Grandview Modified Pit Notes –  Kressley Outduels Von Dohren and Scores his First Win of Season at Grandview Speedway

Bobby Gunther-Walsh led the field to green with Dave Dissinger taking over the lead on lap 6.  Kressley shot by Dissinger on lap 11 to move into the lead and opened a full straight away lead on Von Dohren when a caution for a slowing Jeff Strunk on lap 24 set up the late race dramatics. Von Dohren was able to get past Kressley to lead lap 25, but Kressley was able to repass Von Dohren with a top side move on lap 27 to regain the lead and race on to the win followed by Tim Buckwalter, Doug Manmiller, Pa., Duane Howard, and Dave Dissinger, completing the top five finishers. Von Dohren had the misfortune of having a left rear tire go flat in the final couple of laps, but he managed to hold on to finish in 12^th position.

Heat race winners – Jesse Leiby (1) , Dave Dissinger (2), Kevin Graver (1) and Jeff Stunk (9)

Consolation winners – Jared Umbenhauer (2), Mike Lisowski (1)

MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps):

 1. BRETT KRESSLEY, 2. Tim Buckwalter, 3. Doug Manmiller, 4. Duane Howard, 5. Dave Dissinger, 6. Mike Lisowski, 7. Jared Umbenhauer, 8. Ryan Grim, 9. Kevin Graver Jr., 10. Brad Brightbill, 11. Brad Grim, 12. Craig Von Dohren, 13. Justin Grim, 14. Cory Merkel, 15. Jesse Leiby, 16. Ron Haring Jr., 17. Bobby Gunther-Walsh, 18 Steve Swinehart,19.Jeff Strunk, 20. Craig Whitmoyer, 21 Nate Brinker, 22. Eric Biehn, 23. Jordan Henn, 24. Brett Gilmore, 25. John Willman, 26. Kevin Hirthler, 27. Mark Kratz, 28. Mike Laise

DID NOT QUALIFY: Dan Waisempacher, Ryan Beltz, Joe Funk, Dylan Swinehart, Steve Young, Darrin Schluler, Brad Arnold, Carroll Hine III, Kyle Lilick & Ray Swinehart.

MODIFIED PIT NOTES

Brett Kressley took his first win of the 2022 season coming from the 14^th starting position.  Brett had the race well in hand picking up ½ a second a lap on second place Craig Von Dohren as he glided through lapped traffic to a 6 second lead until a lap 24 caution bunched the field back up.  Von Dohren took the lead off the restart; but Kressley was able to reclaim the lead on lap 28 as Von Dohren slowed due to a flat tire. 

Postrace Brett commented “Talked to the crew last week and think I was off my game and not sure of what I was doing and just wasn’t myself.  I think I was back in the groove tonight.  Craig was fast but he got a flat and that’s Grandview baby.  The car was on a rail in the feature.  We had to play defense on the restart, but Craig could go where we weren’t, and he got the lead.  I had enough speed in the car and was determined to get him back.”

Last year it was a Kressley vs Von Dohren points battle all season long and only two weeks into the 2022 season they are right back at it again with one win a piece in two races.  Brett Kressley has a slim 14-point lead over Duane Howard and Doug Manmiller.  Tim Buckwalter has joined the weekly points fray and has already made his presence known with a 2^nd place finish this week and sitting 4^th in the early points.  Mike Lisowski has stepped forward with some early consistency and sits a surprising 5^th with a long season ahead.  Craig Von Dohren is currently 6^th followed by Jared Umbenhauer, Brad Brightbill, Jeff Strunk and Cory Merkel.  The points battle for 2022 has only just begun.

It’s handicap season and like all the front runners Tim Buckwalter has already begun running back to front on a consistent basis.  Tim started the day running from 8^th to 2^nd in his heat race and then in the feature posted a 2^nd place finish from a 13^th starting position. 

