RGeeProductions
04-17-2016, 03:55 PM
Mahoning Valley Speedway played host to its 2016 Opening Night with a packed grandstand, a packed pit area that included 127 race cars and although the program may have extended a bit long due to some opening night glitches, it was a monies-worth night of entertaining stock car racing none the less.
And, with the Ferris Mowers Race of Champions (RoC) Asphalt Modified Series Tour Fueled by Sunoco set to kick off their season next Saturday evening, it gave race hungry fans a prelude to what the “Break-The Ice-75” has to offer as home track favorite Eric Beers held off defending RoC champion Matt Hirschman in a hotly contested showdown to claim his 46th career Mahoning victory.
Past track champions Don Wagner and Kris Graver where third and fourth respectively while another of the RoC top guns, three-time champ Chuck Hossfeld, completed the top five giving a solid indication that next week’s race will produce some outstanding talent.
“It was a great race for the fans and we had a lot of fun tonight running against Matt (Hirschman). We ran each other to the brink of taking each other out more or less but it’s good to be able to race with someone like that and race as hard as you can and not take each other out,” said Beers who hails from Northampton.
After a trio of heats and consi for the 24 cars on hand, a redraw for feature starting spots took place with Wagner and Beers picking the front row and at the drop of starter Bob Stull’s race commencing green, Beers darted quickly by Wagner for the opening lap lead.
“It was getting cold and I knew my only shot to get Donny (Wagner) was on the start. We got a good jump going into (turn) one and then going into (turn) two and that’s all we wrote there,” said Beers.
Unfortunately caution flags soon began to interrupt the racing as numerous incidents, that included a red flag period would hamper the action. Beers then had to hold off the restart attempts of Wagner and then Hirschman, who was running second by lap 15.
Once Hirschman was in contention he would throw everything at Beers. On restarts he kept even before Beers would slightly edge forward. He leaned on him from behind and even had a chance to take the low lane at one point. It was good, hard Mahoning style racing.
“Every time we would go green and I got a rhythm going the caution would come out and that killed me and I may have overheated the left rear when I was trying to out run Donny when he was on my outside and then the same thing with Matt.” said Beers.
“What really hurt was that red flag and our tires cooled off and my left rear never came back. I couldn’t touch the gas at the end and he (Hirschman) was a bit better towards the end and it just worked out in our favor that we were ahead.”
The original opener with the RoC was planned for April 9 but weather postponed those plans. With last night’s race being just a regular 35-lap feature, Beers noted that it gave him and everyone else the needed prep time to ready themselves for what looks to be quite the battle in the Break-The-Ice-75.
“It was good to have a tune-up for all of us and work all the bugs out of the cars. It was good to get here and just get acclimated to what’s going on again and I think just looking at the guys you had here tonight just coming to get ready for that next week that it will be a really good show,” said Beers.
Travis Fisher of Freeland was a winner in the Late Model main for the first time since his rookie season of 2008. Starting third, Fisher was able to avoid an opening lap skirmish between defending champ Paul Koehler Jr,, Lorin Arthofer II and Frankie Althouse who got together I turn two.
Afterwards Fisher was at the point and from there on turned on his cruise control, making perfect laps and holding off Mike Sweeney en route to the checkers.
In 2015 there were 19 different feature winners with the Street Stocks, however, that group did not include champion Zach Graver. 2016 will.
Graver, from Lehighton, put last year’s winless season behind him in a hurry as he won the 30-lap opener after making an outside pass over Josh Mooney with 11 laps to go. It was also race number one of the American Rental Street Stock Gamblers Series.
In the Dirt Mods it was Mike Stofflet of Mertztown leading every lap and authoring the most dominate race he has ever had, lapping all but one car, second place finisher Aleia Geisler.
Likewise Bobby Kibler Jr., of Lehighton also cruised out front for all 20 laps to win the Pro 4 feature.
The Hobby Stocks came out in full force as 24 cars signed in and besting them all was White Haven’s Sam Ryan who waged a thrilling dogfight with runner-up Rich Mutarelli.
