Grandview Sportsman Pit Notes – 6/29/24 (Make-up) & 7/06/24 – Brian Hirthler and Zach Steffey Win Sportsmen Twin 25 Features

In the make-up feature from 6/29/24 Brian Hirthler took the lead on lap 18 from his 6^th starting position to survive a caution and crash filled 33 minute feature and take his first sportsman win of the season.

Troy Bollinger led the first 17 laps from the pole position until Brian Hirthler used the 5^th restart to move around 2^nd place Steve Young and leader Bollinger to take the lead on lap 18.  A series of seven cautions for predominantly tangles constantly depleted and shuffled the field but Hirthler was able to avoid all the incidents and drive into victory lane for his first sportsman win of the season.

Heat race winners for the 44 car sportsman field were Zach Steffey, Lawson Szerencits, Brian Hirthler, and Steve Young.

The consolation races were won by  Nathan Mohr and Addison Meitzler.

6/29/24 MAKE-UP – SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): 1. BRIAN HIRTHLER (6), 2. Dylan Swinehart (17), 3. Addison Meitzler (20), 4. Brett Gilmore (13), 5. Logan Watt (15), 6. Mike Schneck Jr. (22), 7. Adrianna Delliponti (21), 8. Lawson Szerencits (2), 9. Jesse Landis (10) , 10. Logan Bauman (26), 11. Troy Bollinger (1), 12. BJ Joly III (3) ,13.  Zane Roth (11), 14. Dakota Kohler(9) , 15. Steve Young (7), 16. Ryan Graver (18), 17. Zach Steffey (4), 18. Jesse Hirthler (14)  , 19. Teague Miller, 20. Nathan Mohr, 21. Mark Gaugler, 22. Shannon Slaughter, 23. TJ Mayberry, 24. Jared LaBagh, 25. Joey Vaccaro, 26. Decker Swinehart, 27. DNS – Gavyn Krupp

DID NOT QUALIFY: Parker Guldin, Brett Grim, Mark Mohr, Stephen Smith III, Tyler James, Colton Perry, Kaitlyn Bailey, Buck Brown, Kenny Bock, Brayden Shelton, Jay Garris, Randy Graber, Mike Stofflet, Mark Kemmerer, Nate Horn, Joe Buchanon, Dennis Graber

HARD CHARGER: Addison Meitzler +17

6/29/24 Race # 9 – SPORTSMAN PIT NOTES

The first 12 laps were clean and green but the last 13 laps were carnage filled with 7 cautions for tangles and tow offs.  When the final checkered flag flew there only 11 of the 26 starters still running.

Brian Hirthler took the win from his 6^th starting position.  Brian stayed clear of the cautions and was moving forward while Logan Watt seemed like he couldn’t avoid the cautions and tangles.  With Logan in and out of the pits; Brian pretty much had clear sailing on the high side when he wanted it.

Brian reflected “The win came from two different nights as heats were run the week before on 6/29/24. The car felt good in the heat so we kind of went with that setup for the makeup feature as we weren’t sure how the track was going to be a week later and earlier in the night.  I ran the top for most of the feature which is actually why I dropped to 10th by lap 10. In retrospect it was probably a bad game plan for me, but it did pay off in the second half as I found a lane through the rough stuff and used that to make most of my late race passes.”

“It took me longer than I expected to get the crate dialed in this season.  In the first 2 weeks I was off with the gear and just struggled adapting the setup to a motor with lesser horsepower.  Those bad performances reflected not having any notes to go off of since most people are running coils, and I didn’t have anyone to ask for help in that regards to running a crate motor with torsion bars.”

“In the 3rd week we went from 24th to 10th and got hard charger.  We found something that worked in that feature, and we pretty much been trying to refine it ever since. I wish we had a few more weeks to get the kinks worked out for the 40-lapper but we will go with what we got and give it our best shot.”

Dylan Swinehart finished 2^nd from his 17^th starting position.  Dylan has been qualifying without making the invert and almost weekly and then making back to front runs into to top ten placing him 5^th in the current sportsman points standings.

Dylan stated “We fixed the power issue right before we went out for the make-up feature. Finally found our problem and the car and track were great for an early feature.  The old 2014 engine is still doing amazingly well.”

“In the second program the flat tire in the heat killed our night with not being able to make it back out to finish the heat.  As for the consolation, it just was a one lane rubbered up track on the bottom. I junked my RR in the consolation that’s how bad it was.”

Addison Meitzler finished 3^rd from his 20^th starting position and has moved into 2^nd place in the Grandview sportsman points standing.

Addison noted “Car continued to be good all night long.  In the makeup feature we stayed out of trouble and ran from 20^th to 3^rd.”

“In the regular feature our night ended with people in front of us wrecking while people behind us are not looking ahead and we got turned from behind.”

Brett Gilmore finished 4^th from his 13^th starting position.  Brett was able to post the best overall night in both features with a 4^th in the makeup and a 4^th in the regular scheduled program.

