As the saying goes, “If it wasn’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all,” could best describe the type of season that standout Kris Graver has been going through.
But for a change good luck helped get Graver his first Modified win of 2016 in a wild last lap finish that saw him go from fourth to first.
After a restart with one lap to go Jack Ely was leading over Austin Kochenash while Lou Strohl and Graver sat third and fourth respectively.
Once the race resumed Ely was doing all he could to hold back Kochenash as both drivers were goal-minded on the checkers. Entering turn three, however, Kochenash pinched the rear of Ely in his attempt to take over the lead. That in turn caused Ely to lose control and go into a spin just a few feet from the finish line. Likewise Kochenash spun to but was able to finish the race fourth.
Staying alert to the mayhem, Graver lucky had the inside line and hurried his way to the finish over Lou Strohl and Kyle Strohl. Eric Beers was fifth.
Kochenash, though, was placed on the tail end of the lead lap cars as officials sited him for the incident, which allowed Earl Paules to move to fifth in the final run down.
“Those guys were beating and banging on each other and I was waiting for something to happen the whole time. I was just in the right place at the right time there,” said Graver, who notched his 10th career Modified win and 43rd overall.
“When we got that single file restart I figured I would at least get third (place) over Lou Strohl and then all of a sudden I saw them (Ely, Kochenash) two get into it.”
Lou Strohl had taken control of the lead on lap eight and then had to endure a blitz from the likes of Kyle Strohl and Ely while Graver and Kochenash hovered close by.
With Ely on the low lane, he and Kyle Strohl ran in two-wide formation while Lou Strohl guardedly kept both at bay.
A few times Ely was able to put a wheel to the inside of Lou Strohl but got could not get enough forward bite to make the pass complete.
Then with two laps to go he went for broke and lunged by coming off turn two. Following him in the route was Kochenash. The same lap saw the caution wave for a minor incident and the showdown stage was now set.
Ely did his best to keep his car on the bottom while Kochenash saw an opportunity from his vantage point heading into the final two corners. The outcome, however, went the way of Graver who luckily avoided the spinning cars.
“This whole year, anything that could go wrong would go wrong. I’ve been getting so frustrated lately and tonight luck was finally on our side. I can’t thank my whole crew enough for all the hard work they’ve put into this effort and I also want to dedicate this win of my lap pappy Gruber, he passed away on Friday and this goes to him,” added Graver.
“Hopefully luck will now stay on our side and we can get another win before the year is up.”
Don Wagner is no stranger when it comes to winning, having scored 36 career victories in Modifieds but on Saturday he added his first ever triumph in a Late Model, marking his first full fender win since a Street Stock victory in his rookie season of 1989.
Wagner drove the Joe Polny No. 58 to a very close verdict over proverbial Late Model aces Frankie Althouse and Paul Koehler Jr. as well as point leader Mike Sweeney.
Taking the lead from George Ramos on four, Wagner afterward had a rear fender full of Koehler and Althouse who ran two-wide behind him.
Koehler gave Wagner a torrid fight for the lead as he tried numerous times to take him from the top side yet each time his efforts were thwarted. Holding a solid line, Wagner stayed the course although over the final laps there was immense pressure from both Koehler and Althouse.
With two laps to go both Koehler and Althouse were sandwiching Wagner but at the same time the yellow waved for a multi car incident. For the single file restart Wagner was able to hold back a last ditch effort by Koehler and notch the popular win.
Zach Graver pulled off a last lap pass over Corey Edelman to win his fourth race of the season.
For most of the feature, Edelman was busy defending his lead as several drivers tried to relentlessly unseat him. In the final laps Graver was the key pursuer and was putting on the pressure. With two laps to go he was looking to go around Edelman but a caution negated his attempt.
That set back did not stop Graver as on the restart he once again tried the same maneuver and within a few feet of the finish line nipped Edelman and not only scored a class high fourth win of the year, but also leaped back into the point lead as well.
Ray Deemer took top honors in the Dirt Mod race and although he started from the pole, it seemed that every driver tried to make valid bids at overtaking the season veteran but each time he closed the door on them and maintained his lead throughout the 25 lap distance, netting his second win of the year.
In June Mahoning Valley Speedway ran the first Jr. Enduro and winning the memorable event was third generation driver Avery Arthofer, who is also a rookie in the Hobby Stock class.
On Saturday night during the special 35-lap contest, the 13-year old backed up that win with her first career division victory and in an impressive fashion.
After taking the lead from Tiffany Wambold on lap 10, Arthofer then left everyone else to battle for second spot and beyond as she pulled ahead to a huge lead and went across the finish line by nearly six seconds. Ryan Berger held off Harry O’Neill for the runner-up spot.
Arthofer’s win also marked the 11th different winner in 14 races this year with the Hobby Stocks.
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