Grandview Modified Pit Notes 6/15/24 Race # 7 – Bobby Trapper Jr Claims First Modified Win

Bobby Trapper Jr posted his first career modified win at Grandview Speedway leading the two caution and 12-minute feature for all laps except lap 25 which was led by Brian Hirthler off of the 2nd restart. But Bobby recovered the lead on lap 26 and drove into victory lane for his career first modified win at Grandview Speedway.

Bobby Trapper took the early lead over Eric Biehn which he extended to 3 seconds until the first caution flew on lap 11.  Ryan Watt moved into second on lap 13, closing Trapper’s lead to just a half second until the second caution flew on lap 24 for a slowing Ryan Watt who had a flat end his run for the win.  On the 2^nd restart Brian Hirthler was able to take over Trapper for the lead on lap 25 only to have Trapper use the outside lane to take the lead right back on lap 26 which he then held right to the checkered flag for his career first Grandview win. 

 Heat race winners for the 41-car modified field were Eric Biehn, Doug Manmiller, Louden Reimert & Chris Gambler.

Eric Kormann and Jimmy Leiby won the consolation races.

T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps):  ): 1. BOBBY TRAPPER JR. (1), 2. Brian Hirthler (5), 3. Eddie Strada (15), 4. Mike Gular (20), 5. Justin Grim (8), 6. Jeff Strunk (19), 7. Jared Umbenhauer (18), 8. Craig Von Dohren (16), 9. Tim Buckwalter (14), 10. Doug Manmiller (13), 11. Carroll Hine III (6), 12. Kevin Hirthler (24), 13. Louden Reimert (11), 14. Eric Biehn (2), 15. Mike Lisowski (9), 16. Michael Storms (12), 17. Frank Yankowski (27), 18. Jimmy Leiby (22), 19. Eric Kormann (81), 20. Ron Haring Jr. (28), 21. Duane Howard (17), 22. Bryan Rhoads (25), 23. Ryan Watt (10), 24. Kevin Graver Jr. (7), 25. Mike Laise (3), 26. Craig Whitmoyer (26), 27. Chris Gambler (4), 28. Ryan Grim (29), 29. Ray Swinehart (23)

DID NOT QUALIFY: Jon Kellner, Brett Kressley, John Willman, Nate Brinker, Darrin Schuler, Michael Toth, Bobby Gunther-Walsh, Ryan Beltz, Chris Esposito, Joe Funk, Kyle Smith, Glenn Owens

HARD CHARGER: Mike Gular +16

MODIFIED PIT NOTES – 6/15/24 Points Race # 7

Bobby Trapper Jr took the win from the pole position and held off a late challenge from Brian Hirthler on the lap 24 restart.  After winning the Minuteman 20 at last year’s 76er, Bobby had high hopes for the 2024 season.  The 2024 season started with mechanical failures, wrecks and disappointing results at both Grandview and Big Diamond.  But tonight, things suddenly turned around in his heat race, when Bobby was able to make the feature handicap for the first time this season and to top it off, he handicapped to the pole position.   Bobby then took the lead at the green flag which he held until Brian Hirthler took over the lead on lap 25 but one lap later Bobby moved back into the lead and stayed there for his first career modified win.

In victory lane Bobby reflected “This trip to victory lane has been a long time coming.  Virtually everything has gone wrong this year until tonight.  The cautions were actually good for me since it allowed me to calm down and collect my thoughts.  Brian passed me clean, and he left me a lane which my momentum was able to take me back around him.”

Back at the trailer Bobby noted “We didn’t change anything tonight.  We have been struggling with our setup all season, but tonight it just worked.  This track has been tricky for us every week, but we kept coming back every week and things finally worked out for us.  The black clouds finally parted for us, and the moons all aligned for a change.  At Grandview the competition is tough every week and there is a very thin fine line between being good or bad here.  We could win again next week or be back to awful again next week.”

“The top was good in the feature. and I stayed up top all night long.  I got nervous during the cautions.  Brian was perfect on the restart when he took the lead and then I had to decide to hold 2^nd or go after 1^st.  I decided to go for the win.”

