Grandview Modified Pit Notes – 9/17/22 – Craig Von Dohren Tops Field of 72 Modifieds to Win his 6th  Freedom 76er at Grandview Speedway

Craig Von Dohren patiently and methodically worked his way from his 15^th starting position to take the lead on lap 58 and then hold off an 18 lap final assault by Brett Kressley to take the checkered flag and make an emotional drive into victory lane to cap a purely brilliant & dominant season of racing at Grandview.  Craig Von Dohren continued a storybook season at Grandview with a win of Grandview’s Crown Jewel “Freedom 76er” over a 72 car field of Modifieds.

Nick Rockinski led the field to green and took the early led with outside polesitter Timmy Buckwalter in second.  A lap 3 caution for a Ron Kline  was the first caution of the night but it was followed by 48 laps of green flag racing.  In lapped traffic on lap 28 Tim Buckwalter moved into the lead until Jeff Strunk took over the lead on lap 37.  The second caution flew on lap 51 and on the restart Von Dohren moved from 6^th to 3^rd.  On lap 58 Von Dohren took over the lead with Brett Kressley moving into second while Jeff Strunk dropped to 3^rd.  Brett Kressley used his traditional high side throw everything he had at Von Dohren but tagged to wall twice as Craig Von Dohren weathered the storm and drive into victory lane to his 6^th Freedom 76er victory.

The 72 modifieds ran 6 heat races which were won by Jim Houseworth, Ryan Grim, Kevin Hirthler, Matt Stangle, Timmy Buckwalter and Ray Swinehart.

The consolations were won by Dylan Swinehart and Cole Stangle. 

The cash dash consisted of the 6 heat race winners and guaranteed starters – Craig Von Dohren, Brett Kressley & Jeff Strunk.   Outside polesitter Kevin Hirthler lead all 10 laps and took the win over Jeff Strunk and Craig Von Dohren in 3^rd from his 9^th starting position.

Jared Umbenhauer won the Minuteman 20 to take one of the last 5 qualifying positions into the 32 car feature field.

MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (76 laps)

1. CRAIG VON DOHREN ($32,060), 2. Brett Kressley, 3. Jeff Strunk, 4. Billy Pauch Jr., 5. Kyle Weiss, 6. Matt Stangle, 7. Mike Gular, 8. Michael Storms, 9. Danny Bouc, 10. Mike Lisowski, 11. Ryan Krachun, 12. Duane Howard, 13. Nick Rochinski, 14. Jared Umbenhauer, 15. Doug Manmiller, 16. Logan Watt, 17. Jack Butler, 18. Rick Laubach, 19. Lance Willix, 20. Justin Grim, 21. Ryan Watt, 22. Ron Kline, 23. Brandon Grosso, 24. Tim Buckwalter, 25. Kevin Hirthler, 26. Jordan Henn, 27. Kyle Lilick, 28. Brian Hirthler, 29. Ryan Grim, 30. Jim Housworth, 31. Ray Swinehart, 32. Tanner Van Doren

DID NOT QUALIFY: Sam Martz Sr., Cole Stangle, Cale Ross, Kyle Smith, Ryan Beltz, Dave Dissinger, Chris Gambler, Dylan Swinehart, Kevin Graver Jr., Mike Trautschold, Frank Yankowski, Jimmy Leiby, Cory Merkel, Bobby Trapper Jr., Jesse Leiby, Eddie Strada, Brett Gilmore, Ron Haring Jr., Dan Waisempacher, Steve Swinehart, Mark Kratz, Adrianna Delliponti, Bobby Gunther-Walsh, Nate Brinker, Frank Cozze, Steve Young, Sam Martz Jr., Brad Arnold, Craig Whitmoyer, Joe Funk, Louden Reimert, Cody Manmiller, Lex Shive, Ryan Lilick, Eric Kormann, Bobby Trapper Sr., Mike Laise, John Willman, Eric Biehn, Doug Smith

Grandview Modified Pit Notes – 9/17/22

72 modifieds made the call for heat races and attempted to qualify for the 32 car field.  There were an additional 4 cars on grounds that could not make the call for the heat races.  All 4 cars qualifying from the heat to the feature were placed in the redraw along with the 3 guaranteed starts Craig Von Dohren, Jeff Strunk, and Brett Kressley.  27 of the 32 qualifiers redrew for their position in the field.

