Ryan Lilick Claims Hard Charger Challenge Title at Grandview

Grandview Speedway hosted their inaugural “Hard Charger Challenge” presented by Geezer Fanelli. Entries were restricted to cars not higher than 15^th in points and to drivers with no career wins in modified at Grandview while attending at least 3 point races this season. There were 16 eligible entries competing for the Hard Charger Challenge title.

The 22 lap Hard Charger Challenge was lead for the first 14 laps by Richie Hitzler. The 4 cautions during the first 14 laps saw 9 of the 16 entries drop out for mechanical reasons or flat tires. On the lap 14 restart Ryan Lilick took over the lead which he quickly stretched to nearly a 2 second advantage as he took the checkered flag for his first Grandview Modified win.

Hard Charger Challenge Modified Feature (22-laps): 1. Ryan Lilick, 2. Richie Hitzler, 3. Dan Waisempacher, 4. Eric Biehn, 5. Bobby Gunther Walsh, 6. Mark Kratz, 7. Mark Levy, 8. Darrin Schuler, 9. Joe Funk III, 10. Ron Haring Jr., 11. Brad Grim, 12. Ron Myers, 13. Brett Gilmore, 14. Ron Kline, 15. Bobby Trapper Jr., 16. Colt Harris DNS

Hard Charger Challenge Pit Notes

Geezer Fanelli is a former Grandview driver and owner who knows firsthand the challenges of racing against top flight multi car teams. The Hard Charger Challenge event was envisioned & established as a way to recognize & say thank you to the smaller family owned teams who make their best efforts week in and week out at Grandview which is one of the most competitive modified tracks in the northeast.

Ryan Lillick has started to pick up steam at the right time of year with his Hard Charger Challenge win right on the heals his 4th place finish last week which was his best finish of the season. In the feature tonight Lilick added an 11th place finish which was his second best finish of the season. 2 weeks ago mechanical issues gave Lilick his only DNQ of the season but after his best finishes of the season Lilick seems poised to make some noise in the fall special event season.

Richie Hitzler has just bought his own racing operation and is now racing under the number 9. Hitzler got a career best 6th place finish feature finish last week.

Eric Biehn got a flat from a lap 1 tangle and pitted and went to the back of the field. Biehn proceeded to run from 11^th to a 4^th place finish despite pitting with 20 laps to go. Biehn was coming off of his best outing of the year leading 15 laps of the feature last week and grabbing a 3rd place finish.

Darrin Shuler lead 11 laps of the feature on 8/29 which has not been an uncommon this season for the 74 entry on any week they qualify up front for the feature.

Mark Levy also had his best outing of the season last week. The 711J lead 9 laps of the heat race and finished 2nd in his heat race. Levy stayed in the top 3 of the feature race on 8/29 for 11 laps until tire issues retired him to the back.

Ron Harring did not Qualify for his first 2 trips to Grandview but quickly turned things around and qualified for 4 features in a row. A heat race incident on 8/22 sent Harring into the turn 1 wall with Ron Meyers. Unfortunately the car was damaged beyond repair which caused Harring to miss his first race of the season last week. But he wasn’t going to miss the Hard Charger Challenge and was present this week with his backup car # 17H. In the regular feature tonight; Harring secured a 15th place finish in his backup car which was also his best finish of the season.

Ron Meyers also sustained major damage in the same incident that Harring was involved in on 8/22 and missed his first race of the season last week. Meyers worked on the car for 2 weeks and was able to get the car back in time for the Hard Charger Challenge. Technically Meyers missed another race when he loaned his car to a competitor who was in need of a ride (Rick Laubach) to pursue points. Meyers has helped several drivers when need of a ride for points.

These 16 drivers represent about 1/3 of the field on any given night and their commitment every week is the reason Grandview is so competitive and difficult to make the field each week. Unless their car is broken from the prior week; these teams usually return every week to try to qualify for the feature which is the base foundation for the competitive level at Grandview. The same spirited competition level to qualify is also present in the sportsman class at Grandview.

The fans have spoken and recognize, respect and appreciate the efforts of these hardcore old school racers who are the backbone of the great competition at Grandview every week.

Hard Charger Challenge Results for 2020: