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| Monday, April 20th |
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Ohio's Fun Place to Race!!
2026 Race Season |
 | July 4, 2008 |
 Wet and cool conditions greeted race fans at Midvale Speedway, this past Friday, July 4 for the Downtown Ford 100. The Main Event Racing Series was joined by Pure Stocks, Compacts, and Figure 8’s. A nice crowd gathered despite the weather conditions and the drivers thanked them by putting on one of the best Super Late races in recent years.
In qualifying, point leader Don Harvey, Jr. ripped off the fastest lap with a 13.610. Harvey drew the eight pill, putting Todd Ripley and Doug Sommers on the front row for the 100-lap grind.
At the drop of the green, Ripley pulled ahead to set the pace. Behind him, drivers were racing two, three, and even four wide trying to pick up spots. Barberton event winner, John Ambrose, got caught in the third lane for a few laps and unbelievably only lost a spot or two during the process. The first caution came out for a John Crumrine spin in turn three while trying to pass Ripley for the top spot. Several other drivers accrued body damage as a result.
Back to green it was Tim Ice’s turn to battle the leader. Ice, driving his brand new racer for the first time, raced hard in the outside lane. Just as Ice was starting to clear the Gnadenhutten, Ohio competitor, the yellow came back out for a grinding crash in turn one involving Mike Miller. Miller was okay but the car suffered heavy damage.
Several laps into the next run, Ice slid high entering turn one. Gary Whipkey dashed by to the inside and then drove into the outside lane on the backstretch. Ice, trying to get back to the bottom, made contact with Harvey resulting in a spin. Harvey continued, while Ice retired from the event.
Whipkey became the third driver to attempt a lead pass the next time Chuck Barrett waved the green. In fact, Whipkey did scoot by on the inside heading into turn three a few laps after the restart. However, shortly thereafter, caution negated his pass because of a Crumrine/Sommers mishap on the frontstretch. Officials reverted back to the last completed lap.
After a couple of minor spins and restarts, Ryan Tedesco started to put on a show. While running fifth, Tedesco decided to try the outside lane. First he picked off Rohrer, then Harvey, but while getting ready to take second, Whipkey decided it was time to get out and go, and that he did as he shot into the lead past Ripley on lap 39. Tedesco followed into second. Moments later, Harvey was trying to move into third and the two made contact resulting in a turn three accident. Ripley was done, while Harvey returned only to retire a few laps later.
With Tedesco in second, most knew that Whipkey would have his hands full. Things changed though, a couple of moments later as Tedesco nudged the leader in turn two, checked up and Rohrer shot by to the inside. Coming off of turn four, Rohrer and Tedesco made some contact and Tedesco was relegated to fourth behind Crumrine.
Over the next thirty to forty laps, Rohrer hounded Whipkey for the lead. Whipkey’s car looked unstable entering the turns, checking up much sooner than his opponent. Despite the slight problems entering the turns, Whipkey made no mistakes, kept his car on the bottom, and held Rohrer at bay for a huge portion of the race.
With about fifteen to go, Rohrer displaced Whipkey from the bottom lane coming off of turn two. Side-by-side entering three, the two slammed doors, Rohrer slid sideways, and Whipkey again raced out front. Two laps later, Rohrer made a move coming off of two that mirrored his earlier effort. This time though, the Miller Lite/Esber Beverage #7 shot into the top spot. Crumrine followed into second as Whipkey settled in third.
Over the last ten circuits, Rohrer held the advantage, but Crumrine tried his hardest to make another race out of a lead battle. Coming under the checkered, Rohrer took his series leading 17th race win, while Crumrine capped off an awesome run with a second place finish. Whipkey, Tedesco, and Jimmy Carter rounded out the top five. The rest of the top ten were Sommers, Bob Gainer, Rick Sibila, Joel McKnight, and John Stroble.
In what many people have deemed one of the best contested Main Event races ever, drivers proved for at least one night that Super Late Model racing can still be exciting at Midvale Speedway.
