RGeeProductions
04-28-2013, 11:19 PM
Austin Kochenash is off to a great start in 2013 as the young talent from Danielsville withstood an onslaught of advances from reigning track champion Earl Paules to score his second Modified win in three races. Both drivers thrilled the fans with an amazing job battling virtually side-by-side for most of the 35 laps.
“Towards the end the car got a little tight. Earl (Paules) is a good driver and he ran me clean and that was good racing tonight,” said Kochenash.
“To come out and win two races in the first three weeks is amazing. The credit goes to my crew. There’s a lot of good competition here and when you win at Mahoning you really earned it.”
Paules started from the pole and had point leader Nevin George to his right. Kochenash lined up third and when the action commenced those three immediately ran under a blanket. Paules was protecting both his left and right flank as George and Kochenash where attacking from each side.
Kochenash had the inside lane and repeatedly dove down under Paules. He was able to finally sneak by him for the lead on lap nine but while making the pass there was some contact in the process, evident by the bent left side rub rail on Paules’ No. 8 afterwards.
After taking the lead this race was far from over as Paules would not let him pull far ahead. A master of the high side, he continued to fight back and unceasingly would show Kochenash his nose from the right. Yet each time it looked as though he would have the energy to spring ahead, Kochenash held his ground.
“I tried to go by him (Kochenash) a couple times and as you can see my skid rail is pushed into my door. He was giving me room though and the car is in one piece and we’re walking away with another second place finish,” said Paules while examining his car after the race.
Late into the race Zane Zeiner, who was making his first start of the season, came up to third and finished just a few feet behind the front two. George, who was fourth, now has three straight top fives to start off the year. Last week’s winner Eric Beers rounded out the front five. Heat wins went to Paules, George and Kochenash.
Overall Kochenash now has three wins in five 2013 starts as he also won the Late Model feature on Opening Night.
“It’s always fun to come here and race. This is a great place and the Santee’s have put so much into the track,” said Kochenash.
After struggling the first two weeks of the season with steering box problems, Lehighton’s Rick Wallace was able to show his hand and powered his way to victory in the Late Model feature.
Wallace took the lead after waging a torrid duel with Frankie Althouse who had led from the outset. He used a lap nine restart to get the front spot but one lap later Althouse would reassume the position. Wallace kept things very close and two laps later, while utilizing the outside route, he would retake the lead and hold it for good.
He slowly pulled safe enough away and went on to solid victory. A journeyman driver, Wallace is now in his 25th season of racing and is a true iconic figure of Mahoning Valley Speedway.
“The first two weeks we really struggled with the power steering issues but we put a lot of time in over the past week and the car was awesome tonight,” said Wallace, who is now in his 25th season of racing and recorded his 31st Late Model win.
“The 22 car (Althouse) is always tough and I knew it was not going to be easy. He’s always good on the bottom. I just put it up on the topside like old times and made it stick.”
Althouse held on for second. Paul Koehler, Jr., was third at the finish but failed post-race inspection, elevating with Mike Sweeney one spot. Althouse and Kevin Graver, Jr., scored Late Model heat wins.
After failing to qualify for the first two Street Stock races, Brain Labar of Palmerton made up for lost time by leading every lap. It was also his first win in two years. And, for the second time in as many races the class ran a caution free feature.
Labar had the pole and wasted no time in controlling the lead. He then had to fend off Randy Ahner, Jr., and Chip Wanamaker in garnering the hard fought verdict as all race long the aforementioned pair gave Labar fits in trying to maintain the front spot. Labar also becomes the first driver to relish in the new higher pay of $600 to win that started this week.
Another rock-solid field of 31 cars attempted to fill the 22 starting spots. Winning heats were Labar, Wanamaker and Ahner with Gene Bowers annexing the consi.
Defending Dirt Mod champ Kris Graver of Lehighton, who is now racing in the track’s Modified division, got a chance to jump back into a car when incoming point leader Aleia Geisler was unable to attend the races. Her car was at the track and Graver got a call earlier in the week to drive as a replacement.
Graver made the best of the opportunity as he inherited the lead from Ricky Yetter under a lap five caution. Yetter had made pit stop for a flat tire. Graver then drove away to a dominating win. By the time he took the checkered flag second place finisher Mike Stofflet was almost four seconds back.
Jeff Parker and Yetter notched Dirt Mod heat wins.
In the 4-Cylinder Stock feature Bobby Kibler, Jr., of Lehighton made a last lap, last corner pass on race long leader Dave Chapman for the exciting outcome. Kibler, as just 13 years old, won by a bumper for his second career victory.
