Brian Hirthler Wins Firecracker 40 at Grandview Speedway & Pit Notes

Grandview Speedway hosted the Firecracker 40 a week late due to a rain postponement but this time with only clear skies with seasonable temperatures which presented perfect racing conditions for the “4^th of July” racing celebration.  The season points chase moved into week # 11 of 20 for modified and sportsman divisions.

The Sportsman Firecracker 40 saw Adrianna Delliponti lead the first 16 laps from the pole position driving the Kevin Hirthler 117 Crate entry.  Kyle Lilick took the lead lap 17 with a strong top side dominate run from his 14 starting position.  Lilick held the lead until lap 30 when he developed a push that nearly put him into the turn 1 wall allowing Brian Hirthler to move into the lead and drive his 4* into victory lane for his first Firecracker 40 win.

In victory lane Brian Hirthler commented “This is the 10^th time I’ve run this race which is a lot but we finally got the win this time.  When Kyle pushed up and I got under him I was not going to be denied winning this race.  I started on the bottom next to Kyle.  Midrace I got trapped on the bottom a lot and had to head to the top to get moving forward.  When we got strung out I didn’t think I was going to be able to catch Kyle.  When Kyle bobbled I was able to diamond the corner and drove through with a slide job to take the lead.  I was 4^th on that lap 27 restart and Kyle surprised and helped me when he took the top on the restart.  Had he taken the bottom I would have gotten trapped behind 2^nd and probably not able to win this race.  The Firecracker 40 means more to me than the 76er.”

The top ten was rounded out by Kyle Lilick in second followed by Jesse Landis, Dylan Hoch, Jimmy Leiby, Kyle Smith, Cole Stangle, Kenny Gilmore, Parker Guidin and Ryan Beltz in 10^th.

The heat races were won by Tom Miller, Adrianna Delliponti and Tyler James.  The last chance consolation was won by Dylan Hoch.

Sportsman Firecracker 40 Feature Results (40-laps):

Brian Hirthler, 2. Kyle Lilick, 3. Jesse Landis, 4. Dylan Hoch, 5. Jimmy Leiby, 6. Kyle Smith, 7. Cole Stangle, 8. Kenny Gilmore. 9. Parker Guldin, 10. Mike Laise, 11. Ryan Beltz, 12. Bryan Rhoads, 13. Decker Swinehart, 14. Logan Bauman, 15. Adrianna Delliponti, 16. Mike Schneck, 17. Dakota Kohler, 18. Chris Esposito, 19. Tom Miller, 20. Tyler James, 21. Mike Stofflet, 22. Joey Vaccaro, 23. Kenny Bock, 24. Steve Young.

DNQ: Nathan Mohr, Hunter Iatalese, Colton Perry, Wayne Rotenberger, Nick Faust.

Sportsman Firecracker 40 – Pit Notes

Brian Hirthler’s win with a sportsman motor this week brings the open sportsman motors into the lead with 6 wins to the crates 5 wins in the Open Sportsman division.  Brian Hirthler (open) has 3 wins; Dylan Hoch (crate) 3 wins; Dylan Swinehart (crate), Jesse Landis (open), Logan Bauman (crate), and Kyle Lilick (open) & Kenny Gilmore (open) have points race wins in 2021.

