Grandview Modified Pit Notes 8/26/23 –   Brett Kressley Rides High to 3rd Grandview Win of Season

Brett Kressley used his signature high line to go around Ryan Watt and move into the lead on lap 27 for his 3^rd win of the season.

Eric Kormann took the early lead for the first 9 laps until Carroll Hine the III made a strong move into the lead which he held until lap 22 when Ryan Watt slipped into the lead while Brett Kressley following him into 2^nd place.  On the lap 27 third and final restart; Kressley moved pass Watt for the lead and then pulled away in the final laps of the race for the win in only his second time on coils at Grandview.”

Heat race winners for the 36 car modified field were Justin Grim, Eric Kormann and Ryan Grimm.

The consolation race won by Jeff Strunk.

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

1. BRETT KRESSLEY, 2. Ryan Watt, 3. Doug Manmiller, 4 Carroll Hine III, 5. Eric Kormann, 6. Nate Brinker, 7. Craig Von Dohren, 8. Jeff Strunk, 9. Craig Whitmoyer, 10. Mike Gular, 11. Ryan Grim, 12. Eddie Strada, 13. Justin Grim, 14. Kevin Graver Jr., 15. Jimmy Leiby, 16. Mike Lisowski, 17. Jared Umbenhauer, 18. Tim Buckwalter, 19 Bobby Trapper Jr., 20.  Mark Kratz, 21. Ray Swinehart, 22. Lex Shive, 23. Bobby Gunther-Walsh, 24. Alex Yankowski, 25. Ron Haring Jr., 26. John Willman, 27. Ryan Beltz, 28. Kevin Hirthler

DID NOT QUALIFY: Chris Esposito, Darrin Schuler, Mark Malcolm, Eric Biehn

On Saturday, September 2 Grandview will host a two division show featuring both the T.P. Trailer 358 Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman. The program will consist of qualifying races leading up to main event features with racing starting at 7:30 P.M.

Detailed Pit Notes to Follow Later in the Week

MODIFIED PIT NOTES –  8/26/23 NASCAR MODIFIED POINTS RACE # 16

Brett Kressley took the win from his 14^th starting position in only his 2^nd outing in a brand new coil car that he is using at Grandview.  Kressley shows extraordinary confidence in his shop and prep team debuting a brand new car during the biggest race of the year last week and in the final weeks of his season long quest for his first Grandview points championship.

Points battles are not often spoken about while they are progress especially by the leader and the closest guy chasing the leader. But for sure you know there is a tight points battle going on when the chaser wins last win and then the points leader wins this week.  Kressley dropped to only a 23 point lead after Von Dohren’s win last week but this week with his win Brett is now back up to an 81 point lead with two weeks left in the Grandview points battle.  In additional Brett is also seeking to double down and win Big Diamond’s points championship this week were he leads Mike Gular by 60 points.  Brett has the extraordinary opportunity to win both his first and second modified points championships in the same year.  It will all be determined in the next two weeks. 

The points battle coming down to the wire also means it is “backup car season” as points leaders in both modified and sportsman are not taking any chances and have their backup car is on the grounds and ready to go.

Brett wasn’t the first of the top points cars to the front in the feature this week; but with the new car already dialed into the high side of the track it didn’t matter as Kressley picked off the leader Ryan Watt from the high line and cruised into victory lane for victory number 3 at Grandview this season.

In victory lane Brett stated “Got to thank Ryan Watt for running us clean those last few laps after the restart.  As far as points we know if you win races the points will take care of themselves.  Big thank you to Ron Seltmann for setting this new car up for us.”

Back at the trailer Bett reflected “In the heat race made slow deliberate progress to finish 3^rd and for the most part was able to stay out of the five cautions.  After the heat we had to change the front axle and our hood which had a rock had smashed through it, but the team rallied got the car back to 100%.”

“In the feature I was not sure how putting just water on the track after the sprint cars was going to work out, but Kania and the crew got the track into really good shape for the feature, and it held up for 30 laps.”

“The goal was to run the car a couple of times to get the feel I was looking for and slowly bring this new coil car into the picture.  I’m happy with the way this all transition to the coil car turned out with us posting a 3^rd and then 1^st in our first couple of outings with this new coil car.”

