16-year Kyle Strohl Cruises to Second Mahoning Modified Win of ’16; Mike Sweeney Picks up Fifth Win in Late Models
Story By: DINO OBERTO /MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY MEDIA Photos By: WALT SMITH / RACERSGUIDE.COM
LEHIGHTON, Pa. -July 17, 2016- Once Kyle Strohl snagged the lead from Nick Baer on lap three he showed all kinds of power and speed and left everyone in his wake en route to his second Modified win of the season on Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
With the race going caution free the entire 35-laps, Strohl was kicking in the afterburners on his Paul’s Towing/Shear-N-Vee No. 44 long before the finish where he was four-seconds ahead of runner-up Austin Kochenash.
“This was finally a good night for us and we hit the set-up just right. We had to overcome some bad weeks and tonight we had good luck on our side and we came up with the win,” said 16-year old Strohl.
Nick Baer was the pole sitter and took the early lead but Strohl, who started second, pressured him from the onset and eased by with three laps complete. Brian DeFebo then followed into second spot with Kris Graver third, Kochenash fourth and Don Wagner fifth.
The laps where soon clicking off in quick fashion as the pack did a great job racing each other clean. And, while there was numerous battles unfolding, none of them included Strohl who was in a league of his own.
“This was an awesome race and I haven’t raced like this in a long, long time. It feels good to run a caution free feature and I know we can do it and it’s what makes for great racing and it’s what I come here for,” said Strohl, who competed the jaunt in a time of 5:54.
“When I started lapping cars I thought maybe I had a good lead but my concentration was to stay steady and keep a clear mind. You didn’t know who’s coming behind you or when so I just ran every lap like it was my last. This is a real confidence booster heading into next week’s twin 50s. Hopefully this is the right set-up and it works for us again,” said Strohl.
While Strohl was running away with the race the battle for second spot was quite intense. DeFebo was looking solid holding off Kochenash for a number of laps. Just past mid-race, however, Kochenash made it by and brought Wagner along. From there on those two would fight persistently to the finish.
“Kyle (Strohl) starting second and getting the lead right away helped him out and we had to come through traffic. Donny (Wagner) was beating on me and I knew he wasn’t going to go around me and wasn’t fast enough. I just had to keep my line and hope for a caution but unfortunately there wasn’t one,” said Kochenash.
“We know our car can start in the back and come to the front and we’ll come back next week even better.”
Point leader Eric Beers and Graver completed the top five.
Mike Sweeney’s dream season continued as he notched his fifth Late Model win and 10th time of scoring either 1st or 2nd.
While the win was certain, getting there would be a battle. Sweeney would be the fifth different leader of the race and for him it was no easy task as Frankie Althouse kept him at bay as long as he possibly could. Racing side-by-side for a handful of laps, Sweeney didn’t officially take the lead until four laps to go and even then he was still fighting off Althouse right down to the wire.
“That was an awesome and exciting race,” said Sweeney from Victory Lane. “I have to tip my hat off to Frankie (Althouse). That was one hell of a battle and I’m out of breath. That was pretty intense and I knew it was going to be either checkers or wreckers. He did a great job tonight.”
Althouse was actually vying for the win from early on. He and Jeremy Miller also had a fan pleasing two-wide stint that at time included several lead swapping laps. If that close duel wasn’t enough there was Jacob Kerstetter who was right in tune with them at the time.
With 10 laps to go Sweeney began his frontward march by grabbing third spot from Kerstetter and keeping that momentum going, he soon handled Miller. Then came the clash for the lead with Althouse.
“It was all go-time and I had to wait for the line to open up and pick and choose and just try and get who I can quick. This win dedicated to a good friend, Mitch Nace who is recovering from a bad accident,” said Sweeney.
Randy Ahner Jr., counted his first Street Stock win of the year that came after a hard fought run against Rick Reichenbach. Ahner would lead the final lap and go on to victory for the 18th time with the class.
