RGeeProductions
04-15-2013, 01:04 AM
With Modified And Late Model Wins
Since he began his stock car career over five years ago, Austin Kochenash has had some great nights at Mahoning Valley Speedway but none will ever top Saturday’s season opener as the 17-year old from Danielsville took wins in both the Modified and Late Model mains. Kochenash made a late race pass in both features en route to scoring the victories.
The Modified win was very sweet as it was his first start with the class and it came in a 50-lap, $2000-to-win feature. The Late Model verdict was his 17th at Mahoning which boosted his take for the night to nearly $3000.
“This feels great. There was a lot of good cars here tonight and I just can’t thank my uncle enough for letting me drive his car and the whole crew for the hard work they put in over the winter, it all paid off,” said Kochenash, who drove the VRP Shocks No. 31 owned by Roger Heffelfinger, Jr.
For the start of the Modified main Kochenash lined up third behind the front row of Nevin George and John Bennett. At the drop of starter Bobby Stuhl’s race commencing green George took control of the field and by lap two Kochenash was in second. Despite repeated tries from Kochenash, George was running stout and ably held his ground.
The race ran clean through the first 17 laps before the caution waved. Don Wagner had spun on the back straight and in an attempt to avoid contact several cars took evasive action. In the aftermath reigning Mahoning Modified champ Earl Paules had slide into the wall and needed to be towed from the track. He was unable to return and it marked the first time in over two seasons that he had to drop out of a race. His 18th place finish would be the worst in that same span.
When the action was back underway George again led the way while Bennett used the restart to get around Kochenash. Eric Beers then joined the fray with the front trio.
With the help of another yellow on lap 34 Kochenash was able to bounce back to second. Bennett, however, remained as close as could be plus the pair kept within in reach of George.
With just under 10 laps to, Beers got pinched and spun in turn four which prompted the yellow flag. It was on that restart that Kochenash would pull his race winning move by overtaking George in turn four. Bennett was able to follow into second.
Although a few more caution periods took place over the waning laps, Kochenash stayed the course for the popular win. George ran side-by-side with Bennett before retaking second for good with five laps to go. Eric Kocher and Roger Coss completed the top five.
“I knew we had a good car for the long run and I bided my time and saved my tires. On that restart I pushed him (George) a little bit in the corner and when I saw the opening I just drove under him. It was a good night for sure and hopefully we can run for the championship in both cars,” said Kochenash.
George, who was third in points last year, showed that he will again be amongst the lead runners and title hopefuls after his solid performance.
“Nobody wants to finish second but Austin (Kochenash) had been fast for all the pre-season practices and I knew he was going to be a threat for sure. It’s disappointing when you can lead most of it and then end up in second but we’re here for the big picture, we’re here for the points so we’ll take this and move on to next week,” said George.
Heat wins for the 24 Modifieds went to George, Bennett and Kochenash with Chip Santee annexing the consi.
Dave Wallace and Paul Koehler, Jr., share the front row for the 25-lap Late Model event with Koehler getting a great jump at the start and darting out to the early lead. Wallace kept tabs on the leader as did Kevin Graver, Jr. but there was no denying the fact that Koehler had the strongest car as he maintained a safe 1-2 car length advantage.
By lap 13 Paul Effrig was making his presence felt and began to challenge with the lead pack. On a restart one lap later he was attempting to make a go at Koehler but after slight contact in turn four he lost traction and spun. The caution came out and at this time Kochenash, who started ninth, was now lined up with Koehler.
Over the next half dozen laps these two past class champs waged a torrid battle. Kochenash continued to up the pressure and on lap 21Koehler got nudged entering turn one and could not hold on as he spun from the lead. Kochenash then cruised through the final four circuits to pick up his first Mahoning Late Model win since the final race of 2011.
“We weren’t good in the heat so we had to change up a few things for the feature and the car was pretty good tonight,” said Kochenash. “Overall this was a great night I won’t soon forget. What a way to start the year.”
Frankie Althouse was second with Mike Sweeney, Graver and Wallace rounding out the top five. Koehler and Wallace notched heat wins.
