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JARED LABAGH RIM RIDES THE TOP GROOVE TO FIRST GRANDVIEW SPORTSMAN FEATURE WIN
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. and Nate Brinker of Macungie, Pa. both earned hard fought wins after multi-lap side-by-side challenges on their way to victory in the twin 30-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified features Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.
Jared LaBagh of Middletown, N.Y. would ride the outside lane of the speedway from his seventh starting spot to the lead by lap thirteen, then survive a couple of late race cautions to score his first ever Grandview Speedway T. P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman 25-lap feature win, becoming the tenth different driver to win this season.
The victory for Kressley, his fourth of the current season, came after securing the race lead early on lap eight, then losing it to Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa. on a lap eighteen restart. The ensuing laps saw Kressley challenge Reimert to regain the lead, before another caution reset the field and allowed Kressley the opportunity to repass Reimert on a lap 24 restart to then go on and score the hard fought win.
Nate Brinker was able to pick up his first T.P. Trailer Modified win of the season, and his second career Grandview win, in a 30-lap main event that was rain delayed from the June 29th race program. Brinker took the lead on the start of the main event and was quickly joined by Tim Buckwalter of Douglasville, Pa., who challenged Brinker for the lead in a nearly ten lap side-by-side duel.
Buckwalter would be successful in grabbing the lead for two laps, before a caution flag restart would allow Brinker to power back on top on lap 17, and motor home to the win over a late charging Duane Howard of Oley, Pa.
The night’s race program was sponsored by T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment of Limerick, Pa., who also sponsors the two divisions at Grandview Speedway, providing the feature winners with bonus money (Modified $300, Sportsman $200), in a race program run under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner.
The evening’s program began with the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature that was held over from June 29th, with Brinker taking the lead at the drop of the green flag and Buckwalter on the move quickly advancing from his seventh starting position.
Following a restart on lap five, Buckwalter would move past Craig Whitmoyer of Hamburg, Pa. into second, and the race was on for the lead, with Brinker running the outside lane and Buckwalter on the bottom running side-by-side lap after lap in an exciting battle for the lead.
While this was happening, Whitmoyer would hold down third followed by Ryan Grim of Laurys Station, Pa., Howard, and Kressley in a hard fought struggle for the next three positions.
Buckwalter would have a bumper in front to be scored the leader on lap thirteen, with Brinker ahead on the next two laps, before Buckwalter would move completely by Brinker into sole possession of the top spot entering turn one on lap sixteen.
A caution on lap seventeen would change the outcome of the race, as Brinker would motor around the top lane on the restart and take back the lead, leaving Buckwalter to battle with Howard for second, who also advanced on the restart past Whitmoyer.
Doug Manmiller of Shoemakersville, Pa. would also advance on the restart and join in a battle with Whitmoyer, Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, Pa. and Mike Gular of Boyertown, Pa. who were also moving into contention.
The final ten laps were very competitive and entertaining with Brinker pulling out to a safe lead, leaving Buckwalter and Howard to fight for second, while Whitmoyer, Manmiller, Strada and Gular would be swapping spots behind them.
One final caution on lap 26 would erase Brinker’s lead, but he would be strong on the restart pulling out to a safe advantage, and race home to his second career Grandview T.P. Trailer Modified feature win.
The action behind Brinker never stopped, and at the checkered Howard would be second after getting by Buckwalter with six laps to go, Gular advanced to fourth with just two laps to go, and Manmiller completed the top five.
Rounding out the top ten spots were Strada, Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa., Whitmoyer, and Jeff Strunk of Boyertown, Pa.
Qualifying heats for the 38 cars in competition that were run on June 29 were won by Ryan Watt of Boyertown, Pa., Brinker and Mike Lisowski of Minersville, Pa. Heat four run on Saturday night was won by Duane Howard with Jon Kellner of Lansdale, Pa. and Eric Kormann of Carneys Point, N.J. winning the consolations.
The regularly scheduled 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature saw Glenn Owens of Bally, Pa. take the early lead, with Bryan Rhoads of Gilbertsville, Pa. and Ray Swinehart of Gilbertsville, Pa. battling for second spot, while Brett Kressley was on the move early from his tenth starting spot running the outside lane toward the front of the field.
Kressley would reach third by lap five, second on lap seven, and powered past Owens off of turn four to score lap eight and into the lead.
With Kressley leading, Owens, Rhoads and Swinehart would fight for second, while Joe Funk of Coopersburg, Pa., Mike Lisowski, and a fast moving Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa. up from eleventh would be battling for the next three spots.
At the halfway mark, Swinehart and Owens were locked in a battle along with Reimert and Lisowski, and Howard and Strunk having separate two cars fights for position.
Positions would be changing in those battles, and Reimert would reach fifth on lap fourteen, fourth on lap fifteen, and move to third on lap seventeen just before a caution would end the seventeen lap run of exciting green flag action.
Kressley would continue leading on the restart, with Reimert moving by Swinehart for second before another caution on lap eighteen set up the dramatic final third of the feature race.
Reimert would run the outside lane and run two full laps side by side with Kressley before taking the lead on lap nineteen, while another great battle continued behind them with Howard, Lisowski, Strunk, and quickly moving into contention Gular and Strada moving up from 15th and 14th starting spots.
Kressley never gave up and kept the pressure on Reimert, with Howard reaching fourth on lap 19 and Gular into the top five by lap twenty one.
All of this great action was slowed by a caution with just six laps to go, setting up one more double file restart, with Reimert picking the outside lane and Kressley on the bottom.
