RGeeProductions
04-15-2012, 11:15 PM
After months of preparation, Mahoning Valley Speedway’s new promoter Floyd Santee can rest easy as Opening Night was deemed an unqualified success with one of the biggest crowds in years as well a full pit area to boot.
On the track Zane Zeiner of Nazareth scored a come from behind win in the 35-lap Modified feature. He started from the pole but gave up the top spot to defending champ Tyler Haydt at the get go and then fell back as far as fourth. However, at the midway juncture he found the speed needed to propel him to the front via the bottom lane and on lap 22 went to the lead and eventually the win.
“Tyler (Haydt) did an excellent job when he snookered me on the start and I have to give him credit,” said Zeiner who for the second time has notched a Mahoning Opening Night win, his first coming in 2004.
“Like I always say when I come here it’s all about patience. The car was tight early on and I thought I would just try to hang on and get a top five. But when I got pushed to the outside it really started to come around and was freeing up. I knew there was more bite down on the bottom which is where I’d like to run.”
After a heads-up start from heat race finishes Zeiner was on the pole and aligned with Haydt. At the drop of Roger Snyder’s race commencing green, Haydt hammered down and flew into the lead over Zeiner. Joining in the hunt were Earl Paules, John Bennett and Don Wagner.
This All Star pack of asphalt Modified standouts then ran in a tight pack over the next dozen laps. While Haydt maintained a slim lead, Zeiner and Paules had a great duel going in side-by-side fashion. Likewise Bennett and Wagner where in much a similar clash.
By lap ten Paules finally shook free of Zeiner while Wagner did the same with Bennett and hustled up to third.
At lap 12 the caution was out for a minor spin by Nevin George. On the restart Haydt was still leading but Wagner was now on the charge as he took over second. Zeiner fell in behind Paules at this point.
“We had that caution (lap 12) and I thought I have to make a move and get back to the bottom and start digging were I normally do,” said Zeiner.
And dig he did. Once on the inside Zeiner was able to make quick work of Paules and Wagner and with the momentum going his way he aimed in on Haydt at the lap 20 mark. Next time around and he was at the helm where he remained steadfast to the finish.
“It was on rails. I just found bite down there on the bottom. Tyler got tight by the time I got to him. This track is always a handling track and whoever can get the best setup underneath them is going to shine,” noted Zeiner.
Haydt held on for second with Wagner, Paules and George rounding out the top five. Heats for the 24 cars went to Zeiner, Haydt and Bennett with Mike Carroll, Jr., annexing the consolation.
“I think tonight was a good indication as to what the Triple 25’s will be like, an all-out sprint starting heads up for the first race of that night,” said Zeiner. “That’s why I wanted to come here tonight and get a little bit under my belt and see what goes down.
“I got to give a lot of credit to the Santee’s too. The place looks great and I feel it’s only going to grow. You look at the grandstands tonight and they were packed. This is the closest track to us and it felt nice to come back tonight and we’ll be here a little more often this year.”
Paules, from Palmerton, did double duty as he also ran in the Late Models and he made his first start with that type of car at Mahoning a memorable one with a victory.
Heat winners Ed Bauer, Paules and Mike Sweeney got the top three starting spots for the main with Bauer getting the jump and leading the first circuit.
Paules was right on his tail and on lap six he went to the outside and into the lead. Reigning champion Austin Kochenash got to third on lap four then second four tours later. Once there he stayed glued to Paules but and despite some valiant efforts to get by, Paules had him covered and drove away to the win.
“It was good and the car felt excellent. I never really ran with these guys before but they all ran good and we had only one caution and it was good racing,” said Paules.
Kochenash finished second with Sweeney, Wallace and Paul Koehler, Jr., second through fifth respectively.
Jason Kuhn of Lehighton started from the pole in the Street Stock feature and held there for his first division win.
Starting at the front didn’t mean it was an easy trek either as every lap was hard fought with the front runners all breathing heavily on him. Especially that of Jillian Long and Josh Mooney who ran most of the race two-wide and just inches behind Kuhn.
Kuhn was also heat winner along with Todd Ahner and Mooney.
In the Dirt Mods it was Palmerton’s Dave Thomas taking Opening Night laurels for the second year in a row.
Thomas and ’11 champ Kris Graver shared the front row after winning their respective qualifiers. Thomas was quick to get the lead while Graver and Mike Stofflet waged a torrid batter for second.
