Grandview Sportsman Pit Notes 7/29/23 – Dylan Swinehart Claims Sportsman Win at Grandview Speedway

Dylan Swinehart passed Nate Horn on lap 7 and took the win in the two red flag and two caution feature to post his first sportsman win of the 2023 season.

Outside polesitter Nate Horn led to lap 6 when Dylan Swinehart passed him for the lead on lap 7.  From there Dylan negotiated 2 red flags and 2 cautions and held off a late surge from points leader Logan Watt and taking a one second lead into victory lane for his first win of the 2023 season.  

Heat race winners for the 37-car sportsman field were Nate Horn, Decker Swinehart, Tom Miller Jr., and Joey Vaccaro.

Cody Manmiller and Ryan Graver won their consolation races.

T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps):

1. DYLAN SWINEHART, 2. Logan Watt, 3. Nathan Horn, 4. Parker Guldin, 5. Jesse Hirthler, 6. Joey Vaccaro, 7. Ryan Graver, 8. Kyle Smith, 9. Brian Hirthler, 10. Adrianna Delliponti, 11. Michael Burrows, 12. Mike Schneck Jr., 13, Cody Manmiller, 14. Brett Gilmore, 15. Logan Bauman,16. Ronnie Solomon, 17.Tom Miller Jr., 18. Nathan Mohr, 19. Addison Meitzler, 20. Zach Steffey, 21. TJ Mayberry, 22. Brad Grim, 23. Keith Haring, 24. Molly Struss, 25. Decker Swinehart, 26. Zane Roth

DID NOT QUALIFY: Dakota Kohler, Mark Kemmerer, Bastian Miller, Mark Gaugler, Mark Mohr, Kenny Bock, Brandon Banos, Kaitlyn Bailey, Jesse Landis, Colton Perry, Monte Pool

SPORTSMAN PIT NOTES –  7/29/23 NASCAR POINTS RACE # 12

Dylan Swinehart finished first from his 4^th starting position and posted his first sportsman win of  2023 in only five outings in this new car which Dylan hopes to operate as a Crate rent a ride once he gets his modified back on track.

Both Decker and Dylan have won this year in the sportsman division – just like old times for the brothers.

In victory lane Dylan reflected “This crate car was something I decided to put together after we broke the motor in the 74 modified so I have a ride until we get the modified motor back from the engine builder.  There are just so many people that helped me do this, and I would like to thank each and every one of them.  We were up very early this morning still trying to figure out why the car would not run last week.”

This was my kind of track today when you have to peddle your car. My modified experience can into play today and was a big help of getting around here tonight.  I picked the top for the restarts due to experience of knowing how these crate cars work around here and that they need to have the momentum which the top provides.”

” We hope to be back in the modified by later this season but who knows when we will have our motor back.  I’m running this car to have something to race, but this car’s purpose is to be a rental for anyone who is in need of a crate rent-a-ride at any time.”

Back at the trailer Dylan recalled, “Coming into tonight we have been establishing our handicap and driving safe around the back when qualifying deep in the field.  Last week we did have some fuel issues that impacted our ability to qualify but this week they were corrected early this morning and we were ready to go.”

“We had an extremely fast car in the heat but were still battling some carb issues in the turns. Despite the carb issues we still made the invert finishing 2^nd in the heat.”

“In the feature we lost power steering at the red flag on lap 11.  So that had a big impact on how I drove the car, but I was able to keep my momentum up and mitigate the effects of not having power steering.”  

Logan Watt finished 2^nd from another 15^th place starting position.  Logan continues to dominate with 7 podium finishes; 4 top ten finishes; and one 11^th place finish on the season carrying him to over a 300-point lead on 2nd place Brian Hirthler.

In addition, at Big Diamond Logan has also moved into a 25-point lead over Jordan Henn with five points events remaining on their schedule.

Logan Watt recalled “So in the heat luck didn’t really go our way this time. The first initial start I got right into 4^th, but they called that one back. The next start I didn’t get a good start then two drivers made contact in front of me, and I had nowhere to go.  I hit one of them with my RF corner.  I went into the pits for a Rf flat, and it turned out to be a more than just a RF flat.  The axel and some radius rods were bent.  I rolled back out in the heat and rode around hoping to maybe get a better consolation spot and ended up 7th in the heat that was qualifying 5 to the feature.”

“ In the consolation we started 3rd and got 2nd.  I tried something different on the car to see what it would do, and I learned not to do that again. We were still good enough to get 2^nd and transfer to the feature.”

