Race Report: Midvale Speedway – Farm and Dairy

The Racing Report is a five-part photo essay shot at short tracks in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and will run on Farm and Dairy through the summer. Every month we have brought you a different theme to think about from a different track.

In the fifth and final installment, photojournalist Matthew Chasney got rained on by two races in two different states over Labor Day Weekend.

My original intention was to film this year’s final race report at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, West Virginia. I drove up from Cleveland with my friends Brian and David to film the legendary Hillbilly 100 dirt late model race. Unfortunately, Mother Nature and the Lucas Oil Dirt series brass had different plans.

As we were heading south, the decision was made to cancel the race because the track was too muddy from the rain the night before. Rain in extreme drought – find out.

I got the bad news from a gas station guy about 10 minutes down the track who glanced at my tied 2007 Hillbilly 100 t-shirt and said, “Oh hey, they’re not racing tonight because of the rain. .” I sent a photo of us pretending to be sad and sent it to my editor Rachel with the news, she couldn’t help but laugh about it.

I had to buckle down and come up with a plan b. On the way down we passed Midvale Speedway near New Philadelphia, Ohio and they had a full parking lot. I had always wanted to go to this 3/10 mile asphalt track and apparently this was my night.

I arrived at the track just in time for compact class driver Jakob Keller to load his car into the trailer. He was done for the day. Jake led the heat race until a caution collected the field from the second to last lap. He overtook in turn 2 and finished a more than respectable second. He liked his chances in the B-Main, but a broken alternator took him out before he could turn one lap. The competition is not fair.

Keller and his team have had some bad luck lately. They had two cars last season and a couple of engines blew up. However, this race felt like a real turning point. They had momentum and luck was on their side. Until it wasn’t. The third-generation racer understands the value of patience and takes setbacks in stride. When the mechanical gremlins strike the calm and measured Keller says “You just have to roll with it, there’s nothing you can do about it.” For Jake, just racing is enough.

We went our separate ways and I went down to take pictures of the converted feature as dark clouds rose in the west. In the first lap, two cars crashed into each other at turn 4 and a long caution came out to clean up the oil spilled all over the track. While the cleaning workers were dealing with the matter, it started to rain. Most of the fans fled to the parking lot, while a few deadbeats donned their ponchos and waited it out.

The boys and I discussed our options and played amateur meteorology while watching the shower dryer spin hot laps. In fact, I saw more laps on it than any race car. The rain stopped and we decided to go home. I had been there for an hour, filming exactly two laps of the green flag race. Racing resumed early in the morning – thanks to the Midvale crew.

Even so, I still had a race report to submit. As Sturgill Simpson said, “That’s the way it goes, life isn’t fair and the world is mean.” Or in the words of Jake Keller, “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” I had a deadline so it was time to make it happen.

You can’t fight the weather (or a broken charger). There’s enough shocking in this world, but a drive to West Virginia with friends, a late summer shower, and an hour at the racetrack don’t make the list. It was a good reminder that the universe doesn’t work on our terms, but it’s up to us to make it the way we want it to be. After all, where would be the joy in life if all you’re looking forward to is winnings and sunny days?

I hope you have enjoyed the Racing Report as much as I have enjoyed making it. See you again next spring.