RGeeProductions
06-11-2012, 02:03 AM
It was a banner night to what has already been a banner season for Palmerton’s Earl Paules as he won both the Modified and Late Model features at Mahoning Valley Speedway, the first time a driver has done that fete with those classes in the same night and he added to his acclaim by assuming the point lead in each division.
It was Baltimore Life Insurance Fan Appreciation Night and a packed grandstand witnessed the powerhouse performance by Paules.
In the Modified main he started eighth. After two skirmishes trying to get the first lap in the books, Paules was able to methodically move to fifth. He then began his progression to the front by moving to the outside groove where he would grab fourth by lap three and third the next time around.
Matt Wentz had been leading from the outset and had Bobby Jones giving him a handful. It would be lap six when Jones was able to slip by and grab the lead.
It took Paules until lap eight to make his way ahead of Wentz. After that it was great battle that ensued between him and Jones. On lap 15 Paules was able to take over as the leader and from there to the finish he held steady for his first Modified win of the year.
“It’s just patience. You have that the wins will come. It’s Mahoning Valley, it’s a tough little race track,” said Paules.
“Bobby (Jones) and I are both hard racers. I know he will run you clean and he gave me plenty of room.”
Defending class champion Tyler Haydt had a solid drive through the pack as he came from 14th to second by lap 22 and then remained in tow with Paules to the end.
New Jersey’s Roger Coss was making a rare Mahoning start and turned in a noteworthy run coming from 15th to second, a spot he earned by inches over Don Wagner at the checkers. Nevin George rounded out the top five.
Mod heats went to Paules, Jones and John Bennett. Todd Geist annexed the consolation.
In the Late Models, Paules was racing in fourth on lap five and somehow avoided a collision between front runners Mike VanFossen, George Ramos and Ed Bauer.
VanFossen had been leading at the time and Ramos was attempting to pull alongside as they entered turn three. There was contact and both cars lost control and began to spin. In the process Bauer had nowhere to go and was collected.
There was only one opening for Paules and that was between the tangling cars and outside wall. It was a narrow escape and in the outcome gave him the lead. The rest of the way he fended off Dave Wallace and Paul Koehler, Jr., for his fifth win in six starts.
“I had seen it coming. Those guys were getting into with one another before it even happened. I just needed a place to go and they just gave me enough room that my car could fit through the hole,” said Paules.
Mike Sweeney and Ken Hein rounded out the top five. Heat wins went to Ramos and Koehler.
As for Paules he has now reeled off 14 straight top five feature finishes, eight in the Modified and six with the Late Model.
“Both our cars were amazing tonight. We’ve been slowly trying to get it all better and tonight we hit it pretty good,” he said.
In the Street Stocks it was veteran Todd Ahner of Palmerton taking his first win of the season.
Ahner used a lap two restart to snag the top spot away from Jason Frey. He then had to deal with the rigorousness efforts of Gene Bowers and Jason Kuhn through the remaining distance.
Ahner become the sixth different winner in as many races and he extended his all-time Street Stock win total to 27.
TJ Gursky, Frey and Kuhn scored heats with Joe Stamm claiming the consi.
The Dirt Mods ran the remainder of postponed June 3 race which picked up from lap three and had Kris Graver of Lehighton leading. With the race back underway, Graver was perfect yet again as he stayed in front and notched his fifth victory.
In the regular run show it was Mertztown’s Mike Stofflet taking a very popular first win of the season.
He jumped out front at the get-go and in the final laps was being heavily pursued by Graver. After a restart with two laps to go the duel went side-by-side. With Stofflet on the inside, he was able to just nip Graver for the verdict.
Graver and Randy Thomas raced to heat wins.
Defending 4-Cylinder Stock champion Barry Christman, Jr., of Northampton burst through for his first win this year.
Christman was the fourth different driver to lead the race, taking to the helm on lap nine. He then stayed clear of a rash of cautions periods and held off point leader Jeremy Miller for his 23rd career victory. Dan Freundt of Lehighton was the highest finisher with the Front Wheel Drives and earned the $50 bonus and win.
The Micro Stock Racing Series held a special 25-lap memorial event in honor of longtime supporter Richard Weiss and in dominating fashion Bob Wagner of Rockaway, NJ took the win, his second of the year at Mahoning and third overall in 2012.
