held on for his third Evergreen win in four 2020 starts. “We worked hard in both these features, coming from 14th to second in the first one and then 11th to first so we definitely passed the most cars by far and really had a good day,” said Hirschman who has now tied Russ Frantz for second on the all-time Modified wins list with 35. “It was crazy. Zane (Zeiner) made that three-wide move underneath and I tried to follow through. I wasn’t close at first and I was thinking maybe he would get pinched off and I would try and jump to the outside. Overall it was tough out there for everyone,” said Hirschman. Mandato scored third with Paules and Oltra rounding out the top five. Hirschman was also the overall winner of the Fisher Memorial and earned a guaranteed starting spot in the September 6 Tom Casagrande Memorial.
1st Modified feature finish (25-laps): 1. Zane Zeiner, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Roger Coss, 5. Chris Turbush, 6. Brian DeFebo, 7. Brandon Oltra, 8. Brain Sones, 9. Earl Paules, 10. Sal Alcardi, 11. Wayne Szerencsits, 12. Chuck Hossfeld, 13. Chris Ridsdale, 14. Bobby Jones, 15. Daren Scherer, 16. Jim Gaver, 17. Gunnar Zeiner, 18. Brian Rygielski, 19. Lou Strohl, 20. Tyler Catalano, 21. Andrew Monkowski DNS: Jonathan Mandato
2nd Modified feature finish (25-laps) 1. Hirschman, 2. Z. Zeiner, 3. Mandato, 4. Paules, 5. Oltra, 6. DeFebo, 7. Scherer, 8. Alcardi, 9. Coss, 10. Beers, 11. Gaver, 12. Monkowski, 13. Catalano, 14. G. Zeiner, 15. Turbush, 16. Hossfeld, 17. Sones, 18. Jones, 19. Ridsdale, 20. Rygielski, 21. Strohl, 22. Szerencsits
60over car number returns to Victory Lane as Matt Hirschman wins Doug Hoffman Tribute at Mahoning Valley Speedway August 1 while Austin has a rack break again and Eric comes up just short
Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway was a fitting honor to the late Doug Hoffman as Matt Hirschman drove the No. 60over, a number carried by Hoffman to countless wins, to victory in the Doug Hoffman Modified 60-lap Tribute, which was race #3 of the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS). In a way it was fitting also in the fact that like Hoffman, Hirschman began his career locally and then went on the road to gain national acclaim. This was his second straight win in the Series and 20th at Mahoning Valley for Hirschman.
“This whole Hall of Fame Series is nice to recognize these past great drivers and this one probably means the most to me because of having the 60over on the car,” said Hirschman. “Doug’s ability to win at his home tracks and also on the road at just about anywhere he went – I’d like to think that I’m following that same path he took. He’s one of the all-time great drivers from this area and we carry the same number and tonight to add the “over” on it was extra special.” A redraw put Josh Scherer and Todd Baer on the front row and at the onset of the 60-lap event Baer jumped to the front while Bobby Jones clutched onto second. During the early going Baer and Jones had a thrilling battle enduring while Scherer watched closely from third and was fending off sixth starting Hirschman. On a lap 10 restart Jones was able to get the lead and a fast moving Brain DeFebo advanced to second with Hirschman now third and Austin Kochenash up to fourth ahead of Baer. Hirschman then went to the inside of DeFebo and after a few double-wide laps he grabbed second and continued on towards Jones. Try as he may Jones was doing all he could to make his car wide in order to protect his lead but in what is rather emblematic of Hirschman, when he wants the top spot he seizes at will and on lap 20 that was just the case. Not to take away from the fact that behind the him was a group of heavy hitters in the likes of Jones, DeFebo, Kochenash, Chuck Hossfeld and Eric Beers yet as they fought closely together they could not seem to gather up to Hirschman. Near the end Kochenash had worked into second and a restart with two laps to go saw the decent lead of Hirschman get wiped away and gave a thought of a shootout to the checkers, however, when the race resumed there was no denying the once again stellar performance of Hirschman who went on the claim the $2500 victory. “This was a shorter race tonight and it was just go from the start and go as fast as I could,” said Hirschman. “We’ve been working to get a faster race car and I need to say a big thanks to my family, crew and sponsors for all the incredible support.” Kochenash, Eric Beers, Jones and DeFebo rounded out the top five. It was the second straight time that Kochenash was second to Hirschman and add his fourth in the first Series race, he remains the point leader heading into the Marvin Bartholomew 85-lap Tribute on August 22. “I tried to go as fast I can to catch Matt (Hirschman) and do whatever it took to win because this race meant a lot to me. Doug (Hoffman) let me start racing here when I was 12-years old and he taught me how to race and would make me start in the back until I was good enough to start passing cars, ” said Kochenash. “Unfortunately I didn’t really have tires left at the end to go and we just had to settle for second again. I could just never get quite close enough to mount a challenge.”
