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Photo Noah Watts/Myracenews
(Lehighton 2-24-22) Mahoning Valley Speedway is proud to announce the honorees and dates for the 2022 Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame Series (MVSHoFS).
The MVSHoFS is a special five race series run amongst the Modifieds, Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks and pays tribute to select individuals who have been inducted into the Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame at the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown.
Named to this year’s calendar of events are Freddy Hamm, Dave Schlenker, Earl Keinert, Del Hahn and Mike Muffley.
The late Freddy Hamm, how passed away last year, was a Modified champion at both Dorney and Mahoning as well as Evergreen Raceway and is the only driver to have won championships at all three tracks. His signature No. 45 was one of the most recognizable cars to ever turn a lap at each of those facilities. He was a true gentleman racer and earned the respect of his peers as well as a throng of dedicated and passionate fans.
His tribute race will be the season opener on Saturday, April 9 with twin-45s for the Modifieds.
Next up will be the Dave Schlenker Tribute on Saturday, June 11. Dave was a fixture at Dorney and Mahoning serving as a race official in a number of different roles.
His sons Randy and Alan, as well as his grandson Matt, all became accomplished drivers with the brunt of their success coming in the Street Stocks. For his Tribute that class will contest in Twin 38-lap features while the Modifieds will do battle in a 50-lapper.
Next up will be the Earl Keinert Tribute on Saturday, July 16. The Keinert name is synonymous with all three eastern Pennsylvania asphalt tracks although it was at the Park where he, along with his brother Homer Keinert, made their mark as top notch Sportsman Modified racers.
Earl’s grandson, Ryan Berger, has continued the family racing legacy running a No. 12 Hobby Stock at Mahoning Valley. The Keinert Tribute thus will be with that division racing in three 12-lap features. Modifieds that night will go 50 laps.
The next two events are centered on Del Hahn and Mike Muffley, a pair of drivers that have deep roots dating back to Mahoning’s dirt days and then on to the current pavement surface and they won on both exteriors too.
Hahn was a top winner on the dirt and claimed the 1957 and 1958 Mahoning championship. When the track was paved in 1970 he returned as a regular visitor to Victory Lane well into the late 1980’s. He was also victorious at Dorney and Evergreen with his infamous 7 over 7 cars as well as other area dirt tracks such as Nazareth and Lehighton.
The Del Han Tribute will be staged on Saturday, August 7 and contested over a 77-lap distance for the Modifieds.
Like Hahn, Muffley also began at Mahoning when the track was dirt. He was always a steady and consistent runner and although not a big winner, could be counted on to be there at the end in both features and point standings. For most of his career he drove a blue 1937 Chevy coupe No. 79 owned by Leroy Goldberg.
For his tribute the Modifieds will race in twin features that takes place on September 10. The first going 40 laps and the latter at 39 laps.
The five race MVSHoFS events carry a separate tally of points for each class and at the conclusion champions will be crowned and the top three will receive point fund monies. Drivers must compete in each of the five races in order to be eligible for the point fund. There will be a nominal entry fee to run each of the specials.
The point fund breakdown is as follows: $1500, $1000 and $500 to the top three in Modifieds. $1000, $600 and $400 for the Street Stocks and $500, $300 and $200 for the Hobby Stocks. The MVSHoFS payouts for the Modifieds is posted on the track’s website.
Matt Hirschman has won the past two MVSHoFS Modified titles including winning eight of 10 races. 2021 saw Randy Ahner Jr., garner top honors with the Street Stocks and in the Hobby Stocks it was Justin Merkel.
The 2022 season will get underway with Test and Tune days on March 19 & 26 and April 2-3 from noon to 4:00 pm. Opening Night is slated for Saturday, April 9 at 5:00 pm.