In Street Stock action Lehighton’s Josh Mooney started from the pole and immediately went into the lead. Mooney was chased by two-time and defending champion TJ Gursky for virtually the entire race. The race became a nip and tuck battle between them. Mooney gave up the lead to Gursky after a lap eight restart only to regain it on the ensuing tour. The rest of the way they ran bumper-to-bumper.
Mooney, who picked up his sixth career win, lost last year’s crown to Gursky by a scant two points, and is looking to turn the tides for 2013. There were 31 Street Stocks trackside with heat wins going to Mooney, Steven Steigerwalt and Gursky. Jillian long won the consi.
Mark Levy of Pennsbury won his career first stock car feature in capturing the Dirt Modified main. Levy, who started seventh, went from fourth to first on lap 12 of 20 after the top three running cars of Ricky Yetter, JP Curry and Mike Stofflet all careened into the spun out car of Bill Sittler.
Levy was elevated into the lead but had quite the hassle the rest of the way as Aleia Geisler did all she could to unseat him. Levy won by the blink of an eye, scoring the memorable victory by a mere .070-seocnd margin. Yetter, who rebounded to finish third and Geisler picked up heat wins.
Landsford’s Jake Kibler started from the pole in the 4-Cylinder Stocks and led the first seven laps. He was knocked from the lead by Nick Baer but battled back to the top with within five laps and went on to claim the win over Bobby Kibler, Jr.
Corey Edelman of Northampton became the very first winner of the newly formed 4-Cylinder Hobby Stock class. A former Micro Sprint racer, Edelman was racing on asphalt for the first time. He took the lead with two laps to go after Jackson Ring had spun.
Modified Feature Finish (50 Laps): 1. Austin Kochenash, 2. Nevin George, 3. John Bennett, 4. Eric Kocher, 5. Roger Coss, 6. Don Wagner, 7. Eric Beers, 8. Bobby Jones, 9. DJ Wagner, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Brian DeFebo, 12. Kevin Rex, Jr., 13. Nick Pecko, 14. Chip Santee, 15. John Markovic, 16. Shawn Sitarchyk, 17. Terry Markovic, 18. Earl Paules, 19. Kris Graver, 20. Troy Bollinger
Did not qualify: Bryan Sherwood, Matt Wentz, Ryan Russo, Zane Zeiner
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Austin Kochenash, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Kevin Graver, Jr., 5. Dave Wallace, 6. Paul Effrig, 7. Pat Hargan, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Paul Koehler, Jr., 10. Earl Paules, 11. Jennifer Kutz, 12. George Ramos, 13. Geno Steigerwalt, 14. Rick Wallace
Street Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Josh Mooney, 2. TJ Gursky, 3. Steve Hoffman, 4. Jason Kuhn, 5. Jon Tracey, 6. Randy Ahner, Jr., 7. Zach Graver, 8. Jamie Smith, 9. Jason Frey, 10. Steven Steigerwalt, 11. Lonnie Behler, 12. Todd Ahner, 13. Chip Wanamaker, 14. Kristy Arthofer, 15. Kyle Strohl 16. Stacey Brown, 17. Jillian Long, 18. Gene Bowers, 19. BJ Wambold, 20. Tim Stein, 21. Joe Roberts DQ: Justin Mooney Did not qualify: Jason Beers, Brian Labar, Tiffany Wambold, Justin Missmer, Aaron Kromer, Cody Geist, Bernie Uphold, Josh Oswald, Guy Ackerman
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mark Levy, 2. Aleia Geisler, 3. Ricky Yetter, 4. Dave Gorbatuk, 5. Mark Martini, 6. Jeff Parker, 7. Chuck Potts, 8. Ray Deemer, 9. JP Curry, 10. Mike Stofflet, 11. Bill Sittler 12. Drew Reinbold
4-Cylinder Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 3. Nick Baer, 4. Danielle Paules, 5. Tyler Stangle, 7. Tanner Laybourn DQ: Kyle Strohl, Robert Miller
4-Cylinder Hobby Stock Finish (15 Laps): 1. Corey Edelman, 2. Jacob Oswald, 3. Jackson Ring, 4. Jeff Biegley
Dino Oberto
Since he began his stock car career over five years ago, Austin Kochenash has had some great nights at Mahoning Valley Speedway but none will ever top Saturday’s season opener as the 17-year old from Danielsville took wins in both the Modified and Late Model mains. Kochenash made a late race pass in both features en route to scoring the victories.
