2011 News/Press

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Mike Sweeney’s Season Erupts at Mountain Speedway
(June 25, 2011)- After coming away with his first Late Model victory two weeks earlier, Craig Lutz of Miller Place, NY scored his second straight verdict in the division.
  Rick Smith led the Late Model field to the drop of the green flag in the 30-lap main and continued out front over Francis Gross III, Craig Lutz, Paul Monkoski and Kyle Harvell with one lap in the books.
  Lutz got by Gross for the second spot and then Harvell followed to take third before the yellow flag flew when the engine on Mike Sweeney’s car expired on the front stretch.
  Lutz powered by Smith and into the lead on the lap four restart and then Harvell overtook Smith for the runner up spot on the following circuit. Meanwhile, in his first career Late Model start, Brian Sones wheeled his way into the top five. With 10 laps complete Lutz led over Harvell, Smith, Sones and Gross.
  With Lutz and Harvell still out front, Sones worked on Smith for third. He grabbed the spot on lap 13 and tried to chase down the leaders.
  Despite several attempts by Harvell to make the race winning pass stick, Lutz drove away to take the checkered flag for back-to-back victories over Harvell, Sones, Smith and Gross.
  Heat race wins went to Craig Lutz and Kyle Harvell.
 
Late Model (30-laps) 1. Craig Lutz 2. Kyle Harvell 3. Brian Sones 4. Rick Smith 5. Francis Gross III 6. Jennifer Kutz 7. Paul Monkoski 8. Adam Cox 9. Mike Sweeney DNS: Jerry Tunney
 
Sweeney Nets Top 10 Effort at Mahoning Valley Speedway
(June 18, 2011)- Mike Sweeney and crew headed to the Mahoning Valley Speedway for some Saturday night short track racing. With high expectations and when it was all said and done, Sweeney ended up with an 8th place finish.
  Geno Steigerwalt of Jim Thorpe took the lead from George Ramos on lap two and thereafter remained solid in earning his first win of the season.
  Paul Koehler, Jr., and point leader Austin Kochenash each drove from the rear of the field to second on separate occasions but neither could make an attempt at Steigerwalt who won for the ninth time in his career.
 
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Geno Steigerwalt, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Paul Koehler, Jr., 4. Paul Skodacek, 5. Dave Wallace,  6. Rick Wallace, 7. Beau Drobot, 8. Mike Sweeney, 9. Glenn Slocum, 10. Raven Schrantz, 11. Cole Lenhart, 12. George Ramos  Did not start: Mike VanFossen
 
 
Mike Sweeney Scores Runner Up Finish at Mountain
  (June 11, 2011)- Francis Gross III started from the pole but lost the lead to Craig Lutz on the start of the 30-lap Late Model feature. Mike Sweeney moved into second with Gross, Austin Kochenash and Paul Skodacek in tow.
  Sweeney hung with Lutz and made several attempts to take the top spot in the early going. Meanwhile, both Kyle Harvell and Zane Zeiner began to climb toward the top five.
  Lutz led at halfway, followed by Sweeney, Harvell, Zeiner and Kochenash but that all change when contact between Zeiner and Harvell put the third place driver in a spin. Both drivers went to the rear of the field for the restart.
  Looking to score his first career Late Model victory, Lutz was untouchable over the closing laps and took the win over Sweeney, Kochenash, Zeiner and Harvell.
  Heat race wins went to Mike Sweeney and Craig Lutz.
 
Late Model (30-laps) 1. CRAIG LUTZ 2. Mike Sweeney 3. Austin Kochenash 4. Zane Zeiner 5. Kyle Harvell 6. Paul Skodacek 7. Francis Gross III 8. Adam Cox 9. Rick Smith 10. Jennifer Kutz 11. Paul Monkoski 12. Glenn Slocum
 
Mike Sweeney Earns a Fifth Place Finish at Mahoning
(6/4/2011)- For Paul Skodacek of Nesquehoning the night of June 4, 2011 is one he soon won’t forget as he raced to his career first track win coming in a domineering performance with the Late Models.
  Starting from the pole Skodacek was fast out of the blocks and unchallenged as well. Over the caution free 25-lap distance there was no one able to give chase as he completely excelled over the 4:32.361 journey.
  In taking the popular verdict Skodacek managed a nearly 3-second margin of victory over top point man Austin Kochenash. Brothers Rick and Dave Wallace and Mike Sweeny rounded out the top five.
 