Modified Feature Finish (60-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Eric Beers, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Brian DeFebo, 6. Chuck Hossfeld, 7. Nick Bear, 8. John Markovic, 9. Earl Paules, 10. Josh Scherer, 11. Mike Stofflet, 12. Terry Markovic, 13. Kyle Strohl, 14. Don Wagner, 15. Sean Verwys, 16. Gene Bowers, 17. Rod Snyder, 18. Todd Bear, 19. Jacob Kerstetter, 20. Lou Strohl, 21. Austin Beers DNQ: Heath Metzger, Jesse Strohl, Louie Horvath, BJ Wambold
Austin comes home with a solid 4th place finish in the Delange 45 Car at Mahoning Valley Speedway on July 18
(JULY 20) For Kyle Strohl, the 2020 season got off to a rough start as the always exciting young talent suffered through a bad wreck that led to him finding a back-up ride for the next race out. That race regrettably, did not fare well in the results column either. Strohl then rebounded in week three with a solid top five coming in the George Wambold 81-lap Tribute race and completed his full rally of being a front runner with a wire-to-wire run in Saturday night’s Modified feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway. Strohl started on the outside of pole sitter Jacob Kerstetter and when the action began he was quick to jump out front to the early lead. Despite getting overtaken at the start, Kerstetter stayed close with Strohl as the race settled into a good rhythm over the first dozen laps. Noticeably making headway over that stint was Lou Strohl who worked up to third by lap nine and then began putting the pressure on Kerstetter as they began a side-by-side battle. A lap 12 caution put a halt to the action but when the race restarted L. Strohl stayed tucked behind leader K. Strohl and drove up to second spot. From there on K. Strohl knew his best line of defense would be to protect the bottom and he did so, forcing the very persistent L. Strohl to do his bidding from the outside lane. It was a close nip and tuck fight to the finish and only over the final laps was K. Strohl able to gain some breathing room. This week we finally got a lucky spot to start up front and the car was working good and I just held the bottom as best I could because I knew the top runners would be coming,” said K. Strohl. “Lou (Strohl) gave me a great race and he was very tough. My car started to get tight toward the end and I had to then use up my part of the track to seal the deal.” Interestingly after K. Strohl wrecked hard on Opening Night he then drove the same car that L. Strohl almost beat him in, the Matt Higgins owned No. 88. “Matt’s car runs really good I can attest to that and but for us tonight we were fortunate enough to have the upper hand,” he added. Although he had to settle for second the hard fought effort of L. Strohl did come with a bonus as he moved into the point’s lead, holding that standings position for the first time since 2008. While the Strohl and Strohl show was going on Nick Baer was making an impressive run as well. In the final 12 laps he had moved into third spot and then did a fine job of fending off Austin Beers who drove from deep in the pack and Earl Paules in rounding out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (35-laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Lou Strohl, 3. Nick Bear, 4. Austin Beers, 5. Earl Paules, 6. John Markovic, 7. Sean Verwys, 8. Terry Markovic, 9. BJ Wambold, 10. Jacob Kerstetter, 11. Josh Scherer, 12. Rod Snyder Jr., 13. Brian DeFebo, 14. Gunnar Zeiner, 15. Mike Stofflet, 16. Peyton Arthofer, 17. Louie Howvath, 18. Heath Metzger
Austin crashes out early and Eric comes up just a little short as Matt Hirschman wins George Wambold Tribute on July 11 at Mahoning Valley Speedway
(JULY 11) Northampton’s Matt Hirschman turned in solid performance in picking up his first win of the season at Mahoning Valley Speedway, netting top honors in the George Wambold Tribute 81-lap main. The event was race number #2 of the 2020 Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS) and was an acknowledgment to the legendary Wambold, a multi-time track champion and many time winner. “This was very special to win a race in honor of George Wambold who was definitely one of the big names in eastern Pennsylvania racing,” said Hirschman from Victory Lane. “He was one of those tough guys that wheeled cars without power steering and head rests and any of that stuff and I can always appreciate those drivers. They were way tougher than today’s drivers and it’s nice that we’re honoring these guys with this Series.” Second starting Kochenash had grabbed