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Earl Paules, 2. Tyler Haydt, 3. Roger Coss, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Nevin George, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Kevin Rex, Jr., 8. Brian DeFebo, 9. Troy Bollinger, 10. Shawn Sitarchyk, 11. Chip Wanamaker, 12. Matt Wentz, 13. Todd Geist, 14. Lonnie Behler, 15. Joe Mooney, 16. John Bennett, 17. James Pritchard, Jr., 18. Tom Flanagan, 19. Eric Beers, 20. Scott Meckes
Did not qualify: Rick Reichenbach, Brent Wentz, DJ Wagner, Paul Skodacek, Keith Mullineax, Terry Markovic, Stacey Brown
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Earl Paules, 2. Dave Wallace, 3. Paul Kohler, Jr., 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Kenney Hein, 6. Pat Hargan, 7. George Ramos, 8. Paul Effrig, 9. Tony Zatsko, 10. Glenn Slocum, 11. Geno Steigerwalt, 12. Casey Creyer, 13. Rick Wallace, 14. Mike VanFossen 15. Mark Simon, 16. Ed Bauer
Street Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Todd Ahner, 2. Gene Bowers, 3. Kevin Smith, 4. Jason Kuhn, 5. Joe Steigerwalt, 6. Jason Frey, 7. Chip Wanamaker, 8. Chis Parry, 9. BJ Wambold, 10. Randy Ahner, Jr., 11. Jillian Long, 12. Josh Mooney, 13. TJ Gursky, 14. Kyle Strohl, 15. Joe Stamm, 16. Jonathan Tracy, 17. Steve Hoffman, 18. Mike Bugarewicz, 19. Mike Garris, Jr., 20. Joe Roberts
Did not qualify: Zach Graver, Lou Strohl, Rich Moser, Scott Kotran
Dirt Modified Feature Finish, (Makeup from 6/3) 20 Laps: 1. Kris Graver, 2. Randy Thomas, 3. Ricky Yetter, 4. Mark Levy, 6. Mike Stofflet, 7. Joe Stangle, 8. Dave Thomas
Dirt Modified Feature Finish, (reg. feat.) 20 Laps: 1. Stofflet, 2. Graver, 3. Randy Thomas, 4. Stangle, 5. Yetter, 6. Ronnie Krex, 7. Levy, 8. Dave Thomas, 9. Sittler, 10. Dave Gorbatuk Did not start: Frank Parastino
4-Cylinder Stock Feature Finish, 20 Laps: 1. Barry Christman, Jr., 2. Jeremy Miller, 3. Nick Baer, 4. Dan Freundt, 5. Jake Oswald, 6. Dan Biegley, 7. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 8. Robert Miller, 9. Justin Martison, 10, Tyler Stangle, 11. Stone Wentz, 12. Jake Kibler, 13. Doug Knauss, 14. Taya Wentz, 15. Arland Moyer, Jr., 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Dillon Kibler
Micro Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Bob Wagner, 2. Roger Snyder, 3. Wayne Krenn, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Walt Mueller, 6. Mario Oberto, 7. Tyler Wagner, 8. John Rakos, 9. Bill Darling, 10. Joey Pritchard, 11. Mike Duffy, 12. Taylor Santee, 13. Calvin Carroll, 14. Josh Heiser, 15. Joe Carroll, 16. Suzie Carroll
Dino Oberto
It was Baltimore Life Insurance Fan Appreciation Night and a packed grandstand witnessed the powerhouse performance by Paules.
In the Modified main he started eighth. After two skirmishes trying to get the first lap in the books, Paules was able to methodically move to fifth. He then began his progression to the front by moving to the outside groove where he would grab fourth by lap three and third the next time around.
Matt Wentz had been leading from the outset and had Bobby Jones giving him a handful. It would be lap six when Jones was able to slip by and grab the lead.
It took Paules until lap eight to make his way ahead of Wentz. After that it was great battle that ensued between him and Jones. On lap 15 Paules was able to take over as the leader and from there to the finish he held steady for his first Modified win of the year.
“It’s just patience. You have that the wins will come. It’s Mahoning Valley, it’s a tough little race track,” said Paules.
“Bobby (Jones) and I are both hard racers. I know he will run you clean and he gave me plenty of room.”
Defending class champion Tyler Haydt had a solid drive through the pack as he came from 14th to second by lap 22 and then remained in tow with Paules to the end.
New Jersey’s Roger Coss was making a rare Mahoning start and turned in a noteworthy run coming from 15th to second, a spot he earned by inches over Don Wagner at the checkers. Nevin George rounded out the top five.
Mod heats went to Paules, Jones and John Bennett. Todd Geist annexed the consolation.
In the Late Models, Paules was racing in fourth on lap five and somehow avoided a collision between front runners Mike VanFossen, George Ramos and Ed Bauer.
VanFossen had been leading at the time and Ramos was attempting to pull alongside as they entered turn three. There was contact and both cars lost control and began to spin. In the process Bauer had nowhere to go and was collected.
There was only one opening for Paules and that was between the tangling cars and outside wall. It was a narrow escape and in the outcome gave him the lead. The rest of the way he fended off Dave Wallace and Paul Koehler, Jr., for his fifth win in six starts.
“I had seen it coming. Those guys were getting into with one another before it even happened. I just needed a place to go and they just gave me enough room that my car could fit through the hole,” said Paules.
Mike Sweeney and Ken Hein rounded out the top five. Heat wins went to Ramos and Koehler.
As for Paules he has now reeled off 14 straight top five feature finishes, eight in the Modified and six with the Late Model.
“Both our cars were amazing tonight. We’ve been slowly trying to get it all better and tonight we hit it pretty good,” he said.
