Kressley Claims Forrest Rogers Memorial – Pit Notes

$10,000 was on the line for the 50^th annual Forrest Rogers Memorial at Grandview Speedway.  38 modifieds were on hand for their chance to take home the biggest winner’s check of the season for the Grandview regulars.

Brett Kressley took home his biggest paycheck in his Grandview career and did it in dominate fashion by leading 38 green flag laps and taking the checkered flag with a 4 second margin over second place Craig Von Dohren.  Kressley scored his first win of the season at the perfect time and scored the $10,000 check for the Forrest Rogers Memorial victory.

The field was lead to green for the 50 lap Modified feature by Carroll Hine III and Kenny Gilmore.  Gilmore lead the first 7 laps until lap 8 when Ryan Watt took over the lead from his 6^th starting position.  Watt’s lead would be short lived; as Brett Kressley was hooked up on the outside groove and took the lead on lap 12 and the 4^th and final restart.   For the next 38 laps Kressley used his signature high line but also some low lines to pass lapped traffic on the 38 green flag run to the checkered flag with a 4 second margin of victory over distant Craig Von Dohren in second place.  Kressley was so dominate he lapped the first 2 cars in the top 10.  The biggest win of Kressley’s career was also an emotional victory for Kressley who recently lost his grandfather and the patriarch of Kressley family racing.  Kressley dedicated his win to his grandfather Willard Kressley.

The top ten was rounded out by Craig Von Dohren, Jeff Strunk, Ryan Watt, Doug Manmiller, Jared Umbenhauer, Kyle Weiss, Craig Whitmoyer, Louden Reimert and Kenny Gilmore.

Heat races were won by Ryan Watt, Kevin Hirthler, Ryan Lillick and Ryan Grim.  Consolation events were won by Justin Grim and Craig Whitmoyer.

The 25 lap Sportsman feature had 2 yellows for consecutive pileups during the opening lap that collected 13 and then 10 cars before even one lap was completed.  The starting lineup saw a major shuffle and when it all cleared out 17 year old Grandview rookie Decker Swinehart led the first lap.   Swinehart held the lead to nearly the halfway point when Kyle Lillick took the lead on lap 13 and just checked out on Swinehart and the rest of the field to take the checkered flag by a margin of nearly 4 seconds over second place Cole Stangle.  Lillick got his 5^th Grandview win and his first win in over a year.

The top 5 was rounded out by Cole Stangle, Ryan Betz, Dakota Kohler and Jesse Leiby.  Dylan Swinehart was actually in 2^nd place but was later disqualified at tech inspection for a carburetor infraction and moved to 24^th position.

The sportsman heat winners were Scott Kohler, Tom Miller and Bryan Rhoads.   The consolation was won by Brad Arnold.

50TH Annual Forrest Rogers Memorial Modified Feature (50-laps) 8-01-20:

Winner – Brett Kressley, 2. Craig Von Dohren, 3. Jeff Strunk, 4. Ryan Watt, 5. Doug Manmiller, 6. Jared Umbenhauer, 7. Kyle Weiss, 8. Craig Whitmoyer, 9. Louden Reimert, 10. Kenny Gilmore, 11. Justin Grim, 12. Briggs Danner, 13. Mike Gular, 14. Colt Harris, 15. Ryan Lilick, 16. Ron Kline, 17. Eric Biehn, 18. Carroll Hine III, 19. Ron Myers, 20. Brett Gilmore, 21. Joe Funk III, 22. Ron Haring Jr., 23. Kevin Hirthler, 24. Brad Grim, 25. Jorden Henn, 26. Duane Howard, 27. Rick Laubach, 28. Ryan Grim.

DNQ: Darrin Schuler, John Willman, Mike Lisowski, Mark Levy, Mark Kratz, Ray Swinehart, Bobby Gunther Walsh, Dan Waisempacher, Dylan Swinehart and Mike Tyson.  

T.P. Trailers Truck Equipment Sportsman Feature (25-laps) 8-01-20:

1. Kyle Lilick, 2. Cole Stangle, 3. Ryan Beltz, 4. Dakota Kohler, 5. Jesse Leiby, 6. Nate Brinker, 7. Jack Butler, 8. Jimmy Leiby, 9. Brian Hirthler, 10. Brad Arnold, 11. Chris Esposito, 12. Kyle Smith, 13. Chuck Eckert, 14. Lex Shive, 15. Tom Miller, 16. John McGovern, 17. Brad Brightbill, 18. Kenny Bock, 19. Mark Gaugler, 20. Scott Kohler, 21. Bryan Rhoads, 22. Nathan Mohr, 23. Jesse Landis, 24. Decker Swinehart.

DNQ: Parker Guldin, Mark Kemmerer, B.J. Joly, Ryan Laise, Mike Mammana, Derrick Smith.

Modified Pit Notes

Brett Kressley’s season has been inconsistent at best with an occasional top 10.  His first win of the season was not only his biggest win of his career but also propelled Kressley from 10^th in the points to 6^th.  Kressley has been strong all season in the heats and early features but flats and wrecks have struck Kressley in many features holding him to the back of the field and DNF status instead of the expected to 5 or top 10.    

Another driver with the pandemic season blues is Duane Howard who just can’t get the consistent finishes and wins he is accustom to.  Howard was coming off a strong 2^nd place finish by half a car length last week only to have the bad luck come back this week in the form of a damaged shock tower causing track officials to park him resulting in a 26^th place finish.

