RGeeProductions
02-07-2013, 12:25 AM
For most of the 2012 season at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Earl Paules and Don Wagner battled for the Modified title with Paules ultimately coming out on top. And, as they continued to duel, all the while Nevin George closely shadowed the pair and settled for a very respectable third in the final standings.
All things considered that was not bad at all as George had not raced at the Lehighton quarter mile oval in nearly seven years and it been 15 years since being a weekly regular.
“I was very happy with what we accomplished. Obviously I would have liked to have done better than third in points but to go back there after the time we had off, 14-15 years, and to be able to get back into the seat and get a couple of wins and run up front, that was gratifying,” said 30-year old George who hails from Kunkletown.
As a teenager, George took Mahoning Valley by storm, scoring 14 feature wins and back-to-back D/A Modified titles (1996-97). By the start of the 2000s he was running on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and with victories at Nazareth and Beech Ridge he was one of the rising stars.
After 2006 George had taken a hiatus from racing but never shied far away. He met and married Ashley Paules, who is the daughter of Earl Paules.
With a car owned by Paules, George had run a handful of races at tracks such as Mountain and Wall Stadium. Prior to the start of the 2012 season a deal was struck to buy one of Paules’ cars and he set his sights on a return to Mahoning Valley. At first he never really gave much thought to being a title contender but after the first few starts he began to rethink his outlook.
“When I saw that we had a championship car just a few weeks into the season then I obviously put my goals towards getting that championship,” recalled George.
“Going in I had no idea what to expect. That car was never at Mahoning Valley so I didn’t know how much time it would take to get it right and how much time for me to get re-accustomed to the track. That was kind of how I went into it but then very quickly into the season things started to click and that was when I felt we had a good shot at running for the points (title).”
By week five George was in Victory Lane. At mid-season he climbed as high as second in points behind Paules and added another win by the end of September. The consistency between Paules and Wagner was a bit more than his, however, as he had to settle for third.
George is now anxiously waiting for the April 13 season opener, which will be a 50-lap $2000-to-win feature and from there another run at number one in points.
“It’s hard for me to suit up, put the helmet on and not go to the front. You have to the start the season with the mindset of points. You have to be willing to take a fifth (place finish) instead of crashing out of a race going for fourth or third or the win. I’m going to take fifth and come back next week and get another fifth,” he explained.
“If you look at Earl (Paules) last year he had something like 19 top-five’s out of 27 (starts) which is really amazing and that’s where the championship comes from.
“I will admit that it is hard for me because that’s not the kind of race car driver that I am but I will tell you that is how the season will start out for me and I am going to look at the big picture and I am going to be willing to accept a top ten and move on to the next week rather than possibly damaging the car and my points,” he continued.
“I’m pretty sure there was only one guy that thought that way last year and he ended up winning the points championship.”
Aside from waiting for the motor to be freshened from Bob Bruneau Engine Research in Connecticut, his Raceworks No. 3 car is ready to roll.
“I know it is going to be as tough if not tougher this season. Eric Beers will be back for a good part of the year, Matt Hirschman and Zane Zeiner will be making their usual periodic stops aside from the weekly regulars,” said George.
“And, that’s the thing about Mahoning, you’ll have up to 27 cars for the first few weeks and to me that’s what makes it so interesting to go there and I like knowing that I am racing against a full field of very good cars. Mahoning Valley is the place to be for that.
“I feel that Floyd (Santee, promoter) genuinely cares and you can see that he wants to do what’s right to get more cars there and to keep people coming back. If someone has something to say he is willing to listen and make changes if need be. He did an excellent job and so did Chip and Tim (Santee) and all the unforeseen people that run the track. You have to be racers to do this and that’s what they are. It’s so cool to race in front of a crowd and they are taking the track in the right direction.”
Dino Oberto
All things considered that was not bad at all as George had not raced at the Lehighton quarter mile oval in nearly seven years and it been 15 years since being a weekly regular.
“I was very happy with what we accomplished. Obviously I would have liked to have done better than third in points but to go back there after the time we had off, 14-15 years, and to be able to get back into the seat and get a couple of wins and run up front, that was gratifying,” said 30-year old George who hails from Kunkletown.
As a teenager, George took Mahoning Valley by storm, scoring 14 feature wins and back-to-back D/A Modified titles (1996-97). By the start of the 2000s he was running on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and with victories at Nazareth and Beech Ridge he was one of the rising stars.
After 2006 George had taken a hiatus from racing but never shied far away. He met and married Ashley Paules, who is the daughter of Earl Paules.
With a car owned by Paules, George had run a handful of races at tracks such as Mountain and Wall Stadium. Prior to the start of the 2012 season a deal was struck to buy one of Paules’ cars and he set his sights on a return to Mahoning Valley. At first he never really gave much thought to being a title contender but after the first few starts he began to rethink his outlook.
“When I saw that we had a championship car just a few weeks into the season then I obviously put my goals towards getting that championship,” recalled George.
“Going in I had no idea what to expect. That car was never at Mahoning Valley so I didn’t know how much time it would take to get it right and how much time for me to get re-accustomed to the track. That was kind of how I went into it but then very quickly into the season things started to click and that was when I felt we had a good shot at running for the points (title).”
By week five George was in Victory Lane. At mid-season he climbed as high as second in points behind Paules and added another win by the end of September. The consistency between Paules and Wagner was a bit more than his, however, as he had to settle for third.
George is now anxiously waiting for the April 13 season opener, which will be a 50-lap $2000-to-win feature and from there another run at number one in points.
“It’s hard for me to suit up, put the helmet on and not go to the front. You have to the start the season with the mindset of points. You have to be willing to take a fifth (place finish) instead of crashing out of a race going for fourth or third or the win. I’m going to take fifth and come back next week and get another fifth,” he explained.
“If you look at Earl (Paules) last year he had something like 19 top-five’s out of 27 (starts) which is really amazing and that’s where the championship comes from.
“I will admit that it is hard for me because that’s not the kind of race car driver that I am but I will tell you that is how the season will start out for me and I am going to look at the big picture and I am going to be willing to accept a top ten and move on to the next week rather than possibly damaging the car and my points,” he continued.
“I’m pretty sure there was only one guy that thought that way last year and he ended up winning the points championship.”
Aside from waiting for the motor to be freshened from Bob Bruneau Engine Research in Connecticut, his Raceworks No. 3 car is ready to roll.
“I know it is going to be as tough if not tougher this season. Eric Beers will be back for a good part of the year, Matt Hirschman and Zane Zeiner will be making their usual periodic stops aside from the weekly regulars,” said George.
“And, that’s the thing about Mahoning, you’ll have up to 27 cars for the first few weeks and to me that’s what makes it so interesting to go there and I like knowing that I am racing against a full field of very good cars. Mahoning Valley is the place to be for that.
“I feel that Floyd (Santee, promoter) genuinely cares and you can see that he wants to do what’s right to get more cars there and to keep people coming back. If someone has something to say he is willing to listen and make changes if need be. He did an excellent job and so did Chip and Tim (Santee) and all the unforeseen people that run the track. You have to be racers to do this and that’s what they are. It’s so cool to race in front of a crowd and they are taking the track in the right direction.”
Dino Oberto