Grandview Sportsman Pit Notes 6/18/22 – Bock Bounces Back and Takes Green to Checkered Win 

Kenny Bock started on the pole position and held the led for the entire 25 lap feature despite 8 caution flags that flew in the first seven laps.  The final 18 laps of the feature ran green to checkered with Brian Hirthler making a late race move into 2^nd on lap 23 that reduced a 4 second led to only a .33 margin of victory at the checkered flag for Kenny Bock who drove into his second career sportsman victory lane

The 30 car field saw heats won by Kenny Bock, Addie Delliponti, and Decker Swinehart.  The last chance consolation was won by Jimmy Leiby.   

SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps):

1.KENNY BOCK, 2. Brian Hirthler, 3. Decker Swinehart, 4. Tyler James, 5. Adrianna Delliponti, 6. Kyle Smith, 7. Dylan Hoch, 8. Colton Perry, 9. Nathan Horn, 10. Jimmy Leiby, 11. Cole Stangle, 12. Ryan Graver, 13. Mike Schneck Jr. 14. Mike Stofflet, 15. Doug Snyder, 16. Parker Guldin, 17. Jesse Landis, 18. Mark Kemmerer, 19. Dakota Kohler, 20. Jesse Hirthler, 21. Logan Bauman, 22. Mark Gaugler, 23. Zane Roth, 24. Joey Vaccaro

DID NOT QUALIFY: Blake Reber, Kyle Hartzell, Chris Esposito, Zach Steffey, Mike Myers, Nathan Mohr

Grandview Modified Pit Notes 6/18/22

Kenny Bock won his first race of the season from the pole position and green to checkered but had to deal with 8 cautions in the first 7 laps and then 18 green flag laps to hold off a fast closing Brian Hirthler who was charging to the front on a difficult track but fell short by a margin of .33 as Bock took his first checkered flag of the season.

The start of the 2022 season has been difficult and luckless for Kenny Bock beginning with hard contact at the New Egypt STSS race. Hard contact on the straightaway nearly knocked the rear out of the car and sidelining him for a week.  His best Grandview finish to date has been a 16^th so this win couldn’t come at a better time but by no means was the win tonight a surprise to Kenny.

In victory lane Kenny stated “My parents are my car owners, and they do a great job every week dealing with all the wrecks and getting me back on track.  I wasn’t opposed to the single file restarts and actually  glad to see them.  I started to catch the back of the field at the end and just stayed on the bottom all night.  I didn’t see the 4* until the cool down lap.”

Back at the trailer Kenny reflected “We were up front all night, kept from making any mistakes and had a fast car all night.  This was a nice time to win and a big confidence builder for us after a tough couple of weeks with a DNQ & a hard wreck at STSS in New Egypt that sidelined us for a week.  It’s only my dad and me so we have been in the shop every night this week and we do everything on the car.  Tom Umbenhauer gave use some setup help this week that made a difference for us.  We were able to find some speed and keep our nose clean.  All the early cautions allowed the high points cars to quickly move to the front.  I had used tires on in the feature and it hurt us at the end of the race.  Our car was just as good last week but we got stuck behind some cars and ended up with a DNQ.  Late in the race the car started sliding in the turns and I knew the used tires were going.  I felt slower on the finally laps but never saw or heard Brian so I didn’t start to overdrive the car.”  

Brian Hirthler finished 2^nd from the 14^th starting spot.  Most of the laps on the restarts were being called back but Brian went to the top side on the single file restarts while the traffic jams were on the bottom and underneath and quickly ran to the front.  Brian was able to move into 2nd but came up .33 short at the checkered flag and needed a few more laps to catch Bock whose tires were beginning to fade.

Brian  recalled “They told us after the 3rd caution that if there was one more that we would be going single file, they actually waited till the 5th or 6th caution.  I don’t really mind the single file restarts on that track surface as people were all fighting for the bottom and generally huge wrecks result or banged up equipment.  It also opens up the top which worked for me tonight on all of the single file restarts.  Car might have been the best car I had all year setup wise.  Just ran out of time tonight moving to the front.  Went from 14th to 6th in 6 laps, but then the track conditions really made passing difficult and didn’t get to 2nd until lap 23.  I could have used a late caution in the second half of the race.  There were 8 in the first seven laps, but then the race ran green for next 18 laps to the checkered.  This was the first week in about a month or so that they didn’t do some track prep before our feature and unfortunately hurt 3 of my tires running as hard as I did on the top & later the bottom.”

