Heavy flooding forces cancelation of Mahoning Valley Speedway races

In what was a rare mid-April afternoon of temperatures nearing 80-degrees and plenty of sunshine which was leading into a picture perfect night for racing turned out to be anything but that for Mahoning Valley Speedway.

Despite the excellent forecast the paved ¼-mile had to cut short week number two after excessive flooding engulfed the track due to heavy overnight rain. Mahoning Creek, which flows along the back of the raceway, overflowed early in the morning hours and even after the rains had stopped and the creek receded some, it was still pushing water onto the surface through the drain outlets. That plus additional issues from weepers around various parts of the speedway made it a daunting task.

Although track crews had been working since 6:00 am to pump out the water then calling in assistance from the Lehighton Fire Company to aid with the draining, the yeoman’s effort was futile, forcing management to cancel.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to our track crew for all the hard work they did to make racing happen and also to the Lehighton Fire Department for their great effort,” said promoter Jack Carlino.

“When we saw Saturday’s amazing forecast it had us all thrilled to put on this week’s show especially after such an amazing opener from the last week. We never expected to see the creek flood the way it did and it was very unfortunate on all fronts. But after last year with so many rain related cancelations we are incredibly resilient and will move on to next week.”

With that it’s on to Saturday, April 20 as another six division program plus the season debut of the touring American Three Quarter Midget Racing Association TQ Midgets which kicks off their 63rd consecutive season will be presented.

The regular classes on the night will be Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s, Hobby Stocks and the first race of 2019 for the Sportsman Modifieds. The Dirt Mods have the night off.

There is much anticipation to see Sportsman Modifieds as they will be running on the same tire as the Late Models as opposed to last season when they incorporated the same as the Street Stocks.

The TQ Midgets bring a unique style of racing to Mahoning Valley with speeds like no other class.

Start time is 6:00 pm. Front gates will open at 4:00pm. Adult grandstand admission is $14, $2 off for students, seniors 65+ and active military. Children under 10 are free.

Pits will open at 11:30 am. Early paid practice ($25 per car) will be from 12:30 to 3:30. Regular warm-ups begin at 4:30. Pit admission $25 members, $35 non-members. Driver sign-ins will be from 3:00 to 4:15.

In two weeks the track will be running both Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28. Saturday will be a regular six class show while on Sunday round two of the Mahoning Valley Speedway/Evergreen Raceway Small Car Enduro Series takes place along with the All-Star Slingshots and Jr. Slingshots plus the East Coast TQ Midgets. Sunday race time begins at 1:00 pm.

Please log onto the official Mahoning Valley Speedway website at www.mahoningvalley-speedway.com or on Facebook at Mahoning Valley Speedway for updated info. Mahoning Valley Speedway is located on PA route 443 just a few miles west of Lehighton.

MVS PR