While Thomas remained ahead all race long, Stofflet and Graver battled each other right to the end.
Jeremy Miller of Walnutport grabbed the lead from Barry Christman, Jr., on lap two of the 4-Cylinder feature and once in front it was smooth sailing as he easily went on to score his 26th career win.
The defending champ Christman was second with Jake Kibler next. Prelim winners for the highest field in years went to Christman, Josh Oswald and Miller.
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Zane Zeiner, 2. Tyler Haydt, 3. Don Wagner, 4. Earl Paules, 5. Nevin George, 6. Joe Mooney, 7. Kevin Rex, Jr., 8. Troy Bollinger, 9. John Markovic, 10. Matt Wentz, Mike Carroll, Jr., 12. Paul Skodacek, 13. Stacey Brown, 14. Matt Higgins, 15. John Bennett, 16. Bobby Jones, 17. Lonnie Behler, 18. Shawn Sitarchyk, 19. Terry Markovic, 20. Scott Meckes
Did not qualify: Rick Reichenbach, DJ Wagner, James Pritchard, Jr., Todd Geist
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Earl Paules, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Rick Wallace, 5. Paul Koehler, Jr., 6. Tony Zatsko, 7. Dave Wallace, 8. Ed Bauer, 9. Glen Slocum, 10. George Ramos, 11. Kenny Hein, 12. Mark Simon, 13. Casey Creyer, 14. Patrick Hargan, 15. Geno Steigerwalt DNS: Paul Effrig
Street Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Jason Kuhn, 2. Jillian Long, 3. Josh Mooney, 4. Todd Ahner, 5. Joe Steigerwalt, 6. TJ Gursky 7. Randy Ahner, Jr., 8. Gene Bowers, 9. Kevin Smith, 10. Chris Parry, 11. Eric Danyluk, 12. BJ Wambold, 13. Joe Roberts, 14. Jonathan Tracy, 15. Joe Stamm, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Alan Schlenker, 18. Jason Frey DNS: Scott Kotran
Dirt Modified Feature Finish, 20 Laps: 1. Dave Thomas, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Kristopher Graver, 4. Randy Thomas, 5. Ed Altemose, 6. Ronnie Krex, 7. Bill Sitler, Jr., 8. Mark Levy, 9. Joe Stangle DNS: Steve Folk
Dino Oberto
On the track Zane Zeiner of Nazareth scored a come from behind win in the 35-lap Modified feature. He started from the pole but gave up the top spot to defending champ Tyler Haydt at the get go and then fell back as far as fourth. However, at the midway juncture he found the speed needed to propel him to the front via the bottom lane and on lap 22 went to the lead and eventually the win.
“Tyler (Haydt) did an excellent job when he snookered me on the start and I have to give him credit,” said Zeiner who for the second time has notched a Mahoning Opening Night win, his first coming in 2004.
“Like I always say when I come here it’s all about patience. The car was tight early on and I thought I would just try to hang on and get a top five. But when I got pushed to the outside it really started to come around and was freeing up. I knew there was more bite down on the bottom which is where I’d like to run.”
After a heads-up start from heat race finishes Zeiner was on the pole and aligned with Haydt. At the drop of Roger Snyder’s race commencing green, Haydt hammered down and flew into the lead over Zeiner. Joining in the hunt were Earl Paules, John Bennett and Don Wagner.
This All Star pack of asphalt Modified standouts then ran in a tight pack over the next dozen laps. While Haydt maintained a slim lead, Zeiner and Paules had a great duel going in side-by-side fashion. Likewise Bennett and Wagner where in much a similar clash.
By lap ten Paules finally shook free of Zeiner while Wagner did the same with Bennett and hustled up to third.
At lap 12 the caution was out for a minor spin by Nevin George. On the restart Haydt was still leading but Wagner was now on the charge as he took over second. Zeiner fell in behind Paules at this point.
“We had that caution (lap 12) and I thought I have to make a move and get back to the bottom and start digging were I normally do,” said Zeiner.
And dig he did. Once on the inside Zeiner was able to make quick work of Paules and Wagner and with the momentum going his way he aimed in on Haydt at the lap 20 mark. Next time around and he was at the helm where he remained steadfast to the finish.
“It was on rails. I just found bite down there on the bottom. Tyler got tight by the time I got to him. This track is always a handling track and whoever can get the best setup underneath them is going to shine,” noted Zeiner.
