Danny Bouc Claims 2nd Modified Win of the Season at Grandview & Pit Notes

Cool and cloudy conditions greeted Grandview’s 3rd tripleheader with modifieds, sportsman and crate divisions.  With crate competitors being able to compete in two full programs in both sportsman and crate divisions in the same night these events have quickly became some of the most interesting and chaotic events of the season at Grandview.

Second wins of the season was a common denominator for all the tripleheader winners starting with Grandview modified new comer Danny Bouc who posted his second modified win of the season in only 9 starts in 2021.    Danny joins the like of Brett Kressley who has four Grandview 2021 wins; Duane Howard with two wins and Craig Von Dohren with two Grandview wins in 2021.

The 30 lap modified feature started with Ray Swinehart and Mark Kratz leading the field to green only to see a front stretch lap 1 tangle bring out the red flag for nearly 15 minutes and take Ryan Lilick, Jeff Strunk, Richie Hitzler, Justin Grim and Bobby Gunter-Walsh out of the feature for the rest of the night.  When racing resumed; on the lap 1 restart Swinehart opened up a commanding lead of nearly 3 seconds over second place Mark Kratz until lap 17 when Danny Bouc moved into 2^nd place and immediately cut Swinehart’s lead to less than half a second.  For the next 11 laps Swinehart and Bouc literally battled side by side down the straights and traded the lead in the corners until Danny Bouc took the lead on the white flag lap and drove into Grandview’s victory lane for his second win of the season.

Danny Bouc noted in victory lane “Ray made me work for that one.  I kept working the bottom and hoping to break Ray’s momentum or throw a slider but Ray kept hitting his marks and I finally got by him on the white flag lap.  I can’t thank Norm enough for the opportunity to be here at Grandview in the 357.  We have shown a lot of speed this season but seems like nothing goes our way.  Who would think I guy like me could get two wins at place like this.  I had confidence coming here but this is a humbling place for sure.  The track was beautiful tonight and you see the same good track conditions every week and if your car is good enough and your good enough driver you can make your way to the front every week.  The surface here is awesome and you can put on a good show for the fans every week.  This helps us a lot tonight and I can’t thank everyone on the crew and in the shop enough.  This place is very humbling and tough to get consistent finishes but it just makes it all the better when you have nights like tonight.”

The top ten was rounded out by Ray Swinehart in second place followed by Doug Manmiller, Brett Kressley, Kevin Hirthler, Craig Von Dohren, Jared Umbenhauer, Dylan Swinehart, Louden Reimert and Duane Howard in tenth place.

The modified heat races were won by Ray Swinehart, Mark Kratz, Darrin Schuler and Ryan Lilick.  The last chance consolations were won by Louden Reimert and Craig Whitmoyer.

Modified Feature Results (30-laps) 6-12-21:

  1. Danny Bouc, 2. Ray Swinehart, 3. Doug Manmiller, 4. Brett Kressley, 5. Kevin Hirthler, 6. Craig Von Dohren, 7. Jared Umbenhauer, 8. Dylan Swinehart, 9. Louden Reimert, 10. Duane Howard, 11. Craig Whitmoyer, 12. Ryan Grim, 13. Timmy Buckwalter, 14. Mark Kratz, 15. Jack Butler, 16. Brad Arnold, 17. Jesse Leiby, 18. Joe Funk III, 19. Darrin Schuler, 20. Brett Gilmore, 21. Mike Lisowski, 22. John Willman, 23. Dillon Steuer, 24. Richie Hitzler, 25. Justin Grim, 26. Jeff Strunk, 27. Ryan Lilick, 28. Bobby Gunther Walsh.

DNQ: Nate Brinker, Jordan Henn, Kevin Graver, Cory Merkel, Ron Haring Jr., Ron Kline, Brad Grim and Eric Biehn.