Rick Laubach’s day ended early from racing contact on the back quarter panel from another competitor which turned Laubach into the front stretch wall and ended his day.  Laubach was coming off a strong 5^th place finish last week.  The early departure from the event has dropped Laubach from 6^th in the points to 10^th.  Laubach exited his car on the track to confront Ryan Watt while racing was still under caution which was a violation of Grandview safety rules. As a result Laubach has been suspended/benched for one race by Grandview.

Dylan Swinehart and Mike Lisowski are both usually qualifiers in the field but motor issues in the heat races turned both drivers into DNQ’s for the Forrest Rogers Memorial.  Swinehart broke a rocker arm and Lisowski trailed heavy smoke with both retiring for the night from the heat races.  This was Lisowski’s second expiring motor in the last month.

Kyle Weiss got caught up in a lap 5 tangle and had already started from the 28^th and final position on the grid.  The 50 lap distance allowed Weiss time to continue to move forward and despite the tangle, and starting from last on the field he was able to move forward 21 positions and secure a 7^th place top ten finish during the 38 green flag laps.

Craig Whitmoyer continues to quietly keep grinding out top 10 finished and maintain his 8^th place point standing.  This week Whitmoyer had to come through the consolation and started 22^nd in the feature but nonetheless he was able to secure an 8^th place finish in the feature.

Justin Grim continues his streak of qualifying and had a strong run in the 50 lap feature with an 11^th place finish from a 21^st place starting position.

The Gilmores are back in two modified entries for the first time this season.  Brett and Kenny have been rotating their driving between the one modified and their crate entry.  Now that they have both modifieds available the crate has been parked and everybody is happy driving a modified.  Both drivers qualified in the field with Kenny Gilmore finishing 10^th while Brett Gilmore finished 20^th.

The season points took a huge shuffle with Duane Howard dropping from 1^st to 4^th while Jeff Strunk moved from 10^th to 5^th.   The top 5 in points are Craig Von Dohren, Doug Manmiller, Jared Umbenhauer, Duane Howard and Jeff Strunk.  The top 8 drivers in points all finished in the top 10 in the 50 lap feature except Duane Howard.  The battle is on for the point championship with 6 weeks remaining in the 2020 points program. 

Sportsman Pit Notes

Kyle Lillick took his first win of the season from the 11^th starting position and was able to negotiate the early race 10 and 13 car tangles without incident.  In the prior 2 weeks; Lilick was not that lucky and he was involved in incidents in both weeks resulting in DNF’s.  Lilick has resurrected his points chase and currently sits 6^th in points and hopes to have clear sailing for the remainder of the season.

Chris Esposito ran a part time schedule last year but this year has decided to run full time and his results have been consistent top 5 and top 10’s.  Esposito currently sits 4^th in the points and is in the elite group of the top 5 sportsman at Grandview and hoping to stay there or move up. 

Both Chris Esposito and Brad Arnold were top 5 in points who had to resort to qualifying in the consolation event.  Arnold qualified 19^th worked his way to a 10^th place finish while Esposito started in 20^th and finished 10^th.  Both maintained their point standing of 2^nd (Arnold) and 5^th (Esposito) respectively.

Mark Kemmerer had apparent engine failure in the qualifying heats and could not make the call for the consolation event.  Kemmerer started the night 3^rd in points and ended up dropping to 7^th due his first DNQ of the season. 

Ryan Beltz continued his string of top 5 & 10 finishes with a solid 3^rd place finish from a 12^th starting position.  The top 3 finish vaulted Beltz from the 6^th to 3^rd   in points and into the top 5 points battle were only 110 points separate 1^st from 5^th.

Cole Stangle has started attending Grandview in the last month and his 2^nd place finish from a 17^th place starting position was his best Grandview finish to date.  Stangle was able to weave through the 10 and 13 car tangle in the early laps of the feature.  In addition he was coming off a Friday night 4^th place finish at Big Diamond.  Cole’s dad Ed mentioned “We made a chassis change a month ago to a Bicknell and the transition has been very smooth.  Cole has seemed to adapt well if we set the car up right we have a chance.”  With a 2^nd and 4^th in one weekend at Grandview and Big Diamond; it looks like the transition to a new track, new chassis and whatever else is going just fine for Cole and Ed Stangle.  

Nate Brinker started the season with a modified and a sportsman entry.  The team has decided to run the sportsman car weekly at Grandview and appears to be hitting their stride with some recent consistent finishes.  Brinker qualified 3^rd in the consolation to start 21^st in the feature.  Brinker stayed out of trouble and moved forward 15 places to a 6^th place finish from a 21^st start position.  Brinker has 3 top 10’s in this last three outings at Grandview 2^nd, 8^th & 6^th. 

Brad Brightbill is the defending 2019 Grandview sportsman champion.  Another disappointing finish for Brightbill who fell out early due to a lap 12 tangle and ended up in 18^th finishing position.  Brad is 11^th in points at the moment as Grandview 2019 defending champion.  The tale of 2 tracks………….Brightbill is running away with the points champion at Big Diamond with 3 wins out of 5 races.

Decker Swinehart’s 2^nd place finish from the 6^th starting position was his best outing of his rookie season.  Unfortunately for Dylan; the car failed tech for a carburetor violation which relegated him to a 24^th place finish due to the DQ.  Nonetheless a great drive for the 17 year old rookie who was able to hold off some of the best sportsmen in the business for 25 laps. 

The Leiby brothers continue to keep their crates in the top 10 for another week.  Jesse got the better finish this week with a 5^th place while Jimmy finished 8^th from a 16^th starting position.  Jimmy and Jesse are currently 9^th and 10^th in points respectively and the crate brothers are the highest crates in the point standings at the moment.