Ray Swinehart Wins Grandview Points Finale and Pit Notes

The 12^th and final point race for Grandview modified and sportsmen was run under cool and breezy fall conditions with a multi grove surface.  The 2020 season champions were also to be crowned at the end of the night.

The modified 30 lap feature was led virtually from start to finish by Ray Swinehart for his first win of the season.  The sportsman race had 4 leaders with Kyle Lilick only leading the final 3 laps but that was all he needed to take his second win of the season.

John Willman led the modified field to green with Ray Swinehart taking over the lead on lap 2.  Swinehart quickly checked out on the field and built a nearly 4 second lead by lap 10, but as he entered lap traffic the gap with second place Rick Laubach began to close every lap.  On the final lap Swinehart’s lead was down to half a second and the 60 plus year old veteran drove into victory lane for his 30^th Grandview win.

Back at the trailer Ray noted “We tried some things in the Cash Dash that didn’t work so we changed the setup back to the original setup and it worked out great tonight.”

The top 10 was rounded out by Rick Laubach, Brett Kressley, Mike Gular, Craig Von Dohren, Justin Grim, Kevin Hirthler, Craig Whitmoyer, Dillion Steuer and Jeff Strunk.

Qualifying heat winners were Justin Grim, Louden Reimert, Ray Swinehart and Ryan Grim.  Dylan Swinehart and Doug Manmiller won the consolations. Ryan Grim won the Hope Mortgage 3-lap heat race winner cash dash.

The sportsman 25 lap feature was led to green by Bryan Rhodes and Lex Shive.  Rhodes held the lead with his crate 922 entry until lap 8 when Steve Young slide into the top spot.  But on lap 11 restart it was Jessie Landis emerging with the lead from a 5 car fray with Young, Stangle, Lilick and Beltz.  Landis continued to lead but on lap 15 Lilick began an assault for the lead every lap until Lilick took the lead on lap 23 and then stretched his lead into a trip to victory lane for the second time this year.

Back at the trailer Kyle commented “I just went where they weren’t.  I wasn’t particularly looking high or low and the car worked where ever I put it.  Beltz and I got up there with the leader a lot quicker than I expected.  Jesse (Landis) and I have always raced clean so I wouldn’t expect anything else from him.”

The top ten was rounded out by Jesse Landis in second, Ryan Beltz, Cole Stangle, Jack Butler, Kyle Smith, Lex Shive, John McGovern, Mark Kemmerer and Brad Arnold in 10^th.

Chris Esposito, Steve Young and Lex Shive won the heat races.  A large field of sportsman was on hand so for the first time this season there were two consolations with Dylan Hoch and Kenny Bock taking the wins. 

Grandview Modified Feature – 9/12/20 (30-laps)

1. Ray Swinehart, 2. Rick Laubach, 3. Brett Kressley, 4. Mike Gular, 5. Craig Von Dohren, 6. Justin Grim, 7. Kevin Hirthler, 8. Craig Whitmoyer, 9. Dillon Steuer, 10. Jeff Strunk, 11. Ryan Grim, 12. Duane Howard, 13. John Willman, 14. Ron Kline, 15. Brad Brightbill, 16. Jared Umbenhauer, 17. Louden Reimert (provisional), 18. Doug Manmiller, 19. Bobby Trapper Jr., 20. Brad Grim, 21. Richie Hitzler, 22. Carroll Hine III, 23. Joe Funk III, 24. Mike Lisowski, 25. Kenny Gilmore, 26. Meme DeSantis, 27. Mark Kratz, 28. Dylan Swinehart, 29. Ryan Lilick.

DNQ: Mark Levy, Mark Kratz, Eric Biehn, Ron Haring Jr., Bobby Gunther Walsh, Dan Waisempacher, Colt Harris and Darrin Schuler.

Grandview Sportsman Feature – 9/12/20 (25-laps):

1. Kyle Lilick, 2. Jesse Landis, 3. Ryan Beltz, 4. Cole Stangle, 5. Jack Butler, 6 Kyle Smith, 7. Lex Shive, 8. John McGovern, 9. Mark Kemmerer, 10. Brad Arnold, 11. Nathan Mohr, 12. Brett Gilmore, 13. Brandon Edgar, 14. Dylan Hoch, 15. Dakota Kohler, 16. Scott Kohler, 17. Ryan Rhoads, 18. Brian Hirthler, 19. Steve Young, 20. Jesse Leiby, 21. Nate Brinker, 22. Tommy Scheetz Sr., 23. Chris Esposito, 24. Kenny Bock.

