LEHIGHTON, Pa. — The Hall of Fame Tribute races at Mahoning Valley Speedway are always special as they pay homage to past racing greats who are all members of the Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame.
Saturday evening was yet another of those distinct programs, this one being held for the late Rickie Dorshimer who was the 1993 Mahoning Modified champion.
It was a race slated to go 75 laps but circumstances caused the event to be shortened after 46 tours. Despite that it was a still a highly competitive battle for the lead and when the race was checkered due to rain, it was Brian DeFebo earning the win over Nick Bear.
“These tribute races that they put on here are always great and it makes you think that maybe 20 years or so from now they’ll maybe be a tribute race in my name,” said DeFebo, who has built upon a Hall of Fame career.
“All of the great racers that have come out of this track and Dorney Park, it’s just an honor to be able to win one in their name and it’s also great how Mahoning does such a great job in continuing to honor all of them.”
It wasn’t just rain that played into the reducing of laps but an oil down early into the race as well. On lap eight DeFebo had spun on the backstrech and it would be due to fluid that was put down all around the track. While under the caution track crews realized that the state of affairs was not conducive to suitable enough racing conditions for the Modifieds as speedy-dry was spread all around and in several lanes.
It was then decided to take the cars off track so crews could better work to clean up the mess. After further evaluation the thought turned to bring out the Hobby Stocks for their feature. The idea was they could be more advantageous to help with getting the surface back in decent enough shape to compete on.
For the most part it worked as when the Modifieds returned it soon became a furiously intense lead battle that unfolded between DeFebo and Baer.
Don Wagner had led up until the pause but as the race resumed Baer make quick work of him and assumed the front spot. DeFebo was shown in eighth at the restart but in short order was making headway towards the front.
Baer was strong while leading but turning the quickest laps was DeFebo and he used those to pass cars and reel in the leader by lap 19. The next eight times around were done in a crowd pleasing side-by-side fashion.
And they weren’t done yet. If that wasn’t of a thrill the pair then went into a lead swapping duel for another half dozen go-arounds.
It took DeFebo every bit to finally secure the lead on lap 32. After solidifying the point for good he then began to breakaway from Baer. Then came the rains which would not only put an end to the race but the night as well.
“I really do feel that was the right call at the time. You figure I ended up getting spun out because of the fluid that was down all the way around. At first I thought something was wrong with the car but then I kept seeing more and more oil going down on the track and it was just horrible out there,” described DeFebo.
“It was nice to have the Hobby Stocks then go out there and help get the track back in shape with their feature. I had to pass cars and used the outside to do that. We had a feeling about the rain coming and I didn’t want to take a chance with bidding our time.”
The encounter between DeFebo and Baer wound up being a classic battle.
“Nick (Baer) is a good, clean racer. He’s young and he’s patient and I felt comfortable being on his outside. I didn’t have to push it knowing we had a long race. He did an awesome job of giving me enough room and we were able to nose ahead at the right time,” noted DeFebo.
“The car was on cruise control from that point. This is a brand new car and we were so disgusted when we got wrecked at Evergreen. Gary (Slusser, crew chief) got this thing back as good as it was for just the second time out and even after all these years of driving it still takes you a little bit to get used to when you have a new piece so coming here tonight got me comfortable for when we go to Chemung next week for the RoC show.”
Baer would settle for second, with Kyle Strohl, Lou Strohl and Roger Coss rounding out the top five.
For DeFebo it was his second win of the season and 112th of his career.
“It makes it fun to try and win a tribute race and there’s always extra money being offered which is always nice too,” he said.
He also added that having the race end short was out of everyone’s control.
“You can’t blame the track,” DeFebo said. “They tried everything to get this race in, they knew we had a weather problem and bumped it up in the running order and did an awesome job. No matter if it’s a 100 lap race or 25 lapper you always want to run all the laps because the fans are the ones who suffer. For us I was in the right place at the right time.”
In the make-up Hobby Stock feature, James Tout led the first 20 laps but then Jake Kibler powered to the front with five circuits to go he and held off Corey Edelman for his 50th overall win and first with the class.
Dave Kerr took the lead on lap four in the regular feature and then held off a number of challengers before his final opponent, Corey Edelman, hounded him persistently to the checkered flag. For Kerr, who won by a scant .010-second margin, it was his first Hobby Stock win.
Frank Del Nero Jr., captured the debut appearance of the Open Challenge Racing Series with a dominating run, leading all laps and winning for the first time in 23 years at Mahoning.
Feature Finish (46 Laps)
1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Nick Baer, 3. Kyle Strohl, 4. Lou Strohl, 5. Roger Coss, 6. Bobby Jones, 7. James Pritchard Jr., 8. Don Wagner, 9. Jaden Brown, 10. Johnny Bennett, 11. Rod Snyder Jr., 12. Brian Romig Sr., 13. Terry Markovic, 14. Jacob Kerstetter, 15. Nick Schaeffer, 16. Frank Parastino, 17. John Markovic