Grandview Sportsman Pit Notes 7/23/22 – Brian Hirthler Charges to 3rd Sportsman Victory

The 25 lap sportsman feature saw 4 lead changes, 5 cautions and 2 red flags. In the end it was Brian Hirthler taking the checkered flag and win from his 16^th starting position.  Brian posted his 4^th win of the season and continues to lead the points over Dylan Hoch.

Wayne Rotenberger led the field to green and held to top spot until the 3^rd restart when Joey Vaccaro took over the lead on lap 8.  Dylan Hoch briefly took over the lead on lap 13 only to lose the lead to Brian Hirthler 3 laps later on lap 16.  Hirthler had to deal with two more restarts but drove into victory lane with a close .4 second margin of victory over Dylan Hoch and his nephew Jessie Hirthler in 3^rd.    

Heat winners for the field of 37 sportsman were Joey Vacarro, Kyle Smith, Brian Hirthler and Kenny Bock.  Ryan Graver and Parker Guldin won the last chance consolations.

SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps):

1.BRIAN HIRTHLER, 2. Dylan Hoch, 3. Jesse Hirthler, 4. Adrianna Delliponte, 5. Mike Schneck Jr., 6. Joey Vaccaro, 7. Cody Manmiller, 8. Parker Guldin, 9. Keith Brightbill, 10. Ryan Graver, 11. Lex Shive, 12. Logan Bauman, 13. Dakota Kohler, 14. Jimmy Leiby, 15. Matt Clay, 16. Zane Roth, 17. Jesse Landis, 18. BJ Joly, 19. Wayne Rotenberger, 20. Mike Stofflet, 21. Steve Young, 22. Mike Myers, 23. Kyle Smith, 24. Kenny Bock, 25. Nathan Horn, 26. Nathan Mohr

Did Not Qualify: Kyle Hartzell, Tyler James, Keith Haring, Colton Perry, Chris Esposito, Blake Reber, Mark Gaugler, Decker Swinehart, Hunter Iatalese, Bryan Rhoads, Mark Mohr

Sportsman Pit Notes – 7/23/22

Brian Hirthler took his 3^rd Grandview points race win of the season from his 16^th starting position.  Brian used 5 restarts on his way to taking the lead on lap 16 and then defended his lead through 2 more late restarts to take his 3^rd trip to victory lane in 10 points races and continues to lead the sportsman points standing over Dylan Hoch and Kyle Smith.

Brian stated “Win #3 came as a bit of a surprise.  With the high temperatures all week I expect the track to have very little grip and passing be at a premium, however I must applaud the track crew for the work they did throughout the night to keep the track racy for all divisions. The heats had  2 grooves and the features had 3 grooves, top bottom & middle.  With a surface like that it lets the drivers really come into play in the night’s outcome.  In the heat we started 8th and were able to advance to 4th by a mid-race caution.  On the restart we jumped from 4th to 2nd and then moved into the lead for the heat race win.  Our car has been pretty good in the heats, but the track surface really dictates what you can do out there most of the time.”

“In the feature we lined up 16th and got a few cars early and then missed a jingle or 2 and worked our way inside the top 10 by lap 8.  After a few more restarts I got to 4th and was able to advance to second with an outside pass around my nephew then an inside pass for 2nd which really let me know we were good all over the surface.  We raced with Hoch for the lead for a good 4 or 5 laps and pulled alongside of him just as the caution waved. On  the restart we were able to take over where we left off racing down the front stretch side by side and overtaking Dylan for the lead for the remainder of the race.  I struggled a bit a month or two ago working on our package for the bottom to pair well with what we had on the top.  Tonight, it really showed what the car can do using both the top and bottom as needed.  It is really fun when you can race with the top cars and pull off a win, especially having my nephew in the mix who is getting better every week.”

Dylan Hoch finished 2^nd from his 14^th starting position and rebounded from a late flat tire and 16^th place finish last week in the Firecracker 40 which dropped him from the points leader to 3^rd place in the points standings.  With his 2^nd place finish this week, Dylan moves into 2^nd place behind points leader Brian Hirthler.