DNQ: Parker Guldin, Derrick Smith, Mike Schneck, Tom Miller, Tyler James, Troy Conrad and Cody Manmiller.

Modified Pit Notes

Craig Von Dohren collected the 2020 championship with a business as usual 5^th place finish giving CVD his 11^th Grandview point championship.  Last year a late season DNQ due to breakage of both his primary and backup car on the same night opened the door for Duane Howard to win the 2019 championship.  No such luck this year for Howard or anyone else as Von Dohren’s consistency rarely had him out of the top 5 this year. 

36 Modifieds were on the grounds qualifying for 28 Modified starting positions.

Ray Swinehart has a history of getting his best finish of the year in the last race of the season before the 76er.  This year was no different as he gets his first win of the season and last year he got a 2^ND place finish which was also his best finish of the season.  About 6 weeks ago Swinehart switch all 3 of his cars suspensions from torsion bars to coils.   So far the transition to a coil suspension has seemed somewhat successful with what seems like countless heat race wins but only to be unable to get a beyond half way in a feature due to mechanical issues, flat tires & occasionally a yuke tire in the way.   Looks like Swinehart’s timing is perfect again to go into the 76er with a setup that has been successful just in time for the 76er.  

John Willman just got medical clearance to return to driving after a scheduled surgery and this was his first full race back.  Willman raced in Georgetown the night before his surgery and did bring the car to Grandview while recovering and made the necessary minimal laps in the heat races to maintain his handicap position.  The efforts to maintain his handicapping paid off in a big way as he started on the pole in his first race back from surgery.  He was able to run the entire feature and finished 13^th to get a baseline for his 76er setup.

Rich Laubach is another driver that has had an August filled with flat tires, mechanical issues and not being able to avoid tangles.  But tonight Laubach got his best Grandview finish of the season with a 2^nd place finish and was closing on the leader from his 5^th place starting position.  This was the first outing Laubach had with his Grandview small block motor in the #7 big block chassis.  During the feature Laubach had a front panhard break; but he continued to reel in Swinehart in the last 10 laps.  Laubach had  a great 76er last year with a second place finish and an epic battle with Frank Cozze for almost the entire race.

Justin Grim in the 61 just keeps improving in different ways each week showing flexibility and diversity of his current setup.  This week Justin came from 6^th starting position to win his heat race while finishing 6^th in the feature from a 5^th place starting position and this is after a 7^th place finish from 19^th starting position the week before.  Justin has proven he can run from the back or front and is ready to go for this year’s $35,500 to win 76er.

Dillon Steuer is an 18 year old who has been on the move this season.  Dillon won his first big block feature at OCFG in July.  Orange County Fair Grounds closed their track in August and ceased racing due to NY State Covid-19 requirements imposed by the governor.  So one race track closes another opens and Steuer found himself in a new spec 358 small block driving for the 17Z Zubi Racing team at a new track for him – Grandview Speedway.  Steuer has been racing at Grandview for 5 short weeks and has qualified for all 5 events and has 3 top 10 finishes.

Dillon has qualified for all 6 events since coming to Grandview and added another top ten finish this week with a 9^th place from an 18^th place starting position.  That makes 4 top 10 finishes out of 6 starts at Grandview with one 2^nd place finish.  Looks like the plan for the new Zubi racing driver has the team right where they want to be on the eve of the 2020 76er.

Defending 76er champion Mike Gular has raced weekly and in all the specials at Grandview so without a doubt he is ready to defend his 76er title.  Gular came home with 4^th place and another top 5 finish.  Gular and Craig Von Dohren are two of the most consistent finishing modified drivers at Grandview this season. 