Ryan Watt finished 2^nd from his 12^th starting position and posted his 4^th podium finish of the season at Grandview Speedway.

Ryan noted “ In the heat we had a good car right from the start.  The outside lane was not that good, but starting on the outside I felt I could still run up there and then I would be good on the bottom once I dropped down to the bottom.  I’m not really sure what happen, but early in the heat we got hit on the left side and went airborne.  The car just wasn’t as good after that contact, but we still managed to get 4^th and in a handicap position.  After the heat race, we found the right front hub was bent and the rear was knocked out of square.”

“In the feature the car was good from the beginning.  There was a lot of two wide racing with no where to go, so you had to hope you choose the correct lane, and then that it had a hole you could get through.  Once we got through to open space, I was able to pick off spots one at a time until I got to the lead on lap 22, but the car was starting to get freer every lap.  After the race we found that the bead lock was tore up and the left rear was low on air which gave us more stagger than we wanted.  We would have liked to get our second win, but  2^nd is decent, and we will take it.”

“The track crew did a great job getting the track back after the sprint car feature.  With just watering and running it in, we had a good track for the entire feature and guys were racing all over the place so hats off to the track crew.”

Doug Manmiller finished 3^rd from his 13^th starting spot and posted his 11^th top five of the season in 16 starts.

Doug reflected “I thought the track was difficult in the heat races and too bottom dominant with us running after the sprint car heats.  I got caught up in a tangle but came out of it with minimal damage and was able to get the final handicap spot into the feature.”

“The track was much better in the feature, and we had two lanes to race on for most of the feature.  I was able to pick my way to the front one car at a time and just ran out of laps when I got into 3^rd.”

Carroll Hine III finished 4^th from his 3^rd starting position to post his best finish of the season.  Last week Carroll & his dad put a different motor in the car, and they finished the 50 lap Forest Rogers Memorial in 12^th despite being involved in 4 different tangles.

Tonight, Carroll moved into the lead on lap 10 and stayed there until Ryan Watt went by on lap 21.  In the final ten laps he fell back to a 4^th place finish at the checkered flag, but it was still his best finish of the season.

Carroll III recalled “Well the night didn’t start out that great when we broke the radiator bracket in hot laps and had to borrow Ryan Watt’s welder.  We also had to change the plugs for the heat race.  We came out with a real good car in the heat and finished 3^rd and made the handicap.  We then made some changes to the left rear shock for the feature.”

“In the feature I moved into the lead on lap 10 but developed a push and Watt took over the lead on lap 22.  The car continued to get tight, and I dropped to a 4^th place finish.  I really pushed the car hard early and found we had a blistered a right rear tire after the feature.  The car fired good on the few restarts, but I went to the bottom of the track too late in the race.   For next week we are going to look at changing the RR shock and the geometry of the car.”

“Tonight, was a great turnaround from last week’s Forrest Rogers Memorial 50 lap race.  We finished 12^th last week and were involved in four tangles. The rear almost fell out of the car and was hanging on by a washer when we pulled into the pits.  It was a bad juju night and a good reason to go to church the next day after surviving all that.”   

Eric Kormann finished 5^th from his 2^nd starting position to post his best finish of the season.  Eric has had two top five finishes get away earlier this season after leading to mid-race, but it didn’t get away tonight as he had a solid top five car for the entire 30 laps.

Eric recalled “So track was good for me tonight and we made some good adjustments to the track conditions.  The car reacted well to our changes, and I had a solid piece under me all night long.  Just had a night that everything seemed to finally go our way without issues and our game plan was good for the sprint car influenced track conditions.  Really happy with our finish tonight. Our lack of success before tonight hasn’t been for lack of trying, it’s just been an uphill battle with mechanical issues and parts failures until tonight.  I have been learning the car and Grandview this season.  I came into this season with hardly any Grandview driving experience except one 76er trip a few years ago.  We made some big setup changes this week and kept with them all night long.  I am looking forward to finishing out the year strong and having a solid showing at the Freedom 76er.”

Nate Brinker finished 6^th from his 5^th starting position and has found some consistency with 3 top ten finishes in his last 4 races. 