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Paul Skodacek, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Rick Wallace, 3. Dave Wallace, 5. Mike Sweeney, 6. Geno Steigerwalt, 7. Paul Koehler, Jr., 8. Raven Schrantz, 9. George Ramos, 10. Mike VanFossen, 11. Beau Drobot
 
Mike Sweeney Hangs on to Loose Racecar to Finish 3rd at Mountain
(5/29/2011)- He’ll admit that it wasn’t easy and has definitely proved that it could be done. Zane Zeiner of Bath, PA not only drove to the regular Sport Modified feature win, but also to the Late Model victory Sunday at Mountain Speedway. Dave Brigati of Long Island notched his first win at the speedway in the make-up Sport Modified feature from two weeks ago and Joey Helburg took his first Factory Stock win at the track. Following post race tech inspection, Chris Young backed into the INEX Legends victory.
  Rick Smith led the Late Model field to the drop of the green flag in the 30-lap Late Model feature before second place starter, Mike Sweeney, took the lead. Smith settled into the second spot with Kyle Harvell, Craig Lutz and Austin Kochenash in tow.
  Harvell got by Smith and then set said for the leader. Meanwhile, Lutz moved into third and Zane Zeiner got around Kochenash and Smith to take fourth.
  A Quick yellow flag flew on lap 10 for Glenn Slocum when his car stopped on the apron of the track. With the green flag back out, Sweeney continued to lead but Zeiner was on a mission. He battled with Lutz for third and eventually climbed to second before the yellow flew for an incident with Smith and Geno Steigerwalt on lap 19.
  To no avail, Sweeney tried to hold off Zeiner on the restart. With eight laps remaining, Zeiner distanced himself from the tight pack behind him, which included Sweeney, Lutz, Harvell and Kochenash.
  Things got a little hairy from second on back over the closing laps, but the leader didn’t mind. En route to his third straight victory in the division, Zeiner went on to take the checkers over Harvell, Sweeney, Kochenash and Francis Gross III.
  Heat race victories went to Kyle Harvell and Mike Sweeney.
  Following the race Sweeney commented on how loose the racecar got after the first 10 laps. “It was a handful to hang on to, that’s for sure. I just wish that the guys that tried to pass me would do it on the outside instead of trying to drive underneath me”.
  Still not satisfied with his third place effort, Sweeney and his crew will go back to work on his D11 this week and see if he can get that first win of the season in his next outing.
 
Late Model (30-laps) 1. ZANE ZEINER 2. Kyle Harvell 3. Mike Sweeney 4. Austin Kochenash 5. Francis Gross III 6. Craig Lutz 7. Adam Cox 8. Rick Smith 9. Geno Steigerwalt 10. Paul Monkoski 11. Glenn Slocum 12. Jerry Tunney
 
Without Power Steering, Mike Sweeney Steers to Mahoning Top 5
(5/21/2011)- Saturday night Mike Sweeney made the Mahoning Valley Speedway to battle on the Lehighton ¼-mile. Prior to the start of the feature he lost power steering, which makes it just a little more demanding to get around the popular bullring.
  He battled for the third spot with Dave Wallace in the late going but settled for the fourth spot before the checkered flag flew.
  Defending Late Model champion Paul Koehler, Jr., parlayed his pole starting spot into his first wins of the season and in doing so becomes Mahoning’s all-time leading wins in class victories with 35.
  Koehler had current point leader Austin Kochenash alongside him for the start but once the green waved there was no hesitating by as the immediately dashed into ahead and would not look back the rest of the way.
Dave Wallace was a strong second while Paul Skodacek notched his third straight third place tally.
Street Stock point leader TJ Gursky of Palmerton continued his great start to the 2011 season as the 27-year old picked up his second win in three starts.
 
Late Model Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1.Paul Koehler, Jr. 2.Dave Wallace 3.Paul Skodacek 4.Mike Sweeney 5.Ed Bauer 6.Austin Kochenash 7.Tony Zatsko 8.Rick Wallace 9.Raven Schrantz 10.Geno Steigerwalt 11.George Ramos 12.Joe Edinger
 
Mike Sweeney Content With Top 3 Finish at Mountain
(5/15/2011)- Hoping to fight off threatening rain showers, the staff at Mountain Speedway was determined to get Sunday’s show in without a glitch. It almost worked perfectly, as three of four features were completed before the rains came six laps into the Sport Modified feature. Zane Zeiner of Bath, PA dominated the Late Model feature and secured his second win of the season. Scott Hubler of Coplay, PA notched his second INEX Legends victory of the season and Rich Paciotti of Kunkletown, PA held off several strong Factory Stock competitors to notch his first career victory.
 
Rick Smith started from the pole position in the 30-lap Late Model feature and was challenged by Mike Sweeney with a bold three wide move on the opening lap. Sweeney tired to get underneath Smith and Adam Cox but the door closed in turn one and Smith went around.
 
Green flag racing resumed and Kyle Harvell took command over Zane Zeiner, Cox, Craig Lutz and Sweeney.
 
Zeiner hounded the leader and made the inside pass for the lead stick in lap one on lap seven. Harvell settled back into second as Zeiner began to drive away from the rest of the field.
 
The yellow flag was displayed when Harvell spun on lap 17. Following a handful of quick green flag laps the caution was displayed once more when without contact, Cox and Harvell both spun on the backstretch. 
 