The Hobby Stock feature was also a down-to-the-wire affair as Naticoke’s Larry Spencer III won in his first ever Mahoning Valley appearance by a scant .036-seconds over his teammate Scott Adams. Spencer also won his heat.
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Austin Kochenash, 2. Earl Paules, 3. Zane Zeiner, 4. Nevin George, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Roger Coss, 7. Kris Graver, 8. Chip Santee, 9. Kevin Rex, Jr., 10. Eric Kocher, 11. Terry Markovic, 12. Don Wagner, 13. Bryan Sherwood, 14. John Bennett, 15. Matt Wentz, 16. Rick Kirkendall, 17. DJ Wagner, 18. Rick Reichenbach
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Rick Wallace, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Kenny Hein, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Austin Kochenash, 7. Kevin Graver, Jr., 8. Mike VanFossen, 9. Paul Effrig, 10. George Ramos III, 11. Pat Hargan, 12. Shawn Sitarchyk, 13. Jennifer Kutz, 145. Geno Steigerwalt DQ: Paul Koehler, Jr.,
Street Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Brian Labar, 2. Randy Ahner, Jr., 3. Chip Wanamaker, 4. Todd Ahner, 5. Joe Roberts, 6. Jason Beers, 7. Steve Hoffman, 8. Jonathan Tracey, 9. Lonnie Behler, 10. Josh Mooney, 11. Zach Graver, 12. Stacey Brown, 13. Justin Mooney, 14. Gene Bowers, 15. Jason Kuhn, 16. Jillian Long, 17. Jamie Smith, 18. Jason Frey, 19. Aaron Kromer, 20. TJ Gursky, 21. Kristy Arthofer Did not start: Steven Steigerwalt Did not qualify: Roth, Strohl, Tiffany Wambold, Missmer, Uphold, Stein, Geist, BJ Wambold, Ackerman
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Jeff Parker, 4. Mark Martini, 5. Ricky Yetter, 6. Mark Levy, 7. Dave Gorbatuk, 8. Chuck Potts, 9. Drew Reinbold, 10. JP Curry, 11. Ray Deemer, 12. Justin Martison
4-Cylinder Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 2. Dave Chapman, 3. Nick Baer, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Danielle Paules, 6. Robert Miller, 7. Tanner Laybourn, 8. Jake Kibler DQ: Tyler Stangle
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Larry Spencer III, 2. Scott Adams, 3. Tony Hilliard, 4. Jeff Biegley, 5. Joe Russell, 6. Jacob Oswald, 7. Corey Edelman
Dino Oberto
“Towards the end the car got a little tight. Earl (Paules) is a good driver and he ran me clean and that was good racing tonight,” said Kochenash.
“To come out and win two races in the first three weeks is amazing. The credit goes to my crew. There’s a lot of good competition here and when you win at Mahoning you really earned it.”
Paules started from the pole and had point leader Nevin George to his right. Kochenash lined up third and when the action commenced those three immediately ran under a blanket. Paules was protecting both his left and right flank as George and Kochenash where attacking from each side.
Kochenash had the inside lane and repeatedly dove down under Paules. He was able to finally sneak by him for the lead on lap nine but while making the pass there was some contact in the process, evident by the bent left side rub rail on Paules’ No. 8 afterwards.
After taking the lead this race was far from over as Paules would not let him pull far ahead. A master of the high side, he continued to fight back and unceasingly would show Kochenash his nose from the right. Yet each time it looked as though he would have the energy to spring ahead, Kochenash held his ground.
“I tried to go by him (Kochenash) a couple times and as you can see my skid rail is pushed into my door. He was giving me room though and the car is in one piece and we’re walking away with another second place finish,” said Paules while examining his car after the race.
Late into the race Zane Zeiner, who was making his first start of the season, came up to third and finished just a few feet behind the front two. George, who was fourth, now has three straight top fives to start off the year. Last week’s winner Eric Beers rounded out the front five. Heat wins went to Paules, George and Kochenash.
Overall Kochenash now has three wins in five 2013 starts as he also won the Late Model feature on Opening Night.
“It’s always fun to come here and race. This is a great place and the Santee’s have put so much into the track,” said Kochenash.
After struggling the first two weeks of the season with steering box problems, Lehighton’s Rick Wallace was able to show his hand and powered his way to victory in the Late Model feature.
Wallace took the lead after waging a torrid duel with Frankie Althouse who had led from the outset. He used a lap nine restart to get the front spot but one lap later Althouse would reassume the position. Wallace kept things very close and two laps later, while utilizing the outside route, he would retake the lead and hold it for good.
He slowly pulled safe enough away and went on to solid victory. A journeyman driver, Wallace is now in his 25th season of racing and is a true iconic figure of Mahoning Valley Speedway.
