Grandview Sportsman Pit Notes 6/15/24 – Addison Meitzler Storms to First Sportsman Win of Season

Addison Meitzler stormed from his 13^th starting position and on lap 10 moved into 2^nd behind Zachary Steffy who was running away from the field with a 5 second lead.   Meitzler tracked down Steffy and took over the lead on lap 19 and drove to the checkered flag & victory lane with over a 2 second margin of victory.

Heat race winners for the 39 car sportsman field were Steve Young, Mark Mohr, Addison Meitzler and Zach Steffy.

The consolation races were won by  Ryan Graver and Brett Grim.

T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): 1. ADDISON MEITZLER (14), 2. Zach Steffey (3), 3. Mark Mohr (5), 4. Kenny Bock (6), 5. TJ Mayberry(12) , 6. Jesse Hirthler (13) , 7. Logan Watt (25), 8. Tyler James(10) , 9. Mike Schneck Jr. (15) , 10. Nick Faust (1), 11. Shannon Slaughter(4) , 12. Joey Vaccaro (11), 13. Steve Young (8), 14. Ryan Graver (21), 15. Kaitlyn Bailey (7), 16. Nathan Mohr (23), 17. Logan Bauman (18) , 18. Adrianna Delliponti (24), 19. Dylan Swinehart (27), 20. Colton Perry (9) , 21. Kyle Hartzell (26), 22. Brett Grim (22), 23. Lawson Szerencits (2), 24. Ronnie Solomon (19), 25. Brett Gilmore (7), 26. Mark Kemmerer (16) , 27. Teague Miller (20)

DID NOT QUALIFY: Dakota Kohler, Mike Stofflet, BJ Joly, Alex Bartorillo, Stephen Laubach, Dennis Graber, Colin Cox, Decker Swinehart, Gavyn Krupp, Bobby Kupp, Zane Roth, Jesse Landis

HARD CHARGER: Logan Watt +18

6/15/24 Race # 7 – SPORTSMAN PIT NOTES

Addison Metzler won from his 13^th starting position and posted his first win of the 2024 season.  Addison has been consistently in the top 5 and top 10 and currently sits 4^th in the early season points standing.  His only setback of the season was when his transmission broke in the pits prior to hot laps which ended his night before it even started.

In victory lane Addison reflected “I found and rolled the middle tonight, and it didn’t take long to run down the top five and then the leader.  You just can’t bank on yellows to bring them back to you.  By the end we were starting to hang in the corners, so I was happy to see the checkered.  We were finally able to finish one of these for a change.”

Back at the trailer Addison noted “I believe we were quickest in hot laps among 39 cars.  We won the heat from the 7^th starting position.  We didn’t change much for the feature and by far this was the best car I’ve had all year.  We have been getting faster and faster every week but always seem to be plagued with some sort of mechanical issue that keeps us from winning.  We finally had a night without mechanical issues and now we know what the car can do.  I figured I wouldn’t be able to count on yellows to reel the leader in for me so I would have to run the leader down and we had a car tonight that could run down over a 5 second gap in 9 laps.”

Zach Steffey finished 2^nd from his 2^nd starting position to post his career best finish.

 Zack noted “We won the heat race this week from the pole and that was already a complete turnaround from last week when we had a flat on the last lap while leading and ended up with a DNQ last week.  We handicapped to a 2^nd starting position in the feature.

“After two quick yellows on lap 1/2, the race went green to the checkered and we took the early lead.  I got a big lead by running flat out on the top, but Addison tracked me down on passed me on lap 19.  I saw his nose, but he was already below me and with my inexperience in features I didn’t drop to the bottom soon enough.  I’m just not used to running up front in the feature and now know what I should do next time we are up front in the feature defending a lead.”

“We have won a bunch of heats in the past and it’s been frustrating for us in features, but it all paid off with our first 2^nd place and our career best finish tonight.”

“ A big thank you to my sponsors, crew and Jared Umbenhauer who helped us get our setup right this week.”   

Mark Mohr posted a season best 3^rd place finish from his 4^th starting position.

Mark commented “We had our best night of the season from start to finish.  We won our heat race from 2^nd and handicapped to 4^th in the feature.

“We have been working on making changes to get the car the way I like it last week, and they worked for us tonight.  We ran very well on the top in a feature that was virtually green to checkered after the only cautions were on lap 1 & 2.  We had three top 12 runs get away from us already this year after getting caught up in tangles, so it feels good to be able to bring home a podium finish for the first time this year.”

Kenny Bock finished 4^th from his 5^th starting position.  Kenny has posted his 2^nd top five in his last 3 races.

Kenny stated “The track was a bit strange, and it was dusty all night but then it came in for me.  I was a bit tight in the beginning of the feature but then the track came in and I could pass on the top.  The race went green for 23 laps, and I got into a rhythm.  I tried to go to the bottom but kept getting the door slammed on me and couldn’t get down there.  I was still a solid run for us and hopefully we can string some more of these top five finishes together into the summer months.”

