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| Monday, February 16th |
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Ohio's Fun Place to Race!!
2026 Race Season |
 | September 14, 2013 |
 Midvale Speedway had a slow start during the first half of 2013 due to Mother Nature's wrath, especially in June and early July. However, after the July 3 Main Event rainout, beautiful weather greeted huge crowds throughout the end of the year. That end of the year was this past Saturday, with the season ending, Budweiser Fall Classic. While the night's schedule was action packed with many different types of racing and events, one of the highlights was the All-Star Showdown for the McIntosh Oil Company Late Models. Two features were held, with the first being lined up from qualifying and the second having an invert determined by a dye rolled by the top qualifier.
The first Late Model 25-lapper saw George Riddle and Jesse Page bring the field to green, with Riddle leading lap one and Page taking over on the second circuit. While Riddle raced with Bubba Smith and Bob Schneider, Jr., Page was turning heads, racing away from the field. Unfortunately for Page, caution came out on lap eleven, erasing his sizable advantage. The restart slated two time Midvale Late Model champion Bubba Smith on the high lane and Page on the inside. As the field got back to speed, Smith took the lead easily, while page received pressure quickly from Alex Rosenberry and Rich Rohrer. Rosenberry took second moments later and Rohrer followed him into third. With about ten to go, Rosenberry raced to the outside of Smith for the lead. While in their battle, Rohrer drove to the lowside on the backstretch as fans braced for a three wide move. However, Rohrer backed out, Rosenberry cleared Smith, and Rohrer dropped in line for the third spot. A couple of laps later, top qualifier Ryan Tedesco started to show his strength, passing Rohrer for third. With six to go, Tedesco made his move around Smith for second and started closing his gap on Rosenberry. As the laps wore down, Tedesco remained within striking distance with the New Philadelphia, Ohio youngster but could never mount a challenge as Rosenberry raced to his third win of the season and the fourth Late Model win in his career. The Rosenberry Towing/TILT Lighting #2 was followed by Rosenberry, Smith, Rohrer, and Page. The rest of the top ten were Schneider, Mike Miller, Bob Sibila, Jr., Riddle, and Emerson Huffman. The first feature was a bit rough, leaving a few cars sidelined including 2013 champion Bryant Smith who was eliminated from action on the first lap, as Sibila and he got together on the exit of turn four. There were a couple of other chain reaction deals that left damage to cars including Huffman and Rohrer. Rosenberry rolled a "6" setting up a six car invert for the second race.
The second feature in the All-Star showdown for the McIntosh Oil Company Late Models had the sixth and fifth place finishers from the first race starting up front. Schneider started on the pole and quickly advanced into the top spot, while Page couldn't find an opening to drop down to the inside lane. With the inside lane moving forward, it set up a three car battle for the lead between Schneider, Rohrer, and Tedesco. Rohrer wasted little time in applying pressure with Tedesco closing on him. On the second lap, the veteran driver dropped to the inside on the backstretch and Schneider gave him room in three. Rohrer raced out front while Schneider dropped in line behind him. A caution flew moments later, creating a double file restart between the two. While Schneider pulled forward momentarily, Rohrer fought back and had the lead on the exit of turn two. Schneider again settled into second, while Rohrer started to stretch his lead. Tedesco did move into the runner-up spot on lap six and started to close the gap that Rohrer had built up. At the middle stage of the race, it looked like Tedesco was going to mount a challenge. However, down the stretch, Rohrer turned consistent laps in the low 14's as he pulled away from Tedesco to claim his first win of the season. Following the Miller High Life/Freedom Harley Davidson #7 were Tedesco, Schneider, Miller, and Bubba Smith. Sibila, Rosenberry, Page, Joe Fewkes, and Ed Middaugh were the rest of the top ten.
Rick Sibila and Will Walker brought another nice field of Summit Racing Economy Modifieds to the green for the 25-lap feature. Sibila raced into the lead, while Modified rookie Tad Grove moved into second. On lap eight, Grove made the move to get around Sibila and take the lead. Caution came out not long after, creating a double wide restart. Grove restarted the race from the pole and looked good at the front. Behind him, Preston Walker grabbed second and started applying pressure. With around ten to go, Grove's worst fear occurred when a caution came out, slating Walker to the high side. Once back to green, Walker beat Grove back to the line before another yellow waved, putting Walker in the first spot. Down the stretch, Walker protected the bottom, as Grove followed closely waiting for a mistake. That mistake never came and Akron, Ohio's Preston Walker claimed his second feature win in the last three weeks. The Bob's Auto Sales/TLM Industries #30 was followed across the stripe by Grove, Bob Sibila, Jr., Justin Courtney, and Kevin McClintock. McClintock, the champion, had a scary moment with two laps to go when it looked like he was about to rollover. Fortunately for him, the car dropped back down on all four wheels and he was able to finish the race. Finishing in the top ten were Rick Sibila, Chris Piehl, Shawn Kaufman, Doug Higgins, and Mike Green. Sibila, Jr. and Piehl won the heats, while Courtney set fast time.