Brian Hirthler took his 1^st Firecracker 40 win from a 13^th starting position and was able to be in the right place at the right time in the final laps to record his 3^rd win of the season.  On the lap 27 and 3^rd restart of the race; Brian found himself in 4^th and with Lilick choosing the top which opened up a lane up top for Hirthler and a perfect opportunity to move from 4^th right into second behind Lilick who was extending his lead.  On lap 30 Lilick developed a push and nearly hit the wall which gave Brian another opportunity and the opening to take the lead and pull away from Lilick for his first Firecracker 40 win in ten years of attendance.    This was only Brian’s 3^rd race in the 4* since it returned from being sidelined for a month for motor repairs while Brian called into action Kevin’s 117 crate entry to continue his points chase.   Postrace Brian reflected “When the feature started I wanted to take it easy as I had plenty of laps knowing the track would be racy and I didn’t want to crash out early. So I got passed by a few cars before the first lap caution but on the restart I got a few cars on the top and ran up to 8^th before the second caution and I had gotten boxed in so that caution came at a perfect time.  On the second restart I was again on the outside and able to take full advantage and make it up to 5^th and later 4^th before the third caution.  Coming from 4^th; I utilized the third restart to gain position on the outside and follow the leader on the outside right into 2^nd place with the last 13 las to try to pass him.  It all worked out as he got high one lap and I was able to go by underneath him.  Car had a real good balance and wasn’t getting upset in the rutty cushion that developed later in the race.  It also helped that the motor was fresh after a rebuild from the dropped valve a month earlier.”

Kyle Lilick finished 2^nd from a 14^th starting position.  Kyle stormed to the front from the 14^th starting position and took the lead on lap 17 after the second restart. He quickly checked out on the field and had a straightaway lead when the 3^rd caution flew on lap 27.  After the third restart Kyle started to extend his lead on 2^nd place Brian Hirthler but on lap 30 the car developed a push to the wall which allowed Hirthler to reel him in and dive underneath him to take the lead and drive into the winners circle.  A disappointed Kyle Lilick noted “We got in front relatively quick.  Once I got out front the car handled the best it has all year especially since I could drive through the massive holes on corner entry.  I wish I could say what went wrong but I’m not exactly sure.  It just went sour for like 2 laps and we didn’t have enough time to run him back down.”

 Jesse Landis ran to a solid 3^rd place finish from an 8^th starting position and had gotten as high as 2^nd during the race.  Back at the trailer Jesse commented “Really happy with 3^rd in the Firecracker 40 race.  The outside was place to be and with an open motor no one on the bottom was going to get by you for sure.  On the 3^rd restart at lap 27 when Kyle and Brian pulled away leaving me in 3^rd; I just wanted to not make any mistakes and mess up a good night.  If the cautions fell a little differently we would have finished 2^nd but we’ll take the 3^rd and look for more next week.”

Dylan Hoch finished a strong 4^th from a 19^th starting position.  The night started a bit shaky for the 35 team as they started 8^th and finished 7^th in the heat and missed the transfer to the feature.  Dylan started on the pole in the consolation and took the win to transfer to the feature.  Back at the trailer crew chief Tyler Hoch commented “Feels good to get the car to move forward through the field to a 4^th place finish from a 19^th start in the feature.  Dylan and I put our minds together and bounce ideas off one another to decide on our setup.  In the heat we planned to run the top and the top was slicked off more than I thought.  Dylan knows where to go on the track; but the car didn’t stick and he started driving hard and rolling the corners and the car had no grip in the heat so we missed the transfer.  We won the consolation and the car was better but still needed some changes.  For the feature we put our heads together and swung for the fences with the setup and got lucky again.”

Jimmy Leiby finished 5^th from a 16^th starting position and extended his streak of top 5 / 10 finishes to 4 races in a row.  Back at the trailer Jimmy reflected “Car was really good in the feature we just picked the wrong tires figuring the track would stay heavy but it only lasted about 10 laps. We still had a really good car.  It was great to come out with the car straight tonight while continuing with a good forward run and consistent top 5 and 10 finishes.”

Cole Stangle got a solid and hard earned 7^th from the 21^st starting position in the feature.  The night started with starting 9^th in the heat and missing a transfer spot.  A strong 3^rd place in the consolation put Cole in the 21^st starting spot on the grid in the feature.  In the feature Cole ran up as far as 5^th and finished 7^th after some tire issues.  Postrace Cole recalled “We handicapped 9^th in the heat and struggled a little because dad and I changed the setup a bit and tried a few things.  Made some adjustments for the consolation and got back on point and into the feature.  In the feature we had a real good car and came up as far as 5^th but then somehow the body sliced the right rear tire and it was going down slowly and the car started to push really bad from lap 25 on.  I couldn’t go forward and just had to hold on and make the best of the situation.  When I came in at the end of the race it was down to 1 pound.”

