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ADDISON MEITZLER COMPLETES SPECTACULAR RUN FROM 14TH TO FIRST TO SCORE FIRST T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT SPORTSMAN WIN OF THE SEASON
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – Bobby Trapper Jr. of Scranton, Pa. has had many long days and nights of travel, good and bad nights of race action over the past several seasons, but hard work and determination paid off this week with a first career win in the 30-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified feature Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.
Trapper Jr. has been making the long trip each Saturday night for many seasons, first with his father who raced at Grandview and now racing himself with his father helping him, and after all the ups and downs, the reward for all the effort was a hard earned first ever Grandview Speedway win.
The race had a dramatic ending no less on Saturday night as Brian HIrthler of Green Lane, Pa., who was trying to shake off some recent bad luck of his own, took the lead away from Trapper Jr. on a lap 24 restart, only to see the two drivers trade the lead back and forth a couple times before Trapper Jr. secured the lead for good in the final two laps to score the dramatic first career Grandview Modified win.
Following the dramatic T.P. Trailer Modified feature, Addison Meitzler of Kempton, Pa. put on a driving clinic to score his second career T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature win, and his first of the 2024 season.
Meitzler started 14th in the 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature, moved into second on lap ten at which point he was a straightaway behind leader Zach Steffey of Sinking Spring, Pa., then reeled in the leader and took over the top spot on lap 19, before motoring on to the impressive victory.
The winners received bonus money (Modified $300, Sportsman $200) from T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment of Limerick, Pa., sponsors of the two divisions at Grandview Speedway, in a race program run under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner and sponsored by Macmillan Oil Company of Allentown, Pa.
Bobby Trapper Jr. took the lead from the drop of the green to start the T.P. Trailer Modified main event on the Macmillan Oil Company of Allentown night at the races, leaving Eric Biehn of Barto, Pa. in second and Carroll Hine III of Reading, Pa. in third.
Justin Grim of Orefield, Pa. and Ryan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. quickly made their presence known in the top positions by lap nine, putting on a classic battle up front, before a caution on lap eleven slowed the action.
On the restart several drivers moved up positions including Watt who moved to third, and Brian Hirthler who advanced to fourth after falling back to eighth at one point. Watt quickly took over second leaving Biehn to battle with Hirthler.
With a good run of green flag action, Trapper Jr. built up a sizable lead with Watt slowly cutting into his advantage, with Watt moving to within striking distance by lap twenty.
While the two leaders were flying around the top lane of the speedway, a great battle had developed for position behind them between Biehn, Grim, Tim Buckwalter of Douglasville, Pa., Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, Pa. moving up from 15th starting spot, and Mike Gular of Boyertown, Pa. on the move from 20th starting position.
Just as Watt seemed to be ready to make a move to challenge for the lead, misfortune would strike as Watt would suffer a left-rear flat tire causing a caution on lap 24, setting up the late race dramatics.
Hirthler, who had taken third from Biehn on lap 19, would line up second on the restart and power past Trapper Jr. entering turn one to grab the lead, staying in the bottom groove.
Trapper Jr. did not give up, staying in the top lane and would eventually move back alongside Hirthler and be slightly out in front to score lap 25. The two drivers continued to run side by side and Trapper Jr. would then slowly pull away in the final couple of laps to score the exciting first ever Grandview win in dramatic fashion.
Both drivers ran a clean and exciting final six laps thrilling the crowd with some great side by side racing action. At the checkered it was Trapper Jr. with the win, followed by Brian Hirthler, Strada, who was still charging at the end, as was Gular, Justin Grim, Jeff Strunk of Boyertown, Pa. up from 19th starting spot, Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa. up from 18th spot, Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., Buckwalter, and Doug Manmiller of Shoemakersville, Pa.
Qualifying heats for the 41 cars on hand were won by Biehn, Manmiller, Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa., and Chris Gambler of Trexlertown, Pa. with Eric Kormann of Carneys Point, N.J. and Jimmy Leiby of West Milford, N.J. winning the consolations.
The 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature saw Zach Steffey take the lead at the drop of Starter Ray Kemp’s green flag, staying out front through two caution flags on lap one, which turned out to be the only cautions of the entire feature event.
Steffey would set sail and build up a huge advantage while a great battle developed behind him for second position on back between Nick Faust of Phillipsburg, N.J., Mark Mohr of Macungie, Pa., Shannon Slaughter of Lititz, Pa., Kenny Bock of Birdsboro, Pa., Addison Meitzler, TJ Mayberry of Sellersville, Pa., and Tyler James of Birdsboro, Pa. who were all fighting for top ten positions.
By lap eight, Steffey had built up a full straightaway lead on the rest of the field, while Meitzler was steadily threading his way through the field.
After starting in 14th position, Meitzler reached sixth by lap five, and fifth on lap eight. He then pulled an unbelievable move threading his way around, under and through the middle of a small pack of cars fighting for the remaining top five spots between turns one and two, to end up in second spot on lap ten.