Brett noted “In the makeup feature I knew I was going to be fast right out of the gate and that the track was going to be in my favor since I like two lanes with not a lot of grip and that’s exactly the conditions we had for the first feature. I started 13th and before halfway moved up to 5th.  Car was hooked up big time.  With that first caution I knew I had a chance to get up into the top 3 and I did.  Passed the 187 three times and I had the lead at least once but every time the caution came out and ruined my run.  Ended up 4th behind Hirthler, Swinehart, and Addison.  I was disappointed in my results because I felt the makeup feature was probably my best chance to get a win tonight.”   

Logan Watt finished 5^th from his 15^th starting position in the makeup feature.  Logan did this one the hard way with two spin/tangles and after the 2^nd one he went in on the hook but then came right back out and was able to run his way back up to 5^th place.

Back at the trailer Logan noted “The makeup feature sure was crazy with 7 cautions in the last 13 laps.  I was following Gilmore through and went up top when the cushion shot me back down and my left front hit the bumper of the 187 and around, I went.  I tried to save it, but the car bounced into the air.   We were able to stay out but in the very next lap I got collected in another tangle with no where to go.  The track crew decided to tow me into the pits where dad and Eric looked at the car and said it looked good, so I put my helmet back on and went right back out.  I was able to work back up to a 5^th place finish when the checkered flag flew.  Amazing the front end was not torn up at all and the only damage we had was sheet metal.”

“In the 2^nd feature of the night I started 16^th, and we went with a harder tire, but it didn’t fire right at the start of the race.  We had some good racing with Schneck and Nate Mohr, but cautions kept coming out and I was on the top with the rubber coming in on the bottom which was the place to be.  I tried the middle but couldn’t make anything happen and just got hung up on the outside in the 2^nd feature tonight and finished 13^th in that one.”

Mikey Schneck finished 6^th from his 22^nd starting position.  He also finished 6^th in the regular feature from his 15th starting position putting together a solid night which moved him into 3rd in the mid-season points standings.

Mikey stated “Yeah in hot laps I thought carb was loading up and just couldn’t get to speed.  Come to find out somehow the rev limiter got bumped down which wouldn’t allow the car to come to speed.  That was crazy and we will be checking the rev limiter every time we leave the pits now.  We couldn’t get forward enough in the heat last week but got 2^nd out of 3 transfer positions in the consolation.

“1st feature was tough starting 22^nd but made passes which seemed like it was just a pack of cars not going anywhere and just bouncing off one another and slowing it all up.  I saw the big crash happening, so I went to the bottom to avoid. Then made a couple passes and the car in front of me spun Logan Bauman out and it looked like he was going spin around, but he slid up and I barely missed him.  From there it was more cautions every time I made a pass to get out back.  Came home with a 6th so that was good after being way back.  Tied for hard charger.”

“The second feature started off good and made passes in the first two laps.  Then I just slowly waited for cars to figure out their lines and see where I could go.  I was way back from some of the cars not staying with the leader and the single files make it tough to get a jump but still worked my way up to 6^th.  On lap 17 caution came out, I was in 6th but slid up on turn 1 and lost 3 spots on the restart but luckily, I was able to pass those cars back and get back to 6th place again.  It was an outstanding night to be able to get two 6^th place finishes in both features from 22^nd and 15^th starting position and move up to 3rd in the points standings.”

7/06/24 Race # 10 – SPORTSMAN PIT NOTES

In the regular scheduled 2^nd sportsman feature of the night, Zach Steffey passed Randy Graber for the lead on lap 9 and then battled Kenny Bock side by side until pulling away in the final 5 laps to take his career first sportsman win.

Polesitter Randy Graber took the early lead but a wide slide up the track on lap 8 gave Zach Steffey the lead with Kenny Bock following into a close 2^nd.  Steffey and Bock separated from field and  battled side by side until the 3^rd caution on lap 17 when 3^rd place Randy Graber spun, and 4^th place Kyle Hartzell had no place to go but to pile into Graber.   The 4^th and final restart was on lap 19 and Steffey was able pull away from Bock for his first sportsman win.  Bock held 2^nd while Shannon Slaughter posted a career best 3^rd with team driver Brett Gilmore right behind her in 4^th and Mike Stofflet rounding out the top 5 with a hard charge from his 20^th starting position.

Heat race winners for the 40 car sportsman field were Jesse Hirthler, Brett Grim, Zach Steffey,  and Lawson Szerencits.

The consolation races were won by  Mike Stofflet and Logan Bauman.

7/06/29 – SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): 1.ZACH STEFFEY (5), 2. Kenny Bock (6) , 3. Shannon Slaughter (4), 4. Brett Gilmore (13), 5. Mike Stofflet (20), 6. Mike Schneck Jr. (15), 7. Jesse Hirthler (14), 8. Brett Grim (7), 9. Mark Mohr (8), 10. Decker Swinehart (12), 11. Nathan Mohr (18), 12. Logan Bauman (21), 13. Logan Watt (16), 14. Addison Meitzler (17), 15. Ryan Graver (24), 16. Adrianna Delliponti (25), 17. Kyle Hartzell (2), 18. Randy Graber (1) ,19. Brayden Shelton (26), 20. Joey Vaccaro (11), 21. Parker Guldin (22) , 22. Lawson Szerencits (3), 23. Jared LaBagh (19), 24. Dakota Kohler (23), 25. Tyler James (10), 26. Steve Young (9)

DID NOT QUALIFY: TJ Mayberry, Gavyn Krupp, Dylan Swinehart, Jesse Landis, Jay Garris, BJ Joly III, Troy Bollinger, Ronnie Solomon, Stephen Smith III, Teague Miller, John McGeoy, Zane Roth, Mark Gaugler, Colton Perry

HARD CHARGER: Mike Stofflet +15

Zach Steffey took a career first win from his 5^th starting position.  