With the point race over, many of the J.D. Byrider Pure Stocks took the night off, creating a small field. Despite this, the ones that were there, put on a good show. Todd Miller, who had won two features this season, took the early lead in the feature event. At the halfway mark, fellow veteran Gary Hoopingarner raced to the high lane and started to apply pressure. By the end of lap seven, Hoopingarner grabbed the lead and set his sights on the checkered, his first in many years. Following the Canton Car Connection/E-Z Swap #68 were Miller, Bowling, and Teddy Oliver, who cut down a tire early in the event. Miller won the heat, while Bowling set fast time.
Waylon Orr led the early laps in the fast feature for the Compact division. On the move quickly was Kyle Rector, driving the Greg's Recovery/J.D. Byrider team car. Rector moved into second on lap four and into the lead one lap later. Behind him, his teammate Kyle Grove, who was boxed in for a long while, finally found an opening in his wicked quick #31. In what was once a huge lead, Rector's advantage was cut to less than one second on the last lap. As the checkered waved, Rector claimed the feature win, while Grove took second. Following the Greg's Recovery/J.D. Byrider cars were Rich Dunlap who took a strong third, Jeffrey Orr in fourth, and Justin Renicker fifth. The other top ten finishers were Dan Buckey, Wes Ennis, Braden Swaney, Jim Beatty, Jr., and Mike Swaney.
In the second Compact feature, 14-year old young lady racer, Laney Striejewske fended off challenges from Colton Cottis in the early going. Veteran FWD campaigner Tim Frederick moved into second on lap four and started his quest for a win. Striejewske, a rookie, didn't make any mistakes down the stretch as she protected the bottom. The packed grandstand was thrilled when Striejewske raced across the line with her first career feature win in the TNT Televisions/Senor Panchos #17. The Louisville, Ohio competitor, who has shown great improvement throughout the season, was followed by Frederick, Dale Beatty, Brad McClain, and Cottis. Others in the top ten were Blaine Salsberry, Brent Shreffler, Zack Cogar, Chad Wise, and Matt Salsberry.
Grove, Frederick, and Blaine Salsberry won the heats and Grove set fast time with a new track record.
The Funpacts ran a nine lap feature, with three laps each on the big oval, medium oval, and small oval. Howard Bartholow, who has had a career season, led the majority of the big and medium oval laps, but as the cars went to the small oval, Dan Buckey showed his strength and took the lead. Kohlten Bryan followed him into second. The top two in points in the last two years for the class also finished first and second on the final night of the season. The Buckey Mowing/Leggett Tire #50 found victory lane for the seventh time this season.
Mike Martin set fast time and wasted no time in the Mini Truck feature in getting to the front. The Canton, Ohio driver took the lead on lap one and had a 2.69 second margin at the end. The Papa P's Auto Detailing/Shelbi's Sweets & Treats #5 found victory lane for win #6.
There were several special events on the card for the evening. The first of which was the Spectator Drags where Kevin Renicker raced his way to some easy wins in his Pontiac Trans Am.
In the track officials event, driver mediator Gabe Pringle grabbed the lead on the first lap in the Rich Dunlap #36. Pringle started to build an advantage on flagman Terry Colletti and the rest of the field but announcer Adam Mackey, who started last, moved into third by the end of lap one. On the third lap, Mackey ducked to the lowside of Colletti and took second on the backstretch. One lap later, Mackey moved to the highside of Pringle and started to challenge for the lead. After a two lap battle, Mackey closed the door going into turn one. Moments later, caution waved for race director, Jason Anthony, who had a wheel fly off of his Dan Buckey machine. On the restart, Pringle tried to cheat by jumping the start, but Mackey hit the gas in the powerful Kyle Grove car and rocketed back by him. Pringle applied the chrome horn in the middle of three and four with a lap to go, but Mackey pulled away for the win. At the checkered, Mackey claimed his first officials race win after a second and a third place finish in his previous starts. Pringle finished a strong second, while Colletti was third. Pit announcer, Chris Kail somehow took fourth, despite running laps that senior citizens would laugh at. Tow truck driver Dave Conrad was fifth, while track crew specialist Steve Forrester was sixth and Anthony was seventh.
Dale Beatty took the lead when the green dropped in the Midvale Speedway Figure 8 feature. Moments after the field got up to speed, Preston Walker, driving the Matt Helms owned #6, got some contact from the inside and slammed into the outside retaining wall. The driver was fine, while the car was bent even worse than when the race started. Once back to green, Beatty again took command. Ryan Shreffler ran in second for a good while before Dan Buckey grabbed the second spot. Buckey stayed within striking distance and came close to challenging, but it was Beatty taking the win in the Beatty Racing/Buckey Mowing #75. Buckey, Shreffler, Waylon Orr, and Lennie Orr took the top five.