Dylan stated “Yeah we finally got our engine misfiring resolved after about 4-5 weeks of problems.  We started 14^th in the feature so having a stout motor along with a great setup this week and I felt we had a pretty good car, but Hirthler was just as good as we are.  It is unfortunate we couldn’t hold onto the win, but I think we just got out motored this week.  We gave it everything we had but it just wasn’t our week to win.”

Jesse Hirthler finished 3^rd from a 9^th starting position giving the rookie driver his second podium finish in the past 3 weeks and rebounding from a DNQ at the Firecracker 40.  This was also the second time that Jesse finished on the podium with his uncle Brian.

Jesse reflected “I was really confident going into the night and that I was going to do really well.  In the heat I knew I had to get off the top and to the bottom as soon possible and that’s what I did.  I got 2^nd in the heat which locked me into the invert for the feature.  I felt I had a good shot at winning this feature from my 9^th starting position.  We did some things to the car to prevent it from being tight and right away it felt like I had a real good car.  I was able to pass 3 cars in 3 laps and on the first restart I split 2 cars coming out of 4 and was able to make a successful pass on both of them.  When I saw Dylan go by me, I knew he was bringing all the big dogs with him, and I knew I needed to be up on the wheel to keep from seeing all of them go by too.  I was able to finish 3rd behind my uncle and Dylan Hoch.  I was trying to see where my car was best because it was the first night where my car felt good anywhere I put it.  I was able to come home with a strong finish and wasn’t be upset one bit about getting 3rd to two of the 3 top points runners.  This race was my best sportsman yet finishing 3rd coming from a 9^th starting position.

 Jesse continued “I work on the car every night doing maintenance on both my car and Dad’s car.  I can do most routine work and still depend on Dad for major things that I haven’t seen yet.   Last week we got done working on the cars a day early so my dad took me with him on Friday for some testing.  Dad wanted me to experience and feel the power of a modified.  I got use to the speed very quickly and could turn smooth laps around the bottom.  We were thinking that the modified time on Friday may have helped me in the crate this week with throttle control and driving into the corners on Saturday.  I’m looking forward to what next week brings.”

Adie Delliponti finished 4^th from the 10^th starting position for her best finish of the season.  Adie noted “We were fast in the heat race and settled into an invert position without taking any unnecessary chances in the heat.  In the feature we started 10^th but immediately fell back to 12^th.  We had very good restarts on both the top and bottom.  We moved our way forward to a 4^th place finish without any tire issues from the heat or the two red flags.”

Mike Schneck took off again this week in his Air Force # 2 entry and finished 5^th from his 12^th starting position for his best finish of the season and moved him into 5^th place in the Grandview season points standings.  Mike posted a season best 10^th place finish last week only to better it this week with a season best 5^th place finish.

Postrace back at the trailer Mike stated “It was a really good night from start to finish.   We started 6^th in the heat and just went around the top right from the start and finished 3^rd which put us in the handicap with our best possible starting position in the feature – 12^th.”

“For the feature we made some small changes to our setup when the track announced they were going to water the surface before our feature.  In the beginning of the feature, it seemed like the top was where I should be but after a big tangle the track slicked off and I could run top or bottom.  This allowed me to maneuver around cars and not get in tangles which always makes it a good night.  The track prep kept us at the track a little longer but having a great surface to race on without tire wear was well worth the wait.  The good night started with our  best possible starting position, racing all night with no contact damage, no tire wear and ended with posting our best season and career finish at Grandview.  That was a scary good night let me sit down and take all this in.  I’m just happy we  had a top 5 car that was able to finish in the top 5 for once without getting caught up in anything.  Got to thank my crew for enduring the heat with me this week and my sponsors for their support which makes all this possible.  Onward and upward as we try to do it all over again next week.”