The Modified win was very sweet as it was his first start with the class and it came in a 50-lap, $2000-to-win feature. The Late Model verdict was his 17th at Mahoning which boosted his take for the night to nearly $3000.
“This feels great. There was a lot of good cars here tonight and I just can’t thank my uncle enough for letting me drive his car and the whole crew for the hard work they put in over the winter, it all paid off,” said Kochenash, who drove the VRP Shocks No. 31 owned by Roger Heffelfinger, Jr.
For the start of the Modified main Kochenash lined up third behind the front row of Nevin George and John Bennett. At the drop of starter Bobby Stuhl’s race commencing green George took control of the field and by lap two Kochenash was in second. Despite repeated tries from Kochenash, George was running stout and ably held his ground.
The race ran clean through the first 17 laps before the caution waved. Don Wagner had spun on the back straight and in an attempt to avoid contact several cars took evasive action. In the aftermath reigning Mahoning Modified champ Earl Paules had slide into the wall and needed to be towed from the track. He was unable to return and it marked the first time in over two seasons that he had to drop out of a race. His 18th place finish would be the worst in that same span.
When the action was back underway George again led the way while Bennett used the restart to get around Kochenash. Eric Beers then joined the fray with the front trio.
With the help of another yellow on lap 34 Kochenash was able to bounce back to second. Bennett, however, remained as close as could be plus the pair kept within in reach of George.
With just under 10 laps to, Beers got pinched and spun in turn four which prompted the yellow flag. It was on that restart that Kochenash would pull his race winning move by overtaking George in turn four. Bennett was able to follow into second.
Although a few more caution periods took place over the waning laps, Kochenash stayed the course for the popular win. George ran side-by-side with Bennett before retaking second for good with five laps to go. Eric Kocher and Roger Coss completed the top five.
“I knew we had a good car for the long run and I bided my time and saved my tires. On that restart I pushed him (George) a little bit in the corner and when I saw the opening I just drove under him. It was a good night for sure and hopefully we can run for the championship in both cars,” said Kochenash.
George, who was third in points last year, showed that he will again be amongst the lead runners and title hopefuls after his solid performance.
“Nobody wants to finish second but Austin (Kochenash) had been fast for all the pre-season practices and I knew he was going to be a threat for sure. It’s disappointing when you can lead most of it and then end up in second but we’re here for the big picture, we’re here for the points so we’ll take this and move on to next week,” said George.
Heat wins for the 24 Modifieds went to George, Bennett and Kochenash with Chip Santee annexing the consi.
Dave Wallace and Paul Koehler, Jr., share the front row for the 25-lap Late Model event with Koehler getting a great jump at the start and darting out to the early lead. Wallace kept tabs on the leader as did Kevin Graver, Jr. but there was no denying the fact that Koehler had the strongest car as he maintained a safe 1-2 car length advantage.
By lap 13 Paul Effrig was making his presence felt and began to challenge with the lead pack. On a restart one lap later he was attempting to make a go at Koehler but after slight contact in turn four he lost traction and spun. The caution came out and at this time Kochenash, who started ninth, was now lined up with Koehler.
Over the next half dozen laps these two past class champs waged a torrid battle. Kochenash continued to up the pressure and on lap 21Koehler got nudged entering turn one and could not hold on as he spun from the lead. Kochenash then cruised through the final four circuits to pick up his first Mahoning Late Model win since the final race of 2011.
“We weren’t good in the heat so we had to change up a few things for the feature and the car was pretty good tonight,” said Kochenash. “Overall this was a great night I won’t soon forget. What a way to start the year.”
Frankie Althouse was second with Mike Sweeney, Graver and Wallace rounding out the top five. Koehler and Wallace notched heat wins.