“The first two weeks we really struggled with the power steering issues but we put a lot of time in over the past week and the car was awesome tonight,” said Wallace, who is now in his 25th season of racing and recorded his 31st Late Model win.
“The 22 car (Althouse) is always tough and I knew it was not going to be easy. He’s always good on the bottom. I just put it up on the topside like old times and made it stick.”
Althouse held on for second. Paul Koehler, Jr., was third at the finish but failed post-race inspection, elevating with Mike Sweeney one spot. Althouse and Kevin Graver, Jr., scored Late Model heat wins.
After failing to qualify for the first two Street Stock races, Brain Labar of Palmerton made up for lost time by leading every lap. It was also his first win in two years. And, for the second time in as many races the class ran a caution free feature.
Labar had the pole and wasted no time in controlling the lead. He then had to fend off Randy Ahner, Jr., and Chip Wanamaker in garnering the hard fought verdict as all race long the aforementioned pair gave Labar fits in trying to maintain the front spot. Labar also becomes the first driver to relish in the new higher pay of $600 to win that started this week.
Another rock-solid field of 31 cars attempted to fill the 22 starting spots. Winning heats were Labar, Wanamaker and Ahner with Gene Bowers annexing the consi.
Defending Dirt Mod champ Kris Graver of Lehighton, who is now racing in the track’s Modified division, got a chance to jump back into a car when incoming point leader Aleia Geisler was unable to attend the races. Her car was at the track and Graver got a call earlier in the week to drive as a replacement.
Graver made the best of the opportunity as he inherited the lead from Ricky Yetter under a lap five caution. Yetter had made pit stop for a flat tire. Graver then drove away to a dominating win. By the time he took the checkered flag second place finisher Mike Stofflet was almost four seconds back.
Jeff Parker and Yetter notched Dirt Mod heat wins.
In the 4-Cylinder Stock feature Bobby Kibler, Jr., of Lehighton made a last lap, last corner pass on race long leader Dave Chapman for the exciting outcome. Kibler, as just 13 years old, won by a bumper for his second career victory.
The Hobby Stock feature was also a down-to-the-wire affair as Naticoke’s Larry Spencer III won in his first ever Mahoning Valley appearance by a scant .036-seconds over his teammate Scott Adams. Spencer also won his heat.
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1. Austin Kochenash, 2. Earl Paules, 3. Zane Zeiner, 4. Nevin George, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Roger Coss, 7. Kris Graver, 8. Chip Santee, 9. Kevin Rex, Jr., 10. Eric Kocher, 11. Terry Markovic, 12. Don Wagner, 13. Bryan Sherwood, 14. John Bennett, 15. Matt Wentz, 16. Rick Kirkendall, 17. DJ Wagner, 18. Rick Reichenbach
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Rick Wallace, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Kenny Hein, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Austin Kochenash, 7. Kevin Graver, Jr., 8. Mike VanFossen, 9. Paul Effrig, 10. George Ramos III, 11. Pat Hargan, 12. Shawn Sitarchyk, 13. Jennifer Kutz, 145. Geno Steigerwalt DQ: Paul Koehler, Jr.,
Street Stock Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Brian Labar, 2. Randy Ahner, Jr., 3. Chip Wanamaker, 4. Todd Ahner, 5. Joe Roberts, 6. Jason Beers, 7. Steve Hoffman, 8. Jonathan Tracey, 9. Lonnie Behler, 10. Josh Mooney, 11. Zach Graver, 12. Stacey Brown, 13. Justin Mooney, 14. Gene Bowers, 15. Jason Kuhn, 16. Jillian Long, 17. Jamie Smith, 18. Jason Frey, 19. Aaron Kromer, 20. TJ Gursky, 21. Kristy Arthofer Did not start: Steven Steigerwalt Did not qualify: Roth, Strohl, Tiffany Wambold, Missmer, Uphold, Stein, Geist, BJ Wambold, Ackerman
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Kris Graver, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Jeff Parker, 4. Mark Martini, 5. Ricky Yetter, 6. Mark Levy, 7. Dave Gorbatuk, 8. Chuck Potts, 9. Drew Reinbold, 10. JP Curry, 11. Ray Deemer, 12. Justin Martison
4-Cylinder Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 2. Dave Chapman, 3. Nick Baer, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. Danielle Paules, 6. Robert Miller, 7. Tanner Laybourn, 8. Jake Kibler DQ: Tyler Stangle
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Larry Spencer III, 2. Scott Adams, 3. Tony Hilliard, 4. Jeff Biegley, 5. Joe Russell, 6. Jacob Oswald, 7. Corey Edelman
Dino Oberto