Saturday night’s racing at Mahoning Valley Speedway was very reflective to Dorney Park Speedway as a trio of drivers with deep ties to the defunct 1/5-mile track in Allentown graced Victory Lane.

John Markovic edged Brian DeFebo in a thrilling Modified feature, Kenny Hein held off a throng of oncomers in the Late Model main and Ken Erney III scored his first career win in a thrilling 75-lap Street Stock show.

Markovic and Hein began their careers at “The Park” while Erney’s dad was one of the more prominent drivers who competed there.

Other winners included Mike Stofflet in Dirt Mods, Cody Kohler in the Pro 4s, and Beau Drobot with the Hobby Stocks.

The 35-lap Modified event saw pole sitter Ron Haring Jr., take control of the early going while Gene Bowers and Markovic ran side-by-side in his path. Markovic was able to just get by Bowers for second when a caution waved for a minor incident after seven laps.

It would be on that restart that the regarded veteran would seize the lead. Bowers, who was very solid, slipped to second by Lap 10 and on the ensuing circuit, DeFebo worked into third. For Bowers, his night was cut short while under close quarters he slid into the turn two wall at Lap 14.

From that point on, Markovic and DeFebo put on a thrilling duel to the finish. Repeatedly, DeFebo was trying to make a pass, but each time Markovic stayed unyielding of his spot. He would hold on for a half-car length win, his first this season and 61st overall.

“I love racing against Brian (DeFebo), he’s a class act. We did a little bumping and banging and hopefully that didn’t mess him up. It was a good race,” acknowledged Markovic. “The car was a little tight, and I wish it had been a bit freer.”

Markovic notched his first career win 38 years ago at Dorney in a Late Model.

“Without racing I’d have nothing else to do. I love the sport and I’m glad to be back in Victory Lane here at Mahoning Valley.”

In the Late Model race Hein, who like Markovic began racing at Dorney Park in the mid-1980s, picked up a stirring win, his first in six seasons.

The Street Stocks contested in a special 75-lap/$1000-to-win run. This is Erney’s sophomore season and prior to this night had neither a top-5 nor top-10 finish, but he was determined to not let this one slip away as he took the unforgettable first career victory. It was the first time the Erney name was in Victory Lane since Ken Erney Sr., won at Dorney in 1984.

Defending Dirt Mod champ Mike Stofflet roared to his second straight win with a dominating performance.

Cody Kohler rolled to his third consecutive Pro 4 win. It took the former class champ eight hard-fought laps to get around early leader Bobby Kibler Sr., but once he did it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

There is nothing quite like a first career win and for Beau Drobot, his came with extra special feel to it. Drobot was unchallenged for all 20 laps of the Hobby Stock win, and was understandably emotional when standing in Victory Lane, as it was the first time winning in s stock car since his dad, Nimmy Drobot, passed away some 10 years ago.

Modified (35 Laps)

1. John Markovic, 2. Brian DeFebo, 3. Kyle Strohl, 4. Bobby Jones, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Joey Jarowicz, 7. Lou Strohl, 8. Avery Arthofer, 9. Ron Haring Jr., 10. Kassidy Altemose, 11. Gene Bowers, 12. Devin Schmidt, 13. Nick Baer

Late Model (25 Laps)

1. Ken Hein, 2. Matt Wentz, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Mike Sweeney, 5. Broc Brown, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. Paul Koehler Jr., 8. Geno Steigerwalt, 9. Jacob Kerstetter, 10. Samantha Osborn, 11. Nick Kerstetter, 12. Kevin Behler

Street Stock (75 Laps)

1. Ken Erney III, 2. Josh Mooney, 3. Mark Deysher, 4. Lonnie Behler, 5. Todd Ahner, 6. Corey Edelman, 7. Stacey Brown, 8. Eric Kocher, 9. Jillian Long, 10. BJ Wambold, 11. Cody Geist, 12. Shayne Geist, 13. Devin Schmidt, 14. Jamie Smith, 15. Lyndsay Buss, 16. Jeremy Scheckler, 17. Jared Ahner, 18. Jon Moser

Dirt Modified (20 Laps)

1. Mike Stofflet, 2. Colton Perry, 3. Ricky Yetter, 4. Billy Lowden Jr., 5. Ricky Ross, 6. Corey Edelman, 7. Bill Sitler Jr., 8. Ray Deemer DNS: Vince Fegley Jr.

Pro 4 (20 Laps)

1. Cody Kohler, 2. Bill Rooney, 3. Bobby Kibler Sr., 4. Johnny Bennett, 5. Jake Kibler, 6. Randy Schaffer, 7. Josh Kuronya DNS: Tyler Stangle DQ: Steven McDonough

Hobby Stock (20 Laps)

1. Beau Drobot, 2. Tiffany Wambold, 3. Devin Schmidt, 4. Michael Wambold, 5. Ryan Berger, 6. Peyton Arthofer, 7. Trisha Connolly, 8. Gary Reed, 9. Jacob Boehm, 10. Al Arthofer, 11. Shawn Kistler, 12. Kassidy Altemose, 13. Travis Solomon, 14. Lyndsay Buss DNS: Cody Boehm