Chapman’s Open Midvale For 65th Season
10 min read
This past Saturday night April 21st was the 65th time Midvale Speedway has opened its gates to spectator’s, the 5th time that it has opened under new ownership. It was Autism Awareness Night presented by Kuester Implement. John and Kelley Chapman promised to bring back tradition along with adding a new flavor as they head into the future. Based off the incredible pre-race ceremonies, I would say they are delivering on that promise!! The ceremonies featured a gathering of the three former ownerships of Midvale Speedway, The Tolloty family represented by one of the founding brother’s Bob Tolloty and Gene’s son Chris, Bear and Karen Schwartz, and Randy Smith. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony, the Midvale PD presented the colors and artist Bill Haney unveiled a tremendous painting of the founding brothers, Bob and Gene Tolloty, and another painting of longtime Flagman Eddie Warmack. Truly a special feeling before we even turned a lap. Ironically, there were 65 cars and trucks on the premises under mostly cloudy skies and 55 degrees at race time.
The first Feature out of the box was the Mad Bros. Games & Hobbies Mini Truck 12 lapper. Rookie Scott Lindell in the #14 and the #4 of Tim Scott brought the field down for the start. Lindell spun in his own fuel in turn four on the initial start and was forced to pit to try to correct the issue. On the restart, Scott paced the field for the first circuit until “Mr. Smooth” showed up. Last years Champion, Rich Schweitzer in the #84, who broke the track record in qualifying, shot to the lead off turn two. He was able to check out from the field to pick up right where he left off seven months ago, in DLP Commercial Maintenance Victory Lane. Scott was able to fend off the challenge of Michael Varnes in the #95 for second, about a half straightaway behind Schweitzer. Following the New Philadelphia OH driver in the Van Meter’s Auto Repair, Consolidated Stitches Embroidery, Federated Auto Parts, Alicia Manley MD and Allen’s Muffler sponsored #84 was Scott, Varnes and Lindell. Barney Gerber and Tim Frederick had mechanical issues and were unable to start.
Next out of the chute was the 30 lap McIntosh Oil Company Outlaw Late Model feature. Dave Martin in the #3 and Bob Schneider Jr in the #17 brought the field down for Chief Starter Terry Colletti’s green flag. Schneider raced out to lead the opening circuit until Ryan Tedesco worked his #701 to the outside lane. Tedesco would clear Schenider on lap 3 and started to distance himself from the field. Bubba Smith in the #12 made a nifty move to take over second from his 7th starting spot. Smith, who broke the track record in qualifying, was starting to reel in Tedesco when the caution flew on lap 9 for oil coming from the #69 of Bob “The Animal” Eichel. Just prior to the caution, last season’s point Champion Tom Stankiewicz in the #42 pulled to the infield with mechanical issues. Unfortunately, the oil had been coming out of the #69 for a couple laps and we would have to stop the field for a lengthy cleanup. The Midvale Speedway Track Crew, once again, did an outstanding job of making sure they cleaned the mess up as quickly and as safely as possible. Because of the track conditions, official’s determined to err on the side of caution and have all restarts in the Late Model feature be single file. Back under racing conditions, Tedesco would continue to lead Smith as nobody wanted to step out and test the second groove. Albert Francis in the #33 was running in the third spot, just behind the lead duo, until he slipped off turn two, losing about four car lenghts to Smith on lap 23. As the closing stages approached, Francis made up the ground he lost and Smith decided that it was time to give the outside lane a try in turns three and four on lap 27. Smith experienced a four wheel slide, allowing Francis to take over the runner-up spot. The final caution flew for a spin in turn two on lap 28 for Bryant Smith in the #1, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Tedesco was just strong enough to not allow Francis or Bubba to get a run at him and would go on to pick up another feature victory. Following the New Philadelphia OH driver in the Sugar Valley Meats, DLP Commercial Maintenance, Walnut Creek Glass, Van Meter’s Auto Repair, McIntosh Oil Company and RV Parts Express sponsored #701 was Francis, Bubba, Bryant and Martin.
