RGeeProductions
06-02-2013, 10:24 AM
For Nevin George, the consistent top five finishes have been prevalent from the start of the season with the exception of the one spot most sought, first place. That result is now in hand as George drove to a solid victory and picked up his first Modified win of the season Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
George, who started eighth, used a lap 18 restart that saw him jump from third to first and once in front was able to pull far enough ahead and race to the victory which snapped the three race win streak of Eric Beers.
“Sometimes you just have to be lucky. The majority of racing is luck and you have to have all your ducks in a row. We have but had just been coming up a little short every week. Eric (Beers) has been having a real good run but tonight we got it,” said George, who hails from Kunkletown.
For the outset rookie Kris Graver, the pole sitter, jumped out to the early lead and was doing an excellent job of pacing the pack. He had Matt Wentz hot on his tail but Graver was solid. Running a close third was Kevin Rex, Jr., who tagged along from the get-go.
Graver, who is a multiple champion in Dirt Mods and Pro 4s, was showing why he was so good in those classes by withstanding the nonstop faceoff of Wentz and Rex who hounded the young talent insistently.
By mid-race George worked his way to fourth and was confronting Rex. At the same time Wentz continued repeatedly to drive past Graver but it was no doing. Rex then pulled by Wentz at the conclusion of lap 15 and began to make his bid for the lead.
Lap 18 would be the turning point of the race. A caution was out and for the restart Graver and Rex would go head-to-head. Rex pulled slightly forward by the time they reached turn one but suddenly George, who was third, saw the bottom open up and he stuck his car inside and began to challenge Rex. They went two-wide into turns three and four and by the time they reached the start/finish line George was out front.
“When the weather is hot like this it’s hard to run the outside. I got stuck on the outside on that restart and you just have to shuffle your way in and the car was very good once we got in front. It’s so hard to win here because there are so many good cars so every win is a big deal,” said George.
After taking the lead he would be on rails the rest of the way and as no one could step up and dare him. Rex took a season best second and likewise with Graver who notched his career first top five since becoming a Modified driver. Roger Coss held off Beers to complete the top five. George also won his heat. Earl Paules also annexed a prelim.
Frankie Althouse of Lehighton picked up his first Late Model win of the year. Fifth starting Althouse had raced upfront with brothers Dave and Rick Wallace from laps eight to 17.
With eight laps to go a caution had waved and on that restart would be where Althouse’s winning move occurred. Rick Wallace had dropped from contention and Althouse was lined up to the outside of Dave Wallace when the action resumed.
Using the high line as a momentum run Althouse powered past for the lead and over the remaining distance never looked back. Earl Paules did make an effort in the waning laps but at the finish it was about Althouse.
Paules was put back two spots at the end for making an illegal pass in an off limits zone area. That gave second to Dave Wallace with early leader George Ramos, Paules and Paul Effrig rounding up the top five. Rick Wallace and Paules won heats.
With strong car counts all season the Street Stocks are now running an additional five feature circuits from the previous 25 and holding on for the victory was Joe Roberts of Danielsville who withstood a nonstop blitz by Jason Frey.
Roberts took the lead from Tiffany Wambold on lap two and then traded off the top spot with Frey until finally securing control for good with ten laps to go. Even then he still had a handful of Frey to deal with but stood his ground and raced to his second career win.
There were 29 cars on hand with heats going to Jason Beers, Todd Ahner and Frey. Zach Graver won the consi.
For the second week in a row Jeff Parker of Havertown was the man to beat in the Dirt Mods. Parker passed Ray Deemer on lap six and would go the remaining distance unopposed. The only time the field got close was under a caution period which there was only one as Parker was perfect. The win also helped pad his point lead.
Mike Stofflet took second with Aleia Geisler third. Geisler also won her heat as did Ricky Yetter.
Jake Kibler missed one Pro 4 race due an engine letting go but since his return he has shown that he will be a force to reckon with.
Kibler went to the front on lap six and was overpowering to the rest as he cruised to a dominating win. Previous week winner Nick Baer was runner-up. Kibler and Bobby Kibler, Jr., scored Pro 4 heat wins.