By the half-way mark, Faust, Mohr, and Bock would continue their great struggle for the third spot while Meitzler took off after a strong running Steffey who would reach lapped traffic by lap fifteen.
In order to work through the thickening lap traffic, Steffey began switching lanes around the speedway, leaving the top groove where he had been running so strong, so he could maneuver through the various cars ahead of him.
It was an entertaining battle as Meitzler would erase the big lead Steffey had, and the race for the top position was on, with both drivers switching lanes battling one another for the top position while battling the lapped cars at the same time.
Meitzler got the chance he needed, and took the lead from Steffey with a power move down low off of turn four to score lap 19, and then had to set the pace and battle through the heavy traffic as the race leader with Steffey trying to recapture the top position.
Meitzler would not be denied, working traffic perfectly in the final laps to race home to his first win of the season, becoming the sixth different winner in T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman action this season.
Following Meitzler to the finish was Steffey who ended his back luck with his best run of the year, Mark Mohr likewise with his best outing of the season, Bock, Mayberry, Jesse Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa., Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. up from 25th spot, James, Mike Schneck Jr. of Lebanon, Pa., and Faust.
Qualifying heats for the 39 cars on hand were won by Steve Young of Collegeville, Pa., Mark Mohr, Meitzler and Steffey while Ryan Graver of Lehighton, Pa. and Brett Grim of Coplay, Pa. won the consolations.
Grandview Speedway will be presenting another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series program next week featuring the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, and another visit by the Outlaw Racing Series Vintage cars.
The show on Saturday, June 22 will include qualifying events leading up to a 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature, a 25-lap feature for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman, and a feature event only for the Vintage cars.
Pit gates will open at 4 pm, with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm, warm-ups starting at 6:15 pm, and the first race of the evening getting the green flag at 7:30 pm.
Adult grandstand admission is $20, students 10-15 with ID are $10, while children ages 9 and under are admitted free of charge. Pit admission is $35 for NASCAR members and $45 for non-members.
The third Thunder on the Hill Racing Series event is on Tuesday, July 2 with a visit by the powerful 410 Sprint Cars of the Pennsylvania Posse in the 34th running of Pa Sprint Car Speed Week. The Speed Week event at Grandview is titled the Hodnett Cup and salutes the late driver who is one of the all-time winningest 410 Sprint drivers in Grandview history and will be sponsored by HVAC Distributors Partners for Success. The Tuesday night show will also include the 358 Modifieds, for another outstanding two-division race program.
Race fans will be taking a trip down memory lane on Saturday, July 6 when Grandview Speedway presents 90’s night, which was a huge hit last season.
The highlight of the night will be the roll back of the grandstand admission to 1990’s pricing, as fans will pay just $10 for a complete night of NASCAR Modified and Sportsman competition.
Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through October, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.
Information is always available at www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.
MACMILLAN OIL COMPANY OF ALLENTOWN NIGHT RESULTS SUMMARY – JUNE 15, 2024
T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): BOBBY TRAPPER JR., Brian Hirthler, Eddie Strada, Mike Gular, Justin Grim, Jeff Strunk, Jared Umbenhauer, Craig Von Dohren, Tim Buckwalter, Doug Manmiller, Carroll Hine III, Kevin Hirthler, Louden Reimert, Eric Biehn, Mike Lisowski, Michael Storms, Frank Yankowski, Jimmy Leiby, Eric Kormann, Ron Haring Jr., Duane Howard, Bryan Rhoads, Ryan Watt, Kevin Graver Jr., Mike Laise, Craig Whitmoyer, Chris Gambler, Ryan Grim, Ray Swinehart
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
T.P. TRAILERS WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Bobby Trapper Jr.
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Mike Gular +16
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Bobby Trapper Jr.
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): ADDISON MEITZLER, Zach Steffey, Mark Mohr, Kenny Bock, TJ Mayberry, Jesse Hirthler, Logan Watt, Tyler James, Mike Schneck Jr., Nick Faust, Shannon Slaughter, Joey Vaccaro, Steve Young, Ryan Graver, Kaitlyn Bailey, Nathan Mohr, Logan Bauman, Adrianna Delliponti, Dylan Swinehart, Colton Perry, Kyle Hartzell, Brett Grim, Lawson Szerencits, Ronnie Solomon, Brett Gilmore, Mark Kemmerer, Teague Miller
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
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Addison Meitzler
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Logan Watt +18
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Zach Steffey
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Saturday, June 22 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7:30 pm.
Saturday, June 29 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm
Tuesday, July 2 – THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES – 34th annual Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car Speed Week Series – $10,000 to win 410 Sprint Hodnett Cup, 358 Modifieds* – 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 6 – BACK TO THE 90’S NIGHT – $10 GRANDSTAND ADMISSION – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 13 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, 54th annual FIRECRACKER 40 – T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman 40 laps – 7:30 pm
