Mahoning Valley Speedway

Mike Krempasky Street Stock Tribute offering $1900-to-win in 91-lap feature AT MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY

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(LEHIGHTON, PA. 1-23-20) When the 2020 Mahoning Valley Speedway race schedule was released, drivers of the Street Stock division were pleasantly surprised to see the return of the Mike Krempasky Street Stock Tribute race on Saturday evening, July 25.

            Mike passed away unexpectedly on March 9, 2012. He was a popular Late Model racer at Dorney Park Speedway in Allentown and was always identified by his signature No. 19 cars.

After Dorney closed in 1986 Mike’s attention turned to Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway. At first it was as a fan but he later became a prominent car owner of the No.19 Street Stock which competed under the MKS Racing banner with TJ Gursky as his driver.

While most all in the Street Stock class opted to race with a Camaro, the MKS Team choose a Monte Carlo, one of the very few with the division. Each week the car rolled out looking picture perfect and Gursky would back up those good looks by being among the weekly front runners. The crowning moment for the team came in 2011 when the won that year’s Street Stock title.

            After his passing then track promoter Floyd Santee put together a tribute race in his honor. The first installment was a 100-lapper won by Jason Frey.

            Then from 2013 to 2015, the format was changed to triple 19-lap features and along with that came some thrilling races and wild finishes. The events where so well received that 30-plus cars would be the norm vying for the limited starting spots during each of those outings.

            Now the Mike Krempasky Tribute is making a return and as a 91-lap main paying $1900-to-win which is among the highest payout’s ever being offered to a Street Stock winner.

“I was absolutely thrilled when I first heard about reviving my dad’s memorial race. Keith (Hoffman, track promoter) really wanted to get it done and I’m grateful and thankful to everyone at Mahoning Valley for putting this together,” said Kyle Krempasky.

“It means so much to our family. It’s really touching, especially for me. It’s going to be eight years in March that he’s gone and there’s still plenty of stories that still go around. When it came to racing – that was his life and he always got very emotional every time his car went to Victory Lane, that’s how much he loved this sport.”

            The race will be a non-point event in order to allow drivers from other tracks to come in as well as giving the locals the opportunity to contest for the impressive payoff. There will be 50 “show-up” points to each driver who signs in.

“I thought that was really cool to go with the 91 lap distance. Don’t get me wrong I liked the Triple 19s and so did a lot of the guys, but this will be good too. We’ll get to see if some guys who start in the back can work their way up through the field,” added K. Krempasky.

“I heard back from a number of drivers who are excited about having the race back especially Jon Moser who was a really good friend of my dad. They were teammates when Jon won the Street Stock championship in 2008. Of course TJ (Gursky) will be back racing this year in Gerald Ripkey’s car and he’s very thrilled to see it come back too.”

            Moser is a three time and reigning Street Stock track champion. Gursky’s last Mahoning win came in 2015 while still racing under the MKS banner.

            K. Krempasky is a former winning driver in the Hobby Stock division and although he has not competed in the past few years as he was pursuing a degree in criminal justice, he has not ruled out himself as a possible entry.

“That would be special. The last year we had my dad’s memorial race I actually won that night in the Hobby Stock and for me it was really important because I felt even though it wasn’t class I still won his memorial race,” said K. Krempasky.

A rain date if needed for the Mike Krempasky Street Stock Tribute is in place for Saturday, August 15.

Mahoning Valley Speedway gets its season underway on Saturday, April 4 at 5:00 pm when round one of the Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series gets underway.

The night will feature the Doug Hoffman Memorial 60 lap feature for the Modifieds plus Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro 4s and Hobby Stocks are in action too.

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.

Indoor Auto Racing Series

DR. LOWE NON-QUALIFIERS RACE ADDED TO ATLANTIC CITY INDOOR RACING JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 1

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ATLANTIC CITY, NJ JANUARY 25, 2020 . . . Only the elite teams with top flight drivers win a TQ Midget feature on the Indoor Auto Racing Series fueled by VP. Just qualifying for one of the five 40 lap features held annually is considered an achievement by many of the competitors.

When Saturday night’s NAPA Know How feature takes place inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on February 1st, 26 drivers will take the green flag, but an equal will be disappointed spectators.

Thanks to long time series sponsor Dr. Williams Lowe, 15 drivers who failed to qualify for the first two events of 2020 held inside the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. will get their own shot in racing in Saturday’s prestigious Gambler’s Classic.