After a hard barrel roll last week Doug Manmiller returned to Grandview to dial in his backup car.  Manmiller was spun in the heat race from racing contact and had to resort to the consolation to qualify for the feature.  In the consolation the dialing in of the backup car appeared to be moving forward as he was able to win his heat from a 8^th starting position.  An 18^th place finish in the feature and miles to go before the 44m team sleeps as they prepare their backup entry for the 76er.  In light of the past 2 weeks of tangles; Manmiller has been very consistent this season with top 5 finishes almost every week until his recent bad luck with racing contact.

Louden Reimert had what looked like his best car of the season in the heat race coming from 7^th to 1^st but the bad news was that the motor was hurt in the heat race.  Since it was the last points race of the season; Reimert had his backup car with him and was able to use a provisional to get in the feature with the 29^th starting position.  Louden was able to move through the field and despite a lap 16 flat get a 17^th place finish with the backup car and start dialing in for the 76er.

Meme DeSantis showed up in the 88d and qualified for the feature as he begins preparations for the 76er a week earlier than most of the drivers who are not regulars.

Ryan Lilick was leading his heat race with a strong run going but had a lap 10 flat tire take him out of a qualified position.  Lilick qualified for the feature in the consolation but then a water leak and other mechanical issues had him start in the back of the field and pull off after a few laps.  Ryan was coming off his first career modified win in the Hard Charger Challenge last week.

Sportsman Pit Notes

The sportsman point chase had four drivers with a chance to win the championship coming into the final point race of the season.  Brian Hirthler was the point leader over Brad Arnold, Ryan Beltz and Kyle Lilick in 4^th behind by 204 points.  Hirthler started 16^th and had to pull into pits to repair two broken axles under a caution flag on lap 10 and came back out 1 lap down.  But Hirthler continued on and finished in 18^th place in the feature.   With Arnold in 10^th; Beltz in 3^rd and Lilick in 1^st in the feature it all came down to the math.  In the end Brian Hirthler held on and won the championship by 5 points over Brad Arnold, 6 points over Ryan Beltz and 31 points over Kyle Lilick.

Kyle Lilick secured his 2^nd win of the season in dramatic fashion coming from 13^th place to 1^st in the 25 lap feature.  Lilick battled leader Jesse Landis for nearly 10 laps before making a high side pass in turn 2 for the lead and his second trip to victory lane this season. 

Jesse Landis was so close to his first career moving into the lead on lap 12 and holding first place until a lap 23 pass by Lilick.  Nonetheless the 2^nd place finish is his best finish of the season.  Back at the trailer Landis recalled “I was seeing constant flashes from cameras so I knew he was back there and close.  I thought about changing lines to the high line but Kyle is good no matter what line you give him.  I knew Kyle would run us clean as he always does.  I’m still happy with the 2^nd place run as that is very good for us and perfect timing with the 38er coming up next week.”

Ryan Beltz has come alive with some consistency and movement forward in the past month of racing.  Beltz made a strong run from 14^th to a 3^rd place finish behind Lilick and Landis tonight.  Add to that an 8^th last week; a 1^st from 11^th; and a 9^th from 24^th and Beltz has been moving forward with consistency.

Lex Shiv had a career day as his primary sponsor Hope Mortgage was also the headline sponsor for Grandview Speedway for the final point race of the season.  Shiv’s car was on display at the Rev’s meet and greet with his sponsor’s employees, friends and family in attendance.  In addition Lex had the once in a life time honor of carrying the United States flag on his car during the national Anthem.  If that was not enough he actually had a season best day of racing.  Shive took the win in his heat race which put him on the outside pole in the feature and from there he secured a top ten finish with 7^th place finish.  Two weeks ago Shive bent the front clip but repairs were made and he and his car is running straight and true again with his biggest race of the season on the horizon next Friday at the 38er.

Another strong finish for Cole Stangle as the young driver added another top five finish with a 4^th place to last week’s 3^rd place finish.

Kyle Smith continues to have his 602 Crate entry in the top 10 with a 6^th place finish added to a 2^nd place finish last week.

Both Cole Stangle and Kyle Smith look ready to contend for the 38er title on Friday.

Racing action continues at Grandview Speedway this Friday and Saturday September 18 & 19 for the sportman 38er on Friday and the 76er on Saturday with racing starting at 7:30 on Friday and 7:00 on Saturday.