The much anticipated trailer race ended the night and the season for Midvale Speedway. In what seemed like a never ending line, a record 20+ participants pulled onto the track for the ten lap race. Early on, it looked as though Justin VanFossen was going to claim the win in his four door sedan pulling a trailer. The top five remained basically unchanged until the second half of the event when all heck started to break loose. Van Fossen as well as the second and third place vehicles were eliminated, giving the lead to Steven Feister. Unfortunately for Feister, he didn't know he was leading and on the last lap, ran into a pile of junked trailers in turn one, just to tear some stuff up. While in the pile, the Shook Auto truck and trailer of Casey Webber raced into the lead and to the checkered to take the win. Chad Mathias took second with his leap frogging dear truck and trailer and the Rosenberry Towing truck of Thad Rosenberry took third. The fans watched in elation throughout the event as destroyed equipment was strewn everywhere. After the checkered waved, track officials and some others worked for 2 hours and 15 minutes to totally clean the surface of all carnage. Thanks to all who helped.
With that, the 2013 season came to a close with the second biggest crowd of the year. No doubt, this season was one of the best in recent memory with huge crowds supporting short track racing in the newly renovated grandstands. Great car counts filled the pits, averaging between 18-20 cars in the Late Model and Economy Modified divisions, something most tracks would only dream of.
Many are already excited and starting to think about 2014. Full details on the new season, including picture updates on offseason improvements, rule updates and more will be available at midvalespeedway.com and by like us on facebook.
Thanks to everyone for a great 2013. What a season it was.
Results For Midvale Speedway
McIntosh Oil Company Late Models
Top Qualifier - Ryan Tedesco 13.999
Feature #1 - Alex Rosenberry, Ryan Tedesco, Bubba Smith, Rich Rohrer, Jesse Page, Bob Schneider, Jr., Mike Miller, Bob Sibila, Jr., George Riddle, Emerson Huffman, Ed Middaugh, Jonathan Reitter, Dave McAlicker, Darrel Dexter, Joe Fewkes, Bryant Smith
Feature #2 - Rich Rohrer, Ryan Tedesco, Bob Schneider, Jr., Mike Miller, Bubba Smith, Bob Sibila, Jr., Alex Rosenberry, Jesse Page, Joe Fewkes, Ed Middaugh, Dave McAlicker
Summit Racing Economy Modifieds
Top Qualifier - Justin Courtney 14.727
Heat #1 - Bob Sibila, Jr., Todd Ripley, Tad Grove, Preston Walker, Mike Green
Heat #2 - Chris Piehl, Shawn Kaufman, Rick Sibila, Will Walker, Shawn Marder
Feature - Preston Walker, Tad Grove, Bob Sibila, Jr., Justin Courtney, Kevin McClintock, Rick Sibila, Chris Piehl, Shawn Kaufman, Doug Higgins, Mike Green, Todd Ripley, Shawn Marder, Will Walker
J.D. Byrider Pure Stocks
Top Qualifier - Jeff Bowling 16.474
Heat - Todd Miller, Gary Hoopingarner, Joe Oliver, Jeff Bowling
Feature - Gary Hoopingarner, Todd Miller, Jeff Bowling, Joe Oliver
Midvale Speedway Compacts
Top Qualifier - Kyle Grove 17.611 NTR
Heat #1 - Kyle Grove, Kyle Rector, Dan Buckey, Rich Dunlap, Max McCartney
Heat #2 - Tim Frederick, Waylon Orr, Brad McClain, Brent Shreffler, Braden Swaney
Heat #3 - Blaine Salsberry, Colton Cottis, Zack Cogar, Matt Salsberry, Dale Beatty
Feature #1 - Kyle Rector, Kyle Grove, Rich Dunlap, Jeffrey Orr, Justin Renicker, Dan Buckey, Wes Ennis, Braden Swaney, Jimmy Beatty, Mike Swaney, Waylon Orr
Feature #2 - Laney Striejewske, Tim Frederick, Dale Beatty, Brad McClain, Colton Cottis, Blaine Salsberry, Brent Shreffler, Zack Cogar, Chad Wise, Matt Salsberry
Midvale Speedway Funpacts
Heat - Dan Buckey, Kohlten Bryan, Howard Bartholow
Feature - Dan Buckey, Kohlten Bryan, Howard Bartholow
Midvale Speedway Mini Trucks
Top Qualifier - Mike Martin 17.272
Heat - Mike Martin, Keith Anderson
Feature - Mike Martin, Keith Anderson
Midvale Speedway Officials Race
Feature - Adam Mackey, Gabe Pringle, Terry Colletti, Chris Kail, Dave Conrad, Steve Forrester, Jason Anthony
Midvale Speedway Figure 8
Feature - Dale Beatty, Dan Buckey, Ryan Shreffler, Waylon Orr, Lennie Orr, Justin Renicker, Preston Walker
Midvale Speedway Trailer Race (20+ Participants)
Feature Winner - Casey Webber
Written by: Adam Mackey |
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