TJ Mayberry finished 5^th from his 11^th starting position.  TJ has only missed the top five & top ten twice after being involved in two tangles while running up front.  TJ has added speed and consistency this year and it has put him 9^th in the early season points standings.

TJ commented “We tried something different with setup last week and we just missed it. It was a tough track to pass on as well last week. This week we went back to what we know works. Hot laps felt ok, maybe a bit on the tight side. We gave ourselves some more stagger for the heat knowing the first heat is usually tough to pass in. I started on the outside and knew it was pivotal to get what I could right at the start and then get to the bottom.  I made some moves which got us into the invert.”

“We made some adjustments for the feature, and we were way too loose to start the race but the longer the race went the better the car felt.  The car was strong on the middle and bottom. Overall, I was happy with how our night went. We need to take better advantage of our decent starting spots.  It’s tough to win at Grandview, but we have been knocking on the door this year and with a little more speed we hope to get one by the end of the season.”

Jesse Hirthler finished 6^th from his 12^th starting position and turned around what has been a rough couple of weeks with jingles and DNQ’s.   Nonetheless, Jesse still sits a solid 7^th in the early season points standings.

Jesse noted “Well yes, the past couple of weeks have very been painful.  I knew I was making mistakes and that I have to clean them up. We made a few tweaks to the car to make it a little better, but it hasn’t shown because I am not getting the results to prove it.”

 In the heat I think it’s been the farthest I started up front yet this season and that helped.  Also, the fact that I was in a later heat race helps as well since track conditions allow the drivers that can drive to work around and move to the front.  I was able to get around 3 cars and get into a handicap spot and ride out the heat knowing I was in a handicap spot. “

“Feature was interesting for sure. Started off rough early with cautions and then the rest went nonstop with track rubbering around the lower groove.  I was able to pick up a couple spots at the start and then from there I was just searching around to see where my car performed the best.  I was also able to get by a couple more cars before it was over, but my car wasn’t the greatest, so that means dad & I will figure some more things out and come back next week with some improvements.”

Logan Watt finished 7^th coming from his 25^th starting position and moved +18 through the field in a feature with two cautions by lap 2 and then 23 green flag laps.

In his heat race Logan was moving forward until a flat tire sent him to the pits, but he came back out late and had a whole straightway to catch up to the field and finished 9^th with a date in the 1st consolation.

In the consolation Logan started in 8^th and was able to move forward and pick up a 3^rd place finish which was the last transfer spot to the feature.  That put Logan in the feature starting in 25^th starting position. 

.  In the feature, despite only two cautions on the opening laps and then 23 green flag laps, Logan was able to move forward from 25^th to 7^th.  Logan added another 100 points to his points lead and appears to be running away with the 2024 points championship with his consistent top ten finishes every week in a field of nearly 40 cars each week.

Tyler James finished 8^th from his 9^th starting position and posted his best finish of the season.

Tyler reflected “We have been really good in hot laps for the past 2 weeks.  Our heats have been solid too and I have been taking my time in heats feeling it out without being too aggressive and waiting to find the cleanest possible move to get in a qualifying position.”   

“In the feature the car was good, but the driver just made some bone head moves by repeatedly dropping to the bottom when he should’ve rolled top and middle. Top was extremely fast for the car in the beginning.  Nonetheless we were able to post our best finish of the season.”

Mike Schneck finished 9^th from his 14^th starting position.  Mike has consistently finished mid-pack or better with only one DNQ in 7 outings this season and currently sits a solid 6^th place in the early season points standings.

Mike noted “We were good in hot laps.  Tried the first session and it was still slick in the corners, but the car still felt good.  The heat went well, and I was able to make some passes and got into 5th.  I was behind Jesse Landis and just saw smoke come out the back and hope nothing major for him.  That put me into 4th place and into a handicap spot.”

“In the feature we started 14th and make 2 passes off the start and then a caution. On the first restart we passed 4 cars, and another then caution, and this one was a single file restart. Once racing on track, I could make passes on either the top or the bottom.  I got drilled in the back in the corner and it sent me bouncing up the track, so once again I had to make all the passes over again until I hit a pack of cars which made it difficult to make passes. The car was still moving forward on the last lap but then I got boxed in.”

Nick Faust finished 10^th from his pole starting position and posted his best finish of the season.

Nick noted “We ran a completely new set up in the car this week.  Initially going into hot laps, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I was just trying to get comfortable in the car.  We were confident with the set up for the heat race.  We are still fighting with this motor to get more RPM out of it. That has been an issue for us in the past few weeks with this motor.  I am thankful to have gotten some extra help and experience in the pits this season.  The car is not quite there, but we are heading in the right direction.  We tightened the car up a lot more than usual for the feature.  I had some concerns starting on the pole with our motor not being 100% but we were able to turn in some very good laps.  The car handled well and was fun to drive.  Got to thank Gary & Clay Butler and Darren Schuler for their input.  Bernie Kelly, Billy Mosier, John ‘Gabby’ Haney, and Barry Reece for their help getting the car to where it’s at right now.”

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.  Pit gates open at 4:00 and Spectator gates at 5:00 with hot laps at 6:00 and racing at 7:30.