Grandview Sportsman Pit Notes 9/02/23 – Brian Hirthler Finds his Way Back into Victory Lane for Second Sportsman Win of Season

Brian Hirthler took over the lead on lap 8 and checked out on the field for the final 17 green flags laps to take the win over a hard charging Logan Watt in second and Adrianna Delliponti in third.

Keith Haring took the early lead; but then on the second restart of the race on lap 4; disaster struck as Haring and Perry tangled in front of the field with Tom Miller Jr flipping and the field piling in to create red flag conditions.  Seven cars were finished for the night from this tangle – Addison Meitzler, Zane Roth, Zach Steffy, Steve Young, Tom Miller Jr, Keith Haring, and Colton Perry.  On the restart Parker Guldin took the lead until the 3rd and final restart on lap 8 when Brian Hirthler took command of the lead for the final 17 laps and then checked out on the field to take his second win of the season.    

Heat races were won by Tom Miller Jr, Nicholas Hamm, Steve, Dylan Swinehart and Logan Bauman.

Consolation races were won by Jesse Landis and Ryan Graver.

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

1. BRIAN HIRTHLER, 2. Logan Watt, 3. Adrianna Delliponti, 4. Kyle Smith, 5. Parker Guldin, 6. Brad Grim, 7. Mark Mohr, 8. Brett Gilmore, 9. Jesse Hirthler, 10. Jesse Landis, 11. Cody Manmiller, 12. Ryan Graver, 13. Logan Bauman, 14. Nathan Horn, 15. Dakota Kohler, 16. Mike Schneck Jr., 17. Kyle Hartzell, 18. Dylan Swinehart, 19. Joey Vaccaro, 20. Michael Burrows, 21. Keith Haring, 22. Colton Perry, 23. Tom Miller Jr., 24. Steve Young, 25. Zach Steffey, 26. Zane Roth, 27, Addison Meitzler, 28. Nicholas Hamm

DID NOT QUALIFY: Jordan Henn, Nathan Mohr, Decker Swinehart, Molly Struss, Monte Pool, Ronnie Solomon, TJ Mayberry, John Redner, Kenny Bock, Tyler James, Kaitlyn Bailey, Stephen Laubach, Nick Faust

SPORTSMAN PIT NOTES – 9/02/23 NASCAR POINTS RACE # 16

Brian Hirthler took the win from his 16^th starting position and posted his 2^nd win of the season.  Brian moved from 14^th to 3^rd on the 2nd restart after the tangle on lap 4.  That set things up perfect for Brian on the third restart where he started on the outside of the front row with Parker on the inside. Brian just turned loose his sportsman motor for the next 17 green flag laps and checked out on his way to his 2^nd win of the season.

In victory lane Brian noted “We found a couple of things this week that we have been missing and fixing them made a big difference in the car.  The crates are better in traffic then my sportsman motor, but tonight we got to the front and then clean air, and it makes a difference for sure.  I usually race with a lot of patience, and often timers it bites me, and I have run out of time before I get to the front.  There really haven’t been many big wrecks this year like tonight. When I compared to last year, these wrecks were all too common last year, but they made patience pay off.  I went from 14^th to 3^rd on the big tangle tonight which set up the rest of the race for me.  I then got on the outside front row on the third and final restart which was right where I wanted to be.  It couldn’t have played out better for us tonight.  On the last restart I drove the top high and hard, then 17 green flag laps later I took a 2.5 second lead into victory lane.”

Logan Watt finished 2^nd from his 18^th starting position.  Logan still maintains a 260-point lead over Brian Hirthler with only one week to go for the season points championship which will be determined on September 9.

Logan recalled “We tried something new in hot laps and I liked it.  In the heat the track was single file, so no one went anywhere.  I was able to get some spots by using the top and I missed the handicap but was able to qualify and avoid the consolation.

“In the feature I faded early but after the big tangle I restarted in 6^th.  I had to get around Brad Grim and he is always tough to pass but got around him using the top.  I tried the bottom but went back to the top and started catching Smith and Delliponti.  When I started hitting the cushion on the top, I made ground to set up a pass of Smith and then Delliponti when stayed on the bottom.  I made up some ground on Brian but should had gone to the top sooner.  Congratulations to Brian and his whole team on their win tonight.”

Adrianna Delliponti finished 3^rd from her 14^th starting position and posted back-to-back podium finishes for the first time this season.

Adrianna recalled “We had a tangle in the heat race, but everything still went our way, and we finished 3^rd and made the handicap again.”

“In the feature after the big tangle on lap 4 we went from 15^th to 4^th.  We got up to 2^nd for a while until Logan passed me.  Want more tonight but can’t complain about two consecutive 3^rd place finishes at Grandview with 40 plus cars on the grounds.”   