Modified Pit Notes

Danny Bouc picked up his second Grandview win in ten starts in his first season at the helm of the 357 at Grandview.  Danny started from 12^th starting position and moved into 2^nd on lap 16 and was on Ray Swinehart’s bumper for 12 laps until finally getting under him for the lead on lap 29.   Danny may have struggled a bit in the first month but has quickly improved with 3 top five finishes and 1 top 10 in the past 6 races.  Danny commented postrace “That was definitely our best heat race all year.  I have been struggling in the heats when the track has been heavy and we have been good when the track slicks off.  In the feature the track was super racey and you could go high or low which makes it easier to get through.  I used the bottom mostly and went up top a couple of times to get up to the front but once I got to the 3^rd read on the bottom I figured the top would go away for Ray; but it didn’t and Ray gave me a real good run for my money.  I keep digging on the bottom and after 12 laps finally got him with 2 to go.  I can’t thank Norm enough for the opportunity to be part of the 357 team.”

It looked like Ray Swinehart was going to sit this season out since he sold all his equipment over the winter.  But here and there he has showing up driving Tommy Miller’s crate car and one week ended up in a modified down at Bridgeport.  Four weeks ago Ray showed back up at Grandview with a 2015 Troyer and started shaking the car down.  In only his 3^rd week with the car he qualified for the feature.  So that brings us to this week which was only his 4^th week in the car and his first week he was eligible for the invert handicap.   Ray took full advantage of his first week in the handicap winning his heat race from the pole.  From there he went to the pole in the feature and he led for 28 laps only to be passed on lap 29 by Danny Bouc for the win.  Ray Swinehart has returned to racing at Grandview with a vengeance with a 2^nd place finish in only his 4^th outing this season.

Doug Manmiller finished a strong 3^rd place from an 18^th place starting position this week.  In the first five races of the season Doug was averaging 15^th place finishes but in the last 4 races he has ripped off two 3^rd place and a 4^th place finish to have 3 top five finishes in the last 4 races and appears to have turned the corner back to consistent up-front finishes before his traditional summer time hot streak sets in.  Back at the trailer Doug noted “We just missed the invert so I started 18^th and was able to miss the accidents and make passes on both the top and bottom.  I just passed them where ever they weren’t as the track was very racy and had two equal lines on top and bottom.  If you have a good setup here you can pass a lot of good cars.  The track slicked off after the sportsman feature and actually became better.  When cars were bouncing off the wall on the front stretch I went way underneath them and nearly into the infield to avoid the wreck.”

Brett Kressley finished 4^th from a 24^th starting position.  After two wins in a row Brett had to qualify from the last chance consolation this week and did not make the handicap invert for the first time this season.  Despite starting 24^th Kressley was able to keep his streak going with 8 top five finishes and one top ten and extended his points lead over Craig Von Dohren in 2^nd.  Postrace Brett noted “The track was different in the heat race this week and was hard to pass.  I could see the cars bunching up in mid pack so I already started slowing down early to be defensive.  We passed a lot of cars high and low tonight and not many of the front running cars dropped out so we could have used one more caution.  We were equally excited for the 4^th place finish as it felt like a win coming from the last chance consolation and starting 24^th in the feature.”

Kevin Hirthler got back up front this week with a 5^th place finish from a 13^th place starting position after two rough weeks with an DNS and a 27^th finish.  Back at the trailer Kevin noted “We went from 13^th to 5^th tonight and split between Howard and CVD on the same lap.  We have a new cam in this motor without any notes on it yet.  We broke a rocker arm two races ago and changed from our 2019 coil car to the 2016 car and they both have different suspensions.  My car was strong tonight and good anywhere so I went were they were not either high or low.  I was angry with myself because I settled and followed Doug and think I could have gotten passed him for another spot.  I’m not sure yet but might bring the 2019 car to Thunder on the Hill on Tuesday night if we have it ready in time and then go back to the 2016 for next Saturday.”  

Craig Von Dohren finished 6^th from his 16^th starting position to continued his streak of 8 top five finishes and 1 top ten finish.  Von Dohren and Kressley continue to set a torrid pace of consistency with both having 8 top five finishes and one top ten finish.