In victory lane Zach reflected “We had a dead spot in the steering but went with it and it worked.  I knew I was over driving when Kenny went side by side.  After the final restart and on the last five laps my tires came in better every lap.”

Back at the trailer Zach noted “In the first makeup race we had a dead spot in the steering and after running 3^rd for nearly the entire first half of the race we got bottled up and pulled in with 10 to go.  We went over the car and couldn’t find any problems.  So went back out for the heat of the 2^nd program and won it.”

“In the feature the car felt good so I stayed out.  First ten laps I ran the top but tried the bottom and ran side by side with Kenny Bock. Once I conquered my over driving and settle down, I was able to pull away from the field in the final five laps.”

I’m really excited for this win and our consistency with a 2^nd place finish two weeks ago.  We know it’s going to get tougher with the handicap but hope to stay up in the top five every week.”

Kenny Bock finished 2^nd from his 6^th starting position.

Kenny noted “Our night started in the makeup consolation were I got to 3^rd and made a mistake and missed qualifying for the makeup feature by one spot.  In tonight’s heat race we missed the setup as the track changed but was fortunate enough to still make the invert for the feature.”

“In the feature we had a good setup, but the RR was just not good enough and faded in the final laps.  We had a chance to make the pass for the lead on Zach, but caution came out.  We got side by side for a few laps, but our tire selection and stager held us back and the top was going away too.  I pushed my tires pretty hard and by the end was over driving trying to get our 2^nd win of the season.”

Shannon Slaughter finished 3^rd from her 4^th starting position to post her career best sportsman finish.

Shannon reflected “I’m continuing to get more comfortable in the car.  In the makeup feature I started to get shuffled back by track conditions weren’t in my favor and I just simply struggled to get ahold of the track surface.”

“In the Heat race I took the lead from the 2^nd starting position and ran away with it until a restart when I got up to the wall and fell back to 4^th but still made the invert.”

Shannon continued “Started 4th in the feature and fell back to I believe 7th in the beginning of the race.  I got in a good rhythm and began picking up spots to end the race in 3rd.  I was side by side for 2^nd on the final lap and believe one more lap and I would’ve had it. The car was great, and things played out right for us, I was super happy with that finish.  I never would’ve expected to finish 3rd already in the few races I’ve run so far considering the stacked competition at Grandview every week.  I’m excited to see what we can do with the remainder of the season.”

Brett Gilmore finished 4^th from his 13^th starting position for the best overall finish in both features with two 4^th place finishes.

Brett noted “In the heat race started 6th and ended up 2nd.  Felt the rubber immediately after I moved to the bottom.”

“Started 13th in the second feature too, and just ran the rubber and made moves early to get through the “fruit salad” ended up 4th again. Track was rubber from the top to the bottom in the second feature and that’s not my favorite thing to run on.  But I had a great race with Brett Grim and he’s a good kid and I’m glad I got to race with him side by side for I think it was 8-10 laps.  Shannon did awesome and I’m really proud of her for sticking it out and learning to run in the rubber.  I Can’t complain, I guess I mean two 4ths on the night out of our shop plus Shannon’s 3rd feels pretty good.  Would’ve liked to have won that first one though.”

Mike Stofflet finished 5^th from his 20^th starting position.  Mike had a battle in his heat race and was involved in three cautions and towed off the track.  He was able to return for the consolation and won it to qualify for the feature which he raced from 20^th to 5^th for what was probably his best race of the season.

Mike commented “Day started off really on a low, we had a rocker pop off and one come lose in practice which at that point I felt we were in for a long day. As for the heat race, I’d rather just forget about that and keep my opinions to myself.  Ultimately, we had some things bent and a lot of cosmetic damage, but the crew went right to work on just making it drivable for consolation.  At that point I had a fire lit under my ass to prove we had a car to beat.  We got the win in the consolation which put us in the feature.  My comment to the crew when I got back to the trailer was that the car works even better bent! We then made the usual changes for the feature.

“Track prep was really good in my opinion, and we had multiple lanes from the drop of the green which made for good racing. The car was just on rails and whatever I told it to do it would with ease, and just had so much forward drive due to one out of the norm adjustment. When we went 19th to 13th in two laps, I pulled the belts a little tighter and told myself to prove what we have and that we are here to compete with the best on a weekly schedule.”

Next up on Saturday, July 13 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 featuring the Sportsman Firecracker 40. The program will consist of qualifying races leading up to the 40-lap Sportsman and 30-lap Modified 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.