For the second consecutive year, Dr. Lowe is sponsoring a Friday night non-qualifiers race which will reward the race winner with a spot in Saturday’s 40 lap feature.

The Allentown non-qualifiers will compete against one another in an added event to open the NAPA KNOW HOW weekend on Friday night January 31st. The winner of the Dr. Lowe Second Chance 15 will earn the last starting spot in the 18th running of the Gambler’s Classic on Saturday, February 1st. As a side benefit, the race winner will receive $200, the last starting spot in the race and all starters will receive added track time.

Drivers eligible to compete in the Dr. Lowe’s Second Chance 15 for the TQ Midgets are Bruce Leote, Chad Jones, Chris deRitis, Christopher Hirt, Cole Mullen, Cory Grenzy, Dakota Kessler, Derek Robbie, Jesse Maurer, Kyle Hutchinson, Rob Schultz, Ron Mullen, Shea Willis, Tim Nye and Tyler Lindsay.

Randy Cabral driving the Donnie Preece owned TQ won the inaugural Second Chance race in 2019. Cabral, who had never qualified in 10 past Atlantic City appearances, then made the show under normal merits. That gave Marc Johnson a second chance and he started shotgun in Saturday’s race.

Preece’s car is again eligible for the Second Chance race with this year’s driver Kyle Hutchinson who made his debut in the car in Allentown in January.

Ryan Bartlett, Stephen Kemery and Jeremey Haudricourt who were in last year’s Second Chance qualifier race are not eligible this year after having career best finishes in Allentown.

Two top finishes in Allentown has Bartlett second in the point standings entering Atlantic City’s race weekend. If needed, he would be eligible for a points provisional as long as current leader in the standings Matt Janisch qualifies.

Kemery finished a career best second in Saturday’s feature in Allentown while Haudricourt was thrilled with his third place in that same event.

The quick and agile Champ Karts and the unpredictable and rugged Slingshots will once again be part of the triple header along with the headline TQ Midgets.

Friday Night action will include not only the Dr. Lowe Second Chance 15 that will open the show but it will be followed by four 20 lap A-Main Qualifiers for the TQ Midgets. Champ Karts and Slingshots will also compete in qualifying events.

On Saturday night, heat races for the TQ Midgets will be followed by B-Mains, a Dash and feature events for the Slingshots and Champ Karts. The program will end with the 40 lap Gambler’s Classic.

Past Gambler’s Classic TQ Midget feature race winners include first time winners Andy Jankowiak in 2019 and Ryan Flores in 2018. Both will be in search of a second victory.

Three-time winner Erick Rudolph (2012, 2015, and 2017), the defending series champion, is coming off a win in the 2020 opener in Allentown.

Another three time winner, Anthony Sesely (2013, 2014, and 2016) will be a strong contender as well. The late Ted Christopher won twice (2009, 2011) as did Lou Cicconi, Jr. (2006, 2010) and Joey Payne (2004, 2007).  The first Gambler’s Classic winner, Andy Mackereth (2003), Jeff Heotzler (2005) and Mike Tidaback (2008) are all one time winners.

Indoor auto racing inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall dates back to the late 1930s.  Indoor racing was revived for the first time in 1965 and continued through 1981 when, with the advent of casino gambling, racing ceased. Len Sammons brought the event back to life in 2003.

Following the BELFOR “Concrete Series” event in Atlantic City, a special non-point event for Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series fueled by VP Racing Fuels, will be held on a banked clay oval. The third annual East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals will again be held at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. on Friday and Saturday nights February 21st and 22nd featuring nearly 100 wingless 600cc Sprints.

The “Concrete Series” season finale follows on Friday and Saturday March 13th and 14th in a second year return to the brand new Expo Center located on the grounds of the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. N.Y.

Information, including ticket links for all event, are available at indoorautoracing.com. Tickets are also available daily and the day of the events at the Boardwalk Hall box office.

Indoor Auto Racing Series, Matt Galko

NEW ENGLAND FAVORITE GALKO ENTERS ATLANT CITY INDOOR RACING EVENTS, JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 1

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Photo:Tom Morris/Myracenews

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ January 24, 2020 . . . New England Modified and SK Modified standout Matt Galko will be broadening his racing horizons substantially by competing in the TQ Midget events at the NAPA Know How Indoor Auto Racing Series races inside Atlantic City, NJ’s famed Boardwalk Hall. 