Doug Manmiller finished 3^rd from a 17^th starting position and continuing his streak of top 5 finishes so far this year at Grandview.  Doug noted “ We were a 4^th place car but got a spot up to 3^rd when the leaders got together, and we’ll take it.  There were a lot of good cars in front of us so really happy with a 3^rd tonight.  This is probably our best start to the season in a long time with a 3^rd and 5^th in first two races.”

Duane Howard finished a solid 4^th from a 18^th starting position to put together back-to-back 4^th place finishes at Grandview and he also finished 4^th at Big Diamond on Friday night.  The early season gremlins seem to have been banished by the 15G team as they eye up a run at the 2022 Grandview points championship.

Dave Dissinger finished 5^th from his 3^rd starting position and has made vast improvements from last week’s DNQ for the feature.  Dave stated “We started 2^nd and got out in front and actually took it easy and won by a straight away and right then I knew we had something for the feature.  Started 3^rd in the feature and you know you got to go cause you know they are coming. Brett Kressley surprised me how quickly he came through there and he’s just a rocket.  I just kept rolling the bottom and kept it straight and we are thrilled with a 5^th here at Grandview tonight.  The car last week was just as good as this week, but we started 10^th in heat and couldn’t get going before the cars strung out on a green to checkered heat race.”

Mike Lisowski finished 6^th from a 22^nd starting position.  Mike has a 3^rd place finish from the pole this season and a 6^th place finish from the back and a complete change in his racing luck from past seasons and hopes to make a push for the top five this season.  Postrace Mike reflected “Our heat race was not our best and we had to go to the consolation.  In the feature we caught a few breaks and had a decent finish in the end.  We have a pretty good car to start with this season.”

Jared Umbenhauer finished 7^th from a 21^st starting position.  Jared noted “I think we just overused the tires for that last restart with 6 to go, the tires cooled off and just spun at the end.”

Ryan Grim finished 8^th from an 11^th starting position in Ron Harring’s borrowed 85T TOTH entry.  Last week Ryan broke a motor in the feature and was unable to get parts to fix the motor in time for this week.  Ryan reflected “Last week we bent valves and broke a rod so I put up a Facebook post and ended up borrowing a car from Ron and just adding my carb, wheels, shocks and tires.  I usually struggle when I’m in a Teo car and the track is black and slick with no grip but tonight I was able to get hold on the top and get some spots.  All in all not a bad night and hope to have my car back next week.”

Kevin Graver finished 9^th rebounding from a DNQ last week.  Postrace Kevin noted “Car was good early we just didn’t keep up with the track enough in the feature.  We had a good car in the feature but immediately knew it was too good too soon.  We got some setup help from Ryan Godown this week and it made a difference for us.  We can’t thank Ryan enough for his help.  We started pole in the heat and the car was the best it’s ever been for us.  We definitely have a pretty good car to work with now.”

Brad Brightbill finished another 10^th from a 20^th starting position.  Brad has posted back-to-back 10^th place finishes and has started the 2022 season off with good consistent finishes.

Jeff Strunk had a two pit stop day and finished a disappointing 19^th after opening the season with a 2^nd in the point opener and a 2^nd in the Moneymaker.

Justin Grim finished 13^th from his 24^th starting position to improve from last week 19^th feature finish.  Justin reflected “We had a pretty good car toward the end of the feature.  I struggled in the heat race as the track was not what I expected.  We adjusted our baseline for next week so hopefully we can get qualified better.  Also have a game plan to get the car to fire better at the start of the feature without loosing too much in the last 10 laps.”   

 Cory Merkel finished 14^th from a 28^th starting position in the feature.  Cory stated “We are still learning our 2020 Bicknell and it’s been a world of difference from our 2009 Teo.  I’m getting more comfortable every week and happy with our results so far.”

The T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman will be joined by the Wingless Super Sportsman in a three-division program next Saturday, May 7 starting at 7:30 pm. The program will include qualifying events leading to the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature, the 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman main, and the 25 lap Super Sportsman feature. Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. and warm-ups starting at 6:30 pm. Adult grandstand admission is $20, while children under age 12 are admitted free of charge.