Grandview Modified Pit Notes 09/13/25 – Ryan Watt Wins Season Finale & Duane Howard Captures NASCAR Points Championship at Grandview Speedway

Ryan Watt passed Ray Swinehart on lap 19 to move into 2^nd place chasing and then passed leader Ryan Graver for the lead on lap 28 while holding off son Logan in second place for the win. 

At the drop of  the green flag Ryan Graver blasted into the lead which he extended to nearly 5 seconds over Ray Swinehart until a lap 13 caution re-racked the field.  On the only restart Graver once again opened his lead until Ryan Watt moved into 2^nd place on lap 19.  Watt then methodically closed Graver’s lead down to a side by side racing until he passed Graver for the lead on lap 28.   Ryan Watt took the checkered flag for the win with son Logan Watt on his heals only .266 seconds behind in second place while modified newcomer Ryan Graver posted an impressive 3^rd place finish in only his fifth career modified race.

Heat race winners for the 41-car field were Jared Umbenhauer, Ray Swinehart, Ryan Graver and Logan Watt.

Consolation race winners were Eddie Strada & Duane Howard.

Duane Howard finished 14^th and capture the Grandview NASCAR points championship for the 2025 season.

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

 1. RYAN WATT (10), 2, Logan Watt (13), 3. Ryan Graver (2), 4. Louden Reimert (17), 5. Rick Laubach (9), 6. John Willman (5), 7. Jared Umbenhauer (14), 8. Mike Gular (15), 9. Ray Swinehart (1), 10. Craig Von Dohren (12), 11. Eddie Strada (20), 12. Doug Manmiller (8), 13. Jeff Strunk (11), 14. Duane Howard (21), 15. Tim Buckwalter (18), 16. Danny Creeden (16), 17. Matt Yoder (4), 18. Brian Hirthler (7), 19. Kyle Smith (19), 20. Brandon Edgar (27), 21. Justin Grim (23), 22. Cody Manmiller (24), 23. Mike Laise (3), 24. Kenny Bock (28), 25. Jon Kellner (26), 26. Chris Esposito (6), 27. Bobby Trapper Jr. (22), 28. Eric Kormann (25)

DID NOT QUALIFY: Ron Haring Jr., Craig Whitmoyer, Joe Funk, Nate Brinker, Nick DeSantis, Glenn Owens, Eric Biehn, Ryan Grim, Darrin Schuler, Ryan Beltz, Bobby Gunther Walsh, Jim Housworth, Bobby Trapper Sr.

HARD CHARGER: Louden Reimert +13

MODIFIED PIT NOTES  09/13/25

Ryan Watt took his second win of the season from his 10^th starting position.

In victory lane Ryan reflected “We had a really good car at our last race two weeks ago but had a rock hit the bleeder and we broke for a DNF.  We left the car exactly the same as the last race and it was good all night long.  I knew if we got to the front first, we would have a shot at a win tonight. “

“In the heat we went from 7^th to 4^th and made the invert, but the motor did seem down on power.  After the heat Carol Hine made a timing adjustment which did the trick for the feature.”

“In the feature I got stuck behind Swinehart who knows how to make his car plenty wide, but after the caution I was able to get around Swinehart and start to move in on Graver for the lead.”

“Graver ran a heck of a race and was really fast on top. I showed him my nose on the bottom, and he surprised me when he moved down to the bottom which opened the top for me to take the lead.   In the final two laps I saw a white nose underneath me, it was Logan, and I had no idea he was back there or where he came from.”  He pulled even with me but couldn’t get by me on from the bottom.”

“Grandview is intense and up on the wheel racing from green to checkered every week, so the fact that we have two cars from our Roberts Racing shop in the top ten is quite an accomplishment for us this season.”

Duane Howard finished 14^th from his 21^st starting position which was enough to win the 2025 NASCAR Modified points championship by 74 points over Louden Reimert.  Howard started the season with a DNQ but after that he averaged 5th place finish for the next 15 weeks to capture his 7^th career Grandview Modified points championship.

Duane reflected “We were real conservative with the car tonight and it almost bite us in the butt.  I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be racing so it is great to do this for Butch and this team.”

