Ohio's Fun Place to Race!!
2024 Race Season |
 | September 3, 2017 |
 Another great crowd and great car count showed up to Midvale Speedway for The JD Byrider 100 for the Main Event Series, JD Byrider Open Mod 40, Street Stock 25 and Compact Clash presented by Finlayson Towing. The Northeast Ohio Pyrotechnic Group put on another spectacular Fireworks show and track owner Randy Smith put up one of the richest purses in the 64 year History of the facility. One hundred and nine cars made the trek to "Thunder In The Valley" on a picture perfect evening with clear skies and 72 degrees at race time.
The JD Byrider 100 had a couple of former winners starting on the front row. Mike Mazzagatti in the #87 and Alex Rosenberry in the #2 led the field to Chief Starter Terry Colletti's green flag. Rosenberry would jump out front with Ryan Tedesco in the #701 following him in the outside lane to second. The first caution flew on lap 3 for the #90 of Jimmy Carter, who was having electrical issues and stopped in turn two. It seemed like forever to get to the lap 6 restart. Caution after caution ensued and a handful of good cars were done for the night, mostly a product of racing too hard, too soon. Fastest qualifier Albert Francis in the #33, Tony Urdiales in the #88, Billy Roberts in the #88, Glenn Gault Jr in the #32 and Tedesco were all eliminated, Main Event Racing Series point leader Bud Perry in the #10, Casey Smith in the #38, Nick Grodi in the #40 and Mazzagatti were all involved and received some sort of damage but were able to continue. Once that lap 6 restart happened, the fans were treated to some really good racing. Rosenberry was the leader with 5-time Main Event Champion Gary Whipkey in the #59 in second, 3-time Series Champion Tim Ice in the #65 in third, Perry fourth and Grodi fifth. Rosenberry continued to lead as Smokin' Bud Perry worked his way around Ice and Whipkey into second. Over the course of a long green flag run from lap 6 until lap 81, the racing was outstanding!! Rosenberry fought tooth and nail to hold of Bud Perry. Perry looked high and low for the better part of 70 laps trying to find a way around Alex. But Rosenberry had his machine at the right place at the right time, every time. Maybe the most interesting story of the night was Carter. El' Presidente came back out on to the speedway during one of the early cautions after his apparent electrical issue, albeit a lap behind the leaders. Carter was clawing through the field. First he got around Grodi, then Whipkey. That put him almost a full straightaway behind Perry and Rosenberry. Carter started ripping off some quick laps and eventually hauled in the front two on lap 56. There is a fine line between trying to get your lap back and not intervening with the battle for the lead. Carter did a nice job of not crossing that line. As the top 2 battled with Carter waiting for his opening, Grodi muscled around Whipkey and had closed on the trio out front. On lap 72 Carter made his move when Rosenberry closed the door on Perry, stalling both of their momentum. Carter was back on the lead lap, but needed a caution to contend. Carter's move opened the door for Grodi, who took second from Perry. Over the next 8 laps Grodi would hound Rosenberry. On lap 81, Grodi got a good run into turn one but wasn't inside Rosenberry enough, spinning Rosenberry and sending Grodi to the tail. On the restart, Perry and Rosenberry would make contact into turn three, sending them both spinning and then to the pits for flat tires. That handed the lead to Mr. 5-time Gary Whipkey with John Sandquist Jr in the #99 on the outside. Carter would be on the outside lane behind Sandquist for the restart. Sandquist didn't get going on the restart and a chain reaction accident sent Rosenberry hard into the front straightaway wall for the second week in a row. Alex was attended to by Smith Ambulance but did climb out under his own power. On the subsequent restart Sandquist didn't get going again and Carter hit the outside wall in turn four, ending his night after voicing his displeasure with Sandquist. Sandquist was sent to the tail for the final restart. That set up an 11 Lap shootout and a shootout it was. Through some long delays and accident cleanups at the beginning, the middle part of the race was great, the last 11 laps were incredible!! Two of the Series and short track racing in this region's best were up front. Whipkey and Tim Ice in the #65 restarted on the front row. Whipkey took the lead and Ice slotted in behind. Ice took a few looks to the inside but wasn't able to make anything work. With 5 laps to go Grodi hit the "go button". He put his #40 in the outside lane and disposed of Ice. On lap 97 he got to the outside of Whipkey. Despite a little bit of contact, Grodi powered around the outside, into the lead and into Finish Line Motor's Victory Lane for the first time. Grodi had to pass seven Championship's and 20 Main Event wins to claim his first after finishing second twice and third in his last three races at Midvale. Completing the top 5 behind the Oak Harbor OH driver in the Offshore Performance and War Paint sponsored #41 was Whipkey, Ice, Sandquist and Casey Smith.