Defending Micro Stock Racing Series champ Alex Greenzweig of Kunkletown held off Booby Wagner for his first win of the season.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Eric Beers, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Don Wagner, 4. Kris Graver, 5. Chuck Hossfeld, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Bobby Jones, 8. John Markovic, 9. Anthony Sesely, 10. Gene Bowers, 11. Jimmy Zacharias, 12. Terry Markovic, 13. Roger Cross, 14. Todd Bear, 15. Jack Ely, 16. Austin Kochenash, 17. Brian DeFebo, 18. Earl Paules, 19. Lee Sharpsteen, 20. Nick Bear DNS: Jason Zatsko DNQ: Brian Labar, Calvin Carroll, Roger Heffelfinger Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Travis Fisher, 2. Mike Sweeney, 3. Patrick Hargan, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Lorin Arthofer, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. Paul Koehler Jr., 8. Troy Bollinger, 9. Josh Oswald, 10. Jacob Kerstetter
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Zach Graver, 2. Josh Mooney, 3. Jon Moser, 4. Jason Kuhn, 5. Stacey Brown, 6. Randy Ahner Jr., 7. Randy Schlenker, 8. Jason Frey, 9. Todd Ahner, 10. Corey Edelman, 11. Jared Ahner, 12. Justin Mooney, 13. Kristy Arthofer, 14. Aaron Kromer, 15. Eric Danyluk, 16. Rick Reichenbach, 17. Jon Tracy, 18. Mark Martini, 19. Joe Stangle, 20. Greg Long, 21.Chip Wanamaker, 22. Dennis Buss DNQ: Jamie Smith, Logan Boyer, Jeremy Scheckler, Mike Piechota, Kevin Weierbach, TJ Kemmerer, George Ramos, BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Aleia Geisler, 3. Frank Parastino, 4. Scott Adams, 5. Scott Hyland, 6. Ray Deemer, 7. Billy Lasko, 8. Ricky Yetter, 9. Mark Levy, 10. Bill Sittler DNS: Paul Effrig
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Bobby Kibler Jr., 2. Cody Kohler., 3.Tyler Stangle, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Shawn Kistler, 6 Josh Scherer, 7. Shawn Hoffman., 8. JD Light., 9. Kailyn Beers., 10. Latonia Barlow
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Sam Ryan, 2. Rich Mutarelli, 3. Michael Wambold, 4. Jeff Biegley, 5. Ryan Berger, 6. Ken Reeder, 7. Avery Arthofer, 8. Nicholas Kerstetter, 9. Daniel Hargan, 10. Cody Geist, 11. Devon Schmidt, 12. Dean Strohl Jr., 13. Ron Heeter, 14. Elmer Kennedy, 15. Randy Sicher, 16. Shayne Geist, 17. Jesse Strohl, 18. Tiffany Wambold, 19. Dean Strohl Sr., 20. Philip Sabatine DNQ: Austin Beers, Gary Lerch, Colton Perry, Lyndsay Buss
Dino Oberto
And, with the Ferris Mowers Race of Champions (RoC) Asphalt Modified Series Tour Fueled by Sunoco set to kick off their season next Saturday evening, it gave race hungry fans a prelude to what the “Break-The Ice-75” has to offer as home track favorite Eric Beers held off defending RoC champion Matt Hirschman in a hotly contested showdown to claim his 46th career Mahoning victory.
Past track champions Don Wagner and Kris Graver where third and fourth respectively while another of the RoC top guns, three-time champ Chuck Hossfeld, completed the top five giving a solid indication that next week’s race will produce some outstanding talent.
“It was a great race for the fans and we had a lot of fun tonight running against Matt (Hirschman). We ran each other to the brink of taking each other out more or less but it’s good to be able to race with someone like that and race as hard as you can and not take each other out,” said Beers who hails from Northampton.
After a trio of heats and consi for the 24 cars on hand, a redraw for feature starting spots took place with Wagner and Beers picking the front row and at the drop of starter Bob Stull’s race commencing green, Beers darted quickly by Wagner for the opening lap lead.
“It was getting cold and I knew my only shot to get Donny (Wagner) was on the start. We got a good jump going into (turn) one and then going into (turn) two and that’s all we wrote there,” said Beers.
Unfortunately caution flags soon began to interrupt the racing as numerous incidents, that included a red flag period would hamper the action. Beers then had to hold off the restart attempts of Wagner and then Hirschman, who was running second by lap 15.
Once Hirschman was in contention he would throw everything at Beers. On restarts he kept even before Beers would slightly edge forward. He leaned on him from behind and even had a chance to take the low lane at one point. It was good, hard Mahoning style racing.
“Every time we would go green and I got a rhythm going the caution would come out and that killed me and I may have overheated the left rear when I was trying to out run Donny when he was on my outside and then the same thing with Matt.” said Beers.
“What really hurt was that red flag and our tires cooled off and my left rear never came back. I couldn’t touch the gas at the end and he (Hirschman) was a bit better towards the end and it just worked out in our favor that we were ahead.”
The original opener with the RoC was planned for April 9 but weather postponed those plans. With last night’s race being just a regular 35-lap feature, Beers noted that it gave him and everyone else the needed prep time to ready themselves for what looks to be quite the battle in the Break-The-Ice-75.