Nate commented “ We were very good in the heat race going from 5^th to 3^rd.   Dave made a lot of changes on the car this week and they all worked very well.  Once I got into 3^rd, I knew we were in a handicap spot and there was no reason to push the issue.  The setup was flawless this week in both the heat and feature.”

“We all knew the track would be slick because of the sprint cars and we were setup for the slick track conditions.  In the feature the car stayed consistent through the whole 30 laps which was a huge accomplishment for us.  Our 6^th place finish, this week was a tremendous turnaround from last week’s 50 lap race when the car faded from the front to a 10^th place finish after the about 20 laps.”

“Once again, a big shout out to my crew, my dad, Lauren, my grandfather, Bryan, Dave, and everyone at Hoffman speed for giving me one hell of a car to wheel every week.  Of course, thank you to our sponsors, Valley Auto Group, Hoffman speed supplies, Hoffman discount parts, Bry-Cor racing engines, and ricks towing.  These continuing top ten finishes with the car in one piece gives us good notes and momentum rolling into the Sixer. The driver just needs to adjust and overcome faster.”

Craig Von Dohren finished 7th from his 15^th starting position.  Craig lost 6 spots in the points chase to leader Brett Kressley and is now 81 points behind with two points races remaining.  The most important races of the season are coming up in next two weeks for Craig as he attempts to capture his 4th Grandview Points Championship in a row.

Craig posted solid forward progress and slowly picked off positions up to 7^th place but simply ran out of time with the 27 green flag race and only one single file restart on lap 26.

Jeff Strunk finished 8^th from his 22^nd starting position and made the best of what started out as a real rough night in a heat race that had 5 cautions for contact incidents and tangles.  While running in 5^th, Jeff was involved in the final tangle when he hit the interwall in turn 2 breaking the front end and causing car to drift high toward the backstretch wall and then coming down track and clipping the turn 4 yuke tire which sent him back into the low lane of the turn were Kevin Hirthler had no where to go and center punched Strunk’s car.  A trip to the pits and a return to the back of the field brought Jeff to an 8^th place finish one spot short of qualifying.

In the consolation Jeff’s car was repaired and ready to go as he won the race and qualified for the feature.  In the feature Jeff moved through the field from 22^nd to 8^th under green flag conditions with only one single file restart on lap 26.  Jeff used his veteran experience to turn one of those nights into a back to front top ten finish.    

Jeff noted “Well I’ve been racing at Grandview for 30 some years and just when you think you have seen it all don’t blink.  In the heat race we had fuel pressure issues, so our motor was not up to par.  Hats off to my guys working their asses off to get a torn up car fixed for the consolation on a hot and steamy night.  They gave me a good car in the feature but in the end, we were hurt by our track position from the consolation race.  Our end-result was a good rebound to a terrible start to the night in the heat race.”

Craig Whitmoyer finished 9^th from his 4^th starting position to end a six week string of bad luck, wrecks, and mechanical failures.  The night started not looking very good again in the heat race with a hard hit to the wall on a “no start” and then getting tagged in the rear and turned on another of the 5 cautions in the heat race.  In the end of the heat, Craig rebounded to a 5^th place finish and securing a handicap spot.  The feature race was 26 green flag laps and one single file restart to deal with that Craig turned into a solid 9^th place finish.

Craig stated “The car was decent in heat, and we had a few incidents, but we were able to salvage a handicap spot for the feature.  We had a good car in the feature, but we are still learning what this new car wants at the end of the race.  We just put this car on the track a few weeks ago after a wreck that destroyed our primary car a few weeks ago.  The driver needs to stop hitting the Jersey barriers and we will be fine by time the Sixer rolls around.”

Mike Gular finished 10^th from his 20^th starting position.  In his heat race Mike could not find any holes to move forward so he qualified in 7^th but did not get the benefit of the all-important handicap in the feature starting position.  

Mike noted “In the heat it was one lane with marbles on the top, so we finished 7^th in the heat and missed the handicap which is not a good start to a night.”