Action will continue for the series this coming Saturday, July 12 at Sandusky Speedway with a 100-lap event. Pits will open at 1:00, practice is at 2:00, qualifying will begin at 4:15, and racing will take the green at 6:30. For more information visit sanduskyspeedway.com or maineventracingseries.com.
In the Midvale Speedway Pure Stock division, Joe Oliver led the first few laps before Todd Miller took the point. Miller went on to lead until lap 9 when weekly frontrunner Tory Gibbs raced by. Top qualifier Tad Grove followed him into the second spot but his engine expired moments later, spewing parts and fluid all over the backstretch. The voice of Barberton Speedway, Mark Lushes, moved into the second spot and followed Gibbs all the way to the finish. For Gibbs, the win was his division leading third on the season, while Lushes, Rich Schweitzer, Miller, and Oliver completed the top five. Finishing off the top ten were Phil Bunton, Jr., Bob Passwaters, Sr., Tad Grove, Chuck Sampson, and Chris Smith. Originally, Grove was disqualified when tech officials thought that the valves were too big. However, after looking further into the matter, the valves were found to be okay and the disqualification was reversed. Sorry for the mixup and for a complete explanation on how it occured speak with a tech official. Grove and Teddy Oliver were credited with heat wins.
After the Main Event feature, the Parkway Suzuki Compacts lined up for their 15-lap fast feature. Rich Dunlap and Kelly McNutt started on the front row of the A-main and Dunlap jumped out into the early lead. Behind him, McNutt ran second for a couple of laps before Jay Hunt made his run at the leader. Hunt gave it a couple of valid attempts but Dunlap proved to be too strong in his Dunwoody Motorsports/Route 39 Auto Salvage #17. Hunt, McNutt, Johnny Campbell, and Don Rufener, Jr. were top five finishers. Adam Mishler, Brad Henry, Max McCartney, A.J. Diano, and John McNutt rounded out the top ten.
Veteran Compact driver Ron Myers started on the pole of the second feature and set the pace throughout the event. His main challenge came late from Cliff Cox, but Cox couldn’t quite get the run he needed to race around him in the outside lane. The Musick & Myers Heating & Cooling/Legacy Homes #4 was followed by Cox, Jesse Page, Earl Scranton, and Chris Bloom. Bob Passwaters, Jr., Kyle Rector, Mike Belknap, Jake Albright, and Justin Courtney were credited with top tens.
Paul Stull backed up a win in the fifth Compact heat with his first feature victory in a long time during the third main event. Stull beat Kenny Jewell, Jason Anthony, Isaac Ferrebee, and Dan Konovsek back to the checkered. Kenny Griffith, Joe Slentz, Mike Lawson, Chasity Crawford, and Taylor Moore rounded out the field.
A.J. Diano, Max McCartney, Ron Myers, Earl Scranton, and Paul Stull won the heats, while Johnny Campbell set fast time.
In the Figure 8 feature, Jason Morgan started up front and dominated his way to victory. Division rival Don Rufener, Jr. started at the tail and took over second late in the race for a solid finish. Following the two division frontrunners were Isaac Ferrebee, Mike Belknap, and Gene Morgan.
The 2008 Mid-Season Championships are slated for this coming Saturday, July 12 at Midvale Speedway. It will be an action packed evening along with Family Night with bicycle give-a-ways for the kids. A lot of drivers have already stepped up to the plate with bike donations.
Late Models, Sport Stocks, Pure Stocks, Compacts, and Figure 8’s will all be racing for double points. Pit gates will open at 2:30, with the grandstands opening and hotlaps beginning at 3:00, qualifying at 4:30, and racing at 6:30.
Grandstand admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 62+, $6 for kids 6-15, and children 5 & under are free. Pit admission is $20 for members and $25 for non-members.
Wristbands and rainchecks from the rainout two weeks ago may be used this week or on July 19 for full discount.
For more information, check us out on the web at midvalespeedway.com.
