Hirthler Claims Grandview Win

A solid field of 34 modified filled the pits at Grandview Speedway on the 4^th of July for the annual Sportsman Firecracker 40.  Kevin Hirthler avoided the big one at the opening green flag and then was able to go green to checkered flag for his first week of the season.

The 30 lap feature had the pole sitter Ron Meyers spin in front of the field collecting nearly half of the field and reshuffling the starting grid.  Kevin Hirthler inherited the pole position and was in control from green to checkered flag.

Postrace back in the pits Hirthler reflected on his night “We had an engine surge in hot laps and fixed the wiring for the heat race.  We didn’t qualify last week due to a driveline problem in my primary car so we handicapped well this week and ended up on the outside pole.  We avoided the spin that collected most of the field which set us up for a good run up front all night.  The high line had good grip and momentum and the car was good all night.  This was the first win on this car which is actually our 2007 bicknell that we use as our backup car.”

Top 10 was rounded out by Jared Umbenhauer, Doug Manmiller, Timmy Buckwalter, Craig Von Dohren, Craig Whitmoyer, Duane Howard, Brett Kressley, Ryan Grim and Louden Reimert.

Heat race winners were Ron Meyers, Duane Howard and Brett Kressley.   Consolation was won by Craig Von Dohren.

Modified Pit Notes

Both Kevin and Brian Hirthler had good outings with Kevin winning Modified and Brian nearly winning the Sportsman feature with a strong second place.

Craig Von Dohren qualified through the consolation and started 22^nd on the field.  Despite being collected in the early multi car melee; Von Dohren still was able to run through the field to a solid 5^th place finish.

Ryan Grim was able to avoid the incident at the start of the feature and picked up 11 starting spots before the race officially started.  Grim was able to pick-up his second top ten finish of the season with a 9^th place finish and get his season off to a solid start.

Rick Laubach had damage to his shock tower on the opening lap incident and had to go into the pits and drop to the back of the field.  Laubach was able to work his way through the field with his repaired front end and posted a solid 11^th place finish after going to the back of the 28 car field from his 10^th starting position.

Tim Buckwalter started from the 15^th position and got a solid 4^th place finish to go with his season opener Money Maker win giving Buckwalter 2 solid runs on both of his visits to Grandview this year.  Buckwalter’s modified program seems to be rising to equal his spring car program as he already has wins this season at Grandview and Big Diamond as well a second place at BAPS. 

Doug Manmiller continues with consistently strong outings with two 3^rd place finishes in the first two point’s races of the season.  Usually Manmiller starts slow and then comes on strong as the season progresses; but this season he is in contention early and hopes to grab the 2020 Grandview points championship.