Brian Hirthler finished 2^nd from his 5^th starting position and posted his best finish of the season.

Brian noted” In hot laps the track was wet and rough, so I took it pretty easy.  We were in the last heat, so we had the slickest heat racetrack.  I started 3^rd in my heat and was already in the invert so didn’t have to be overly aggressive and just stayed in 3^rd to make the invert for the feature.”

“In the feature I knew we had the car setup to be a little slower early in the feature and the plan was to just maintain until the track came to me.  After starting 5th and the car was a handful and I dropped back to 8^th until the car started to come in and I started to move forward again.  I used the first restart to get back to 5^th and then a few laps later moved into 3^rd place.  I got lucky when the 2^nd place car Ryan Watt got a flat which put me into 2^nd place and into a 6 lap shoutout with Bobby Trapper for the win.  I was good top and bottom and took the lead on the restart but a driver error on lap 26 let Bobby slip back by me.  I was never able to close all the way back in to pass him.  The car was good enough to win, can only blame driver error this time.”

Eddie Strada finished 3^rd from his 15^th starting position and continues a string of top 5 & 10 finishes which has pushed him to 4^th place in the season points.

Eddie stated “We are just trying some new things again and hitting on some stuff with the help from the guys around us in the pits and a little of our own thinking. We have kind of just hit on something better in the slick and I feel like we are better than we have ever been now in the slick.  We had a 3rd a month ago as well, so we’re tied with the best finish this year.  I was able to get some spots passing and the last restart helped a lot too, I started 6th and almost right off the bat got to 3rd.  First and second got out before I had time to get going and it took me 5-6 laps to get the car really hooked up.  I was very happy to see Bobby Trapper get the win this week.”

Mike Gular finished 4^th from his 20^th starting position and moved into 3^rd in the early season points standings.

Mike Gular reflected “We lost our car owner Terry Fasnacht when he passed away this week.  When we won the STSS race back in 2018 at Middletown it pumped Terry up and he wanted to go racing all over the eastern seaboard.  I have been racing with Terry for ten years and very thankful for all the years I have been able to spend with Terry as a team owner and a friend.”

“In the heat race we got hung up by one car and it cost us 4 or 5 spots in the feature.”

“In the heat race we got hung up by one car and it cost us 4 or 5 spots in the feature.”

“We had a pretty solid night in the feature because we went back to an old setup from our notes.  We got the car back to where it should be here at Grandview, had a good clean night, didn’t get torn up and raced on a good two-lane track tonight.  We could have used one more restart.  We had a real fast car in clean air and finished with a straight car with nothing to fix which is right where we would like to be at the end of every week.  We’ve got something to work with now.”

Mike’s crew chief Ron Seltmann stated “We changed everything on this car for the feature and we have the car good again.  We should be set for the rest of the year with this setup we have now.  Mike is a real talented driver and hardest working driver I’ve ever met.”

Justin Grim finished 5^th from his 8^th starting position to post his 2^nd consecutive top 5 finish in the past two weeks.

Justin commented “We had a good heat race which got us into the handicap for the feature.  Made a few changes for the feature and was able to take advantage of handicapped starting position.  I ran on Eric Biehn’s bumper for 12 laps and was able to get by Eric on the 2^nd restart.  The late restarts separate the cars on a good run from the cars that are just hanging on.  We held off Strunk this week which was nice since he snuck by last week on the final lap, but that’s what the best drivers around do.  We aren’t quite where we need to be to stay up with the big boys at the end of the night, but we are working on it.  This is two weeks in a row with a top five finishes and I can’t remember the last time we strung something together like that.  We are getting the car good for extended runs in the feature, and we just want to keep it going next week.”

Jeff Strunk finished 6^th from his 19^th starting position and continued his season long string of low top ten finishes every week which has propelled him to the early season points lead.

Jeff commented “In the heat race we only had one early caution, but the car came around and we picked our way from 10^th to 5^th one spot at a time in the latter stages of the heat.”

