Grandview 602 Sportsman Pit Notes 4/23/22 – Dylan Hoch Makes his 3rd Trip to Crate Victory Lane

The 602 crate 25 lap feature was led by Michael Storm in Cody Manmiller’s 00 for the first 5 laps.  But then history repeated itself, and Dylan Hoch took the lead on lap 6 and dashed off to victory lane for another 602-crate victory for the second year in a row.

602 CRATE SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps):

1. DYLAN HOCH, 2. Michael Storms, 3. Jimmy Leiby, 4. Nate Brinker, Dylan Swinehart, Keith Brightbill, Tyler Peet, Brad Grim, Dakota Kohler, Steve Young, Tyler James, Zach Steffy, Michael Burrows, Decker Swinehart, Jon Josko, John Leiby, Nathan Horn, Kenny Bock, Joey Vaccaro, Parker Guldin, Ryan Grim, Logan Bauman, Ryan Graver, Jesse Hirthler

Did Not Qualify – Josh Adams, Shon Elk, Wayne Rotenberger & BJ Joly

Dylan Hoch notched his 3^rd 602 crate victory in the 6 crate events that Grandview has held since starting to host the class once a month last year.  He finished 2^nd in the sportsman and 2^nd in the 602 crate points last year in only his first full year of sportsman racing.  Dylan is now also running a Wingless sprint car which may not permit him to pursue the Open Sportsman points championship this year but he’s off to a good start with pursuing the 5 race Crate points championship.

Dylan noted “It was hectic Saturday for sure.  Our team had to be on our toes the whole night because it was pretty much one event after another racing both classes. It makes things a little more difficult having to make such quick decisions and barley having time to think about it but in a way it’s beneficial because we get more track time then the guys that are only running only a single division and I become more aware of how the track is changing.  Our team handled the double duty very well and we only had one hiccup resulting in disqualification in the sportsman consolation.  We were fortunate to have a provisional and made the best of the situation.  Whether it’s open or the crates, it doesn’t change what we do or how we prepare for the next race.”

Michael Storm filled in for Cody Manmiller in his 00 entry and brought home a 2^nd place finish.  The former big block modified driver is also Manmiller’s crew chief for the 2022 season and Cody has already shown improved speed over last year.

Michael commented “Cody had a prior commitment so I jumped in his car for the first time.  We used the same setup we do for Cody.  I haven’t raced at Grandview since a big block race in 2010.  I only wish I took the top on the restart instead of choosing the bottom.”

Jimmy Leiby finished 3^rd from his 5^th starting position to round out a great day for the 9L driver.  He also posted a 2^nd place finish in the Open Sportsman feature and had the best doubleheader finish of any driver.

Jimmy noted  “I ended up on my lid for the very first time at the last crate race in 2021, so this is great to rebound in the first crate race of 2022 with a 3^rd place finish.  I definitely could do this double duty class thing every week.  This was my best start ever in both classes and although it’s we have long season ahead it feels really good to get out of the box this season with a good start in both open sportsman and 602 crate.  Racing with Jesse Landis and Brian Hirthler in the open sportsman feature was probably the most fun I have ever had racing.  In the 602 crate race we were a little tight and track went to bottom lane racing around lap 10.”

Nate Brinker returned to crate racing and posted a strong 4^th place finish from a 9^th starting position.  Nate also did double duty with his modified and qualified in a tough field posting a 16^th place finish.

Postrace Nate noted “I had to get used to not having the power under the car to get out of trouble.  This car handles well and we tried a few different things that seemed to work.  Overall it was a good night for us and we just need some fine tuning on the car and driving to be in contention for a win.”

Keith Brightbill returned to racing behind the wheel of Brad Brightbill’s #19 crate entry and posted a 6^th place finish from an 8^th place starting position.  It was a good night for the Brightbill’s as Brad also posted a solid 10^th place finish in the modified field.

Dylan Swinehart opted for double duty again with Logan Bauman’s backup crate car and posted a 5^th place finish from a 13^th starting position.  Dylan has quite a history to follow with this car since last year he posted two wins in two outings.  Nonetheless a solid 5^th moving through the field was a good start to his 5 race season at Grandview with the Bauman team.

Steve Young parked the modified for the week and opted for double duty with his crate car.  Steve qualified for both field and posted a top ten in the 602 crate feature with a 10^th place finish from a 23^rd starting position.

Tyler James qualified for both parts of the sportsman and crate doubled header and posted a solid 11^th place finish from his 23^rd starting position in the Crate sportsman feature.

 17 drivers competed in both the sportsman and crate feature as well as four modified drivers who qualified for the 602 Crate Sportsman feature.

Next Saturday, April 30 the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman will be racing in a two-division show starting at 7:30 pm. Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. warm-ups begin at 6:30 pm.