In the Street Stocks it was veteran Todd Ahner of Palmerton taking his first win of the season.
Ahner used a lap two restart to snag the top spot away from Jason Frey. He then had to deal with the rigorousness efforts of Gene Bowers and Jason Kuhn through the remaining distance.
Ahner become the sixth different winner in as many races and he extended his all-time Street Stock win total to 27.
TJ Gursky, Frey and Kuhn scored heats with Joe Stamm claiming the consi.
The Dirt Mods ran the remainder of postponed June 3 race which picked up from lap three and had Kris Graver of Lehighton leading. With the race back underway, Graver was perfect yet again as he stayed in front and notched his fifth victory.
In the regular run show it was Mertztown’s Mike Stofflet taking a very popular first win of the season.
He jumped out front at the get-go and in the final laps was being heavily pursued by Graver. After a restart with two laps to go the duel went side-by-side. With Stofflet on the inside, he was able to just nip Graver for the verdict.
Graver and Randy Thomas raced to heat wins.
Defending 4-Cylinder Stock champion Barry Christman, Jr., of Northampton burst through for his first win this year.
Christman was the fourth different driver to lead the race, taking to the helm on lap nine. He then stayed clear of a rash of cautions periods and held off point leader Jeremy Miller for his 23rd career victory. Dan Freundt of Lehighton was the highest finisher with the Front Wheel Drives and earned the $50 bonus and win.
The Micro Stock Racing Series held a special 25-lap memorial event in honor of longtime supporter Richard Weiss and in dominating fashion Bob Wagner of Rockaway, NJ took the win, his second of the year at Mahoning and third overall in 2012.
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Earl Paules, 2. Tyler Haydt, 3. Roger Coss, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Nevin George, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. Kevin Rex, Jr., 8. Brian DeFebo, 9. Troy Bollinger, 10. Shawn Sitarchyk, 11. Chip Wanamaker, 12. Matt Wentz, 13. Todd Geist, 14. Lonnie Behler, 15. Joe Mooney, 16. John Bennett, 17. James Pritchard, Jr., 18. Tom Flanagan, 19. Eric Beers, 20. Scott Meckes
Did not qualify: Rick Reichenbach, Brent Wentz, DJ Wagner, Paul Skodacek, Keith Mullineax, Terry Markovic, Stacey Brown
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Earl Paules, 2. Dave Wallace, 3. Paul Kohler, Jr., 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Kenney Hein, 6. Pat Hargan, 7. George Ramos, 8. Paul Effrig, 9. Tony Zatsko, 10. Glenn Slocum, 11. Geno Steigerwalt, 12. Casey Creyer, 13. Rick Wallace, 14. Mike VanFossen 15. Mark Simon, 16. Ed Bauer
Street Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Todd Ahner, 2. Gene Bowers, 3. Kevin Smith, 4. Jason Kuhn, 5. Joe Steigerwalt, 6. Jason Frey, 7. Chip Wanamaker, 8. Chis Parry, 9. BJ Wambold, 10. Randy Ahner, Jr., 11. Jillian Long, 12. Josh Mooney, 13. TJ Gursky, 14. Kyle Strohl, 15. Joe Stamm, 16. Jonathan Tracy, 17. Steve Hoffman, 18. Mike Bugarewicz, 19. Mike Garris, Jr., 20. Joe Roberts
Did not qualify: Zach Graver, Lou Strohl, Rich Moser, Scott Kotran
Dirt Modified Feature Finish, (Makeup from 6/3) 20 Laps: 1. Kris Graver, 2. Randy Thomas, 3. Ricky Yetter, 4. Mark Levy, 6. Mike Stofflet, 7. Joe Stangle, 8. Dave Thomas
Dirt Modified Feature Finish, (reg. feat.) 20 Laps: 1. Stofflet, 2. Graver, 3. Randy Thomas, 4. Stangle, 5. Yetter, 6. Ronnie Krex, 7. Levy, 8. Dave Thomas, 9. Sittler, 10. Dave Gorbatuk Did not start: Frank Parastino
4-Cylinder Stock Feature Finish, 20 Laps: 1. Barry Christman, Jr., 2. Jeremy Miller, 3. Nick Baer, 4. Dan Freundt, 5. Jake Oswald, 6. Dan Biegley, 7. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 8. Robert Miller, 9. Justin Martison, 10, Tyler Stangle, 11. Stone Wentz, 12. Jake Kibler, 13. Doug Knauss, 14. Taya Wentz, 15. Arland Moyer, Jr., 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Dillon Kibler
Micro Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Bob Wagner, 2. Roger Snyder, 3. Wayne Krenn, 4. Don Wagner, 5. Walt Mueller, 6. Mario Oberto, 7. Tyler Wagner, 8. John Rakos, 9. Bill Darling, 10. Joey Pritchard, 11. Mike Duffy, 12. Taylor Santee, 13. Calvin Carroll, 14. Josh Heiser, 15. Joe Carroll, 16. Suzie Carroll
Dino Oberto