Grandview Modified Pit Notes 8/05/23 – Red Hot Mike Gular Drives Hot Rod to 4th Grandview Win

Mike Gular moved forward from his 12^th starting position and battled back & forth with Ryan Watt until Gular emerged on lap 22 as the leader and drove into victory lane with a 2 second margin of victory while posting his 4^th Grandview modified victory of the season.

Mike Gular has collected three wins in the last four Grandview Modified events.

Heat race winners for the 34 car modified field were Lex Shive., Brett Kressley & Jared Umbenhauer.

Ryan Beltz won the consolation race.

T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps):

1.MIKE GULAR, 2. Ryan Watt, 3. Ryan Grim, 4. Eddie Strada, 5. Doug Manmiller, 6. Jeff Strunk, 7. Jared Umbenhauer, 8. Brett Kressley, 9. Craig Von Dohren, 10. Kevin Hirthler, 11. Mike Lisowski, 12. Eric Kormann, 13. Justin Grim, 14. Jimmy Leiby, 15. Lex Shive, 16. Chris Esposito, 17. Bobby Gunther-Walsh, 18. Bobby Trapper Jr., 19. John Willman, 20. Louden Reimert, 21. Ray Swinehart, 22. Tim Buckwalter, 23. Ryan Beltz, 24. Darrin Schuler, 25. Jesse Leiby, 26. Ron Haring Jr., 27. Joe Funk, 28. Nate Brinker

DID NOT QUALIFY: Eric Biehn, Carroll Hine III, Mark Malcolm, Craig Whitmoyer, Chris Gambler, Mark Kratz

MODIFIED PIT NOTES –  8/05/23 NASCAR MODIFIED POINTS RACE # 14

Mike Gular finished 1^st and this time came from the 12^th starting position to take wins in three of his last four Grandview starts as well as landing wins at Big Diamond and Action Track for a total of five wins in a four-week span.  Over the past four weeks Gular has been on the fast track forward every week with a car that works any place he puts it.  Once out in front it’s been just a matter how far he checks out on the field for the win each of his three weeks.    

In victory lane Mike stated “We are on fire right now and this car is a hot rod that can literally go anywhere I want it to go.  As long as I stay patient and keep my nose clean, I know we can get this car to the front.   Had some great Racing with Ryan Watt after a restart and several laps but was finally able to carry the momentum past him to take the lead and then pull away from the field.  This thing has been a rocket ship and I can’t wait for the next race.”

Back at the trailer Mike commented “I’ve raced here for a long time and this track is always a good and a place that you can dice it up, race and make a pass without getting into guys.”

“In the heat I got boxed in on the bottom and put in a tough spot stuck in 7^th.  Really got lucky with a late caution and was able to use the restart to get up to 5^th and in the handicap.  The difference between 7^th and 5^th may not seem like much but it translates to a 12^th starting position vs 21^st starting position which has a dramatic impact on your feature starting position.”

“In the feature we started 12^th in front of some of the best cars around here and was able to run away and hide.  I moved into 4^th by lap 12 and then just picked them off one at a time moving into 2^nd behind Ryan Watt on lap 15.  I got the lead from Ryan on lap 19 after a restart but he took it right back on the next two laps.  I finally got some good momentum and wore him down enough to clear him after some real good racing.   Once in clean air this car is just checked out.  We have four wins in this car and have wins in four different cars this season.”

Ryan Watt finished 2^nd from his 8^th starting position and posted his 3^rd podium finish this season.

Ryan reflected “These heat races are tough starting from 9^th or 10^th and you almost need the car’s up front to make a mistake or a restart to have a chance to make the handicap.  I ran around the top and managed to get to 5^th and make the handicap which got us our best possible starting position.”

“We made some changes for the feature and the car was better.  I got the car into the lead on an early restart but as the race wore on the tires and stagger was growing as the car became too free.  We also had a blubber in the carb when I kept the car on the bottom.  Mike Gular is the hottest and fastest guy around and you are going to have to be perfect in every element of the car and driving to beat him right now that’s for sure.”

Ryan Grim finished 3^rd from his 9^th starting position and posted his 2^nd podium finish in a row.   After some late-mid season motor maintenance this week Ryan’s #17 didn’t miss a beat again this week and is prepping for the Forrest Rogers Memorial next week.

After a slow first three weeks to the season Ryan has put together three podium finishes and seven top ten finishes in his last 11 races and currently sits 6^th in the Grandview Modified Points Standings with five races remaining in the season.

Ryan noted “I started 9^th in the heat and the car was OK.  Got some help from two restarts and managed to finished 5^th and we made the handicap.”

“In the feature the car was better last week but we got to the front quick enough and we were good enough to stay in 3^rd for the final 20 laps.  We have an opportunity to continue to get better each week and Ron Seltmann of Fast Four Shocks is getting us closer every week.  At the end of the day, the car is in a better place than it has been for a couple of years right now.”

Eddie Strada posted his best finish of the season with a 4^th from his 6^th starting position and rebounded from last week’s tangle and disappointing 18^th place finish.

Eddie reflected “In the heat race we started 8^th and despite having no cautions managed to finish 3^rd.  The track was hammer down and I was driving like back in my sprint car days.  I ran around to the and made the handicap which was the key to our night.”

“In the feature I should have been running harder in the early laps and was too slow early in the feature.  When I did run hard from lap 6 to 18 it was too fast for the conditions, and I turned out to be running slower.  On lap 18 to 30; I finessed the car and drove slower with the car running faster lap times.  We were very happy to post our best finish of the season tonight.”

“I had one bad restart tonight and should have just followed Mike Gular, but it is definitely nice to be able to follow the top drivers and observe how they attack the racetrack.”