Joey Vaccaro finished a season best 6^th from his 3^rd starting position.  Joey noted “Last night’s 6^th place finish was a win for us with the way this season has been going this year.  The first half of the year we haven’t had any luck and we finally found some last night.  We stayed in 1^st from start to finish in the heat and earned the 3^rd starting position in the feature.  I was able to lead a bunch of laps which was again a huge win for us after several tough weeks of DNF’s.  In the feature our tires heated up and I lost a lot of my stagger which caused car to get progressively tighter and dropped us back a few positions.  We got teched because we were fast and that too is a win for us.  Hopefully we can turn all these little wins into a big win very soon.”

Cody Manmiller finished 7^th from his 23^rd starting position.  Cody reflected “Car got beat up in the heat race and we had to run the consolation and feature without any brake calipers on the LR.  We had to change the front axles from the heat to the consolation.  I was definitely happy to walk away with a 7^th after all we went through in the heat and the car felt great on the top even after being hurt & damaged a lot going into the feature.”

Parker Guldin finished 8^th from a 22^nd starting position posted his 2^nd consecutive top 10 finish from the 26^th and 22^nd starting position respectively.  Parker stated “Our car and driver were really good all throughout the night but then again it’s Grandview and I think everyone else’s cars were good too.  It’s not my first choice to qualify for the feature through the consolation but it is unfortunately part of being 6^th in the points and for now it’s the path we have to take until we figure out how to go back to front in heat race conditions.  I know a lot of the cars I passed this week to get to the top ten were involved in wrecks and that is never a good thing especially given the current conditions which is a downer.  It’s heartbreaking to see all the hard work that someone is putting in during the week get destroyed to the point they can’t get off the track under their own power.  We can’t be any happier to be able to get top 10’s from deep in the field starting positions but are looking forward to getting into the field from the heat and skip the consolation thing. But for now, we are getting it done however we can and looking forward to making things a little easier on us in the future with some more success in the

heats .”

Keith Brightbill finished 9^th from his 17^th starting position in a return to the seat of his brother Brad’s crate sportsman entry after a win at the Firecracker 40.  Keith overcame being involved in two multi car tangles and going to the rear of the field to post a 9^th place finish for the night.

 Ryan Graver finished 10^th from a 21^st starting position.  Ryan reflected “We got roughed up on the start in the heat race which set me back.  I struggled to find a good line and I missed qualifying by one spot.  We had a good car in consolation which we won from the pole.  In the feature I started 21^st and gained several spots by staying out of numerous wrecks.  I stayed patient and found the top was fast but later hit the outside wall and gave a bunch of spots back.  I then used both the top and bottom lanes to move forward back to a 10^th place finish.  We seem to have our feature setup dialed in but still have to figure out how to get our heat race setup a little better and start qualifying from the heat instead of going into the consolation every week.

The crates have 6 wins over the sportsman motors who have 4 wins.  The crate winners were Parker Guldin, Cody Manmiller, Dylan Hock, Kenny Bock, Decker Swinehart and Keith Brightbill.  The sportsman winners were Brian Hirthler with three wins and Lex Shive with one win.  This week 21 crates went up against 16 sportsman motors in the 37 car field.

The T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman will be joined by the United Racing Club Sprint Cars in a three-division program next Saturday, July 30 starting at 7:30 pm.  The program will include qualifying events for all three classes leading to the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature, the 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman main, and the 25-lap URC Sprint car feature race.

Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. warm-ups will be starting at 6:15 pm.  Adult grandstand admission is $25, while children ages 6-11 are $10, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge.

It will be Christmas in July on Saturday, July 30, as V&M Towing along with SDS Photography will be providing bonus money for both the Modified and Sportsman racers in the features plus the addition of cash dashes for both divisions.  Santa Claus will also make an appearance for the youngsters that evening as well.

The T.P. Trailer Modified feature winner will pocket a cool $3500 total payoff with purse and bonuses for the 30-lap main event, while the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman winner will collect a total prize of $1000 for the 25-lap main event on July 30.