Galko of Meriden. CT, is the latest entrant for the BELFOR Concrete Series events part of the Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series fueled by VP Racing Fuels, being held Friday and Saturday, January 31st and February 1st.  The 26 year-old driver will be making his first start indoors and in a TQ Midget behind the wheel of a car owned by Nick Giordano of Oxford, CT.

“I’ve been to Atlantic City before, about four years ago, but only to watch. Coming back to drive was on my bucket list and now I have the opportunity,” Galko said.

The chance to race came about when car owner Giordano’s 2020 Indoor Auto Racing Series driver Derek Robbie had a date conflict with the Atlantic City race. Though Robbie will be in the car again at the series finale in Syracuse, N.Y. on March 13th and 14th, Galko is Atlantic City bound.

“I think I have as good a chance as anybody,” Galko said. “I’ve always been able to learn new tracks pretty quickly.”

Galko’s progression started with Quarter Midgets, then Half Midgets and ultimately Micro Sprints on dirt at the now closed Whip City Speedway in Massachusetts. He then moved to asphalt racing for the first time, and moved through the ranks at Stafford Motor Speedway to become a feature winning SK Modified driver.

For the 2020 outdoor season, however, Galko and his family-owned team is heading in a different direction.

“We’re going to run as many of the Open Modified races as we can,” Galko said. “There are a lot of them at Stafford, the Tri Track Open Modified Series has a good schedule at different tracks and there are other opportunities to race a Tour Mod including the Tour itself.”

Andy Jankowiak, Ryan Flores and Erick Rudolph, the last three winners of the headline Gambler’s Classic TQ Midget races in the building come to Atlantic City are pre-race favorites.

‘Andy J’ of Buffalo, N.Y. still savors his 2019 Gambler’s Classic win as the highlight of his driving career and he wants nothing more to do it again.

After two rounds of Indoor Auto Racing Series action fueled by VP Racing Fuels, Matt Janisch is the current leader in the Championship standings. Janisch, of Nazareth, PA, had Allentown finishes of third and seventh.

Janisch leads upstate New York dirt Modified driver Ryan Bartlett in the TQ standings heading into Atlantic City by ten points. Bartlett made his first start behind the wheel of a new-to-him Lafler built TQ Midget.

Allentown, Pa. opener winner Erick Rudolph is third, 17 markers out of first and Briggs Danner is fourth, 20 points out of the lead. Jankiowiak completes the top five, 24 points out of first.

Jeremy Haudricourt, Shawn Nye, Tim Buckwalter, Ryan Flores, who also won in Allentown, and Anthony Payne are sixth through tenth.

The wild and crazy Slingshots and darty Champ Karts will make up the tripleheader program as they have in the past.

Dylan Hoch and Tyler Brown, winners of the Allentown Indoor opening races in Slingshot and Champ Kart action, are atop their point standings heading into Atlantic City.

Danny Buccafusca is the reigning Atlantic City Indoor Slingshot race winner and Doug Stearly was the 2019 Champ Kart Atlantic City race winner. Both are entered in this year’s races.

Racing action begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday action getting the green flag at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 on Friday night. On Saturday doors open at 5 p.m. with fans holding reserved tickets given the opportunity to attend Fan Fest on the speedway. All cars competing in the program will be positioned on the speedway and drivers made available for autographs until 6:30.

Following the BELFOR“Concrete Series event in Atlantic City, a special non-point event for Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series fueled by VP Racing Fuels, will be held on a banked clay oval. The third annual East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals will again be held at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. on Friday and Saturday nights February 21st and 22nd featuring nearly 100 wingless 600cc Sprints.

The “Concrete Series” season finale follows on Friday and Saturday March 13th and 14th in a second year return to the brand new Expo Center located on the grounds of the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. N.Y.

Tickets are currently available in a range of different prices for all the Indoor Series events through links on www.indoorautoracing.com and the different venue box offices.

Lower level reserved seats for Saturday night in Atlantic City, which will gain attendees’ access to the coveted Fanfest are nearly sold out, but plenty of additional tickets are still available.

Corporate sponsorship at a variety of levels is available for all remaining events. Interested parties should contact Danny Sammons at 609-888-3618 or e-mail danny@aarn.com

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