“Earlier this year it was my goal was to get in the handicap from the heat race and we have now done that for two weeks in a row.  I have learned what it takes in the heat races and what I must do in the heat race and sometimes it’s not pretty.  Still looking for our first win, but running 2^nd with 5 to go is getting close.  All in all, we are very happy with two consecutive 3^rd place finishes.”

Kyle Smith finished 4^th from his 20^th starting position.  Kyle reflected “I was in the 4^th heat, but it was still a real tough heat racetrack that was very heavy.  I made a late move on Jesse Hirthler, and we were dead even at the checkered.  I got the last qualified position in 5^th by milliseconds over Jesse.”

“In the feature no one was going anywhere in the first four laps and then the big tangle happened.  I saw the pileup coming while I was on the backstretch, so I was already checking up.  On the restart after the tangle, I moved from 18^th to 7^th.  I was able to get by Grim, Watt and when I got to 3^rd figured the top was iffy, so I stayed on the bottom.  Watt found something up top and passed me.  The top was better in turn 3/4 but nothing going on with the top in turn 1/2.” 

Parker Guldin finished 5^th from his 9^th starting position.  In the feature Parker cleared the big tangle on the top and found himself in the lead at the next restart.  Parker led a few laps until Brian Hirthler took command and led the final 17 green flag laps while Parker held on for a 5^th place finish.

Parker stated “This race was a roller coaster; but I want to start by thanking my sponsors because without them this year seriously wouldn’t be possible – MF Haulers, Safety Net Sanctuary, Schadler’s Garage and Towing, D&S Retrievers, Oley Valley feed, Penny’s Shear Heaven, Guldin’s cleaning and Spence’s Speed Lab.

“The past week we went to work to try and improve our suspension like we’ve been doing all year but this time we tried something different. Thankfully, we got the numbers we’ve been working tirelessly to get so we went into the night feeling very confident in the car. The heat was good besides some unfortunate slime/mud that was thrown onto the racing surface at the start of the race which made the race very technical.”

“The feature was awesome to say the least.  Right from the start we had a bad fast car, and we were making record time getting to the front.  The car was working perfectly, and it was my fault we lost the lead, I didn’t go far enough with the changes, so in the long run my car faded too quickly to keep pace with the track and other drivers.  We learned a lot and now have a newfound drive heading into the 38er.”

Brad Grim finished 6^th from his 19th starting position.  Brad has posted two wins in his previous three races.

Brad commented “Track was very different for the heat race just kind of missed the setup a bit.  In the  feature we were in a good position after missing a big wreck.  Thought we were going to pull off another win, but we had a bad  miss in the motor for the entire feature.  We were down a cylinder and just happy to hold on for 6^th place finish.”

Mark Mohr finished 7^th from his 4^th starting position posting his second top 5 finish in the past three races.

Mark reflected “We started 2nd in our heat race and held our own to finish 2nd which locked us in the handicap. In the feature we started 4^th and dropped back early on, and I didn’t feel the greatest in first few laps but then the car started coming in and I passed cars back on the last restart.  I was 8th and every car wrecked in front of me and no clue how I got through with no damage at all.   We finished 7th and the car is in one piece and that’s always good news.”

Brett Gilmore finished 8^th from his 23^rd starting position.

Over the week we tried to find a fuel problem we’ve been having all season.  The car didn’t run in warmups; it was the same little miss we’ve been having.  We went out in the heat and the miss got much worse and I couldn’t keep up with anyone.  We frantically changed carburetors and fuel lines for the consolation and barely qualified.”

“In the feature we started deep, and the motor just wasn’t running right.  I’m pretty sure it’s going to blow up soon.  Ran the bottom the entire feature to keep the RPMs down. The wreck, wow that was something.  I had my car out of high gear before they even stopped wrecking.  I don’t even know what happened and I just saw a gap and went for it to avoid the piles of cars. The car actually ran well in the feature. Decent night I guess I’m just so defeated with this whole fuel problem we keep having.

Jesse Hirthler finished 10^th from his 26^th starting position.   In the heat Jesse had a dead even finish at the line with Kyle Smith who got 5^th while Jesse finished 6^th.   Jesse Won the consolation from 2nd which is always good.  In the feature, I was lucky to make it through the pile up and then restarted 8th from 21st. The car wasn’t the best but held on for 10th and is in one piece so can’t complain about that.”

Cody Manmiller finished 11^th from his 28^th provisional starting position. 

Cody stated “We were off in the heat, but the track was also one lane with limited passing and no cautions. I felt pretty good in the feature and thought I could’ve got a couple more cars but just couldn’t clear Jesse Landis.”

On Friday, September 15 Grandview will host the Freedom 38 and modified practice with racing starting at 7:30.

Then on Saturday September 16 it’s the annual Freedom 76er with racing starting at 7:00.