In the feature I started 22nd and then there was a big wreck on the second lap and that helped us get a ton of spots right in the beginning of the race. Our car was much better in the feature, and I was able to put the car wherever I wanted it to go – top, bottom or the middle and I was able to work my way up to 2^nd place. I just ran out of laps to catch Dylan but was reeling him in about two tenths of a second every lap and he finished about a second ahead of me.”

“I do have this car dialed in at both its Friday night home of Big Diamond and then after maintenance and some Grandview adjustments we have it ready for Saturday night.  We have been consistent with this car at both tracks so far this season.”

Nate Horn finished 3^rd from his 2^nd starting position to post his best finish of the season.  Nat had a seven-week streak of bad luck with DNQ’s, DNF’s and one crash on the backstretch which resulted in heavy damage that knocked Nat while the car continued to rebuild the car.  In only his 3^rd week since the incident; Nat is back and on the podium with a 3^rd place finish and looking to close the season out on a positive note.   

Nate stated “I started on the pole in the heat and was able to take the win in a one caution heat race.  I started the feature on the outside pole and was able to take the lead for about 8 laps but couldn’t make the high line work like Dylan could, so he went around me on the top.  I was able to hold 2^nd for most of the race, but Watt got under me with 3 laps to go and I finished 3^rd.  This was a solid night considering the way the last month of my season has gone and is a step in the right direction for our program which we need to keep rolling for the final 6 weeks of the season.”

Parker Guldin finished 4th from his 6th starting position which turned around 6 weeks of carnage, wrecks, flips and breakage to post his best finish of the season.  The car has been good, but the luck has not until this week.  Parker and crew are hoping to carry the good fortune from this week into the final 6 weeks of the season.

Parker noted “Saturday night felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.  The past 6 weeks have felt like 2 years of being beat up by something I couldn’t see or control.  Random new part failures or being annihilated and run over by other drivers in the name of “competition” to put it as nicely.  It started to seem as if something doesn’t want me to race this year to be honest.  Now I’m not the only one because our sportsman division obviously has big issues with drivers either not caring, limited talent, or zero respect for racing which leads to costly and time-consuming wrecks that unfortunately forces Grandview and dedicated competitors to deal with this issue time and time again.  If you’re interested in seeing the carnage, check out Weekly Thrills on the Hill on YouTube.  It’s pretty much documents wreck by wreck week after week.”

“Saturday was a super positive turning point for our team. We finally got to see the good car we have seemed glimpses of get beyond the mechanical issues, parts failures, and tangles. Even though our 4^th place finish was positive, I felt we have just touched the surface of our speed potential with this car and after all that is what this racing is supposed to be all about.  This season wouldn’t be possible without our super supportive sponsors and tireless crew who get us back out there every week.  Our new sponsor – D & S Retrievers has have been a huge help and instrumental in us getting some top-notch suspension equipment.  Deb & Scott Mengel, along with Kenny Henninger of D & S Retrievers have treated us like gold since they came on board as sponsors.  We can’t thank all our sponsors enough for their continued support.  I am truly fortunate that I am surrounded in my corner by the best people and for that I will be forever grateful.”

Jesse Hirthler finished a strong 5^th from his 18^th starting position and rebounded from a three-tangle race last week that he stayed on track to take the checkered for a 15^th place finish and pick up as many points as he possibly.

Jesse commented “The heat track conditions were perfect for my driving style for sure, a slick and technical track.  I watched heat races before mine and I knew the bottom was going to be the lane to be in for sure.  I was able to get in a handicapped position and then I made a driver mistake that cost me the spot and put me back to just a qualifying spot which is not that bad but not what I wanted.”

“In the feature I was racing with my uncle when a wreck happened right in-front of us, and I was able to go from 18th to 8th after the wreck.  I was trying to get something rolling on the top because I didn’t want to run around the bottom like a train for the entire race; after I saw how the modified finished on a bottom dominate track that may have also been on the abrasive side as well.   I was trying to get good runs on the top and was able to pick off a few cars to gain to a 5th place finish.  This was definitely not a track that I would prefer to race on, but I had to do something with the surface that we were dealt tonight.  We had a very good points night and I’m hoping more consistent runs to creep into the end of our season which only has six weeks left.”

Joey Vaccaro finished 6^th from his 3^rd starting position and has posted two consecutive top ten finishes which he hopes to be able to continue right to the end of the 2023 season after getting off to a slow start to the season.

Joey stated, “We had a good car in the heat race and was able to drive away with the win from our 2^nd starting spot.”

“In the feature we didn’t make enough changes for the track conditions and the car just wasn’t as good as I wanted to be.  I was able to work with it and held on for a 6^th place finish.  In the past two weeks our car has been the best it has ever been with an eight-year-old motor, but we are still looking for that first win.”