the lead from the drop of the green over Nick Baer. Within 10 laps point leader Bobby Jones and seventh starter Hirschman where running in tow. By lap 18 Hirschman had took control of second. Kochenash, however, stayed attentive to his lead and kept Hirschman busy in trying both high and low lanes to make a pass over the next 24 laps. Just prior to a caution coming out on lap 43, Hirschman finally nipped him for the top spot and not long afterwards was facing off against Eric Beers. Beers and Hirschman where in contention to win in the first MVSHoFS event from the previous month but a tangle between them negated the thinkable outcome. On a lap 45 restart Beers had showed the power and out-dueled Hirschman for the lead but one lap later it would go back to the Harry’s U-Pull-It No. 60. From there on Hirschman wasn’t taking any chances as he stayed a few car lengths out ahead of the pack en route to his 19th career win at Mahoning Valley. “The thing here at Mahoning is you have to run as hard as you can because you never know what’s going on behind you but overall it was a good race,” explained Hirschman. “I was able to test the outside a little with the 72 (Kochenash) and then eventually with a couple moves on the bottom so it was good racing between us and then with Eric (Beers) on the restarts,” he continued. “You can’t really save anything here. Starting seventh we were able to make progress right away. You have to keep moving and you can’t always just settle in here, that’s the kind of track it is and why the racing is really good here.” After Hirschman took the lead for keeps Kochenash and Beers waged a great battle with the Wentz Auto Body No. 72 securing the spot in the final laps. Don Wagner bounced back and forth during the race before securing a hard-earned fourth and likewise with Kyle Strohl who edged Blake Barney in rounding out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (81-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Eric Beers, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Kyle Strohl, 6. Blake Barney, 7. Eddie McCarthy, 8. Roger Cross, 9. Gene Bowers, 10. Chuck Hossfeld, 11. Sean Verwys, 12. Jacob Kerstetter, 13. Lou Strohl, 14. Mike Stofflet, 15. Bobby Jones, 16. BJ Wambold, 17. Todd Bear, 18. Nick Bear, 19. Brian DeFebo, 20. Heath Metzger, 21. Josh Scherer, 22. Earl Paules, 23. Rod Snyder Jr., 24. Austin Beers, DNQ: Jack Ely, Ricky Collins, Terry Markovic, Jason Arthofer, John Markovic
Matt Hirschman completes weekend sweep with victory at Evergreen Raceway on June 28 while Austin was the show early in the race and leading until a late race restart to finish 3rd
(6-28-20) Matt Hirschman had a long and hectic weekend but it paid dividends as he made bookends of the state of Pennsylvania, winning Saturday night at Lake Erie Speedway in Erie for the season opener on the Sunoco Race of Champions Tour and afterwards drove across the Keystone State to Evergreen Raceway in St. Johns where he pulled off another victory in less than 12 hours. Hirschman thrusted by Austin Beers on the second try of a lap 61 restart and then held off fast charging Zane Zeiner for his 34th career Modified win at Evergreen. “It’s just good to be back racing and this wasn’t easy to do with the distance between here and Erie and I really need to thank my guys. Some did both, some did yesterday and some today but it was a total team effort and I appreciate all the hours and miles on the road they put in,” said Hirschman after scoring his second 75-lap verdict of the weekend. All total Hirschman and Company put in 12 hours and 772 miles of driving back and forth between his Northampton home, Erie and St. Johns. They left Erie Speedway a little past midnight, went back to the shop, adjusted the car and then headed off to Evergreen. This was the first Modified race of the season at Evergreen and when the 20-car starting field came to the race commencing green it was pole sitter Chuck Hossfeld in Tom Wanick’s No. 1W shooting out front over Jack Ely, Austin Beers and Earl Paules. As Hossfeld led and had Ely two car lengths back, Beers and New Jersey invader Jimmy Blewett where waging a torrid side-by-side dual, a fight that eventually went to Beers by lap 10. Beers then began the same fight with his teammate Ely within the next two laps, finally advancing to second with 15 circuits complete. While Hossfeld still showed the way Beers was making headway and just as he did with Blewett and Ely, he quickly caught the leader and made it yet another exciting double wide battle. His efforts were