The South Philly Pizza Compact 15 lap fast feature was next up. Justin Renicker in the #175 and Tyler Nign in the #55 brought the field to the line. Renicker would jump out front but the action behind him was fierce. Clayton Oliver in the #19 threaded the needle up the middle between Nign and Zack Cogar in the #27 to take over the second spot. Renicker continued to edge away until Oliver and Cogar made contact in turn three. Both drivers were called over to Driver Mediator Chuck Barrett to see if either would admit fault. Neither did, so both were sent to the tail for the restart. Back under green, Renicker would continue to lead as Josh Feister in the #28 and Brent Shreffler in the #24 argued over second. Shreffler would prevail as Feister got caught out in the high lane and slipped back to the 6th position. Brandon France in the #38 was dicing through the field from his 7th starting spot and started to put pressure on Shreffler for second with 6 laps to go. France would finally make the outside pass with 3 to go and started a charge towards the top spot. On the final lap, France caught Renicker, that’s when things got chaotic. Going into turn three, France used the chrome horn and turned Renicker sideways. At the same time, Feister, who had been having fuel issues during the week, erupted in a fireball in turn three behind the leaders. All eyes went to Feister and his safety. Officials deemed that since Renicker gathered his machine up and finished second under the checkered flag and not the caution, France was the winner. Feister looked like Usain Bolt exiting his flaming hot rod and would be ok. Following the Dover OH driver in the South Philly Pizza sponsored #38 was Renicker, Shreffler, new track record holder Kyle Finlayson and Steven Feister.
The Summit Racing Economy Modified’s were up next with Trey Williams in the #11 and Mike Bowers in the #02 starting on the front row for the 25 lap feature. After a lap of side by side racing, Williams would take the top spot and “Big Mac” Doug McMillen in the #54 would take over second from Bowers. Mack Gribble Jr in the #12 was on a mission in the outside lane. He worked over Bowers for third on lap 8 and then took over second a lap later from McMillen. He then got to the outside of Williams on lap 15 for the race lead. McMillen decided to make it three wide heading off into turn three, putting William in the middle. Gribble would grab the lead from the outside and McMillen would take over second. A few laps later, Willams would receive some contact in turn four that got him out of shape down the front straightaway. Heading into turn one, Williams got a piece of the grass and spun up in front of the field, bringing out the first caution. On the restart, Gribble had McMillen to his outside. Through turn one, Gribble was off the bottom of the race track, keeping McMillen up higher than he wanted to be and the #54 may have gotten into some of the residual speedy dry and oil left from the Late Model feature and his car broke loose. When that happened, McMillen made contact with the right rear of Bowers who was in the bottom lane, turning the #02 head on into the back straightaway wall, collecting the #55 of Brandon Bailey in the process. Bowers, Bailey and McMillen would be finished for the night, but most importantly, all three were ok. That put Lucas Ripley in the #0 to the outside of Gribble for the restart. After a few lap battle, Gribble would prevail. That opened up the inside for Lee McCreery in the #2 and Kevin McClintock in the #38 to take over second and third respectively. Gribble would hang on to pick up his first feature win in quite some time. Completing the top 5 behind the New Philadelphia OH driver in the Fairway Independent Mortgage, Holly Grim @ Remax, Garrett & Son’s Construction, Ixagenics by Deb Jarvis, Swann’s and Mcbride’s Hidden Horsepower sponsored #12 was McCreery, McClintock, Ripley and Phillip Cox.
The Buckey Mowing Street Stock’s were up next for their 20 lap feature. Shawn Marder in the #25 and Colton Ritchey in the #21 started on the front row. Ritchey would take the lead but the #28 of Waylon Orr got slowed up in turn four and the #44 of Teddy Oliver had no where to go. Oliver would make contact with the right rear of Orr and catch some air, before pounding the outside wall. After a complete restart, Ritchey shot out to the race lead with Marder in second. Marder would slip off turn two on lap 2 and lose several positions. Ryan Tedesco, subbing in the #68 for Gary Hoopingarner, was looking for his second feature win on the night. He was able to take over second and swing to the outside of Ritchey for the lead on lap 4. Kenny Feister Jr in the #13 was in the mix, running 3rd. The caution flew on lap 6 for a spin by Marder in turn two. After a brief side by side battle for the lead, Tedesco took control. New track record holder Kyle Grove in the #3 was working his way to the front. He got to the inside of Feister Jr for 3rd in turn three. Trying to protect his position, Feister came down, but Grove was there. The two made contact, stacking up the field behind them. Officials were experiencing some radio issues and the call for the caution wasnt heard right away, so it came out a little late for that incident, but nonetheless, did eventually come out. The #13 was sent to the tail and the field lined up for what would be the final restart with Tedesco on the inside and Ritchey on the top. Ritchey battled hard for 3/4 of a lap, but Tedesco prevailed off turn four. That allowed the #3 of Grove to take over second in turn one. Grove would sit behind Tedesco, calculating where he could make his move. Tedesco slipped up on lap 12 and Grove took the inside lane. Tedesco would battle for a lap and a half, but the #3 was just too tough. Grove would go on to pick up feature number one in 2018. Following the Uhrichsville OH driver in the El Pueblito’s Mexican Cuisine, Mission Nutrition, CNAC Financing, Red Dog Saloon, S&K Auto Detailing & Audio and Affordable Towing sponsored #3 was Tedesco, Gabe Pringle, Ritchey and Orr.