Decker Swinehart finished 3^rd from his second starting position for his best run of the season.  Decker had a hard crash into the back stretch wall in the second week of the season completely destroying his 2011 Bicknell chassis.  Decker was back on track the following week in a 2020 Bicknell.  After four races of searching for the right setup for their new chassis, it looks like the 83 team found it in a big way with a 3^rd place finish.

Decker noted “We started on the pole in the heat and had a fast car and got the win.  We ran 2^nd in the feature the whole race but got tight with 4 laps to go and Hirthler got by me.  I jumped one of the restarts.  The other one was a yellow for Logan Bauman and not a jump start by anyone.  I didn’t like the single file restarts because the only way I was going to beat Bock was on a restart since his car was real fast.”   

Tyler James finished 4^th from his 6^th starting position for his second top five finish of the season.  This week Tyler resolved his motor issues and is now looking for more consistency from the driver.  His two top fives in the past 3 weeks has propelled him from 19^th to 10^th in the early season point standings.

Tyler recalled “We finally got the motor running right and it’s pretty good now.  Last time we ran 3^rd we had carb issues and were flat in the corners but that was all good tonight.  We made some slight changes for the feature.  I lost count of the number of cautions.  We have speed in the car and now we have to get the car to work while going back to front in the field and then it’s up to the driver.”

Adrianna Delliponti finished 5^th from her 8^th starting position and moved up to 12^th in the early season points standing despite missing a race this season.

Adrianna commented “We had a good night.  Right off the bat the car was good.  We won our first heat race of the year.  We also moved forward in the feature from 8^th to 5^th which is what we are looking to do – move forward from were ever we start.  The single file restarts didn’t help any and if they were double file, I could have passed a few more cars.  We fell back through the field last week from 6^th to 12^th, but the car was still good.  We went with that setup, and it worked for us tonight.”

Kyle Smith finished 6^th from a 17^th starting position and found moving forward a bit tougher then usual due to difficult rubbered up bottom track conditions and nothing up top.  He continues to maintain his second place position in the early season points standings with his sites set on Dylan Hoch the points leader.”

Kyle noted “There were a lot of cautions, and I was getting really good restarts that kept getting called back until they went to single file restarts.  Couldn’t get the top to work so had to go to the bottom and hope people made mistakes and then realized the track was taking rubber.  I had a lot of speed on Adrianna but not enough to pass her clean on the bottom with the track conditions.  She did a nice job tonight.”

Dylan Hoch finished 8^th from his 15^th starting position but track conditions held him back from moving forward his usual +15 positions or better.

Dylan reflected “ We had another good heat race which set us up with a handicapped starting position in the feature. The track was junk for the feature since they didn’t water it.  It turned into a single file race around the bottom which made it difficult to pass without moving someone.  It got even harder when they decided to go to single file restarts the rest of the race. I can’t blame them for going to single file, since nobody could seem to get a lap in without wrecking.  On top of all that we destroyed tires.  I’m not sure why they decide to dig the track up two weeks ago to help tire wear and then not touch it at all this week.  The inconsistency of track prep in a tire shortage is a little frustrating.  Other than that, we did have a fast car again. The track conditions and luck just didn’t quite fall our way. And that happens – it’s racing.”

Colton Perry finished 8^th from his 3^rd starting position for his best finish of his sportsman racing career.

Colton reflected “ After the heat I actually had to change the J bar because it got bent in the heat from the rough track.  I was really happy with the feature and just slipped up a bit too many times which let cars get by me.  But all in all, we are definitely headed in the right direction and definitely a win that the car is in one piece.”

Rookie Nat Horn finished 9^th from his 5^th starting position to post his 3^rd top five finish of the season.  Nat is in his rookie season with no prior racing experience and has posted 3 top five finishes in his first 7 races of his career.

Nat commented “I’m getting use to the car and how you have to drive this track.  We handicapped into the feature.  We started 5^th in the feature and immediately feel back to 7^th.  I just drove around the bottom on a very slick racetrack, and you need someone to make mistake to be able to make a pass.    In the feature you have to finesse the car and pedal the car to get through the corners.  Our car is getting there and we are in the shop every night trying to get better.”

The crates are back in the lead with 4 wins over the sportsman motors who have 3 wins.  The crate winners were Parker Guldin, Cody Manmiller, Dylan Hock and Kenny Bock.  The sportsman winners were Brian Hirthler with two wins and Lex Shive with one win.  This week 18 crates went up against 12 sportsman motors in the 30 car field.

The T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman will be in action on Saturday, June 25 starting at 7:30 pm. The program will include qualifying events for both divisions leading to the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature and the 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman main. In addition, the Outlaw Racing Series Vintage racers will be in action in a feature only program.