Under clear skies and brisk April temperatures, the Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel kicked off their 2018 campaign at the Mahoning Valley Speedway Saturday evening. With excitement in the air, it was Joey Bailey debuting his brand new #51B Yuhas Chassis for Alan Mollot, who set the pace.
Not only did Bailey set quick time in the afternoon practice session, he blistered the field by running lap times close to four-tenths of a second faster than the field in his heat race, earning him a near two and a half second victory over the field in the opening race of the night.
The second heat race of the evening went off without a hitch as #75 Mark Yoder began his 2018 season with a bang capturing the checkered flag. Both heat races ran without incident, meaning both 8-lap races were completed well under two minutes in time.
The top eight feature starting positions were set for redraw per the ATQMRA Rulebook. #51 Matt Janisch, also driving for Alan Mollot, who drew the first pill granting him the pole positon for the 25-lap feature. Heat race winners Mark Yoder and Joey Bailey drew the fourth and seventh feature starting positons respectively.
It was Janisch who paced the field in the early going of the feature race. However, Kris Graver, who drives the #48 owned by Matt Janisch, stayed within car lengths of his car owner for the first half of the race. Graver, who is a Mahoning Valley Speedway regular, saved his equipment and made a second half charge for the win to the delight of the crowd.
Graver made a power move to the outside of Janisch, bringing the crowd to their feet as he made his pass for the lead on the outside in the first turn just beyond the halfway point of the race. Although both Janisch and heat race winner Joey Bailey made late charges in the closing stages, it was Graver who played his cards right and saved his tires the best to capture the victory at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Like the heat races prior, the 25-lap feature ran caution free and was completed in an astonishing three minutes and fifty six seconds. Matt Janisch would ultimately finish second to his owned car, with Joey Bailey finishing third. #1B Ryan Tidman brought his Lafler Chassis home in forth and #36 Buddy Sload rounded out the top five in a solid effort for Spitfire Racing.
The Hoosier Mid-Atlantic ATQMRA powered by VP Racing Fuel takes a week off before heading north to the Waterford Speedbowl, CT for an action-packed day on Saturday, May 5th 2018.
RACE RESULTS
Heat 1 -8 Laps
1. #51B Joey Bailey
2. #36 Buddy Sload
3. #48 Kris Graver
4. #1B Ryan Tidman
5. #16 Ronnie Mullen
Heat 2 -8 Laps
1. #75 Mark Yoder
2. #51 Matt Janisch
3. #20 Jon Keller
4. #17 Joey Jarowicz
5. #73x Cole Mullen
Feature -25 Laps
1. #48 Kris Graver
2. #51 Matt Janisch
3. #51B Joey Bailey
4. #1B Ryan Tidman
5. #36 Buddy Sload
6. #17 Joey Jarowicz
7. #75 Mark Yoder
8. #20 Jon Keller
9. #73x Cole Mullen
10. #16 Ronnie Mullen