“In the feature we had another good solid run from 16^th to 6th.  The feature only had two cautions and for the most park we picked our way through to 6^th one spot at a time.”

“It is tough being the points leader and having to pass all good cars every week to get to the front.  Got to thank the track crew for a good and passable track week after week and all the fans for their undying support.”

Jared Umbenhauer finished 7^th from 18^th starting position rebounding from a DNF last week when his tire came off the bead lock after hitting a rut in turn1 & 2 during the feature last week.

Jared noted “Another stacked heat race and came in for what I perceived to be a flat tire on lap 10 but it was not flat, so I was able to go right back out but with only two laps to go in the heat.  On the restart a couple of cars got jumbled up and I was able to get by enough cars to qualify for the feature but not in the handicap.”

“In the feature I followed Craig Von Dohren but actually did get boxed in for a while with no open lanes.  Finished 7^th with no damage.  I ran the top most of the night and the track was good with two lanes at a fast pace.  Things just worked out for us tonight. “

Craig Von Dohren finished 8^th from his 15^th starting position and sits solidly in 2^nd in the early season points standings.  Craig got flashy one race this year going for 22^nd to 2^nd and was one lap away from his first win of the season.  Craig has been known to switch back to the torsion bars on occasion, but regardless of the suspension he chooses he is always a threat to end up in victory lane on any given night. 

Tim Buckwalter finished 9^th from his 14^th starting position posting his first run in the 942 car which he runs on Friday nights at Big Diamond.  Unfortunately, last week Buckwalter’s 23x was involved in a wreck that destroyed the frame leaving Tim in need of a Saturday ride.  The 942-team raced at Grandview last season and now have returned with Tim Buckwalter at the wheel for the moment.

Doug Manmiller finished 10^th from his 13^th starting position.  Doug’s car has been good every week and his luck just plain bad every week.

Doug commented “We were really hooked up in the heat race.  In the feature we missed the setup a bit and then found ourselves in the wrong lane at the wrong time most of the night.”

Ryan Watt returned to his Troyer car out of necessity since the Bicknell was destroyed after contact with the wall on the previous Saturday night.   Watt’s Troyer turned in a solid run from 10th to 2^nd place only to have a flat tire on lap 24 end his night early and take him out of contention.

Back at the trailer Ryan noted “We made the handicap in the heat and had a good car all night long.  In the feature, we worked our way through to 2^nd and was running the leader down when I felt something going on and thought it was a motor letting go but it was the left rear tire going flat after getting sucked off the bead.”

“This is a new Troyer chassis and is only our 3^rd time out on this car.  We junked the Bicknell last Saturday and then hurt a motor in this car on Tuesday at Thunder on the Hill so it’s been a rough week for us.”

Eric Biehn had some breakage two weeks ago, so he returned to torsion bars this week and was the only modified in the 41-car field on torsion bars.  Eric’s Ford Motor and torsion bars made a strong run in the heat to take the win.  In the feature Eric was again on the move running in 2^nd for 12 laps and staying in the top five for the first 24 laps. Contact on the 2^nd restart sent him sliding back through the field to a 14^th place finish.”

Brett Kressley had his 3^rd forgettable night of the season getting contact from another car coming out of turn 4 which put him into the back stretch wall and sending him to the pits on the hook in his heat race.  Brett returned for the consolation starting in 7^th but missed qualifying by two spots and posted a DNQ for the night.

The night started out with what looked like a routine rail rubbing tangle, with a couple of cars getting hooked together.  But this one was different, and Bobby Gunther-Walsh sustained an injury that sent him to the hospital for a leg injury.  Bobby is on the road to recovery and is looking forward to being back on track as soon as he is cleared to return by his doctors.

Next up on Saturday, June 22 will be a 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 along with the Vintage cars. The program will consist of qualifying races leading up to the 30-lap Modified and 25-lap Sportsman main events. The vintage cars will run feature only.  Pit gates open at 4:00 and Spectator gates at 5:00 with hot laps at 6:00 and racing at 7:30.