Craig Von Dohren moved forward from 14th to 6^th after 48 green flag laps and then his key moment of the race came on the lap 51 restart when he went from 6^th to 3^rd and 7 laps later on the next restart passed Jeff Strunk & moved into the lead on lap 58.  Brett Kressley moved into second on lap 60 and the battle was on for the final 16 laps of the 76er between the top two cars at Grandview for the past two seasons.  Von Dohren withstood two hard charges that ended with Kressley tapping the wall and falling back, but both times Kressley was right back on Von Dohren’s bumper until caution flew with two to go.  Von Dohren was able to take advantage of the single file restart and hold off Kressley to drive into victory lane for his 6^th Freedom 76er win of his career.

Craig Von Dohren’s dominance at Grandview this season may very well have been his best Grandview season of his career with Craig landing a total of 13 wins at Grandview, the 2022 points championship and the Freedom 76er.

In victory lane Craig reflected “We had a really good car and the restart on lap 51 was the key to this win.  I found grip through the middle on the restart as the bottom and top started to burn off and go away.  The track changed tonight making it very hard to know what to do and where to go when your leading.  The cautions were my friend tonight; except for that last one on 74.   I’m very gratefully for this team and the car they put under me every week this year.  We will just have to wait and see what happens here and hopefully we will be back next year.”

Brett Kressley finished 2^nd from his 15^th starting position.  Brett made an all out run for the lead in the final 16 laps and but couldn’t find a way around Von Dohren.  In victory lane Brett noted “Not much to say we gave it everything we had, and it wasn’t quite enough tonight.  We are progressing every year and getting better and better every year.”

Back at the trailer Brett recalled “Car was good all night but in the end the track was gone.  We gave it 115% and that’s what happens.”

Jeff Strunk finished 3^rd from his 10^th starting position.  Jeff moved into the lead on lap 38 and led for 20 laps but fell back to his 3^rd place finish as Von Dohren and Kressley went by.  At the podium Jeff stated “ Craig had a heck of a year, and it was probably the best anyone has ever had in the history of Grandview.   We were  good to lap 51 and the car just went away after the lap 51 caution flag.  All the top guns were in the top 15 starting positions, but I still didn’t abuse the car to get the lead.  After Craig and Brett went by on lap 58, I couldn’t challenge them.”

“I hope this is not the last go round and I would like to thank everyone for their support, and we enjoy your company here every Saturday night.  Hopefully we’ll be back here next year, and I’ll get to try for my ninth win at the 76er.   Hats off to the Rogers family and track team for 60 years of great racing here at Grandview.”

Back at trailer Jeff stated “Having a guaranteed spot is huge (top 3 finishers were all guaranteed).  There is so much pressure just to qualify at this race.  If you are in early heat and draw a bad #  you need a lot of luck on your side to qualify.  We had two Zubi racing hotrods capable of winning.  We went with the car we ran there all season and up to lap 51 the race was playing out exactly how I hoped it would but after that it was a different story. I’m not sure if we sealed up RR tire or something mechanical  but car was terrible and didn’t have near the grip it did before lap 51 caution and it didn’t get better as the race went on. Up to that point was just passing cars one at a time and taking care of my tires and we were just cruising.  I thought we had something for Craig but in the end we were not even able to contend for the win.  It always sucks leading any race and not winning especially this one.  I really wanted to win one for Dave Zubi, our sponsors, and crew.

Billy Pauch Jr. finished 4^th from his 13^th starting position.  Billy commented “ Grandview has not always been the kindest to me and I think we have 3 wins there over the years, but we just run OK there.  In general, we had a solid weekend with our 4^th place finish.  I was happy to be the first non-regular in the top five.  On the long run felt good for a while and I felt the tires kind of give up a tick and that was all she wrote for moving forward.  Needed a double file restart on that last one but that’s all part of the game.”

Kyle Weiss finished 5^th from his 5^th starting position in only his 2^nd outing of the season in this car and for that matter any car this season.