compensated with 16 laps complete as he executed a clean outside pass on Hossfeld. Once in front Beers began to slowly distance himself from the pack but the move would in due course be his demise. As the race went non-stop from laps 21 to 61 it took a toll on his tires. “I told my dad (crew chief Eric Beers) before the race that I wanted to get out front early because I felt my car was better out there. So when I led those laps I was also trying to save as much as I could but by be then the right front (tire) was going away,” said Beers, who like Hirschman, also did the nearly 800 mile trek between Lake Erie and Evergreen Speedways. “The right front was going away from racing hard on the top and that’s what eventually backed us up.” When the action halted for a spin by Ron Silk, Beers now had Hirschman flanked alongside him for the restart. The first try at going back to green was negated as officials called out Hirschman for jumping the start. The second try, however, was textbook for the standout star as he used the outside lane to make his race winning move, completing the pass off Turn 2. As the laps began to tick down Zeiner, driving in just his second race for car owner Billy Ray Pruitt, had powered his way up to second but from there could not mount a challenge on Hirschman, even with a last chance restart two laps from the finish. “Matt (Hirschman) can fire off on the restarts a little bit better than us but I’m not sure if he was playing with us there when we went on the long green stretch. It seemed like towards the end I could keep digging but passing him was going to be a different story,” expressed Zeiner. “We had our car set-up for a long run and it was good but we’re still missing a little bit to beat that 60 car.” Beers held on for third. Blewett made his first Evergreen start a hard earned fourth while Ely was very solid all race long and took a respectable fifth. During the 40-lap green flag stint Hirschman had been picking his way towards the front. He had already been in the top five by lap 19. With 42 laps complete has was zeroed in on runner-up Ely and the next time by would go low in Turn 2 in gaining the runner-up spot. Afterwards he was using each passing lap to reel in Beers. “I was only inching in on him (Beers) on that long run. So the restart helped me for sure but there was still laps to go,” explained Hirschman. “It was fun that way to have green flag racing like that and a good long run and to make passes without having to worry about the next restart. It was good clean racing with Austin and Zane and with Jimmy Blewett and Jack Ely before that.”
Modified Feature Finish (75-laps): 1. Matt Hirschman, 2. Zane Zeiner, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Jimmy Blewett, 5. Jack Ely, 6. Earl Paules, 7. Roger Coss, 8. Ton Silk, 9. Chris Turbush, 10. Johnathan Mandato, 11. Ricky Ross, Jr., 12. Anthony Sesely, 13. Chuck Hossfeld, 14. Brandon Oltra, 15. Dom Fattaruso, 16. Bobby Jones, 17. Joey Merlino, 18. Brian DeFebo, 19. Austin Kochenash, 20. Lou Strohl DNQ: Brian Sones, Blake Barney, Jim Gavek, Ricky Collins
MATT HIRSCHMAN CONTINUES HIS DOMINANCE OF LAKE ERIE SPEEDWAY ON JUNE 27 WITH “BASH BY THE LAKE” WIN WHILE AUSTIN HAS A GREAT DEBUT IN THE DELANGE 45 MODIFIED
(JUNE 27). Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pennsylvania, continued his dominance at Lake Erie Speedway this past Saturday night as he scored the opening night Series victory in the “Bash by the Lake” 75 for the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series. Hirschman has won the last six races at the North East, Pa., speed plant, dating back to the surprise victory by Will Thomas of Sharpsville, Pa., in 2016. It was Hirschman’s 48th career Race of Champions series victory. “It was a big night for us,” stated Hirschman. “Things have obviously been different this year and we are happy to come out and do our things. I love Lake Erie, it has been a great race track for me. I’m very thankful the show worked out. The weather didn’t look so good this week. We had a great car, a good draw and things just went our way. I hope the next race comes sooner rather than later, but whenever it is, we will be ready.” Hirschman topped Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, N.Y., finished second after a late race charge at Hirschman. Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y., the defending series champion finished third. Mike Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., finished fourth with Timmy Catalano of Ontario, N.Y., rounding out the top-five.
