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Different Verse but Same as the First; Schacht and Ebeling Leave Midvale with the Winning Hardware

Midvale, Ohio (May 16, 2021) – The Buckey Mowing / WTUZ 99.9 Radio “Night at the Races” presented by Swearingen Bat Company on Saturday at Midvale Speedway had an identical result as the opening event two weeks ago on paper, but the circumstances that unfolded throughout among the Super Cup Stock Car Series competitors certainly entertained the fans in attendance.

Bob Schacht set a new track record in qualifying, navigating the straightaways and new pavement in the corners of the 3/10-mile oval in 14.416 seconds, besting his previous record from 2018.  If that was not spectacular enough, the luck of the draw landed the Mooresville, North Carolina resident on the pole for the first of twin 50-lap feature races.

Schacht stayed out front for the first 31 circuits that were run under green, but it was by no means a walk in the park.  2019 series champion and two-time Midvale winner Kevin Kromer was glued to his back bumper for a vast majority of the distance.

When Petersburg, West Virginia’s Brent Nelson spun his No. 80 Precision Auto Collision / Airtek Inc. / RAM Trucking / Snap-On Tools / Atkinson Welding / QH Design / Nelson Motorsports Chevrolet in turn three due to rear end fluid laid down by the No. 15 Harrison’s Welding / Swearingen Bat Company / Harrison’s Motorsports Chevrolet driven by 2021 first-timer Brian Harrison out of Renick, West Virginia, this allowed the field to bunch back up and the initial chance in which competitors had the choice to restart on the inside or outside line.

With the track surface interestingly lacking grip on a comfortable spring evening, there weren’t many takers for the outer groove.  In fact, not once over the course of the entire night did the second place driver elect to restart on the front row with the leader, including one instance in which it was not until Bill Ashton, who was running sixth at the time, accelerated his No. 35 Bill’s Wood Stoves - Hopwood, PA / Budget Blinds of Altoona & State College / Ashton Racing Chevrolet to the top before fading in the order later in the going.

Nevertheless, Kromer would continue to find himself in second position and peek a fender below Schacht on a couple different occasions.

A spin late in the going by Jan Markowski in the No. 54 Moonlite Tavern / Tradesman Tavern / ShoTime Motorsports Chevrolet set up a green-white-checkered duel, but it would be Schacht fending off another challenge from Kromer for his second win of 2021 and third overall at Midvale.

“We were pretty good in the first race,” the pilot of the No. 75 Engineered Components Co. / Bob Schacht Motorsports Chevrolet recapped.  “Just like any place else, you get out front and kind of set the pace and I could roll the corner pretty good.   Anytime you can win is good because the competition is getting better and better all the time.”

Following Kromer to the line was an intense battle during the final laps with Ron Langdon, making his first start of 2021, getting a nose under and passing Ben Ebeling, a newcomer at Midvale behind the wheel, for third.  West Mifflin, Pennsylvania’s Lauren Butler rounded out the top five for her best performance at the track to date.

Other notables included Samatha Rohrbaugh achieving Hard Charger award honors in the No. 7 Grant County Mulch / In Loving Memory of Mark Huff / CR7 Motorsports Garage Chevrolet, climbing from 13th starting spot to sixth.  The aforementioned Markowski finished a career best seventh in front of his home state crowd.  Maysville, West Virginia’s Jason Kitzmiller ran as high as third before succumbing to potential oil pump issues with the No. 97 A.L.L. Construction / CR7 Motorsports Garage Chevrolet.

Ebeling drew the pole for the second Twin 50 of the night, which would be a similar story to the first.  Passing was at a premium, but a couple yellow flags spread out over the distance led to some hard racing.  The No. 44 Startown Carpet & Floor Coverings / Swanny's Auto Sales / L & C Truck Repair / Battery Specialist of Hickory / RE Suspension / Williams Ebeling Enterprises, LLC Ford along with Kromer and Schacht recorded nearly identical lap times on multiple occurrences as they ran nose to tail trying to find an opening.

In a repeat of Dominion Raceway, Ebeling split the night’s victories with Schacht and now holds sole possession of the record for most SCSCS points race wins with 11.

“I watched (Schacht) and (Kromer) in the first race and I knew that I had to get a little bit better,” the Hickory, North Carolina resident explained.  “We made some adjustments from that first race, got lucky on the draw, and that’s pretty much what helped us the most.  We were able to set the pace and were able to make everybody else try to do something to get around us.”

Born and raised in Ohio, the win in his first green flag in the Buckeye State since 1999 had some special significance.

“One of my buddies that helped me when I first started circle track racing in high school came out to watch, so it was pretty cool to get that win with him there,” Ebeling indicated.  “My mom was here too and she doesn’t get to make it to a lot of races because she’s from up this way.”

The No. 77 High Voltage AC/DC Tribute Band / Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute / Mission R.A.C.E.R. / Versalift East / Leindecker Racing Engines / K2 Motorsports Toyota made one last-ditch effort as the white flag flew, getting a run on Ebeling out of turn four and then diving into turn one perhaps a little too much, displaying a brief shower of sparks that were a sight for those in the stands to see.  The Walnutport, Pennsylvania driver managed to quickly regroup for another runner-up finish.

“I got under Ben off of four and I got alongside of him, but there wasn’t enough room for the both of us to enter the corner,” Kromer summarized.  “Instead of bumping him and turning him and maybe having a wreck, I chose to roll off the gas and cut left and got up on the ripples.  That was my own decision not to wreck him and just come home with second.

“There was just not a very good outside lane tonight, so Bob knew to keep it down low and so did Ben.  (In the first Twin 50) I got under Bob twice and there wasn’t enough time to get by him.  I’m pretty pleased with it considering the last time here I went home on the wrecker.”

Schacht watched the show that was going on in front of him and settled for third in this race.  Multiple car lengths behind the leaders, Freeport, New York’s Langdon was on a mission from an early spin but the No. 17 National Appliance / Oval Speed Unlimited / Langdon’s Automotive Chevrolet had to fight off numerous challenges from the No. 53 Edlin Automotive / Night & Day Sealcoating / HG Creations / 3C Signs / Roof Repair Experts / Hillsview Landscaping / Pink Zebra / Motive Parts of Homestead / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet of Lauren Butler for fourth.  They finished in that order to round out the top five.

With the pole and slightly better combined result, Schacht’s points advantage opens up to a still slim lead of 35 points with Kromer, Butler, and Larry Berg not far behind.  Berg was the hard charger in the second Twin 50, advancing his No. 9 Grant County Mulch / CR7 Motorsports Garage Chevrolet to seventh place in the final order.

In addition to the traditional trophies that were handed out, Schacht and Ebeling will each receive a specially-finished premier baseball bat with their name engraved, recognizing them as a Midvale race winner, courtesy of Swearingen Bat Company.

The Super Cup Stock Car Series competitors have an extra week in between this time to prepare for the next event, the second running of the Veterans Classic at Shenandoah Speedway nestled within the mountains of Virginia on Saturday, June 5.

More details and continued updates throughout the season will be available at the official web site at supercupstockcarseries.com as well as the Super Cup Stock Car Series Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

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