Kyle recalled “We drew 8^th in our draw group but wasn’t worried because we had a very good car in practice and knew I just needed to remember how to drive in the heat race.  I knocked the rust on my driving and finished 3^rd in the heat which got us in the field and redraw.  We had a great redraw for the feature and started 5^th on the grid.  Our crew gave me a great car and I’m lucky to be their driver tonight.  I was dialed in and ran around 3^rd to 5^th all night long.  We got some contact damage and was smoking a little from the contact but nothing serious.  We only had front brakes all night which affected how I could maneuver the car and to compensate I ran my own line in the middle.  All in all, this was great night for this team who .”

Kyle continued “It was also a great night for a semi-retired driver who has only raced one time prior this season in a car that was completely rebuilt in August.  I thought I would be winded after the 50 green flag laps, but I do walk the dog a lot and I guess that helped keep me in shape.  This car was also wrecked in August and re-built in a week.  I appreciate the Rogers Family for the past 60 of great racing and love everyone of them.  I am proud to have raced at Grandview through my career and be here at the final race if this is it.”

Matt Stangle finished 6^th from his 6^th starting position in Norm Hansell’s 357.  Matt has posted top ten finishes in both times that he has been in the 357 entry this season.  Michael Storm was in another 357 entry and finished 8^th from his 18^th starting position.  Michael noted “We were fortunate to have a great heat draw which made things easier.  We made a few changes for the feature, and I just rode the first 25 not knowing what to expect and then the car really came in for the last 50 laps.  I think we had a top 5 car if the track held up a little longer.”

Mike Gular came back home one more time and finished 7^th from his 23^rd starting position.  Mike noted “I didn’t want to miss this one.  It was nice to see the fans and everyone back for one more time.  The NY tour grind can be demanding, and I do miss racing around home.  Grandview has always been the hub of Pennsylvania modified racing.   Walk through a Walmart down the street and your see race stickers on cars all over the parking lot.  Modified racing is part of life around here.”

Mike continued “We have run our big block all year, so our spec program was put on the back burner a bit and the Friday night practice really helped us get back to baseline.  When you come to Grandview you know Craig, Jeff, Duane, and others have there stuff on point as these guys have a lot of laps at this place.  Track was narrow and heavy in the second heat, and we were in a redraw position so didn’t force the issue.  Our redraw was 23^rd out of 27.  We ran a harder tire hoping for green flag laps which we got in the first 50.  The late yellows hurt us but not too bad as we have learned a lot about tires while traveling with SDS and STSS.  These guys here can run with anyone from New York.”

Danny Bouc finished 9^th from his 24^th starting position in his return to the track where he had two wins in the Norm Hansell 357 last season.  Danny noted “We had a good car and just kept it free knowing that I had a lot of cars to pass. We kind of fizzled out in the end but that’s how it goes.”

Mike Lisowski finished 10^th from his 3^rd starting position posting his best finish since the first three weeks of the season.  Mike commented “Car was decent all night.  A top ten is a very good run for us after how rough the second half of the year was for us.”

Ryan Krachun finished 11^th from his 22^nd starting position.  Ryan qualified in a redraw position from heat 3 which was by far the longest and most challenging heat race of the day with 6 cautions in the 12 lap heat race.  Ryan was a bit under the weather but still managed to make a strong front to back run to an 11^th place finish.

Duane Howard finished 12^th the 31^st starting position.  To stay the last couple of weeks have been rough for Howard and the 15g team is an understatement.  The regular Grandview car was bent up and junked in a heat race incident in the final race of the season which lead to the Big Diamond car coming to the 76er.  

Duane reflected “Our 76er was sure not what we wanted.  We had to run the Diamond car after we lost a car the week before.  We had some difficulty in the heat turning the car which got us in trouble that put us behind and in the back of the field.  We were able to salvage a finish that produce a decent paying night.  Our Saturdays this year have been disastrous.”

