CVD Thunders on the Hill & Pit Notes

The Thunder on the Hill series had their second modified event of the season along with the Tony Stewart Allstar Sprint Car Series.  Mother Nature provided the lightning while Craig Von Dohren provided the thunder for his 2nd Grandview win of the season.

Justin Grim led the first 2 laps from the outside pole position with the pole sitter Doug Manmiller taking the lead on lap 3.  But Manmiller’s lead was short lived as Craig Von Dohren got underneath him on lap 6 and took the lead right into victory lane with a 20 lap green flag run with Manmiller running a close second but unable to make the pass.  Von Dohren collected his second Grandview win of the season.

The top 5 was rounded out by Doug Manmiller, Brett Kressley, Billy Pauch Jr. and Mike Gular.

Heat race winners were Billy Pauch Jr., Craig Von Dohren and Rick Laubach.  The last chance consolation was won by Keith Hoffman.

Grandview Modifieds – 8/27/20

Feature (30 Laps) – 1. Craig Von Dohren 2. Doug Manmiller 3. Brett Kressley 4. Billy Pauch Jr.  5. Mike Gular 6. Jeff Strunk 7. Justin Grim 8. Bobby Trapper, Jr.  9. Rick Laubach 10. Briggs Danner 11. Ray Swineahart 12. Brian Hirthler 13. Ryan Watt 14. Matt Stangle 15. Ryan Lilick 16. Jared Umbenhauer 17. Eric Biehn 18. Keith Hoffman 19. Craig Whitmoyer 20. Kyle Lilick 21. Kevin Hirthler 22. Brett Gilmore 23. Mark Kratz 24. Duane Howard.

DNQ – Bobby Trapper Sr., Blaine Bracelin, Dillon Steuer, Tyler Dipple, Steve Young, Scott Frack, Dylan Swinehart, Ron Kline, Nate Brinker

Modified Pit Notes

There were only 2 cautions in the 30 lap feature but the caution flag was worn out in the 3 heats and consolation event.  A total of 11 cautions flew in heat 1, 2 and the consolation.   A brief rain shower accounted for one of the cautions.  Between the weather and the sprint cars the track conditions were constantly changing.

The most entertaining race of the night was the last chance consolation with 14 drivers swapping positions in and out of the final 6 qualifying position every 2-3 laps culminating with 3^rd place Dillon Steuer spinning on the last lap and dropping from 3rd to 13th position on the final lap.  Tyler Dipple and Dylan Swinehart were in top 6 qualifying positions only to get hooked together on lap 8 and end up in non-qualifying positions.

Justin Grim led the feature for the first 2 laps and landed his second top ten of the season with a solid 7^th place finish.  Justin has qualified for all of the Grandview point races this year and currently sits 14^th in points.  In recent weeks Grim has run 2^nd and also a solid run from the back of the field to 13^th position.

Bobby Trapper Jr. returned to racing just 2 weeks ago.  An early spin in the heat race put the 2T entry in the last position in the 11 car field.  But Trapper was able to negotiate several other cautions and qualify from the heat race with a 3^rd place finish.  In the feature Trapper was able to secure his best results of the season with an 8^th place top ten finish on his 3^rd outing of the season.

Mark Kratz opted to the back of the 14 car consolation race.   After working his way into a qualifying position Kratz was involved in a lap 7 tangle and went back to the tail of the field with only 3 laps to go. A last lap spin by the 17Z of Dillon Steuer moved Kratz into the final qualifying position for the feature event getting the Grandview weekly regular in the special event feature for the night. 

 The Lilick Brothers were both competing in modified for the first time this season.  Both Ryan and Kyle Lilick qualified for the feature.  The other modified / crate brother duo also went all modified for the night with Brian Hirthler joining Kevin in modified for the night.  Both Brian and Kevin Hirthler qualified for the feature.

Ryan Watt was able to qualify for the feature but it was an unusually rough road for the 14W team from Boyertown, PA.  In the heat race Watt got in a tangle with Tyler Dipple and ended up 10^th of 11in the heat.  Watt started 10^th in the consolation and got involved in an early yellow and got sent to the back of the 14 car field by track officials.  Watt got back to his typical Watt form and ran from 14^th to 4^th to qualify for the feature.  Watt started the feature in 22^nd position and was involved in another early tangle sending him further back in the field.  Despite a 20 lap green flag run in the 30 lap feature Watt was able to move forward to a 13^th place finish.

Tyler Dipple was in attendance from New York and was another driver that had an unbelievable string of bad luck during the night.  Dipple got caught up in two tangles in the heat and in the consolation got caught up in another tangle and then only to cap his night off with getting bumpers stuck together with Dylan Swinehart relegating him to a DNQ for the night.