Lee McCreery in the #2 and Mike Lawson in the #53 paced the field for The JD Byrider Open Mod 40. Lawson took the lead via the outside lane off turn two. The first caution flew on lap 2 as the #15 of Craig Phillips and the #38 of Kevin McClintock got together with Phillips being sent to the tail. Lawson took the lead on the restart and looked strong up front with Bob Sibla Jr in the #82 battling McCreery for second. On lap 6, Lawson and Sibla were racing hard in turns one and two when the two made slight contact. Lawson slipped up in the high lane and Sibla, McCreery and Preston Walker in the #30 were able to get by. Walker was able to get along side McCreery and take over second just prior to the second caution coming out on lap 8. On the next restart, Walker was able to power around the outside of Sibla and take over the race lead. After a quick caution for debris on lap 16, Walker continued to lead Sibla and McCreery. After a couple quick cautions on lap 23 and 29, the final restart came with 11 laps to go. Walker was on point on the restarts all night long and the last time was no exception. Walker, who has battled through a plethora of mechanical issues the last couple years, was able to pull away and build up a .8 sec advantage with 4 laps to go and never looked back. It was Walker's first win at Midvale in a couple of seasons and his first Big money Open Mod win at the speedway as well. Following the Akron OH driver in the Bob's Auto Sales, Innovative Graphics and KTE sponsored #30 was Sibla Jr, McCreery, Lucas Ripley and Todd Ripley.
The Compact's hit the Speedway for their Compact Clash presented by Finlayson Towing. Starting on the front row of the B-Main was the #69x of Dan Buckey and the #22 of Kevin Broski. The B-Main took the top 4 to the A-Main and paid $100 to the winner. Broski would take the lead immediately and never look back in the 20 lap, caution free race. Broski was never challenged and at one point held a 4 second advantage. Buckey was in a transfer spot until he received some contact and cut a tire with 2 laps to go. Justin VanFossen, Mike Jones and Austin Stoll were the other three that advanced behind Broski.
So moving to the A-Main, Wes Ennis in the #15 and Travis Riddle in the #7 led the field to green in the 25 lap Compact Clash. Ennis, subbing for Kyle Finlayson, led early on. The cautions flags seemed to fly every 4 laps. On lap 4, Blaine Salsberry in the #4 stopped in turn four. On lap 8 Kyle Rector, filling in for Jeffrey Orr in the #36, spun up high and collected Salsberry and Mike Jones in the #34. On lap 11, VanFossen spun Ryan Shreffler in the #99. On the lap 11 restart, Don Rufener III in the #07r tried to thread the needle up the middle between Riddle and Clayton Oliver in the #19, a move he attempted multiple times but backed out of. This time he didn't back out and it sent him and Riddle to the pits for repairs. On lap 16, Joe Oliver in the #48 spun. On lap 20 the #27 of Vanmeter and the #69 of Bart Busby got together off of turn two. (See what I meant about every four laps??!!) All the while, Ennis stayed out front and over the final stages battled hard and clean with Oliver. With three laps to go, Oliver and Brandon France in the #38 made contact in turn four battling for second, bringing out the final caution and ending both their nights. On the final restart, Ennis was able to hang on for the wire to wire victory, his first in a couple seasons for the former Division Champion. Rounding out the top 5 behind the New Philadelphia OH driver in the Finlayson Towing, Finlayson Trucking, Shutterbug Photography and Outlaw Vinyls sponsored #15 was fastest qualifier Brent Shreffler, Busby, Josh Feister and Rufener III.
The 25 lap, $1000 to win Street Stock feature was up and Bill Aubihl in the #31 and Jeremiah Hartline in the #77 led the field to the stripe. After a 3 lap battle, Hartline wrestled the lead away from Aubihl and set sail. Aubihl was holding off the challenges from Kyle Rector in the #22 and Kyle Grove in the #3 as Hartline scooted out to a 1.7 second lead. By lap 12, Grove was finally able to make the outside line work, overtaking Rector and Aubihl. In 6 laps, Grove ran down Hartline like cheetah running down it's prey. Just as Grove was able to make the outside move for the lead, the caution flew as the #1 of Gary Hoopingarner and the #44 of Larry Smith made contact off turn four. Slowed by only another quick caution, Grove would head off into the cool night air with a cool $1000 check. Completing the top 5 behind the Uhricsville OH driver in the Earley Racing, Herbs Transmission, Earley Limo, Rino Roofing and Construction sponsored #3 was Smith, Aubihl, Rector and points leader Mike Martin.
All of us at Midvale Speedway can't THANK The Main Event Series and their Driver's, Team's, Officials, all the Modified Drivers and Teams, Street Stock and Compact Driver's and Teams enough for choosing to race with us this weekend and we hope you will return to race with us again!!! Congratulations!!!
We THANK JD Byrider, Finlayson Towing, Buckey Mowing, The Northeast Ohio Pyrotechnics Group and everyone who sponsored this great event.
We THANK our wonderful staff and volunteers, we couldn't have done it without you.
