Soon after Kyle Strohl had a spirited battle with Lou Strohl for the race lead in the headline Modified feature, he then put the race away, powering to a decisive second 2018 victory.
Starting fourth, K. Strohl utilized a lap two restart to get by Nick Baer and then zeroed in on L. Strohl. Once there the pair engaged in a torrid lead fight. Side-by-side they ran with an occasional bump or two.
With K. Strohl on the outside line, he was slowly creeping ahead by the start of lap eight. Once that circuit was completed he put his nose just upfront. After finally clearing his way he then put his No. 44 into overdrive and was never challenged en route to a ninth career Modified win and 32nd overall.
“The car was working so much better tonight then the past few weeks and I can’t say enough thanks to my crew for all the hard work they’ve put in,” said K. Strohl.
“I really have to give a shout out to Lou Strohl for acing me so clean. I know it was a little rough at some points and I’m sure it looked pretty heated from the grandstands – I know it was from my seat.”
K. Strohl was so strong that by the time he reached the checkers he had stretched his lead over runner-up John Markovic to over 3-seconds.
“The season is still young and if we continue to run like this I think we can make a good statement towards the championship,” he surmised.
Markovic himself was having an outstanding run. At mid-race he unseated Earl Paules for second spot and like K. Strohl was able to pull away from the pack, however, the race leader had already been checking out, leaving him to settle for a solid second.
“We stumbled across a couple little things that really turned this car around the past few weeks and it’s been really beneficial,” said Markovic, who has been very fast of late.
“That kid (K. Strohl) is such a good talent and an all-around good kid and I’m glad to see him win. I was trying to run him down but it was obvious it wasn’t going to be enough so I knew it was best to just hold my line and settle for second.”
Point leader Brian DeFebo, who turned the fastest lap of the race, was third, almost two seconds behind Markovic. Gene Bowers had another strong outing in taking fourth while Bobby Jones rounded out the top five.
Frankie Althouse parleyed his outside front row starting spot into his second Late Model win of the season.
Althouse jumped ahead of Samantha Osborn at the outset and then set sail. Without the hassle of any cautions, Althouse was able to run hard enough to maintain his lead and hold off Mike Sweeney for the win, which was also beneficial to his current point lead.
2016 Street Stock champion Jon Moser was no match for the field on this night.
Even though Jared Ahner showed the way early on, Moser had him figured out, taking the lead after just six laps. From there on it was no contest as he cruised to his first win of the year.
Hard charging Corey Edelman came on strong in the waning laps and notched second spot over Cody Geist as the checkers waved.
For the first time in 20 years a Wambold has won a Modified race. BJ Wambold held off Earl Paules to the checkers in the Sportsman Mod event.
Wambold started from the pole and was able to fend off Paules as well as Devin Schmidt for the popular win. His grandfather, “The Legend” George Wambold, last won a Modified feature in 1997.
Ricky Yetter was finally able to shake his early season woes as he picked up his first win since returning after a one year hiatus.
Yetter did have a little luck come his way. Rookie Vince Fegley Jr., was leading and handily at that.
Fegley was on the cusp of scoring an upset win as he confidently raced in the lead and maneuvered around traffic like a seasoned veteran. However, his great run got sidetracked with three laps to go when he suddenly veered out of line and scrapped the back straight wall. Yetter seized that opportunity and over the final lap held off fast approaching Billy Lowden Jr., for the win. Fegley was third.
The Hobby Stocks had a special 40-lap feature that awarded $400 to win but prior to the start an anonymous donor added an additional $100.
With the high stakes it became an exciting event, especially for the lead position. Al Arthofer was showing the way but hot on his heels was Beau Drobot.
Steadfastly Drobot hounded Arthofer, finally getting the upper advantage with 12 lap to go. Once he prevailed on that task he was smooth and solid en route to his second win in a month’s time.
Modified Feature Finish (35 Laps): 1. Kyle Strohl, 2. John Markovic, 3. Brian DeFebo, 4. Gene Bowers, 5. Bobby Jones, 6. Earl Paules, 7. Nick Baer, 8. Lou Strohl, 9. Jack Ely, 10. Joey Jarowicz, 11. Rick Kirkendall, 12. Ron Haring Jr., 13. Kristy Arthofer, 14. Cody Geist, 15. Corey Edelman
Late Model Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. Frankie Althouse, 2. Mike Sweeney, 3. Paul Koehler Jr., 4. Jeremy Miller, 5. Samantha Osborn, 6. Kenny Hein, 7. Matt Wentz, 8. Jacob Kerstetter, 9. Nick Kerstetter, 10. Taylor Schmidt
Street Stock Feature Finish (30 Laps) 1. Jon Moser, 2. Corey Edelman, 3. Cody Geist, 4. Jared Ahner, 5. Mark Deysher, 6. Stacey Brown, 7. Shayne Geist, 8. Jamie Smith, 9. Jillian Long, 10. BJ Wambold, 11. Randy Schlenker, 12. Todd Ahner, 13. Ken Erney III, 14. Rick Reichenbach
Sportsman Modified Feature Finish (25 Laps): 1. BJ Wambold, 2. Earl Paules, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Devin Schmidt, 5. Blair Culhane, 6. Avery Arthofer, 7. Joe King Jr., 8. Kassidy Altemose
Dirt Modified Feature Finish (20 Laps): 1. Ricky Yetter, 2. Billy Lowden Jr., 3. Vincent Fegley, 4. Mike Stofflet, 5. Jeff Parker, 6. Corey Edelman, 7. Dave Chapman, 8. Bill Sittler, 9. Mary Peck, 10. Colton Perry, 11. Larry Beers
Hobby Stock Feature Finish (40 Laps): 1. Bo Drobot, 2. Al Arthofer, 3. Todd Geist, 4.Trisha Connolly, 5. Michael Wambold, 6. Justin Merkel, 7. Lyndsay Bush, 8. Peyton Arthofer, 9. Ryan Berger, 10. Cody Boehm, 11. Shawn Kistler, 12. Kassidy Altemose, 13. Peter Maier, 14. Travis Solomon, 15. Jacob Boehm, 16. Gunner Zeiner, 17. Tiffany Wambold, 18. Devin Schmidt, DNS: Tad Snyder
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