Zeiner was flawless on the restarts and went on to claim his second straight Late Model victory over Lutz, Sweeney, Harvell and Cox.
 
Mike Sweeney was happy with his third place run following the race. “We ran on old tires today and came out to learn. To finish in the top three was a good day. We learned a few things and we should be in good shape for the next time”, he said.
 
Late Models (30-laps) 1. ZANE ZEINER 2. Craig Lutz 3. Mike Sweeney 4. Kyle Harvell 5. Adam Cox 6. Glenn Slocum 7. Rick Smith 8. Jerry Tunney
 
Mike Sweeney Wins Heat and Earns Top 5 Feature Finish
 (5/1/11)- Sunday was an emotional day for the family, friends and competitors of former Mountain Speedway Factory Stock champion, Mike Moyer, Jr. Moyer lost his life in March and many gathered together to host the 1st Annual Mike Moyer, Jr. Factory Stock Memorial at the speedway. In typical Factory Stock fashion, doors and fenders were rubbed and hot tempers filled the sir for some, but when it was all said and done, Matt Schlenker of Walnutport somehow pulled out the victory. Rusty Smith of Oxford, NY scored his second straight Sport Modified main event victory and Zane Zeiner of Bath notched a win in the Late Model feature. Scott Hubler of Coplay fended off the competition for his first INEX Legends victory of the season and Austin Fehr of Macungee drove his TQ Midget to victory at the speedway.
  Adam Cox led the Late Model field to the drop of the green flag in the 30-lap contest. Mike Sweeney overtook him before a single lap was scored, but he settled into the second position with Craig Lutz, Travis Fisher and Kyle Harvell in pursuit.
  Lutz then grabbed second from Cox and on lap seven Zane Zeiner overtook Harvell, who was running third at the time. Zeiner then overtook Lutz for the runner up spot two laps later and the set his sights on the leader. Zeiner shot by Sweeney and into the lead on lap 14. Sweeney retain second, followed by Lutz, Harvell and Fisher.
  Despite two quick cautions in the final 10 laps, Zeiner was untouchable and went on to pick up his first Late Model victory of the season over Lutz, Fisher, Sweeney and Harvell.
  Heat race victories went to Mike Sweeney and Travis Fisher.
 
Late Models (30-laps) 1. ZANE ZEINER 2. Craig Lutz 3. Travis Fisher 4. Mike Sweeney 5. Kyle Harvell 6. Francis Gross III 7. Joe Barretta 8. Adam Cox 9. Jerry Tunney 10. Rick Smith DNS: John Dibble
 
Decent Start Ends with a DNF for Sweeney Racing on Opening Day
(4/10/11)- Following Saturday’s time trials, both fans and drivers alike poured in to Mountain Speedway for the “B Program” Opening Weekend features. When it was all said and done, Rusty Smith of Oxford, NY cruised to the Sport Modified victory and Larry Fisher of Fern Glen, PA took his ill handling Late Model to victory lane. Matt Schlenker of Walnutport backed into the Factory Stock victory and Mike Alcaro of Newton, NJ brought home the first INEX Legends feature win of the season.
  After running the quickest qualifying time on Saturday, Travis Fisher started from the pole position in the 30-lap Late Model feature. He led the first circuit over Mike Sweeney, Larry Fisher, Craig Lutz and Kyle Harvell.
  Appearing to have one of the quickest cars, Lutz overtook L. Fisher on lap two and then shot under Sweeney for second on lap 12. Two quick Rick Smith spins slowed the event and with the cone out on the track, Austin Kochenash moved from sixth to second. However, he faded once green flag racing resumed.
  With T. Fisher fending off Lutz, the yellow flag waved when Kochenash caught the apron in turn two and then shot into Sweeney. Both drivers headed to the pits and retired from the event.
  Green flag racing resumed and Lutz hounded T. Fisher for the top spot. With only three laps remaining, Lutz got his nose underneath T. Fisher in turn three. T. Fisher tried to slam the door and the duo tangled, which gave the lead to L. Fisher. Harvell lined up second for the restart and Francis Gross III held third, followed by Lutz and Adam Cox.
  Despite pressure from the competition behind him, L. Fisher fought his ill handling racecar to score his first Mountain feature win since 2007. Harvell settled for second, followed by Gross, Lutz and Cox.
  “We uncovered the car at noon on Friday and here we are”, said a very surprised L. Fisher in victory lane. He commented on the car’s handling and said, “It was definitely a handful to drive”.
 
Late Model (30-Laps) 1. LARRY FISHER 2. Kyle Harvell 3. Craig Lutz 4. Francis Gross III 5. Adam Cox 6. Travis Fisher 7. Austin Kochenash 8. Mike Sweeney 9. Rick Smith DNS: Jerry Tunney DNS: Brian Brown