Parker Guldin continued with his best runs of the season with a 9^th place finish to add to his 10^th place finish last week.  Back at the trailer Parker noted “I am really happy with 9^th this week since we fell to 12^th at one point and was able to get back up to 9^th and hold it in a 40 lap race.  In the past month we have been watching our tire sizes and trying to be more consistent with our setups instead of making haymaker changes and we are seeing a difference on the track with a better car and improved finishes by 5 positions.  Our improved speed and handling helped us maintain a 9^th place finish and run 40 laps without getting locked and boxed in on the bottom and losing 4 or 5 spots by getting freight trained which was happening earlier in the season to us all too frequently.  This was my best finish in a big sportsman race at Grandview and I hope this is the doorway to our success for the 2^nd half of the season.”

Mike Laise finished 10^th from his 15^th starting position in only his second outing this season in the sportsman division.  In his heat race Mike handicapped to the 9^th starting position and he was able to come through the field for a 4^th place finish in the heat and transfer to the feature.  Postrace Mike noted “Our car was really good tonight and we had a really smooth night.  We went from 9^th to 4^th in the heat race and was able to avoid the jingles in the heat race.  In the feature we finished 10^th and I’ll take it since we came home with nothing bent up and we don’t have much of a racing budget.  The car was actually better than 10^th place and I should have tightened it up a bit more and been a little more aggressive at the start and we would had finished better.  We plan on my brother Ryan running the car until he goes back to school and then I’ll run it a few times to close out the season.  I can’t thank my sponsors, my parents and everyone else who supports us with this car and Ryan for letting me get behind the wheel this week.”

In only her 4^th outing in the Kevin Hirthler 117 Crate Sportsman entry Adrianna Delliponti had everything come together for her best finish of the season which was a 15^th in the biggest sportsman race of the season at Grandview.  Adrianna handicapped to the pole of her heat race and won her first heat race of the season.  In the feature she was again on the pole and led for the first 16 laps and finished on track in 15^th.   Back at the trailer Adrianna commented “I came into tonight with a lot of confidence and knew we had a good car and would do well.  The 600 is completely different than this Crate car and in my three prior races I was overdriving this Crate car.  Tonight was the first time we had the benefit of the handicap and we were able to take advantage of it with my first heat race win from the pole.  I learned a lot in the heat and was able to run consistent laps on a heavy track and learned to hug the bottom.  We started the feature on the pole and I was able to lead the first 16 laps.  I got passed for the lead on the lap 17 restart.  I also lost some spots on the restart and then got collected and bent the front end.  I stayed out and hung in there looking for a few spots if anyone pulled off.  After the front end was bent; the car was drivable but not race able.  I really believe we were on our way to a top 10 if the front end did not get bent.  I’m looking forward to coming back next week.”

Chris Esposito’s night didn’t start to well as he was pushed off during hot laps with a broken motor which turned out to be a broken push rod.  Thanks to a herculean effort by his crew and help from Ryan Beltz and Ray Swinehart the 31A made it out for the heat race running on 7 cylinders but just missed the transfer to the feature by one spot.  The motor was still in good enough condition to come out for the consolation were Chris was able to put the car in the show with a 5^th place finish in the consolation.  Chris finished 18^th in the feature and pulled off on lap 25 to race another day.   Postrace Chris noted “We got the car back out on the track with a collective effort between a couple of crews and my guys.  We ran the car on 7 cylinders all night and was surprised we qualified for the feature.  We kept adjusting the motor but it became too much in the 40 lap feature so I pulled in on lap 25.  It was a great effort from my crew and a special thanks to all the crews that helped.  We were able to make the best of what we had.”

Next up at Grandview is the United Racing Club sprint cars joining the Modifieds and Sportsman for a three division show on Saturday, July 17th with racing starting at 7:30 PM.