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Fans were treated to a large field of cars and great racing for Midvale Speedway's opening night, this past Saturday, April 27. It was the first night for spectators in the newly renovated grandstands at the 3/10-mile asphalt oval. Six divisions accumulated close to 100 cars, racing for double points.

The premier division at the track put on a thrilling 30-lap main event. The McIntosh Oil Company Late Models had 16 competitors line up for the green flag on the new American Racer tires. After 16-year old Alex Rosenberry set a new track record in qualifying with a 13.932, many wondered how the tires would race. The question was answered with a resounding "great", at least for the first night. After chief starter, Terry Colletti waved the green, Jonathan Reitter and Doug McMillen battled it out side-by-side for the lead spot. Reitter, the Weirton, WV took the early lead via the outside lane but McMillen battled back to edge ahead on the second circuit. McMillen pulled out front, but was hardly in cruise control as his rearview mirror filled up with Reitter, Mike Miller, and the Smith brothers. After a 17-lap green flag run, contact occurred between Bubba Smith and Miller for third position. Miller had been protecting the bottom but Smith eventually got a run and pulled to the inside on the backstretch. The battle for real estate ended each driver's chance for a top three run. On an ensuing restart, Tom Stankiewicz, Bob Schneider, Jr., and Rich Marcum were involved in a multicar accident in the first corner. This set up a battle that will be tough to beat the rest of the season. First, McMillen and Reitter went back and forth, swapping the top spot at the front for a few laps. Then on lap 22, Bryant Smith moved into second and started to challenge on the highside. For the last seven laps, the two drivers, known as rivals, put on a driving display of near perfection trading the top spot. McMillen led laps 23 and 24, while Smith edged him the next three laps. McMillen inched forward to lead lap 28 before Smith pulled back ahead by mere centimeters the next lap. Fans rose to their feet as the checkered waved in the air and Smith pulled off the victory. Amazingly, the two drivers both turned their best laps times on the final pace, showing that the new tires really seem to hold up well. Following the Canton Auto Salvage/Finish Line Designs #1 to the outstanding victory were McMillen, Rosenberry who made a last lap pass for third, Reitter, and Miller who rebounded for a top five. Rich Dessecker came home sixth, Bubba Smith labored to seventh with his damaged car, Schneider eighth, Larry Baker ninth, and Stankiewicz completed the top ten. Miller and 76-year old Darrel Dexter won the heats.

The ever growing Summit Racing Economy Modifieds had 20 different competitors take the green with rookie, Tad Grove, pulling ahead. Despite the large field, drivers raced cleanly for the first seven laps without a mishap. It was on lap eight, that caution would wave for a multi-car crash in the third turn. It was initiated when Lucas Ripley got a run to the inside of Mike Bowers and the two collected oncoming traffic. Ripley, top qualifier Doug Meyer, and Jesse Adams were unable to continue. After a lengthy cleanup, Lee McCreery was able to race by Grove in the outer groove to assume the lead position. The veteran driver was able to control the pace and gap the rest of the field until lap 18 of the 25 lap event. The caution then waved for the leader himself, not for a spin, but for going under his qualifying time. The speeding ticket sent McCreery to the tail and gave the lead to Justin Courtney. Down the stretch, Courtney held off two of the best in the class, Kevin McClintock and Randy Smart, who have combined for several championships over the years in multiple divisions. At the checkered, it was the Finish Line Motors/Wissman Motorsports #5 of Canton, Ohio driver Justin Courtney taking the victory by just over one tenth of a second. McClintock and Smart gathered podium finishes, while Grove impressed in his first Modified start and finish fourth. Mike Green picked up a lot of spots and claimed fifth. The rest of the top ten were Todd Ripley, Bowers, Bill Westlake, Nick Harmon, and Greg Hole. Westlake, Lucas Ripley, and Josh Anders won the heats.

The Midvale Speedway Pure Stocks had a bit of a rough start in their 20-lap main. Don Boron, Sr. led the first couple of laps before veteran Todd Miller took over. Making his Midvale turn after a few years running dirt, Rich Schweitzer moved into the second spot and started applying pressure. Over the course of the first 5 laps, the race saw a number of cautions that slowed the pace, and even though no cars sustained heavy damage, attrition started to show. Eventually, things settled down and Miller, Schweitzer, and top qualifier Mike Martin battled one another in a three car breakaway. Down the stretch, Miller avoided any mistakes and held off the strong advances behind him to claim a win in his return. For Miller, it was his first win since the passing of his father, Jake, and longtime friend in racing, John Tolloti. Miller's #77 ride was sponsored by Barnhill Investment Storage and Wilkin's Body Shop. Schweitzer and rookie Austin Harvey claimed the heat wins.