“It was good to have a tune-up for all of us and work all the bugs out of the cars. It was good to get here and just get acclimated to what’s going on again and I think just looking at the guys you had here tonight just coming to get ready for that next week that it will be a really good show,” said Beers.
Travis Fisher of Freeland was a winner in the Late Model main for the first time since his rookie season of 2008. Starting third, Fisher was able to avoid an opening lap skirmish between defending champ Paul Koehler Jr,, Lorin Arthofer II and Frankie Althouse who got together I turn two.
Afterwards Fisher was at the point and from there on turned on his cruise control, making perfect laps and holding off Mike Sweeney en route to the checkers.
In 2015 there were 19 different feature winners with the Street Stocks, however, that group did not include champion Zach Graver. 2016 will.
Graver, from Lehighton, put last year’s winless season behind him in a hurry as he won the 30-lap opener after making an outside pass over Josh Mooney with 11 laps to go. It was also race number one of the American Rental Street Stock Gamblers Series.
In the Dirt Mods it was Mike Stofflet of Mertztown leading every lap and authoring the most dominate race he has ever had, lapping all but one car, second place finisher Aleia Geisler.
Likewise Bobby Kibler Jr., of Lehighton also cruised out front for all 20 laps to win the Pro 4 feature.
The Hobby Stocks came out in full force as 24 cars signed in and besting them all was White Haven’s Sam Ryan who waged a thrilling dogfight with runner-up Rich Mutarelli.
Defending Micro Stock Racing Series champ Alex Greenzweig of Kunkletown held off Booby Wagner for his first win of the season.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Eric Beers, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Don Wagner, 4. Kris Graver, 5. Chuck Hossfeld, 6. Kyle Strohl, 7. Bobby Jones, 8. John Markovic, 9. Anthony Sesely, 10. Gene Bowers, 11. Jimmy Zacharias, 12. Terry Markovic, 13. Roger Cross, 14. Todd Bear, 15. Jack Ely, 16. Austin Kochenash, 17. Brian DeFebo, 18. Earl Paules, 19. Lee Sharpsteen, 20. Nick Bear DNS: Jason Zatsko DNQ: Brian Labar, Calvin Carroll, Roger Heffelfinger Jr.
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Travis Fisher, 2. Mike Sweeney, 3. Patrick Hargan, 4. Frankie Althouse, 5. Lorin Arthofer, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. Paul Koehler Jr., 8. Troy Bollinger, 9. Josh Oswald, 10. Jacob Kerstetter
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Zach Graver, 2. Josh Mooney, 3. Jon Moser, 4. Jason Kuhn, 5. Stacey Brown, 6. Randy Ahner Jr., 7. Randy Schlenker, 8. Jason Frey, 9. Todd Ahner, 10. Corey Edelman, 11. Jared Ahner, 12. Justin Mooney, 13. Kristy Arthofer, 14. Aaron Kromer, 15. Eric Danyluk, 16. Rick Reichenbach, 17. Jon Tracy, 18. Mark Martini, 19. Joe Stangle, 20. Greg Long, 21.Chip Wanamaker, 22. Dennis Buss DNQ: Jamie Smith, Logan Boyer, Jeremy Scheckler, Mike Piechota, Kevin Weierbach, TJ Kemmerer, George Ramos, BJ Wambold
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Aleia Geisler, 3. Frank Parastino, 4. Scott Adams, 5. Scott Hyland, 6. Ray Deemer, 7. Billy Lasko, 8. Ricky Yetter, 9. Mark Levy, 10. Bill Sittler DNS: Paul Effrig
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Bobby Kibler Jr., 2. Cody Kohler., 3.Tyler Stangle, 4. Jake Kibler, 5. Shawn Kistler, 6 Josh Scherer, 7. Shawn Hoffman., 8. JD Light., 9. Kailyn Beers., 10. Latonia Barlow
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Sam Ryan, 2. Rich Mutarelli, 3. Michael Wambold, 4. Jeff Biegley, 5. Ryan Berger, 6. Ken Reeder, 7. Avery Arthofer, 8. Nicholas Kerstetter, 9. Daniel Hargan, 10. Cody Geist, 11. Devon Schmidt, 12. Dean Strohl Jr., 13. Ron Heeter, 14. Elmer Kennedy, 15. Randy Sicher, 16. Shayne Geist, 17. Jesse Strohl, 18. Tiffany Wambold, 19. Dean Strohl Sr., 20. Philip Sabatine DNQ: Austin Beers, Gary Lerch, Colton Perry, Lyndsay Buss
Dino Oberto