Mahoning Valley Speedway Champions Honored at Awards Banquet

Mahoning Valley Speedway Champions Honored At Awards Banquet
By DINO OBERTO

(NORTHAMPTON, PA 11-22-14) Divisional champions as well as title contenders gathered to celebrate the 2014 race season at Mahoning Valley Speedway during the track’s annual Awards Banquet held on Saturday evening at the Northampton Community Center in Northampton.

The spacious hall was filled with guests who came out to honor the perspective champs while also enjoying a great and entertaining evening of reflection on another banner year under the direction of promoter Floyd Santee.

Champions in all six track classes, which included Kris Graver in the Modifieds, Earl Paules Jr., in Late Models, TG Gursky in Street Stocks, Kevin Graver Jr, Dirt Mods, Nick Baer in Pro 4 and Corey Edelman in Hobby Stocks were presented champions jackets, trophies and point fund money.

Likewise the top point getters in each class also walked off with their portion of the point fund as well as trophies.

At 21-years old Graver become the youngest driver to win a Mahoning Modified title. It was a hard fought year for Graver who had a season long battle with the likes of Earl Paules, who gave a valiant effort right to the very last race and finished a close second in points. Also Nevin George and 2013 titlist Eric Beers each shared time atop the standings.

Graver, however, showed his maturity. In just his second year of running with the headline class, he notched three feature wins and had a division high 13 top 5s, which ultimately made the difference in edging out Paules.

Graver also enjoyed wins in the Dirt Mods and made a successful debut in a SpeedSTR, winning twice. The young talent has now amassed 37 career feature wins in a seven year span and this marked his fourth overall Mahoning championship. He has two in the Dirt Mods and one with the Pro 4s.

Three years of racing a Late Model and three years as the champion for Paules who picked up his third consecutive Late Model crown and, just as he did in the previous two, he was the mark of consistency, especially when it came to winning. For the third time in as many seasons Paules was the top feature winner, this year visiting Victory Lane on seven occasions which upped his track total to 28.

This was the closest point battle in years too as Frankie Althouse, Mike Sweeney and Paul Koehler Jr., all kept the standings very tight. The foursome combined for 18 out of 20 wins this year.

By winning his third Street Stock title, TJ Gursky became the winningest championship driver with the class. He also won back-to-back crowns in 2011-12.

It was another amazing year of parity within the ranks of the Street Stocks as 12 different drivers tasted victory yet of the top three point finishes, Gursky, Jillian Long and Jason Kuhn, came up shy of garnering a feature win.

Instead it was consistency that got them to the top of the standings and for Gursky he showed his proficiency as a driver who is very well versed when it comes to championships. Not only did he win for a third time in the last four years but last season he lost to Chip Wanamaker by a mere two points. Gursky and Long tied for top 5s at eight each but it was his class leading top 10s, 18 out of 22 starts that helped seal his title. This was his sixth career championship with three coming from the Factory Stocks.

By winning the Dirt Modified title there is no question Kevin Graver Jr., will go down in history as one of the all-time greats at Mahoning Valley Speedway as this was his fifth overall track championship in a span of 11 years. His 45 career wins ranks him third on the track’s all-time win list.

Graver’s march to the top was nothing short of dominance as he led the way in feature wins at 5 and was the only driver at the of end each week with a top-5 finish, 20 in a row to be exact.

In 2013 Nick Baer was in a fight-to-the-finish duel with Kyle Strohl for the Pro 4 title. This year he returned and took the glory.

Baer was focused on the big picture all season long and his numbers reflected that. Most laps led (77), most top 5s (16), most heat wins (10) and tied for most feature wins (7).

Baer did not take the point led until the third week of the season but once at the helm there was no looking back. The 16-year old was smooth, fast and steady each week and most importantly steered clear of any trouble which was a key to his well-earned title.

2013 was the introduction of the Hobby Stock class and former Micro Sprint racer Corey Edelman emerged as the champ. Edelman returned to prove himself yet again.

In a year that saw car counts double and triple, Edelman never wavered and did a remarkable job of retaining his title. After a slow start due to engine woes, Edelman got rolling with a win on week two and added six more before it was all said and done. 10 heat wins and leader in top 5s at 16 helped him cinch the title with a week to go.

The Most Improved Driver Awards went to Graver in the Modifieds, Long and Kuhn in Street Stocks, Jack Ely with the Dirt Mods, Cody Kohler in Pro 4s and in the Hobby Stocks Cody Geist.

Kyle Strohl, – Modified, Jeremy Miller – Late Model, Jared Ahner – Street Stock, Billy Lasko – Dirt Mod, Jesse Snyder – Pro 4 and Rich Mutarelli – Hobby Stock were named Rookies of the Year respectively.

The Best Appearing Car Award, which was presented by Don Biegley of S & D Bodyline, went to John Markovic’s No. 95M Modified, the D11 Late Model of Mike Sweeney, Jason Kuhn and the No. 51 Street Stock, Ray Deemer’s No. 25W Dirt Mod, the Pro 4 No. 9 driven by Kailyn Beers and in the Hobby Stocks it was the No. 99 of Edelman.

Ricky Yetter set a new track record in the Dirt Mods and picked up the Fast Time Awards, the only driver to do so this year. Dirt Modified racer Jeff Parker received the Hard Luck Award.

The Checkered Flag Fan Club Service Appreciation Award was given to scorer Kim Eberwine. Making the presentation was CFFC Vice President and Mahoning Valley chief start Bob Stull.

The focus now turns to the start of the 2015 season with Opening Night slated for Saturday, April 11 at 6:00 pm. Headlining the evening will be a 125 lap, $5000 to win feature for the Modifieds.