Race of Champions Tour to close out 2020 season at Mahoning Valley Speedway

When Mahoning Valley Speedway released its 2020 schedule on Saturday, January 4 during a Meet and Greet with new track promoter Keith Hoffman, one of the key highlights was the introduction of the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS) which will be a special five race series run amongst the Modifieds, Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks.

For Modifieds the MVSHoFS will all be extra distance/high dollar features and are centered on a select group of track Hall of Fame drivers and their signature car numbers.

Race number one of five, which will be Opening Night, April 4, honors Doug Hoffman and his No. 60. Thus the feature will be 60 laps. Next will be a 77-lapper paying tribute to John ‘Peepers’ Yerger. That will be followed by an 81-lap affair which belongs to the revered George Wambold. The next feature will be 85 laps, the number made famous by Marvin Bartholomew and finally a 99-lapper that is associated with Hal Renninger, closes out the series on October 3.

While much excitement is being generated with the newly designed series, it was taken up a notch after revealing that the 99-lap Hal Renninger race will also be a Race of Champions (RoC) Tour event.

This will mark the first time since 2016 that the RoC will be returning to the paved Lehighton ¼-mile oval when then 15-year old Kyle Strohl scored a huge upset win in a 150-lapper.

And since this race will be held following the annual Modified 250 at Lake Erie Speedway, it now sets the stage for the championship finale with the Tour to take place at Mahoning Valley.

“Mahoning is a pillar in Modified racing and we are looking forward to it. It has been missed and we all have to work together to unify what we are all doing. This is a great step in that direction,” stated Joe Skotnicki, Race of Champions, owner.

“This race will differ a little from what we have been doing. Now the Series champion will be crowned at Mahoning which puts the focus on the race at Lake Erie and a much different focus on Mahoning. It’s going to be exciting.”

Skotnicki, Hoffman and track owner Jack Carlino had been in ongoing discussions on bringing the RoC back to Mahoning and trying to find a viable date that would work for both parties and the October 3 signing was mutually agreed to be the best.

“Keith (Hoffman) has a passion for this and some fresh ideas. He has a great background and history in this sport and we’ve worked around each other before. He understands the business and the keys to being successful,” added Skotnicki.

Over the years the RoC has made numerous stops at Mahoning Valley and each time it generated solid car counts that saw an array of track regulars battling down to the wire against the Tour steadies. 

“I don’t think it will be any different now than it has been. It will be a mixture of racers and it will be exciting, plus some of the teams have followed the Series now, so they will be able to have their fans and family get to see them perform on the Series locally. It’s an exciting event,” noted Skotnicki.

If needed a rain date of Saturday, October 9 will be used.

Mahoning Valley Speedway will be present at the upcoming three day Pioneer Pole Buildings Motorsports 2020 show on January 17-19 at the Great Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa.

The Race of Champions is a sanctioning body presenting Modified and Stock Car racing on asphalt and dirt surfaces throughout the Northeast, with events in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey with primary marketing partners Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, US Army, Upstate Automotive Group, Waddell Communications, Pilat Graphic Design, Jerico TDH Refrigeration, Sherwood Racing Wheels, PavedTrackDigest.com and Speed51.com. The 70th annual Race of Champions weekend will take place in 2020 at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pennsylvania and is the second longest consecutive auto-racing event in North America, second only to the Indianapolis 500.

You can follow on Twitter; Instagram and Facebook; @RoCModSeries or visit www.rocmodifiedseries.com

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

MVS PR