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(Lehighton, PA 8-7-23) The Mighty Modifieds will be back in action this coming Saturday, August 12, at Lehighton’s Mahoning Valley Speedway with the presentation of the Rickie Dorshimer Hall of Fame Tribute.
The race pays honor to the late great 1993 Mahoning Modified champion with a 75-lap feature. It is $2250 to win but through the efforts of the Dorshimer family they have stepped in and are adding an additional $350 to the winner’s share making first place worth a cool $2600. 35 was the most used car number by Rickie during his career which moved the family to add the amount around that numeral.
A Modified standout, Dorshimer was an iconic fixture for decades between Dorney Park Speedway, Mahoning Valley Speedway and Evergreen Raceway. He also did stints on dirt at Nazareth Speedway.
He began racing in the mid-1960s at Nazareth. His career first win, a Sportsman Modified feature, took place there on June 13, 1976. He also was a winner at New York’s Orange County Fair Speedway.
But once Rickie began running the pavement he really began to shine. At Dorney Park he would see the checkers for the first time on September 1, 1979. Rickie would go on the collect eight wins at the Park, interestingly right to the day on September 1, 1984.
When Dorney shut down in 1986 and Mahoning was revived the following season, Dorshimer joined the legion of others who moved to the paved quarter mile. And amazingly it would again be on September 1 that he would win, scoring his first Mahoning victory in 1990. Fun fact of his 20 career wins four came on Labor Day weekend.
1993 would be his most memorable season, winning a division high five times and beating Chip Santee by 55 points to garner his first and only championship. Rickie drove Roger Heckman’s No. 35 to the title that year.
Throughout his career Rickie was constantly revered by his peers as a clean and respectable competitor. From the grandstands cheers aplenty would be the norm whenever he hit the track as he always had a huge fan following.
June 21, 1997 would be his final win although he continued to compete into the early 2000s. He passed away on January 15, 2003. In 2016 Rickie was inducted into the Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame.
Joining the Modifieds will be the Street Stocks, Pro 4s, Harry’s U-Pull-It Hobby Stocks including the make-up feature from July 15 and Futures.
Plus there will be a first time appearance by the Open Challenge Racing Series (ORCS). The ORCS are cars that race on both dirt and asphalt with very limited rules. The group runs on a number of dirt and paved tracks between New York and Pennsylvania and this will be their first foray at Mahoning Valley.
August 12 is also Back to School Night. The goal is to not have a single junior fan leave empty handed.
Pit gates open at 11:30 am. Early paid practice ($25 per car) will take place from noon to 3:00 pm. Warm-ups begin at 4:00 pm and racing gets the green flag at 6:00 pm. Adult grandstand admission is $18. Pits are $45.
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.