A huge improvement in car count was on display for the Midvale Speedway Compact division. For the first time in a good while, the division ran three heats and two features, rekindling memories of the glory days of the division when in upwards of 60 cars a night were on hand. In the fast feature, veteran driver Lennie Orr, Bob Schneider, Jr., Mike Swaney, and Adam Mishler jostled the top few positions looking for the hardware. Hot on their trail was top qualifier, Cliff Cox, whose car is much quicker. Cox's run was stalled at the halfway mark when he got caught on the outside of a three wide battle and contact spun his ride around. The Dennison, Ohio driver was forced to restart at the tail. As the race wore down, Orr and Mishler challenged one another for the lead. Just as Mishler was taking possession of the spot, Orr's car failed mechanically, ending his strong run. Swaney applied pressure over the last couple of laps as Cox closed the gap but came up short in the end. Under the checkered flag raced Adam Mishler for his first feature win in some time. The Mid-Vid Racing Video/Accurate Auto #65 was followed by Swaney, Cox, Schneider, and Anthony Vasilliu. Cox drove directly to the pits following the race, voiding his third place run. That moved Tim Frederick into the top five. Clayton Oliver, Larry Ennis, Orr, Braden Swaney, and Bill Jane were top ten finishers.

In the second Compact feature, Gerald Hahn was passed after setting the pace for the first four laps. The new pacesetter became Donnie Leggett, III, who is a sophomore Compact competitor. Leggett at one point built up a nice sized lead before Jesse Patterson started closing the gap. Over the final circuits, Patterson got to within a second but was never able to mount a battle. When the race came to a close, it was Leggett celebrating his first career feature win in his Leggett Auto Service/Carroll Asphalt #111. Following the Scio, Ohio driver in the rundown were Patterson, Allen Clark, Ryan Shreffler, and Mitchell Ujcich. Chris Boone, Jesse Crabtree, Leeza Moore, Josh Roberts, and Hahn rounded things out. Compact heats were won by Schneider, Leggett, and Moore, while Cox set the fast time.

The Funpact division, formerly the Stock Compact class, ran the small oval for the opener. Veteran Paul Stull overtook Kohlten Bryan at the start. One of his teammates, Chris Bloom, always frontrunner in the class overtook him shortly after and controlled the pace. The top qualifier on the night was Blaine Salsberry, and he showed some muscle getting to the tail of Bloom. Salsberry, however, never could get the run needed to wrestle the lead away. Bloom, from Dennison, Ohio, took the win in his Count Electronics/Trenton Service #151, while Salsberry, Dan Buckey, Alan Walker, and Bryan took top five positions. Salsberry and Stull took heat wins.

Midvale Speedway's new fulltime division this year is the Mini-Truck class. While the class was a bit small on opening night, those that were there put on a decent show in nicely painted trucks. Justin Badgett took the early lead in the 15-lap main. Cody Collmar showed some strength on lap three, becoming the rabbit. Collmar was out front until top qualifier Dennis Garrett, III raced by to set the pace. Garrett looked extremely good all day, earlier setting quick time. The young driver went on to race across the line in first. Unfortunately, an overly excited Garrett drove by the tire checking line in turn three, costing him the victory. That gave the trophy to Vince Martin in the Shelbi's Sweets and Treats/Papa P's Auto Detailing #5. Following the Massillon, Ohio driver were Collmar, Teddy Oliver, Jr., Dennis Wood, and Troy Campbell. Collmar won the heat.

It was a great evening at the ever improving facility as fans raved about all of the renovations in the grandstand area. Drivers and teams are to thank for the exciting show that took place, making the night a huge success.

Coming up this Saturday, May 4, it will be another full six division show with Spectator Drags at intermission. Admission prices remain regular at $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 62+, $8 for kids 6-15, and children 5 and under are free. Pits cost $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

Due to the larger than expected car count, times are going to be adjusted slightly for the upcoming week. Pits will now open at 2:30, hotlaps at 3:00, qualifying at 4:45, and racing action will take the green at 6:30.