Jeff Biegley of Breinigsville rolled to his third straight and fourth over win in the Hobby Stocks.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Nevin George, 2.Kevin Rex, Jr., 3. Kris Graver, 4. Roger Coss, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Earl Paules, 7. Chip Santee, 8. John Markovic, 9. Eric Kocher, 10. DJ Wagner, 11. Terry Markovic, 12. Rick Reichenbach, 13. Todd Geist, 14. Mike Quinn, 15. Don Wagner, 16. Matt Wentz
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Dave Wallace, 3. George Ramos, 4. Earl Paules, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Mark Simon, 7. Kenny Hein, 8. Jennifer Kutz, 9. Pat Hargan, 10. Mike
Sweeney, 11. Kevin Graver, Jr., 12. Rick Wallace Did not start: Taya Wentz
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Joe Roberts, 2. Jason Frey, 3. Stacey Brown, 4. Jamie Smith, 5. TJ Gursky, 6. Zach Graver, 7. Jonathan Tracey, 8. Matt Wentz, 9. Jillian Long, 10. Chip Wanamaker, 11. Justin Mooney, 12. Randy Ahner, Jr., 13. Gene Bowers, 14. Kristy Arthofer, 15. Steven Steigerwalt, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Todd Ahner, 18. Tiffany Wambold, 19. Lonnie Behler, 20. Jason Beers, 21. Jason Kuhn
Did not qualify: Steve Hoffman, Josh Mooney, Cody Geist, Aaron Kromer, Justin Missmer, Cody Roth, BJ Wambold, Stone Wentz
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jeff Parker, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Aleia Geisler, 4. Mark Martini, 5. Dave Thomas, 6. Dave Gorbatuk, 7. Ricky Yetter, 8. Ray Deemer, 9. JP Curry, 10. Frank Parastino, 11. Joe Stangle
Pro4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Nick Baer, 3. Dave Chapman, 4. Danielle Paules, 5. Tyler Stangle, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 8. Tanner Laybourn, 9. Robert Miller, 10. Joe Stangle Did not start: Doug Knauss
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Jeff Biegley, 2. Corey Edelman
Dino Oberto
George, who started eighth, used a lap 18 restart that saw him jump from third to first and once in front was able to pull far enough ahead and race to the victory which snapped the three race win streak of Eric Beers.
“Sometimes you just have to be lucky. The majority of racing is luck and you have to have all your ducks in a row. We have but had just been coming up a little short every week. Eric (Beers) has been having a real good run but tonight we got it,” said George, who hails from Kunkletown.
For the outset rookie Kris Graver, the pole sitter, jumped out to the early lead and was doing an excellent job of pacing the pack. He had Matt Wentz hot on his tail but Graver was solid. Running a close third was Kevin Rex, Jr., who tagged along from the get-go.
Graver, who is a multiple champion in Dirt Mods and Pro 4s, was showing why he was so good in those classes by withstanding the nonstop faceoff of Wentz and Rex who hounded the young talent insistently.
By mid-race George worked his way to fourth and was confronting Rex. At the same time Wentz continued repeatedly to drive past Graver but it was no doing. Rex then pulled by Wentz at the conclusion of lap 15 and began to make his bid for the lead.
Lap 18 would be the turning point of the race. A caution was out and for the restart Graver and Rex would go head-to-head. Rex pulled slightly forward by the time they reached turn one but suddenly George, who was third, saw the bottom open up and he stuck his car inside and began to challenge Rex. They went two-wide into turns three and four and by the time they reached the start/finish line George was out front.
“When the weather is hot like this it’s hard to run the outside. I got stuck on the outside on that restart and you just have to shuffle your way in and the car was very good once we got in front. It’s so hard to win here because there are so many good cars so every win is a big deal,” said George.
After taking the lead he would be on rails the rest of the way and as no one could step up and dare him. Rex took a season best second and likewise with Graver who notched his career first top five since becoming a Modified driver. Roger Coss held off Beers to complete the top five. George also won his heat. Earl Paules also annexed a prelim.
Frankie Althouse of Lehighton picked up his first Late Model win of the year. Fifth starting Althouse had raced upfront with brothers Dave and Rick Wallace from laps eight to 17.