1 3 Matt Hirschman Northampton, PA 60
2 11 Andy Jankowiak Tonawanda, NY 12X
3 5 Patrick Emerling Orchard Park, NY 07
4 7 Mike Leaty Williamson, NY 25
5 2 Timmy Catalano Ontario, NY 45C
6 15 Danny Knoll Jr Amherst, NY 17K
7 10 Kyle Ebersole Mooresville, NC 5
8 6 Bryan Sherwood APALACHIN, NY 95
9 4 Austin Beers Northampton, PA 45B
10 12 Jeremy Haudricourt Bliss, NY 39
11 9 Jack Ely Wall Township, NJ 54E
12 8 Daren Scherer Binghamton, NY 3
13 14 Amy Catalano Ontario, NY 56
14 19 Chris Risdale Rochester, NY 1
15 16 Bill Mislin Buffalo, NY 99
16 20 Scott Wylie Blasdell , NY 14
17 13 Owen Bednasz Lakeview, NY 4
18 18 Daryl Lewis Jr. Ontario, NY 10
19 1 Tommy Catalano Ontario, NY 54C
20 17 Kirk Totten Lockport, NY 11
21 21 Kyle Hutchinson East Aurora, NY 57X
22 22 Chris Finocchario Macedon, NY 8
From No Time To “Showtime”…Jimmy Blewett wins in first start at Mahoning Valley Speedway on June 13 - Eric gets spun out while leading - Austin's rack goes just 10 laps into the race
(JUNE 13) “Showtime” Jimmy Blewett made his first ever visit to Mahoning Valley worthwhile, scoring a rousing a $2950 victory in the John “Peepers” Yerger Tribute before a full house of fans. Blewett was both good and lucking en-route to the verdict. Despite that fact that he never turned a lap on the tough ¼-mile bullring, he raced strong inside the top five from the drop of the green. Then while running third he caught a huge break when front runners Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman tangled and sent to the rear of the field. From there on Blewett withstood the advances of track regular Josh Scherer on his way to scoring the popular win. The raced ended nine laps shy of the advertised 77 lap distance due to an ongoing rash of cautions. Blake Barney did a great job in garnering a career best Mahoning finish of third. Austin Kochenash drove to a solid fourth while upstate New York invader Chuck Hossfeld battled his way to fifth. By luck of the draw Beers and Todd Baer shared front row honor. This was the first time since August of 2017 that Beers was back in action here and he wasted little time in showing his prowess for getting around the tight confines of Mahoning Valley. Eighth place starter Hirschman thrust forward in a hurry and was on Beers’ tail giving him quite a bit of pressure. Time and again he tried to grab the lead but each time his efforts where thwarted as Beers maintained a good line of defensiveness to hold back Hirschman’s advances. Hirschman also had numerous occasions to utilize restarts to overtake Beers as an abundance of cautions plagued the race. All that while defending track champion Bobby Jones was hovering closely in third with Blewett fourth. Interruptions would abound as the race wore on and take its toll on many including Jones who on lap 37 went spinning off turn four. With that Blewett was now third but ahead of him the Beers/Hirschman battle was still waging and all he could do was ride and watch. Then on lap 60 the race broke wide open when the front pair got together in turn three. Hirschman was looking to seize an opening on Beers but as they drove into the corner the door got closed and there was contact. Beers went sliding and made a great save of hitting the inside wall off turn four. For his part Hirschman was directed to the rear with Beers for the restart. For Blewett it was the right place at the right time as he inherited the lead with Scherer now second. Unfortunately yellow fever would persist on and in the sake of longevity and a warning to drivers, the race was called with eight laps to go. “This is like the complete opposite of what happens at my home track. I don’t think Matt (Hirschman) meant to take Eric (Beers) out. It was just hard racing there at the end and I’d rather be lucky,” said Blewett. “My guys gave me a great car and I can’t thank Eric Beers enough for all the help he gave me going into this race. My crew chief Rob Ornsbee, my engine builder Tom Martino but most of all my car owner Scott Brannick. Between him and my grandfather the last four years they’ve really been there when I needed things.” Known for his winning ways, Blewett notwithstanding entered the race optimistic never having turned a lap here. He practiced well, ran second in his heat then stayed steady in the race before coming into the lead. He then held off Scherer perfectly who kept the pressure on him to the checkers. “The first thing coming here was to just make the show. There are really good regulars here and I did a lot of watching of videos and in-car cameras. I knew it was going to be stiff competition just to qualify,” said Blewett. “I felt that if I can come out to this with a top five it will be great. I don’t go anywhere where that I don’t show up and don’t think I can win. This feels good and I look forward to coming back.”
