Earl Paules holds off Eric Beers for return to Mahoning Modified glory
Earl Paules holds off Eric Beers for return to Mahoning Modified glory
By DINO OBERTO
(LEHIGHTON, Pa. 4-18-15) It was hard to imagine that Earl Paules went a whole season without a Modified victory, which actually is a rarity in the career of one of the winningest drivers in eastern Pennsylvania short track pavement racing.
Running two, three and at times four different cars each week may have had a role in that too. So for the first time in three years Paules hauled just one car to the race track and it made an immediate difference as the prolific racer notched his first Modified win since late August of 2013.
It turned out to be a great battle of past track champions too as Paules held off Eric Beers in winning Saturday’s 35-lap feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Paules dashed by Calvin Carroll on lap two for lead. He then had to fend off Kyle Strohl, Jimmy Zacharias and Austin Kochenash over the next 20 laps. Zacharias did manage to get by for a brief stint at the lead but after he spun with 10 laps to go the front spot went back to Paules and from there on the outcome would be decided between him and Beers.
“We needed this. We decided we were going to park the Late Model and concentrate more on the Modified and it paid off tonight,” said Paules, who won for the 22nd time at Mahoning in Modified and 42nd overall with the class.
Making his Modified feature debut, rookie Carroll led the 20-car field to the green and recorded the opening lap lead. Afterwards Paules, Strohl, Zacharias and Kochenash all made quick work of the young apprentice.
By lap 15 Zacharias and Kochenash went into a thrilling side-by-side duel while hot on the heels of Paules. Zacharias opted to take the outside lane over Kochenash which also cleared the path for him to advance past Paules for the lead at the completion of lap 21.
Paules and Kochenash did not let Zacharias get too far, however, as they poured on the pressure. After crossing the stripe for the 25th lap, Kochenash tried to squeeze under Zacharias. There was a slight tap and the leader went for a spin. Paules wisely took to the high side and zipped around both to retake the lead.
“I was just at the right place. The 71 (Zacharias) got around me. I was trying him on the outside and then the 66 (Kochenash) got underneath there and they got together a little bit and that always helps,” said Paules.
Beers stepped up to second with ten laps to go and gave it his all in trying to unseat Paules but the crafty veteran held his ground.
“Having him (Beers) back there was a big thing. I knew he was going to run me clean and we never touched. He had a better car then we did but I just happen to get out front tonight,” said Paules.
Point leader Don Wagner, Strohl and John Markovic rounded out the top five.
In the 25-lap Late Model feature Paul Koehler Jr., rolled to his second straight win.
Geno Steigerwalt held the point from the outset while Jeremy Miller stayed glued to his rear bumper. Paules, who started sixth, raced to third spot by lap nine and began looking for the chance to slip by Miller. That opportunity came at the mid-race juncture.
Steigerwalt, by that point, had built a comfortable lead, but thanks in part to no cautions, Koehler was able to show his strength and quickly reeled in the lead car. He would then make his race winning move with six laps to go.
Steigerwalt held on for second but unfortunately his car came up to low at the post race inspection and he was DQ’d, giving second place to Frankie Althouse.
It took an extra week to get the Opening Night Street Stock and Dirt Mod features in due to a curfew but for Randy Ahner Jr., and Ricky Yetter it was worth the wait as they scored respective wins to kick off their seasons.
In the Street Stock feature defending champ TJ Gursky led from the pole and held the lead while Ahner Jr., kept him in his sights.
By lap 18 the race for the lead became intense as Ahner went side-by-side with Gursky. Five laps later he grabbed the front spot and stayed there the final eight circuits for his 17th career class win and 30th overall.
When the Dirt Mod race got underway Yetter, who started from the pole, would not relinquish the spot as he motored out-front for all 25 laps. Calling this his farewell tour, he certainly got off to a great start as he not only took the win but the early season point lead as well in the hopes of going out a champion.
In the regular scheduled features for each of those divisions Jonathan Tracey passed Tiffany Wambold on lap seven and took top honors in the Street Stocks.
Jack Ely took the lead from the get-go for the Dirt Mod main and once in front was never headed, leading all the way in a solid ride to victory.
Tyler Stangle held off a last lap charge by Cody Kohler to win the Pro 4 feature. Stangle led all 20 laps but it was no easy task.
