DeFebo caps championship season with victory

Veteran crew chief Gary Slusser is known for his setups that have put numerous drivers in Victory Lane over the years. Many of them have also gone on to win championships including this year’s Mahoning Valley Speedway Modified kingpin Brian DeFebo.

Prior to the night’s 35-lap season-point finale, Slusser indicated to DeFebo that every one of his driver’s ended their championship year with a win. In turn, DeFebo delivered, capping off his season with a second straight victory and fifth of the year.

After working the outside of Joey Jarowicz for several laps while also dueling alongside Gene Bowers, DeFebo, who started ninth, picked up the lead with 11 laps remaining and then cruised steadily the rest of the way.

“Getting to the front was the tough part. Joey (Jarowicz) was running a smart line. He was taking away the outside and the inside and it was what he had to do,” explained DeFebo.

“I had no opportunity to get to the inside so I had to stay persistent. Once I was able to get up alongside of him I was able to then take a little bit of the line away. After getting in the lead I just ran my own pace and I knew if I kept the car straight we wouldn’t get passed.”

This was the first time that DeFebo ran a complete season at Mahoning Valley. He is a six-time Evergreen champion which includes four titles in the Modifieds.

“It’s exciting to come here and win this championship. We never concentrated on a (full) season here,” said DeFebo.

“You don’t want to be cocky, you want to be confident and I knew that if we concentrated on running the whole year we could do well. It always worked that way when we ran for points at Evergreen and we were successful with that mindset,” he continued.

“These guys who race here are tough as nails. We’ve run the RoC, we’ve run other tracks, but here at Mahoning Valley it is as good as it gets. Lap for lap, you have to be thinking and planning and always on your game.”

In a dramatic last lap pass, Broc Brown snuck by race-long leader Dylan Osborn for top honors in the Late Model feature.

With his fifth-place tally Mike Sweeney retained his title as Late Model champion.

Shayne Geist capped off his rookie season with the Street Stocks by winning for a second time. He started pole and although able to lead all 30 laps, it was hard-fought as Mark Deysher and Corey Edelman made him work hard on each passing lap. In the end, Geist was not to be denied as he drove a solid and defensive race in garnering the victory.

Stacey Brown was crowned the Street Stock champion, the first title ever for the respected veteran.

In the Dirt Mods, Billy Lowden Jr., made a quick dash to the lead at the drop of the green and then proceeded to lead the distance for his first win in three years. Jake Kibler won for the second straight week and sixth time this season but it wasn’t enough to land him the Pro 4 championship as Kevin Stein’s runner-up finish earned him the 2017 class title.

The Hobby Stock feature was gripping in several ways. In the race, Trisha Connolly was able to win for a third time, but it came after a tough battle with strong-willed Samantha Osborn, whom she passed with eight laps to go.

Heading into the race the championship battle was just one point between first and second. With a third-place finish Austin Beers bested Devin Schmidt for the crown.

Modified Feature (35 Laps)

1. Brian DeFebo, 2. Bobby Jones, 3. Gene Bowers, 4. Lou Strohl, 5. Joey Jarowicz, 6. John Markovic, 7. Scott Miller, 8. Kyle Strohl, 9. Nick Baer, 10. James Haring Jr. 11. Ron Haring Jr., 12. Todd Baer

Late Model (25 Laps)

1. Broc Brown, 2. Dylan Osborn, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Jeremy Miller, 5. Mike Sweeney, 6. Lorin Arthofer, 7.George Ramos, 8. Kenny Hein, 9. Jacob Kerstetter

Street Stock (30 Laps)

1. Shayne Geist, 2. Corey Edelman, 3. Mark Deysher, 4. Jamie Smith, 5. Todd Ahner, 6. Stacey Brown, 7. Jillian Long, 8. Eric Kocher, 9. Alan Schlenker, 10. Jared Ahner, 11. Joe Stangle, 12. Rick Reichenbach, 13. Cody Geist, 14. BJ Wambold

Dirt Mod (20 Laps)

1. Billy Lowden Jr., 2. Jeff Parker, 3. Ricky Ross, 4. Bill Sittler, 5. Mike Stofflet, 6. Vincent Fegley

Pro 4 (20 Laps)

1. Jake Kibler, 2. Kevin Stein, 3. John Bennett, 4. Tucker Muffley, 5. Austin Beers, 6. Jason Finken, 7. Ken Reeder, 8. Jeremy Guerra, 9. Matt Clark

Hobby Stock (25 Laps)

1. Trisha Connolly, 2. Paul Effrig, 3. Austin Beers, 4. Rich Mutarelli, 5. Devin Schmidt, 6. Samantha Osborn, 7. Shawn Kistler, 8. Al Arthofer, 9. Avery Arthofer, 10. Beau Drobot, 11. Cody Boehm, 12. Zach Weidner, 13. Mark Schwalm, 14. Travis Solomon, 15. Colton Breiner, 16. Lyndsay Buss, 17. Ryan Berger, 18. Michael Wambold, 19. Carl Altemose