DARIN HOOVER TAKES WIN AT “HIS FAVORITE TRACK” IN KATHY BAKER COLDWELL BANKER REALITY MODIFIED FEATURE EVENT AT P.V.S.
By Judy McGee Timmons
Darin Hoover started the Modified Feature beside Ryan Dolan in the
front of the 14 car field; pulling to the lead on green, where he remained for 20 laps for a green to checkered win, stating in victory lane, that Path Valley Speedway was his favorite track.
Hoover pulled to the lead on green with Kirk Baker in his tracks, followed by Ryan Dolan, Brady Daniels, & Sam Reeder for the top five competitors. Jason Stoner brought out a caution when his racer got into the turn two infield, with two laps complete, repositioning his ride to the rear of the reline. Hoover took the racers to the green, running seven non-stop laps, till Jacob McConnell got out of control in the turn two infield, relocating to the rear, as Hoover, Baker, Dolan, Daniels & Alyssa Cullum, sat in the top five positions on green. Hoover & Baker pulled away from their competition; continuing their battle for the lead, while Dolan & Justin Cullum were also going into wheel to wheel action for third place as Sam Reeder & Daniels were battling for the sixth position. The final, nine lap, non-stop countdown put the top racers into an intense situation, as twelfth place starter, Haley Kaiser piloted her racer to seventh, & Justin Cullum came from eighth to third, as Darin Hoover took the checkered ahead of Kirk Baker, Cullum, Dolan & A. Cullum for the top five. Winner, Darin Hoover, had the best lap speed, traveling 67.310 MPH in 13.371 seconds.
The T.A. Ward Construction 270 Micro Sprint Division met the green with Bret Cronrath and Cory Myers at the front, with Cronrath taking the lead, as Cory Myers, Bill Laughman, Jason Houtz & Bradyn Kuhn, filed the top five spots for seven laps. Zach Glass came from seventh starting position, to pass Houtz & Kuhn to take fourth place, as Cory Myers decreased the gap between his racer & the racer of Cronrath, eventually taking the lead on lap twelve, as lapped traffic became a challenge for the top runners. Fourteen laps were on the books, when problems became apparent for Bradyn Kuhn, who got his racer into the first turn infield, while Jason Houtz’s racer came to a stop in turn four, resulting in both racers, entering the pits.
Cory Myers led the racers to the green, with Cronrath inches behind, & tenth place starter, Craig Myers, advancing his racer to third position, as Bill Laughman & Zach Glass held the top five placements, where they remained as Cory Myers collected his eighth win at Path Valley. Bret Cronrath had the best lap speed at 76.694 MPH in 11.735 seconds, almost 25 MPH more than the average speed of the race.
The Path Valley Speedway Cordell Construction Late Models, had a full roster of 24 cars, that were escorted to the green by Michael Carter & & Sean Merkel as Trent Merkel. George Dixson Jr. & James Lichliter, sat in the top five of the lineup. Sean Merkel pulled to the lead, with Carter taking second & Trent Merkel, third, as George Dixson Jr. & Jaxton Garman pulled into the top five. Leader Sean Merkel, slowed the drivers when a caution came out for Ralph Morgan Jr, who developed a flat tire, putting him to the pits for a tire exchange & returning to the oval on the rear. The reline put S. Merkel, Carter, T. Merkel, Dixson, & Michael Walls in the top positions. Two laps later, Mason Strait got his racer going in the wrong direction, getting into the first turn infield, from which he returned to the rear.
The 25 lap feature had 6 laps complete, when S. Merkel brought the racers back to the green, maintaining his lead, while Carter & T. Merkel were having a debate on who should be in second place, & Michael Walls putting the pressure on Garman for fifth place. T. Merkel won the debate, pulling into second, as Walls & Garman remained in wheel to wheel action for fifth. Lapped traffic became an issue by lap 13, when Merkel lost some space in his lead, putting T. Merkel in his tracks, as the top two racers took advantage of the tracks wide turns to avoid collision. D.J. Myers, who was racing in the middle of the pack, got his ride turned sideways out of turn one, putting him to the rear. As the reline received the green, Kyle Moser brought out a caution, stopping in turn two, putting his car also to the rear. Sean Merkel held on with the restarts, taking the checkered flag ahead of T. Merkel, Garman, Carter, & James Lichliter for the top five. Sean also had the best lap speed, traveling 71.440 MPH in 12.598 seconds.
William Sterner & Tara Sales brought the Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Cars to the wave of the green, with Tara Sales taking the first lap lead, with Charlie Stallman, Sterner, Jackson Eutzy & Aaron Updegraff, pulling in to the top five. Sales held back the advances of Stallman for 6 laps before Stallman made the pass to take the lead. Sales maintained second as Updegraff & Jackson Eutzy went into a door to door battle for third place with Jeremy Eutzy putting his racer into the fifth place position. The racers covered the oval as they ran nonstop with Jackson Eutzy controlling third place ahead of Updegraff.
Stallman & Sales were in control of the top two positions till the final lap, when Jackson Eutzy & Updegraff moved forward for a final run to claim the second position, claiming success with their pass as Eutzy finished behind Stallman for second, Updegraff took claim for third, Sales finished fourth & Kevin Bard, (who had advanced from a 12th starting position) finished in the top five. Charlie Stallman had the best lap speed, running 61.711 MPH in 14.584 seconds.
The Macri Concrete 600 Sprints entered the track as the last feature of the evening, with Cory Schmuck & Tanner Pressley sitting in the front row seats when the flag waved green. Schmuck had early race misfortune when his racer spun out coming out of turn four, putting him to the end of the lineup. Pressley was in the lead on the restart, with Kameron Morral, Brian Kramer, Randy Kunkle Jr., & Cole Dewease in the top five. Morral immediately put the pressure on Pressley, as the top two started to gain space ahead of the other competitors.
Ethan McNew exited the track with 6 laps complete, pulling into the infield as Pressley & the top five continued their positions, approaching lapped traffic by lap 12. The racers were running without cautions, until with three laps remaining on the scoreboard, third place runner, Brian Kramer pulled from the track into the infield, not returning to the race. The final laps brought out more issues for drivers as Blake Ludwig, Mike Rankin & Kyle Plummer ended the race with less than 20 laps. On the reline, Pressley was still at the top, with Kameron Morral, Randy Kunkle, Cole Dewease & Jim Young. As the final green waved, Dewease passed Kunkle to take over third place, as Pressley took the win ahead of Morral, Dewease, Kunkle & Young. Kameron Morral had the best lap speed traveling 75.694 MPH in 11.890 seconds.
Miss Jensyn Dillman, 15 years old from New Bloomfield, Pa & Miss Emily Whitesel, 23 years old from Huntingdon, Pa will be competing for Miss Path Valley 2025 on October 19th.
I would like to take this opportunity to give thanks to each & every one of you, for your kind words, & actions of support following my notice last week. My family’s legacy, Guy’s memory, & the progress of Path Valley Speedway has & will always have a special place in my heart, which is why I do what I do; but I now realize I also have a very special Path Valley Speedway family & I am so thankful for every one of you. God bless you each and every one. Judy McGee Timmons