THANK YOU FANS for once again taking time out of your Holiday weekend to come enjoy some great short track racing at our facility!!!
Coming up this Saturday Night September 9th is the FINAL event of the 2017 Season. The Summit Racing Equipment / Ferris Chevrolet Season Championship night, where we will crown our 2017 Champions and end the season with the always wild and destructive trailer race.
Come out and join us for the final time in 2017!!!
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Main Event Racing Series
Fast Time - Albert Francis 13.660
JD Byrider 100 - Nick Grodi, Gary Whipkey, Tim Ice, John Sandquist Jr, Casey Smith, Bud Perry, Jimmy Carter, Alex Rosenberry, Rich Rohrer, Bob Gainer, Jonathan Reitter, Mike Mazzagatti, Billy Roberts, Glenn Gault Jr, Ryan Tedesco, Tony Urdiales, Albert Francis
Open Modified's
Fast Time - Brandon Bailey 14.519
Heat 1 - Lee McCreery, Preston Walker, Todd Ripley, Craig Phillips, Spencer Stineman, Rick Elkins Jr, Doug Meyer, Stephen Klinect
Heat 2 - Mike Lawson, Bob Sibla Jr, Buddy Gray, Lucas Ripley, Kevin McClintock, Nathan Embree, Brandon Bailey, Brad Copen
Consi 1 (top 4 transfer) - Chad Lemmerman, Cody Kahler, Dave Dobbins, Ryan Cypher, Kenny Calhoun, Tim Gullatta, Steve Jones, Marty Powers, Brian Brandyberry, Joe Ujcich, John Hansel, Andy Shutts, Matt Jamimyszyn
Consi 2 (top 4 transfer) - Matt Marlowe, Brandon Short, Jason Wells, Norm Taylor, Aaron Prater, Sam Bigham, Jamie Womack, Gary Zink Jr, Tom Moran, Jarred Barclay, Zack Miller, Bill Shimko, Brady McLean, Mark Bott
JD Byrider 40 - Walker, Sibla Jr, McCreery, Lucas, Todd, Embree, Elkins Jr, Wells, Stineman, Buddy Gray, Meyer, Short, Taylor, Lawson, Kahler, Marlowe, Bailey, Cypher, Copen, Lemmerman, Dobbins, McClintock, Phillips, Klinect
JD Byrider Street Stock's
Fast Time - Gabe Pringle 16.031
Heat 1 - Kyle Rector, Mike Martin, Larry Smith, Gary Hoopingarner, Gabe Pringle, Kyle Grove, Mark Lushes
Heat 2 - Kenny Feister Jr, Jeremiah Hartline, Colton Ritchey, Bill Aubihl, Bob Passwaters Sr, Bob Passwaters Jr, Justin Courtney
25 Lap Feature - Grove, Smith, Aubihl, Rector, Martin, Ritchey, Hartline, Passwaters Sr, Feister Jr, Passwaters Jr, Hoopingarner, Pringle, Courtney, Lushes
Compact's
Fast Time - Brent Shreffler 17.392
Heat 1 - Wes Ennis, Travis Riddle, Don Rufener III, Clayton Oliver, Kyle Rector, Brandon France, Bart Busby
Heat 2 - Joe Oliver, Jarod Tomlinson Sr, Blaine Salsberry, Josh Feister, Jimmy Devuono, Trevor Kohl, Ryan Shreffler
Heat 3 - Dan Buckey, Joe Brooks, Tyler Nign, Larry Ennis Jr, Jesse Patterson, Eugene Kopp Jr, Kevin Broski
Heat 4 - Justin VanFossen, Allen Clark, Marcus Cox, Austin Stoll, Mike Jones, Phil Veno, Dan Herron
Heat 5 - Tyler Eichel, Toby Cook, Lindsay Fade, Noah Patterson, Korey Herron, Allison Smith, Wayne Mounts
B Main (top 4 transfer) - Broski, VanFossen, Jones, Stoll, Mike Swaney, D. Herron, Veno, Smith, Fade, Patterson, Mounts, Cook, Buckey, Eichel, K. Herron, Cox, Clark
25 Lap Compact Clash - Ennis, Brent, Busby, Feister, Rufener III, Tomlinson Sr, Oliver, Vanmeter, Broski, Brooks, VanFossen, Stoll, Nign, Kohl, France, Oliver, Swaney, Riddle, Ryan, Jones, Salsberry, Rector
(Photo Credit to Elite51media)
Written by: Chris Kail |
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09/03/2017 Race
Street Stocks Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Grove, Kyle |
| 2. | Smith, Larry |
| 3. | Aubihl, Bill |
| 4. | Rector, Kyle |
| 5. | Martin, Mike |
| 6. | Ritchey, Colton |
| 7. | Moss, Josh |
| 8. | Passwater Sr, Bob |
| 9. | Feister, Kenny |
| 10. | Passwater Jr, Bob |
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