Haydt held on for second with Wagner, Paules and George rounding out the top five. Heats for the 24 cars went to Zeiner, Haydt and Bennett with Mike Carroll, Jr., annexing the consolation.
“I think tonight was a good indication as to what the Triple 25’s will be like, an all-out sprint starting heads up for the first race of that night,” said Zeiner. “That’s why I wanted to come here tonight and get a little bit under my belt and see what goes down.
“I got to give a lot of credit to the Santee’s too. The place looks great and I feel it’s only going to grow. You look at the grandstands tonight and they were packed. This is the closest track to us and it felt nice to come back tonight and we’ll be here a little more often this year.”
Paules, from Palmerton, did double duty as he also ran in the Late Models and he made his first start with that type of car at Mahoning a memorable one with a victory.
Heat winners Ed Bauer, Paules and Mike Sweeney got the top three starting spots for the main with Bauer getting the jump and leading the first circuit.
Paules was right on his tail and on lap six he went to the outside and into the lead. Reigning champion Austin Kochenash got to third on lap four then second four tours later. Once there he stayed glued to Paules but and despite some valiant efforts to get by, Paules had him covered and drove away to the win.
“It was good and the car felt excellent. I never really ran with these guys before but they all ran good and we had only one caution and it was good racing,” said Paules.
Kochenash finished second with Sweeney, Wallace and Paul Koehler, Jr., second through fifth respectively.
Jason Kuhn of Lehighton started from the pole in the Street Stock feature and held there for his first division win.
Starting at the front didn’t mean it was an easy trek either as every lap was hard fought with the front runners all breathing heavily on him. Especially that of Jillian Long and Josh Mooney who ran most of the race two-wide and just inches behind Kuhn.
Kuhn was also heat winner along with Todd Ahner and Mooney.
In the Dirt Mods it was Palmerton’s Dave Thomas taking Opening Night laurels for the second year in a row.
Thomas and ’11 champ Kris Graver shared the front row after winning their respective qualifiers. Thomas was quick to get the lead while Graver and Mike Stofflet waged a torrid batter for second.
While Thomas remained ahead all race long, Stofflet and Graver battled each other right to the end.
Jeremy Miller of Walnutport grabbed the lead from Barry Christman, Jr., on lap two of the 4-Cylinder feature and once in front it was smooth sailing as he easily went on to score his 26th career win.
The defending champ Christman was second with Jake Kibler next. Prelim winners for the highest field in years went to Christman, Josh Oswald and Miller.
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Zane Zeiner, 2. Tyler Haydt, 3. Don Wagner, 4. Earl Paules, 5. Nevin George, 6. Joe Mooney, 7. Kevin Rex, Jr., 8. Troy Bollinger, 9. John Markovic, 10. Matt Wentz, Mike Carroll, Jr., 12. Paul Skodacek, 13. Stacey Brown, 14. Matt Higgins, 15. John Bennett, 16. Bobby Jones, 17. Lonnie Behler, 18. Shawn Sitarchyk, 19. Terry Markovic, 20. Scott Meckes
Did not qualify: Rick Reichenbach, DJ Wagner, James Pritchard, Jr., Todd Geist
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Earl Paules, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Rick Wallace, 5. Paul Koehler, Jr., 6. Tony Zatsko, 7. Dave Wallace, 8. Ed Bauer, 9. Glen Slocum, 10. George Ramos, 11. Kenny Hein, 12. Mark Simon, 13. Casey Creyer, 14. Patrick Hargan, 15. Geno Steigerwalt DNS: Paul Effrig
Street Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Jason Kuhn, 2. Jillian Long, 3. Josh Mooney, 4. Todd Ahner, 5. Joe Steigerwalt, 6. TJ Gursky 7. Randy Ahner, Jr., 8. Gene Bowers, 9. Kevin Smith, 10. Chris Parry, 11. Eric Danyluk, 12. BJ Wambold, 13. Joe Roberts, 14. Jonathan Tracy, 15. Joe Stamm, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Alan Schlenker, 18. Jason Frey DNS: Scott Kotran
Dirt Modified Feature Finish, 20 Laps: 1. Dave Thomas, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Kristopher Graver, 4. Randy Thomas, 5. Ed Altemose, 6. Ronnie Krex, 7. Bill Sitler, Jr., 8. Mark Levy, 9. Joe Stangle DNS: Steve Folk
Dino Oberto