Kohler came on like gangbusters during the final laps and heading to the checkered flag made a daring inside move on Stangle only to come up inches short.
In the Hobby Stock main Shayne Geist led all but one lap and raced to the victory.
Alex Greenzweig came out in defense of his Micro Stock Racing Series title by taking a sound win in the season opener for the touring class.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Earl Paules, 2. Eric Beers, 3. Don Wagner, 4. Kyle Strohl, 5. John Markovic, 6. Chip Santee, 7. Jimmy Zacharias, 8. Austin Kochenash, 9. Eric Kocher, 10. Rick Reichenbach, 11. Kris Graver, 12. Kevin Rex Jr., 13. Todd Baer, 14. Calvin Carroll, 15. Terry Markovic, 16. Roger Heffelfinger, 17. Mike Quinn, 18. DJ Wagner, 19. Bobby Jones, 20. JP Curry
DNQ: Del Morgan
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Paul Koehler Jr., 2. Frankie Althouse, 3. Mike Sweeney, 4. Kenny Hein, 5. Jason Zatsko, 6, Jeremy Miller, 7. Jacob Kerstetter, 8. Francis Gross III DNS: Jacob Nemeth DQ: Geno Steigerwalt
1st Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Randy Ahner Jr., 2. TJ Gursky, 3. Aaron Kromer, 4. Jared Ahner, 5. Randy Schlenker, 6. Stacey Brown, 7. Zach Graver, 8. Justin Mooney, 9. Todd Ahner, 10. Gene Bowers, 11. Josh Mooney, 12. Cody Roth, 13. Jillian Long, 14. Jonathan Tracey, 15. Jason Kuhn, 16. Brian Labar, 17. Corey Edelman, 18. Jamie Smith, 19. Troy Bollinger 20. Dave Chapman DQ: Jared Ahner
2nd Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps): 1. Tracey, 2, Long, 3. Kromer, 4. Justin Mooney, 5. Steigerwalt, 6. Roth, 7. Jared Ahner, 8. Graver, 9. Labar, 10. Todd Ahner, 11. Stacey Brown, 12. Randy Ahner Jr., 13. Edelman, 14. Kuhn, 15. Bowers. 16. Frey, 17. Gursky, 18. Josh Mooney, 19. Smith, 20. Wambold, 21. Troy Bollinger DNQ: Randy Schlenker, Bernie Uphold, Joe Stangle, George Ramos, Jeff Larrison Jr., Logan Boyer, Paul Morgan Jr., Dave Chapman
1st Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Ricky Yetter, 2. Mike Stofflet, 3. Lorin Arthofer II, 4. Dave Gorbatuk, 5. Drew Reinbold, 6. Ray Deemer, 7. Aleia Geisler, 8. Tim Manieri, 9. Jack Ely, 10. Billy Lasko, 11. Bill Sittler
2nd Dirt Mod Feature Finish (25 Laps: 1. Ely, 2. Stofflet, 3. Geisler, 4. Yetter, 5. Lasko, 6. Arthofer II, 7. Gorbatuk, 8. Sittler, 9. Reinbold, 10. Manieri, 11. Deemer
Pro 4 Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Tyler Stangle, 2. Cody Kohler, 3. JD Light, 4. Nick Baer, 5. Bobby Kibler Jr., 6. Bobby Kibler Sr., 7. TJ Kemmerer, 8. Joe Pritchard, 9. Jake Kibler, 10. Johnny Bennett, 11. Chad Miller, 12. Kailyn Beers, 13. Alton Snyder Jr.
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Shayne Geist, 2. Tim Oswald, 3. Rich Mutarelli, 4. Kyle Krempasky, 5. Cody Geist, 6. Bob Azarowitz, 7. Collin Bollinger, 8. Ryan Green, 9. Lyndsay Buss
Micro Stock Feature Finish, (25 Laps): 1. Alex Greenzweig, 2. Robert McGuire, 3. Bob Wagner, 4. Tyler Wagner, 5. Walt Mueller, 6. Larry Ealey, 7. Bill Darling, 8. DJ Wagner, 9. Mario Oberto, 10. Roger Snyder, 11. Tyler Stangle, 12. John Rakos, 13. Al Vanhart, 14. Rich Moyer, 15. Andrew Acerra, 16. Walter Morrison