In Street Stock action Lehighton’s Josh Mooney started from the pole and immediately went into the lead. Mooney was chased by two-time and defending champion TJ Gursky for virtually the entire race. The race became a nip and tuck battle between them. Mooney gave up the lead to Gursky after a lap eight restart only to regain it on the ensuing tour. The rest of the way they ran bumper-to-bumper.
Mooney, who picked up his sixth career win, lost last year’s crown to Gursky by a scant two points, and is looking to turn the tides for 2013. There were 31 Street Stocks trackside with heat wins going to Mooney, Steven Steigerwalt and Gursky. Jillian long won the consi.
Mark Levy of Pennsbury won his career first stock car feature in capturing the Dirt Modified main. Levy, who started seventh, went from fourth to first on lap 12 of 20 after the top three running cars of Ricky Yetter, JP Curry and Mike Stofflet all careened into the spun out car of Bill Sittler.
Levy was elevated into the lead but had quite the hassle the rest of the way as Aleia Geisler did all she could to unseat him. Levy won by the blink of an eye, scoring the memorable victory by a mere .070-seocnd margin. Yetter, who rebounded to finish third and Geisler picked up heat wins.
Landsford’s Jake Kibler started from the pole in the 4-Cylinder Stocks and led the first seven laps. He was knocked from the lead by Nick Baer but battled back to the top with within five laps and went on to claim the win over Bobby Kibler, Jr.
Corey Edelman of Northampton became the very first winner of the newly formed 4-Cylinder Hobby Stock class. A former Micro Sprint racer, Edelman was racing on asphalt for the first time. He took the lead with two laps to go after Jackson Ring had spun.
Modified Feature Finish (50 Laps): 1. Austin Kochenash, 2. Nevin George, 3. John Bennett, 4. Eric Kocher, 5. Roger Coss, 6. Don Wagner, 7. Eric Beers, 8. Bobby Jones, 9. DJ Wagner, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Brian DeFebo, 12. Kevin Rex, Jr., 13. Nick Pecko, 14. Chip Santee, 15. John Markovic, 16. Shawn Sitarchyk, 17. Terry Markovic, 18. Earl Paules, 19. Kris Graver, 20. Troy Bollinger
Did not qualify: Bryan Sherwood, Matt Wentz, Ryan Russo, Zane Zeiner
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Austin Kochenash, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Kevin Graver, Jr., 5. Dave Wallace, 6. Paul Effrig, 7. Pat Hargan, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Paul Koehler, Jr., 10. Earl Paules, 11. Jennifer Kutz, 12. George Ramos, 13. Geno Steigerwalt, 14. Rick Wallace
Street Stock Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Josh Mooney, 2. TJ Gursky, 3. Steve Hoffman, 4. Jason Kuhn, 5. Jon Tracey, 6. Randy Ahner, Jr., 7. Zach Graver, 8. Jamie Smith, 9. Jason Frey, 10. Steven Steigerwalt, 11. Lonnie Behler, 12. Todd Ahner, 13. Chip Wanamaker, 14. Kristy Arthofer, 15. Kyle Strohl 16. Stacey Brown, 17. Jillian Long, 18. Gene Bowers, 19. BJ Wambold, 20. Tim Stein, 21. Joe Roberts DQ: Justin Mooney Did not qualify: Jason Beers, Brian Labar, Tiffany Wambold, Justin Missmer, Aaron Kromer, Cody Geist, Bernie Uphold, Josh Oswald, Guy Ackerman
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Mark Levy, 2. Aleia Geisler, 3. Ricky Yetter, 4. Dave Gorbatuk, 5. Mark Martini, 6. Jeff Parker, 7. Chuck Potts, 8. Ray Deemer, 9. JP Curry, 10. Mike Stofflet, 11. Bill Sittler 12. Drew Reinbold
4-Cylinder Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 3. Nick Baer, 4. Danielle Paules, 5. Tyler Stangle, 7. Tanner Laybourn DQ: Kyle Strohl, Robert Miller
4-Cylinder Hobby Stock Finish (15 Laps): 1. Corey Edelman, 2. Jacob Oswald, 3. Jackson Ring, 4. Jeff Biegley
Dino Oberto