Jared Umbenhauer finished 14^th from his 28^th starting position.  Jared stated “Yeah one position in our heat from 5^th to 4th could have changed the whole outcome of our night.  It’s all about the draw for this race. It really hurt us because we were in the very first heat. I was lucky enough to get under a few cars and get to 5th.  I could have roughed up another competitor for fourth, but I did not.  If he would have messed up one time or we had a caution I would a been in good shape.  Car was great in the minuteman.  In the feature it was just so tough to get by cars with the limited cautions.  I over worked my tires during the race and was just holding on at the end.  I still think if I started closer to the front, we had a top 5 car.”

Doug Manmiller finished 15^th from his 32^nd starting position.  Doug noted “Yeah we had a bad draw which put us behind from the beginning of the night.  We were able to get in through the Minuteman going 10^th to 5^th for the final spot in the field.  Long road to go from dead last in this 32 car field.  I was very happy with Cody’s first time in a modified.”

Justin Grim finished 20^th from his 4^th starting position on the field.  Justin was just lucky to be on track with a car with two major wrecks in the past 3 weeks in both his #1 and backup car but he was able to put a car together for the 76er.  Justin noted “We made our normal adjustments for the most part the only thing we really did especially different was put a hard rf tire on, which a lot of other guys did too.  Car wouldn’t turn and we were in big trouble from the drop of the green. We are all disappointed in the feature result, but we qualified for one of the toughest races anywhere finished the race in one piece which is a big deal right now for us since funds are depleted after all the damage the last few weeks.  So, we’ll take it and move on to whatever next season brings.

Logan Watt made his career debut modified and finished 21^st from his 16^th starting position.  Logan also finished a close 2^nd in the Freedom 38er on Friday night.

Ron Kline finished 22^nd from his 19^th starting position.  Ron commented “I’m retiring from racing my car after tonight.  Just thrilled to make the field at the final race on the hill.  I may pick up a ride here and there in the future but plan on retiring from running my own car.”

The Rest of the Story

Timmy Buckwalter ran in 2^nd for 52 laps until the rotor on the distributor broke sending him to the pits and ending his night early.

Kevin Hirthler held 5^th for 56 laps only to be spun by contact from another competitor ending his night.  Kevin reflected “Best car I have had all year long.  This was the first night on a fresh engine and it was very strong.  Really hope we get to race here at Grandview next year and I think I will be a force to be reckoned with. This is a new engine package my builder has been working on and he hit it out of the ballpark.”

Ryan Watt had worked his way up to 8^th from his 16^th starting position but went on a wild ride flipping down the front stretch on lap 74.  Ryan walked away from the incident.

Modified rookie Kyle Lilick qualified for the Freedom 76er and finished 27^th from a 29^th starting position.  Kyle noted “We were happy to get into the feature.  With 76 modifieds on grounds our goal was just to make the 32 car field and that we did.  Anything else would be a bonus.

Brian Hirthler qualified for the feature but dropped out on lap 36 due to mechanical issues and finished 28^th   Both Kevin and Brian qualified for the modified and sportsman features.  In warmups Brian lost the motor in his 4* sportsman entry so he jumped into his nephew’s 117 crate car entry for the feature.  The sportsman feature saw Kevin finish 7^th and Brian finish 12^th in Jesse’s 117 entry.   All 5 cars qualified for feature events.

Cole Stangle debuted his modified and came only 2 positions short of qualifying for the 32 car field in the Minuteman 20.  Cole commented “It was an ok run.  We were buried in qualifying heat and again in the Minuteman but managed to go from 15^th to 7^th and missed feature by only two positions.”

Chris Gambler finished 12^th in the Minuteman 20 and had his best outing of the season after a season of repairing damaged engines.  Chris noted “Car worked very good for us tonight, but we had electrical problems in the heat which was shutting the car off in the corners and can’t believe we were able to finish 6^th in the heat and make the Minuteman 20.  We didn’t make the big show but was still a good night for us.”

Dillion Steuer broke a motor at Friday night practice and was unable to compete on Saturday.

 Saturday, September 24 will feature Round 9 with the Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage Cars along with the Xcel Modifieds and the Roadrunners in action starting at 5 pm. Pit gates open at 2 pm., Grandstand gates open at 4 pm. Grandstand admission will be $10, with children ages 12 and under admitted for free. Pit admission is $30 for the Outlaw Racing Series event.