Reichenbach, who had turned the fastest laps of the race, earned his best finish since coming into the Street Stock fold this year.
There is no question that the Dirt Mod feature won by Billy Lasko was the most exciting feature of the night. Lasko was putting on an amazing defense drive of holding off Ricky Yetter who never let up in trying to pass him for the lead. Be it high or low by Yetter, Lasko stood his ground and held on for his second career win.
Everyone knows all too well the extent of success by Eric Beers. But on this memorable night there was celebration for another Beers, as Kailyn, his daughter, won her career first feature in the Pro 4 main.
Starting from the pole, Beers took the early lead and would not let go. With the race remaining green until a caution with two laps to go, she showed that after three years of trying she wasn’t going to let this one slip away.
On the restart Beers hit the throttle and remained in focus, crossing the finish line to a throng of cheers for her well-earned verdict over Tyler Stangle and Kevin Graver Jr
Hobby Stock point leader Cody Geist picked up his second win of the season. After passing Devon Schmidt with seven laps to go he was good from there on, holding off Rich Mutarelli for the victory.
Kassidy Altemose was the winner of the Jr. Enduro over Avery Arthofer.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Don Wagner, 4. Eric Beers, 5. Kristopher Graver, 6. Brian DeFebo, 7. Earl Paules, 8. Jack Ely, 9. John Markovic, 10. Nick Baer, 11. Todd Baer, 12. Bobby Jones, 13. Mike Quinn, 14. Zane Zeiner, 15. Joey Jarowicz, 16. Chip Santee, 17. Terry Markovic
DNS: Brian Labar
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Paul Koehler Jr., 4. Jacob Kerstetter, 5. Jeremy Miller, 6. Don Wagner, 7. Jacob Nemeth, 8. Chris Anderson, 9. Kenny Hein, 10. Josh Oswald, 11. George Ramos, 12. Robbie Kutz
DNS: Lorin Arthofer
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Randy Ahner Jr., 2. Rick Reichenbach, 3. Jon Tracy, 4. Kristy Arthofer, 5. Zach Graver, 6. Mark Martini, 7. Jason Kuhn, 8. Jon Moser, 9. Greg Long, 10. Jason Frey, 11. Josh Mooney, 12. Todd Ahner, 13. Dan Freundt, 14. Aaron Kromer, 15. Corey Edelman, 16. Stacey Brown, 17. Jamie Smith, 18. Lindsay Buss, 19. BJ Wambold, 20. Jared Ahner DNQ: Eric Kocher, Mike Piechota
Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Billy Lasko, 2. Ricky Yetter, 3. Aleia Geisler, 4. Ray Deemer, 5. Rich Coons, 6. Dave Gorbatuk, 7. Mark Levy, 8. Mike Stofflet, 9. Scott Hyland
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Kailyn Beers, 2. Tyler Stangle, 3. Kevin Graver, Jr. 4. Cody Kohler. 5. Johnny Bennett, 6. Jake Kibler, 7. Josh Scherer, 8. Bryan Ahner, 9. Shawn Hoffman, 10. Bobby Kibler Jr., 11. JD Light, 12. Chris Kuronya, 13. Latonia Barlow
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Cody Geist, 2. Rich Mutarelli, 3. Michael Wambold, 4.Ryan Berger, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Shayne Geist, 7. Ron Heeter, 8. Travis Solomon, 9. Randy Sicher, 10. Austin Beers, 11. Ken Reeder, 12. Dean Strohl Jr, 13. Avery Arthofer, 14. Jesse Strohl, 15. Tiffany Wambold, 16. Dean Strohl Sr., 17. Nicolas Kerstetter
DNS: Jason Gould
COMING EVENTS:
July 23 @ 6:00 pm Bob “Heavy” Scherer Twin 50s for Modifieds $1800 to win each + all reg. track classes
July 30 @ 6:00 pm All regular track classes + Micro Stocks
Aug. 6 @ 6:00 pm All regular track classes NO Late Models + Micro Stocks + Car Cruise