For more information, visit midvalespeedway.com.

Results For Midvale Speedway

McIntosh Oil Company Late Models
Top Qualifier - Alex Rosenberry 13.932 NTR
Heat #1 - Mike Miller, Jonathan Reitter, Rich Dessecker, Bryant Smith, Bubba Smith
Heat #2 - Darrel Dexter, Matthew Mills, Larry Baker, Rich Marcum, William Robinson
Feature - Bryant Smith, Doug McMillen, Alex Rosenberry, Jonathan Reitter, Mike Miller, Rich Dessecker, Bubba Smith, Bob Schneider, Jr., Larry Baker, Tom Stankiewicz, Darrel Dexter, Ron Kirkpatrick, William Robinson, Rick Grudier, Rich Marcum, Matthew Mills

Summit Racing Equipment Economy Modifieds
Top Qualifier - Doug Meyer 14.653 NTR
Heat #1 - Bill Westlake, Todd Ripley, Randy Smart, Jesse Adams, Doug Meyer
Heat #2 - Lucas Ripley, Neil Rolli, Lee McCreery, Mike Bowers, Tim Westerfield, Jr.
Heat #3 - Josh Anders, Joe Ujcich, Greg Hole, Jason Grewell, Jeremy Sloan
Feature - Justin Courtney, Kevin McClintock, Randy Smart, Tad Grove, Mike Green, Todd Ripley, Mike Bowers, Bill Westlake, Tim Westerfield, Jr., Greg Hole, Joe Ujcich, Neil Rolli, Lee McCreery, Jeremy Sloan, Josh Anders, Jason Grewell, Doug Meyer, Lucas Ripley, Brock Burcher

Midvale Speedway Pure Stocks
Top Qualifier - Mike Martin 16.278
Heat #1 - Rich Schweitzer, Don Boron, Jr., Mike Martin, Nick Harmon, Vince Martin
Heat #2 - Austin Harvey, Gary Hoopingarner, Robbie Patterson, Kyle Anders, Paul Price
Feature - Todd Miller, Rich Schweitzer, Mike Martin, Vince Martin, Nick Harmon, Waylon Orr, Kyle Anders, Robbie Patterson, Austin Harvey, Don Boron, Sr., Gary Hoopingarner, Paul Price, Don Boron, Jr.

Midvale Speedway Mini Trucks
Top Qualifier - Dennis Garrett, III 18.003
Heat - Cody Collmar, Dennis Garrett, III, Vince Martin, Dennis Wood, Teddy Oliver, Jr.
Feature - Vince Martin, Cody Collmar, Teddy Oliver, Jr., Dennis Wood, Troy Campbell, Justin Badgett

Midvale Speedway Compacts
Top Qualifier - Cliff Cox 17.868
Heat #1 - Bob Schneider, Jr., Mike Swaney, Adam Mishler, Anthony Vasilliu, Tim Frederick
Heat #2 - Donnie Leggett, III, Jesse Patterson, Lennie Orr, Clayton Oliver, Bill Jane
Heat #3 - Leeza Moore, Gerald Hahn, Mitchell Ujcich, Ryan Shreffler, Chris Boone
Feature #1 - Adam Mishler, Mike Swaney, Bob Schneider, Jr., Anthony Vasilliu, Tim Frederick, Clayton Oliver, Larry Ennis, Lennie Orr, Braden Swaney, Bill Jane, Eric Feister
Feature #2 - Donnie Leggett, III, Jesse Patterson, Allen Clark, Ryan Shreffler, Mitchell Ujcich, Chris Boone, Jesse Crabtree, Leeza Moore, Josh Roberts, Gerald Hahn

Midvale Speedway Funpacts
Top Qualifier - Blaine Salsberry 16.380
Heat #1 - Blaine Salsberry, Chris Bloom, Howard Bartholow, Dan Buckey
Heat #2 - Paul Stull, Alan Walker, Kohlten Bryan, Chris Paul
Feature - Chris Bloom, Blaine Salsberry, Dan Buckey, Alan Walker, Kohlten Bryan, Chris Paul, Howard Bartholow, Paul Stull, Gary Gibson