“We had a decent points cushion going into the night since we rained out last week.  After a DNQ on opening night, a points championship really wasn’t we were thinking about.  But as the consistent top 5/10 finishes continued we actually took the point lead with 3 or 4 weeks to go.  We had phenomenal consistency this year at Grandview.”

We didn’t have the win total we were hoping for but the 15g had a solid season.  At one stretch in mid-summer, we clicked off a top five every night.”

“Honesty this points championship needs an asterisk next to it in the records books since the guy I should be racing for it has been sitting out for two months with an injury.  Brett, I hope you are doing well with your recovery.”

Logan Watt finished 2^nd from his 13^th starting position.

Logan commented “We had a good car all night long and won our heat from the 8^th starting position.  Got to apologize to Ryan Grim for misjudging the gap and getting into him during the heat race.”

“In the feature we went with a harder tire and couldn’t go to the top.  The car was better on the bottom and when I did catch up with dad it was too late to be able to pass him.  30 laps are just not enough time for the tires to come in with only one caution.”

“This was the second time I have runner upped to dad so for now he still has bragging rights.”

Ryan Graver finished 3^rd from his 2^nd starting position and led 27 laps in only his 5^th time driving a modified.

Ryan noted “We struggled in warmups, but our adjustments improved the car for the heat race.  In the heat race I got the lead on lap 2 and CVD showed me his nose in 1 &2 for the next ten laps, but I was able to drive away in 3 & 4 and get my first ever modified heat race win.”

“For the feature we made a lot of changes as directed by Ron Seltmann of Fast Four.  This was only my 2^nd feature at Grandview and the car felt great early.  I was able to run away and hide from the field.  I was in 1 & 2, and the rest of the field was in 3 & 4.”

“I ran the bottom early but after the only restart I stayed up on top until I saw Ryan’s nose on the bottom, so I moved to the bottom and then Ryan passed me on the top.  I was rolling the middle and then Logan went by me on the bottom.  A lot can happen in about three laps at Grandview.”

Louden Reimert finished 4^th from his 14^th starting position to finish the season out on a strong note.  Louden moved from 4^th in points to a 2^nd place finish in the modified point standings at Grandview coupled with winning the points championship at Big Diamond for the 2025 season.

Louden noted “We had a good night, qualifying through the heat and making the handicap. We made some adjustments for the feature and were able to move forward in a one caution feature.”

Rick Laubach finished 5^th from his 9^th starting position and has started to post consistent top five / ten finishes with more frequency and hitting stride just in time for the Freedom 76er next week.  Rick does have a long recent history of top five and ten finishes at the 76er.

Rick noted, “It was great to make the handicap from our heat race for a change.  We decided to use the night as a live test session for the prestigious 76er. This week, we were gambling on tires in preparation for the 76er and by end of the feature they were really starting to work. That’s a good sign for next week.”

The night concluded with another heart-stopping finish that has become a hallmark of Laubach’s recent performances.  After a hard-fought battle, Laubach edged out John Willman at the finish line by an incredibly narrow margin of just 0.004 seconds to secure the 5th position.”

Kenny Bock made the switch to modifieds a little over a month ago.  Kenny upgraded his sportsman motor to a spec 358 and tonight was the first time in the modified division that he made the invert and had the pole position.

Kenny made the decision to move from his pole and opted to the rear of the field and the 28^th starting position to stay out of the way while the four points contenders battle for the Grandview 2025 points championship.

In a move that demonstrated both selfless sportsmanship and true racing character which will hopefully set an example and show the way for other drivers that there are times when sport is more important than a starting position.  I am certain that we will be hearing more on track from Kenny Bock in the very near future.

Next up is the Freedom 76er weekend with racing on both Friday and Saturday night.

Friday, September 19 – 12^th annual FREEDOM 38 SPORTSMAN CHAMPIONSHIP – T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman 38 laps, Modified Practice for Freedom 76 – 7:30 pm. $5 general admission.

Saturday, September 20 – 55^th annual FREEDOM 76 MODIFIED CLASSIC – Modifieds 76 laps – 7 pm (Rain date September 27). $40 general admission.