“Last week we were in an early jingle with heavy damage, so we had to pit on lap 2 and what happened next was a real eye opener for me.  I drove into the pits where Jeff Strunk’s and Doug Manmiller’s crew guys descended onto our car like a swarm of bees and started helping our team repair the shock tower without even being asked.  You sit in the pits in your torn up car thinking this really sucks and then you watch what is happening and you realize that getting help like this from your competitors one of the coolest things in racing.  The respect shown to us by some of the top teams at Grandview was better than winning.”     

Doug Manmiller finished 5^th from his 11^th starting position and continued his string of 7 straight races with a 6^th place finish or better pushing him to a solid grip on the 4^th place position in the season long points with only five point races remaining.

Doug stated “Our day started good again moving from 9^th to 4^th in the heat and making the all-important handicap into the feature.  We have 10 finishes right around the top five and the only way you can do this is to consistently finish in the handicap for the feature and get your best possible starting position which usually will be between 10^th -13^th when you are sitting 4^th in the point standings like we are.”

“In the feature we had a good car were able to move forward to a top five finish and had no damage to the car.  It’s been great to have a car that can go consistently to the front for over two months and also to able to keep the car straight for most of those weeks too.”

Jeff Strunk finished 6^th from his 15^th starting position and made a solid run forward again this week.  Jeff has posted 10 top five finishes and a 6^th, 7^th, 9^th and one DNF in 14 starts to sit a solid 3^rd place in the season points standings with an eye on points leader Brett Kressley who is only 168 points out in front with five races to go in the season.  The Forrest Rogers Memorial is coming up and Jeff’s history with big money race success is well documented so his run for the title may just be starting next week.

Jared Umbenhauer finished 7^th from his 10^th starting position and continues a six-race streak of finishing 7^th or better which has propelled him from 10^th to 5^th in the season points standing.

Brett Kressley finished 8^th from his 13^th starting position and continues to lead the points standings over 2^nd place Craig Von Dohren by a slim 33 points with five races to go in the season.

Brett also continues to prepare for the Forrest Rogers Memorial as Kevin Graver shook down his new car for a second week and it will be available for next week.

Brett noted “We had a great car in the heat and just ran right to the front but in the feature, we couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm.  The car was not perfect in the feature, but we should have been in the top five for sure just could never get the car going forward like it should have.”

Craig Von Dohren finished 9^th from his 16^th starting position.  Craig has posted pretty much top five finishes for the entire season until the last two weeks when he has finished 10^th and 9^th.  Craig is only 33 points behind Brett Kressley and has a history of strong late season finishes in the final point races of the season.

Kevin Hirthler finished 10^th from his 20^TH starting position after tough night of going to the back of the field in both the heat and feature and having to battle through the field back to the front.

Kevin commented “It was a tough night when you go to the tail of the field in both the heat and feature.  We had some handling challenges this week and car was a bit off in the heat.  The track was top dominant in the heat, and it was very tough to pass.  I was very fortunate to get the last qualifying position in the heat and did not have to run the consolation but we did miss the handicap.”

“In the feature I had some early slight contact with the 456 on lap one and ended up going to the rear of the field but didn’t have any damage.  Was able to drive back through the field to a solid 10^th place finish.  The car was free right to the end, and we were missing some drive and right rear stick on the bottom.  We are still building the notebook on this car.”

Mike Lisowski finished 11^th from his 28^th starting position to turn around what started as a real rough night with a DNF, and a towed off broken race car in the heat race.  

Mike reflected “We got the front end wrecked on lap one of the heat and it was just a scramble from there for the rest of the night.  In the feature we started last (27^th) with a wounded car and managed to finish 11^th.  Just one of those tough nights at Grandview.”

Lex Shive finished 15^th from his 28^th starting position.  Lex was on the pole for the feature but was sent to the back for missing the feature call.  He still posted a 15^th place finish coming from dead last in the feature.  Lex got his night off to a good start with his first ever modified heat race win.

Lex commented “I bought one new right rear tire at the start of the night when we found out we were able to take our handicap spot at pole position for heat.  It was great to get my first modified heat race win which was a small step forward at a place that can be an ego crusher.”

“In the feature we were deemed late at the track entrance and therefore lost our pole position and had to start from last. We backed out of our pit stall when they called 1 minute and were scheduled to start on the pole. We were very disappointed to say the least.  The moral of the story it’s tough to keep up with the larger teams let alone beat them, but the secret sauce is the fine tuning at the track which takes more than just a couple of hands most nights.”

Getting our new motor especially late in the season has helped us a lot.  Starting from last with the handicap system for 3 weeks is brutal when you’re still trying to find your base line with a brand-new motor.  We have continued to be diligent at the track and in the shop to find what works for me in the car.  On Saturday we just brought a good package. I still think there is low hanging fruit in our equipment that I’m going to adjust so we can find more speed in the next few weeks.  In the prior two weeks we just missed the setup and being a modified rookie it’s tough to come through the field with a less than perfect racecar. I believe now we are gaining momentum so we are excited to see what we can do the rest of this season.”

In the feature Louden Reimert moved from his 14^th starting position to 7th but a mechanical failure on lap 22 ended his night.   Louden stated, “We had a good car again and moved forward but just had engine troubles in the feature and had to pull off early.”  

Next on Saturday August 12^th will be the 53^rd annual 50-lap Forrest Rogers Memorial paying $10,000 to win, plus the NASCAR Sportsman and fireworks.  The program will consist of qualifying races leading up to the 50-lap Modified and 25-lap Sportsman main events with racing starting at 7:30 P.M.