“In the feature the holes didn’t open and when they did open, they didn’t stay open long enough for me to get through .  There was two wide traffic everyone and it turned out to be one of those nights.  It was an off night; we will regroup, figure it out, and be back.  It is what is – it’s racing.”

Justin Grim finished 13^th from his 6^th position.  After what looked like a promising 2023 season with an early season 5^th and 6^th place finish, Justin then had  8 weeks of disappointing tangles, equipment failures and just plain bad luck.  This week Justin won his heat race and was able to gather a solid baseline to build from with a solid 13^th place finish.

Justin recalled “ Yes, we made a big step in the right direction this week.  I think we have been relying on some crutches for the feature recently and we need to determine which ones we need to go now that we have good balance back in the car.”

Alex Yankowski made a rare Grandview appearance in the 2RS and qualified for the feature but lap 27 wall contact ended his night with a DNF.

Bobby Gunther Walsh posted a hard fought 23^rd from his 16^th place finish.  Bobby found new life last week when he led his heat race with his new coil suspension setup when the motor erupted into smoke as his motor expired.  Bobby wheeled out the backup motor this week only to have hard contact twice in his heat race, but he was able to tough it out in the five caution heat race and bring home a 6^th place finish and qualify for the feature.

Bobby finished 23^rd in the feature, but after losing a motor last week just being back on track and then qualifying a week later with the backup motor was a huge accomplish for Bobby and his team.

Bobby reflected “In all my years of racing I believe this is the first motor where I destroyed basically the entire motor.  On the upside it was my first week on a new coils and shocks by Ronnie Seltmann of Fast Four Shocks and he did a phenomenal job with them.”

“Well, the motor we lost last week was our backup motor since we had damaged our primary motor earlier this season and it was already sent it out to Kit at KBS.  I asked Kit to repair this motor just in case something stupid happened to the one we have in now.  Sure, enough something stupid happened.  But as luck would have it, we were ready for something stupid.  Thanks to the hard work of my crew chief Jeff Paulson, we had the primary motor back from the engine builder ready to go and got it back into the car for this for week.”

“So, in the first lap of the heat race we got together with somebody, and they hit my right rear and that did something to the suspension.  Then I got together on the front stretch with two other cars on a restart and that twisted the shock and the spring into the axle. I was fighting the car the rest of the heat and it was a handful.  I was happy to qualify in 6th spot and make the show.  We went into the pits straighten the front shock/spring and did our best to find anything that was wrong with the rear suspension.”

“When we went out for the feature the car was still was not quite right.  It was not as bad as it was in the heat race, but it was not like it was the prior week.  I am hopeful that this week we will have  everything straightened out and be able to run to our new potential like we did two weeks ago and lead a heat race by a straightaway again and win this time.”

And if that is not enough for one day at the track; Bobby has established a tradition at the end of the night where he stays after the races and provides autographs and goodie bags to any fan who stops by his trailer.

Last week as I walked to the parking lot past midnight; I saw a group of four fans all with yellow goodie bags and still talking racing as they head to their cars.  Bobby and his sponsors provide a great way for fans to cap off a memorable day at the races with a complimentary “goodie bag” filled with snacks, candy, pens, flags, and other items every week.

Bobby continued “Every one of my sponsors support our “goodie bags”  in some way.  Our  weekly sponsors are:

Just Born – makers of Marshmallow Peeps candy

Herr’s Snack Foods – chips and pretzels

Yocco’s – coupons to Yocco’s

Res Q Natural Supplements – sample of their natural supplements

Mr. Bill’s Poultry Market provides their bright yellow bags that we fill every week.”

Each week we also feature a different sponsor providing pens, pencils, jar openers, lottery tickets, flags, or some other type of giveaway promotional products.”

“After last year’s scare that Grandview would close at the end of the season; I’m taking Grandview staying open very seriously and doing what I can to help them be financially successful.  One of my race team sponsors for 15 years Paul Wright Roofing was the title sponsor of the race this past week while another sponsor Rich Mar Florist supported the Kyle Larson High Limit Sprint Car Series.”

On Saturday, September 2 Grandview will host a two-division show featuring both the T.P. Trailer 358 Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman. The program will consist of qualifying races leading up to main event features with racing starting at 7:30 P.M.