Results For Midvale Speedway
Main Event Racing Series
Top Qualifier – Don Harvey, Jr. 13.610
Lap Leaders – Todd Ripley 1-38, Gary Whipkey 39-90, Rich Rohrer 91-100
Downtown Ford 100 – Rich Rohrer, John Crumrine, Gary Whipkey, Ryan Tedesco, Jimmy Carter, Doug Sommers, Bob Gainer, Rick Sibila, Joel McKnight, John Stroble, John Sandquist, Burgess White, Don Harvey, Jr., John Ambrose, Todd Ripley, Bear Schwartz, Bob Schneider, Jr., Tim Ice, Tom Stankiewicz, Mike Miller, Gene Molnar, Kenny White, Don Mahaffey, Jr., John Flynn
DNS – Dino Long & Michael Scheffer
Midvale Speedway Pure Stocks
Top Qualifier – Tad Grove 16.27 NTR
Heat #1 – Tad Grove, Tory Gibbs, Todd Miller, Rich Schweitzer, Mark Lushes
Heat #2 – Teddy Oliver, Joe Oliver, Bob Passwaters, Sr., Chuck Sampson, Luther Chambers
Feature – Tory Gibbs, Mark Lushes, Rich Schweitzer, Todd Miller, Joe Oliver, Phil Bunton, Jr., Bob Passwaters, Sr., Tad Grove, Chuck Sampson, Chris Smith, Teddy Oliver
Parkway Suzuki Compacts
Top Qualifier – Johnny Campbell 17.98
Heat #1 – A.J. Diano, Rich Dunlap, Kelly McNutt, Jay Hunt, Don Rufener, Jr.
Heat #2 – Max McCartney, Cliff Cox, Kyle Grove, Brad Henry, Bob Passwaters, Jr.
Heat #3 – Ron Myers, Jesse Page, Kyle Rector, Jake Albright, Tammy Rufener
Heat #4 – Earl Scranton, Isaac Ferrebee, Justin Courtney, Mike Lawson, Jason Anthony
Heat #5 – Paul Stull, Chasity Crawford, Kenny Griffith, Joe Slentz, Taylor Moore
Feature #1 – Rich Dunlap, Jay Hunt, Kelly McNutt, Johnny Campbell, Don Rufener, Jr., Adam Mishler, Brad Henry, Max McCartney, A.J. Diano, John McNutt, Tim Westerfield, Jr., Joe Konovsek, Rich Hess, Kyle Grove, Derek Grewell
Feature #2 – Ron Myers, Cliff Cox, Jesse Page, Earl Scranton, Chris Bloom, Bob Passwaters, Jr., Kyle Rector, Mike Belknap, Jake Albright, Justin Courtney, Pat Carnes, Kyle Lawson, Larry Ennis, Tammy Rufener
Feature #3 – Paul Stull, Kenny Jewell, Jason Anthony, Isaac Ferrebee, Dan Konovsek, Kenny Griffith, Joe Slentz, Mike Lawson, Chasity Crawford, Taylor Moore
Midvale Speedway Figure 8’s
Feature – Jason Morgan, Don Rufener, Jr., Isaac Ferrebee, Mike Belknap, Gene Morgan, Kenny Jewell
Written by: Adam Mackey |
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07/04/2008 Race
Pure Stocks Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Gibbs, Tory |
| 2. | Lushes, Mark |
| 3. | Schweitzer, Rich |
| 4. | Miller, Todd |
| 5. | Oliver, Joe |
| 6. | Bunton, Jr., Phil |
| 7. | Passwaters, Sr., Bob |
| 8. | Grove, Tad |
| 9. | Sampson, Chuck |
| 10. | Chambers, Luther |
| More |
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07/04/2008 Race
Compacts Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Dunlap, Rich |
| 2. | Hunt, Jay |
| 3. | McNutt, Kelly |
| 4. | Campbell, Johnny |
| 5. | Rufener, Jr., Don |
| 6. | Mishler, Adam |
| 7. | Henry, Brad |
| 8. | McCartney, Max |
| 9. | Diano, A.J. |
| 10. | McNutt, John |
| More |
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07/04/2008 Race
Figure 8 Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Morgan, Jason |
| 2. | Rufener, Jr., Don |
| 3. | Ferrebee, Isaac |
| 4. | Belknap, Mike |
| 5. | Morgan, Gene |
| 6. | Jewell, Kenny |
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