Modified Feature Finish (77-laps): 1. Jimmy Blewett, 2. Josh Scherer, 3. Blake Barney, 4. Austin Kochenash, 5. Chuck Hossfeld, 6. Eric Beers, 7. John Markovic, 8. Rod Snyder Jr., 9. Tyler Truex, 10. Bobby Jones, 11. Matt Hirschman, 12. Todd Baer, 13. Eddie McCarthy, 14. Patrick Emerling, 15. Kyle Strohl, 16. Earl Paules, 17. Nick Baer, 18. Brian DeFebo, 19. Don Wagner, 20. Ron Silk, 21. Terry Markovic, 22. Jason Arthofer, 23. Austin Beers, 24. Jack Ely DNQ: Roger Coss, Lou Strohl, Heath Metzger, Gene Bowers, Sen Verwys, Jacob Kerstetter, Jim Gaver, Mike Stofflet, BJ Wambold
AUSTIN BEERS NIPS DAD ERIC FOR QUICK TIME AND GUARANTEED PICK IN OPENING DAY FEATURE REDRAW
(JUNE 7) Eric Beers made his official return to Mahoning Valley Speedway a meaningful one by out-timing everyone for the guaranteed redraw pick in advance of the June 13 Opening Day John “Peepers” Yerger Memorial 77-lap Tribute, which is race number one of the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series. Everyone that is with the exception of one driver, his 17-year old son Austin, who stole the thunder of his celebrated father, who is Mahoning’s all-time Modified wins leader, by going 10.088-seconds to the elder Beers’ 10.134-seconds. The timed dashes where part of the track’s Test and Tune days which actually began back on March 14 but was halted afterwards due the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed this past weekend. Brandon Christman, a rookie and Jesse Bollinger, also took top honors in the Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks respectively and will head into Opening Night worry free as they too are automatically locked in the redraw for feature starting spots. The Modified quick time was sponsored by MYRACENEWS.com which posted a $100 bonus to the fastest driver. The classes where divided in groups for two sessions and 5-lap runs per session. When E. Beers drove onto the blacktop in session one it marked his first official time in action at Mahoning since August 2017 and he immediately darted to the top of the speed charts. However, no sooner did the next and final group take to the clock then A. Beers blasted ahead of dad and all the rest. His 10.088-second lap was the fastest such for a Modified since 2016.
“It really felt good out there today and that despite we were on used tires. Really I need to thank my dad because he did a lot of the set-up on the car and when you can out run him here at Mahoning Valley that says a lot,” said A. Beers.
“This is huge knowing how many good drivers where here today and will be here next week too and so much pressure is off us now. The fans are going to be in for a great show with a lot of Modifieds and I can’t wait to come back Saturday and go for the win in the Peepers Tribute.”
Todd Baer, 10.222, Tyler Haydt 10.231 and Austin Kochenash 10.238 rounded out the top five. The Yerger Tribute will pay $2250 to win and $500 for 10th. Christman came into the weekend with the fastest time from March 14 and it held up over the past weekend, giving the third generation rookie driver an impressive outing for his upcoming feature debut.aLikewise Bollinger showed his hand three months ago and when Test and Tune began and he then added and insurance lap with his 12.130 circuit.