Ryan Graver finished 7^th from his 21^st starting position. 

Ryan reflected “In the heat race we went out not ready for the track to be what it was.  I tried to force a move around the top and ended up losing ground and putting us into the consolation.  After we threw some changes at the car on and off the track, they proved out to make the car better and I was able to win the consolation.”

“Feature time we threw everything but the kitchen sink at the car to try and get the thing where I needed it to be.  I started 21st, but I was laying back off at the drop of the green to try and let cars single file out and to avoid any early wrecks, so I dropped to 23rd.  We were coming into turn 2 for lap two and so many cars piled up that I was lucky enough to just barely keep the car from stalling out while I was able to slot the car very tightly through the wreck which put us from 23rd to 10th in just one lap.  The rest of the feature I spent missing wrecks and trying to make some adjustments under cautions to get the car where I wanted it to be. On the last caution, I finally got the car dialed in with some changes and I was able to pick off some cars and capitalize on some mistakes to bring our car up to 7th.”

“It’s been awesome to finally feel like we have somewhat of a rhythm this year, as well as having a ton of luck on our side.  Luck has definitely played a huge role in our finishes this year, but I also have to thank Ron at Fast Four for all the help he’s given us.  Ron really has this car hooked up for us this year.   Also like to thank Mike Gular as well for giving me a ton of driving tips. He has really been helping me learn how to drive these cars and to be able to get better every week.”

Kyle Smith finished 8^th from his 14^th starting position.  Kyle continues to hold a solid 3^rd in the points standings with six weeks remaining in the points championship.

Kyle stated “ The track was weird tonight and much dryer than normal.  The heat track was all bottom because the track was dead slick to the middle and the top was dust with no grip.  I love the bottom, so it worked just fine for me to go from 8^th to 4^th and make the invert for the feature.”

“We got a good start in the feature, but I was part of the lap 2 big deal pile-in and just had nowhere to go.  We didn’t have any damage and were able to stay out of the pits.  There were so many cars involved that I really didn’t lose too many spots when I restarted right around 15^th.  I had a good restart and got up to 9^th but then the track started to rubber up and locked down to the bottom.   There was no track prep for the feature tonight, so it was not surprising that we had a lock down rubbered up track later in the feature tonight.”

Brian Hirthler finished 9^th from his 15^th starting position.  Brian continues to hold a solid 2^nd in the points standings with 6 races remaining.

Adie Delliponti finished 10^th from her 24^th starting position posting yet another back to front deep run through the field as she has done numerous times this season.  

Adie noted “We missed the setup in the heat race for an around the bottom track and did not qualify.  In the consolation we were not that great either but did hang onto the last available position and qualify for the feature.

“We made some changes for the feature and the car was great but just couldn’t get as far forward as I would have liked to since the track went quickly to one lane around the bottom.  We were in a lap 2 wreck, but the car came out fine with no damage and were able to get a top 10 finish.”

Last week Mike Schneck was involved in hard contact incident with the wall and sustained heavy frame damage to his Air Force 22 sportsman motor entry which has the car sidelined for the indefinite future.  So, this week Mike changed cars and switched to his # 22 Air Force Crate car that he usual runs on Friday nights at Big Diamond.  

Mike debuted his Air Force # 22 at Grandview with a strong heat race and qualified for the feature.  In the feature Mike was involved in two tangles but was able to continue to a 12^th place finish on the night.

Mike commented “The car was really good in the heat, and I started 6th and passed to third and made the handicap.  I really wasn’t sure what to expect bringing the crate car here, but it felt great in warmups and again in the heat.”

“In the feature it was just wrong place wrong time that ended us up in both tangle ups. After the lap 2 pile-in tangle my car was still good and was moving forward.  On the second tangle when Nate came down top to bottom, I saw it coming and got hard on the brakes but had nowhere to go and piled in again.  This time the front got bent up pretty good, but I still managed a 12^th place finish with only 13 cars still running at the end.  We plan on running this car here at Grandview to finish the season out and hope to have the sportsman motor in this car for next week.”     

For the second week in a row a significant number of cars has been involved in one or more major jingles in the feature.  The following cars did not return from the pits to continue or were removed from the track on a tow truck, and all were crash related DNF’s in the feature – Keith Haring, Molly Struss, TJ Mayberry, Decker Swinehart, Nat Mohr, Addison Meitzler, Brad Grim, Zack Steffey and Zane Roth.

On Saturday August 5 will be Hall of Fame Night with two-division program under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner for the T.P. Trailer 358 Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman. The program will consist of qualifying races leading up to the 30-lap Modified and 25-lap Sportsman main events with racing starting at 7:30 P.M.