Jared Umbenhauer continued his early consistency with a 7^th place finish from a 15^th starting position.  Jared is currently 3^rd in points with 4 top five finishes and 5 top ten finishes behind only Kressley and Von Dohren despite being on a much more limited budget.  Postrace Jared reflected “We got into one jingle in the feature with a slower car and didn’t hurt it too bad but at the end we were just hanging on.  New tires would have helped us be better but have to stay within our budget.  I’m running my Dad’s car on Tuesday night.”

Dylan Swinehart posted his best finish of the season with an 8^th place finish.  Dylan commented “We were looking for a better night starting 5^th but still not a bad night with 8^th place finish.  We were running 3^rd around the top and then the track took rubber so I tried the bottom groove but couldn’t hold the car down and there was not enough grip for us so went back up to the top while everyone else migrated to the bottom.  I was better on the top and only Kressley passed me on the top.  We have had a good car all season just don’t have results to show it because stuff happens and we have had troubles in the heat races and just plain bad luck.”

Louden Reimert got back on track with a 9^th place finish from a 21th starting positon.  The past four weeks has seen flat tires, suspension breakage and contact damage keep Louden uncharacteristically in the back of the pack around 20^th place.  Louden commented “We were fast all night but the circumstance in the heat kept me out of the handicap.  We made some improvements for the feature and they worked well for us.”

Duane Howard’s 10^th place finish was not exactly what he was looking for but was welcome after a couple of DNF’s in the past few weeks.   Howard maintains a 4^th place position in the points despite a recent 22^nd and 24^th place finish.

Craig Whitmoyer qualified from the last chance consolation and finished 11^th from a 22^nd place starting position in the feature.  Craig lost a motor crossing the finish line of the last chance consolation 6 weeks ago and since then has qualified for the past 5 features with an average finish of 10^th.   Craig noted “In the heat I tried the top and Strunk got by underneath me to take the last transfer spot.  We made some changes for the consolation and the car got better.  In the feature we made a few more and the car was good but we still had some other adjustments we could have made.  We are very happy with the progress we have made every week.

Mark Kratz continues to run in the top 5 for about 20 laps of the feature only to fade to a 14^th place finish which was still his best finish of the season .  Mark has won back to back heat races and stayed in the top five for 20 laps this week and last week.  Mark noted “We tend to get a bit tight under long caution runs and have to watch our fuel since we run alcohol.  We are getting real close with one of these strong runs sticking for 30 laps.  We are thrilled to have the opportunity to try some adjustments at the Thunder on the Hill on Tuesday.”   

Darrin Schuler just needs a little racing luck to get his best finish of the season.  For the second week this season Darrin was running in the top 5 with only about 10 laps to go when an on track incident ended his night.  Darrin noted “We continue to get the car to run in the top five only to have incidents in turn 2 take us out again with only 10 laps to go in the feature.  This week we had the best car we ever had on the slick track.  We just need some racing luck and we will have some top ten finishes this season.”

Bobby Gunther Walsh qualified for his 5^th feature in a row but was caught up in a lap one tangle that ended his night early.  Postrace Bobby noted “Thankfully the car came out of that tangle tonight with only bodywork and bumper damage.  We had another good run in the heat race and have found some speed that I would like to be able to use in the feature race but unfortunately got caught up in a tangle.  I’m hoping I can keep our heat race qualifying run going next week so we can get another shot at our best feature finish of the year.  I really got to thank my crew guys for all their hard at the track and in the shop.  These guys keep me going and I can’t thank them enough.”   

Jeff Strunk had another forgettable night with ending up on top of the 49 of Ryan Lilick in a five car tangle on the front stretch on lap 1 of the feature.  For the second week in a row Jeff has ended up with a heavily damage and being towed to the pits in the first lap of the feature for a DNF.  He started the season with 7 straight top 5 & top 10 finishes only to get wrecked out in the past two weeks with a 28^th and 26^th place finish.

Saturday June 19th the Wingless Super Sportsman make a rare appearance as part of a Father’s Day Weekend tripleheader that will also feature the Modifieds and Sportsman. Racing will start at 7:30 P.M on Saturday.