With eight laps to go a caution had waved and on that restart would be where Althouse’s winning move occurred. Rick Wallace had dropped from contention and Althouse was lined up to the outside of Dave Wallace when the action resumed.
Using the high line as a momentum run Althouse powered past for the lead and over the remaining distance never looked back. Earl Paules did make an effort in the waning laps but at the finish it was about Althouse.
Paules was put back two spots at the end for making an illegal pass in an off limits zone area. That gave second to Dave Wallace with early leader George Ramos, Paules and Paul Effrig rounding up the top five. Rick Wallace and Paules won heats.
With strong car counts all season the Street Stocks are now running an additional five feature circuits from the previous 25 and holding on for the victory was Joe Roberts of Danielsville who withstood a nonstop blitz by Jason Frey.
Roberts took the lead from Tiffany Wambold on lap two and then traded off the top spot with Frey until finally securing control for good with ten laps to go. Even then he still had a handful of Frey to deal with but stood his ground and raced to his second career win.
There were 29 cars on hand with heats going to Jason Beers, Todd Ahner and Frey. Zach Graver won the consi.
For the second week in a row Jeff Parker of Havertown was the man to beat in the Dirt Mods. Parker passed Ray Deemer on lap six and would go the remaining distance unopposed. The only time the field got close was under a caution period which there was only one as Parker was perfect. The win also helped pad his point lead.
Mike Stofflet took second with Aleia Geisler third. Geisler also won her heat as did Ricky Yetter.
Jake Kibler missed one Pro 4 race due an engine letting go but since his return he has shown that he will be a force to reckon with.
Kibler went to the front on lap six and was overpowering to the rest as he cruised to a dominating win. Previous week winner Nick Baer was runner-up. Kibler and Bobby Kibler, Jr., scored Pro 4 heat wins.
Jeff Biegley of Breinigsville rolled to his third straight and fourth over win in the Hobby Stocks.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Nevin George, 2.Kevin Rex, Jr., 3. Kris Graver, 4. Roger Coss, 5. Eric Beers, 6. Earl Paules, 7. Chip Santee, 8. John Markovic, 9. Eric Kocher, 10. DJ Wagner, 11. Terry Markovic, 12. Rick Reichenbach, 13. Todd Geist, 14. Mike Quinn, 15. Don Wagner, 16. Matt Wentz
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Dave Wallace, 3. George Ramos, 4. Earl Paules, 5. Paul Effrig, 6. Mark Simon, 7. Kenny Hein, 8. Jennifer Kutz, 9. Pat Hargan, 10. Mike
Sweeney, 11. Kevin Graver, Jr., 12. Rick Wallace Did not start: Taya Wentz
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Joe Roberts, 2. Jason Frey, 3. Stacey Brown, 4. Jamie Smith, 5. TJ Gursky, 6. Zach Graver, 7. Jonathan Tracey, 8. Matt Wentz, 9. Jillian Long, 10. Chip Wanamaker, 11. Justin Mooney, 12. Randy Ahner, Jr., 13. Gene Bowers, 14. Kristy Arthofer, 15. Steven Steigerwalt, 16. Kyle Strohl, 17. Todd Ahner, 18. Tiffany Wambold, 19. Lonnie Behler, 20. Jason Beers, 21. Jason Kuhn
Did not qualify: Steve Hoffman, Josh Mooney, Cody Geist, Aaron Kromer, Justin Missmer, Cody Roth, BJ Wambold, Stone Wentz
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jeff Parker, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Aleia Geisler, 4. Mark Martini, 5. Dave Thomas, 6. Dave Gorbatuk, 7. Ricky Yetter, 8. Ray Deemer, 9. JP Curry, 10. Frank Parastino, 11. Joe Stangle
Pro4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Jake Kibler, 2. Nick Baer, 3. Dave Chapman, 4. Danielle Paules, 5. Tyler Stangle, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Bobby Kibler, Jr., 8. Tanner Laybourn, 9. Robert Miller, 10. Joe Stangle Did not start: Doug Knauss
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (15 Laps): 1. Jeff Biegley, 2. Corey Edelman
Dino Oberto