The final feature of the evening was the second 15 lapper for the South Philly Pizza Compacts. Josh Beall in the #86 and Noah Patterson in the #8 led the field to green. At the hit of the throttle, Tim Frederick in the #18 took the field 4-wide from his 8th starting position and was on the point by the conclusion of lap 1. As Frederick faded off into the night, Korey Herron in the #30 was second with the #64 of Marcus Cox in third. At the halfway mark, Cox was able to get around Herron for second and Jesse James in the #88 worked her way up to third. Frederick would check out by almost a full straightaway by the time the twin checkered’s flew. Rounding out the top 5 behind the Barnhill OH driver in the Your Pizza Shop, Finnecum Insurance, Younique by Amanda, Route 39 Auto Salvage, Buckey Mowing and Leggett’s Tire sponsored #18 was Cox, James, Herron and Beall.
Please join us this coming Saturday night April 28th for the rescheduled non-points, $2000 to win “Spring 65” Outlaw Super Late Model Feature presented by McIntosh Oil Company. Also in action on AmeriGas Night are the other four regular Divisions competing for points and choosing their own lane on feature restarts, spectator drags, “Thunder Kid’s” drawings and MUCH MUCH MORE!!
– Story By Chris Kail
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McIntosh Oil Company Late Model’s
Fast Time – Bubba Smith 13.638 NTR
Heat 1 – Tom Stankiewicz, Bubba Smith, Ryan Tedesco, Albert Francis
Heat 2 – Bryant Smith, Bob Eichel, Bob Schneider Jr, Dave Martin
Feature – Tedesco, Francis, Bubba, Bryant, Martin, Stankiewicz, Brock Burcher, Eichel, Schneider Jr
Summit Racing Economy Modified’s
Fast Time – Kevin McClintock 14.650
Heat 1 – Mack Gribble Jr, Lucas Ripley, Brandon Bailey, Kevin McClintock, Mark Willison Jr, Lee McCreery
Heat 2 – Todd Ripley, Mike Bowers, Phillip Cox, Jason Grewell, Doug McMillen, Trey Williams
Heat 3 – Derek Grewell, Dan Harding, Jerry Devore, Corey Beatty, Cristian Bailey
Feature – Gribble Jr, McCreery, McClintock, Lucas, Cox, Willison Jr, Jason, Todd, Harding, Derek, Beatty, Bowers, Bailey, Williams, McMillen, Devore
Buckey Mowing Street Stock’s
Fast Time – Kyle Grove 15.741 NTR
Heat 1 – Ryan Tedesco, Teddy Oliver, Kyle Grove, Gabe Pringle, Josh Moss
Heat 2 – Colton Ritchey, Waylon Orr, Shawn Marder, Jeremiah Hartline, Joe Matthews
Feature – Grove, Tedesco, Pringle, Ritchey, Orr, Moss, Marder, Hartline, Feister Jr, Oliver
MAD Bros Games & Hobbies Mini Truck’s
Fast Time – Rich Schweitzer 16.217 NTR
Heat 1 – Rich Schweitzer, Barney Gerber, Tim Scott, Michael Varnes, Scott Lindell
Feature – Schweitzer, Scott, Varnes, Lindell
South Philly Pizza Compact’s
Fast Time – Kyle Finlayson 17.219 NTR
Heat 1 – Bart Busby, Justin Renicker, Clayton Oliver, Tyler Nign, Brent Shreffler, Brandon France, Josh Feister, Kyle Finlayson, Zack Cogar
Heat 2 – Marcus Cox, Tim Frederick, Jason Rohrer, Toby Cook, Steven Feister, Mike McDonald, Dan Buckey, Laney Striejewske
Heat 3 – Tyler Eichel, Alan Clark, Korey Herron, Josh Beall, Jesse James, Jason Anthony, Noah Patterson
Fast Feature – France, Renicker, Shreffler, Finlayson, Steven, Buckey, Oliver, Busby, Nign, McDonald, Striejewske, Josh, Cogar
2nd Feature – Frederick, Cox, James, Herron, Beall, Cook, Rohrer, Eichel, Clark, Anthony, Patterson, Brendan Nealey
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