Kressley would stay with Reimert on the green and power past Reimert with a slider entering turn one to retake the lead.
Kressley would pull out to a safe advantage in the final laps leaving behind a super struggle for second, with Howard taking second on lap 25 and Gular moving past Reimert with just two laps to go to grab third.
At the checkered flag Kressley would score the win, his 28th career Saturday night NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series victory followed by Gular who took second on the white flag lap, Howard, Reimert , Lisowski for his best run of the year, Strunk, Whitmoyer, Strada, Kevin Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa. who put on a late charge for a top ten, and Jon Kellner.
Qualifying heats for the 36 cars on hand were won by Kellner, Ryan Beltz of Barto, Pa., Kressley and Ray Swinehart with Eric Kormann and Cody Manmiller of Philadelphia, Pa. winning the consolations.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature saw rookie Brayden Shelton of Hatfield, Pa. take the early lead, while Colton Perry of Topton, Pa., Ronnie Solomon of Hatfield, Pa., Teague Miller of Barto, Pa., Jared LaBagh, Kaitlyn Bailey of Alburtis, Pa., and Gavyn Krupp of Barto, Pa. all engaged in a great battle for the next several positions.
LaBagh quickly moved to the top groove of the speedway and began to slowly pick off positions one by one, reaching fourth by lap five, third on lap ten, second on lap eleven, then tracked down leader Shelton, moving past the young driver down the backstretch on lap thirteen to take the lead.
The first of only two cautions reset the field on lap 17, with LaBagh pulling away into the lead on the restart, with Shelton in second and a position swapping battle between Perry, Solomon, Miller, Krupp, Bailey and a fast moving Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa. right behind them.
One final caution on lap 23 could not hinder leader Labagh, as he would once again pull away to a comfortable lead, with the action for the top ten spots never stopping throughout the final ten laps of the race to the checkered.
At the wave of Starter Ray Kemp’s checkered flag it was LaBagh scoring his first ever Grandview Speedway win, followed by a career best for Shelton in only his fifth race, Solomon with his best run of the season, Swinehart who was still moving forward at the end, Krupp, TJ Maybery of Sellersville, Pa. also with a late charge, Miller, Jesse Landis of Gilbertsville, Pa., Brett Grim of Coplay, Pa. and Addison Meitzler of Kempton, Pa.
Qualifying heats for the 37 cars on hand were won by Solomon, Brett Gilmore of Kutztown, Pa., Teague Miller and Kaitlyn Bailey with Dakota Kohler of Kutztown, Pa. and Mark Mohr of Macungie, Pa. winning 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 a visit by the Outlaw Racing Series Vintage cars starting at 7:30 pm.
The show on Saturday, July 27 will include qualifying events leading into a 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature, a 25-lap feature for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman and a 15-lap feature 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.
This upcoming weekend will actually see two shows beginning on Friday, July 26, featuring the Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage Cars in action along with the Slingshots starting at 7 pm. Pit gates open at 2 pm, with grandstand gates opening at 5 pm. Grandstand admission will be $10, with children ages 12 and under admitted for free. Pit admission is $30 for the Friday event.
Looking ahead on the race schedule, Saturday August 10 will feature the 54th annual 50-lap Forrest Rogers Memorial for the T.P. Trailer Modifieds in a race program that will also feature fireworks sponsored by Spunktown Tavern and Restaurant of Boyertown, Pa!
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.
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NIGHT RACE SUMMARY – JULY 20, 2024
T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): BRETT KRESSLEY, Mike Gular, Duane Howard, Louden Reimert, Mike Lisowski, Jeff Strunk, Craig Whitmoyer, Eddie Strada, Kevin Hirthler, Jon Kellner, Bryan Rhoads, Craig Von Dohren, Joe Funk, Bobby Trapper Jr., Ryan Beltz, Ryan Watt, Glenn Owens, Eric Kormann, Cody Manmiller, Ray Swinehart, Brian Hirthler, Jimmy Leiby, Ryan Grim, Jared Umbenhauer, John Willman, Kevin Graver Jr., Doug Manmiller, Frank Yankowski
DID NOT QUALIFY: Nate Brinker, Justin Grim, Darrin Schuler, Tim Buckwalter, Ron Haring Jr., Eric Biehn, Kyle Smith, Chris Esposito
T.P. TRAILERS WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Brett Kressley
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Kevin Hirthler +15
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Brett Kressley ($75), Mike Gular ($50), Duane Howard ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Brett Kressley
T.P. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED (HELD-OVER JUNE 29) FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): NATE BRINKER, Duane Howard, Tim Buckwalter, Mike Gular, Doug Manmiller, Eddie Strada, Craig Von Dohren, Jared Umbenhauer, Craig Whitmoyer, Jeff Strunk, Ryan Watt, Ryan Grim, Jimmy Leiby, Louden Reimert, Frank Yankowski, Kyle Smith, Joe Funk, Darrin Schuler, Eric Kormann, Brett Kressley, Kevin Hirthler, Cody Manmiller, Mike Lisowski, Ron Haring Jr., John Willman, Ray Swinehart, Justin Grim, Jon Kellner
DID NOT QUALIFY: Kevin Graver Jr., Eric Biehn, Bobby Trapper Jr., Chris Esposito, Chris Gambler, Glenn Owens, Ryan Beltz, Bryan Rhoads, Mike Laise, Carroll Hine III
T.P. TRAILERS WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Nate Brinker
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Jimmy Leiby +11
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Nate Brinker ($75), Duane Howard ($50), Tim Buckwalter ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Nate Brinker
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): JARED LABAGH, Brayden Shelton, Ronnie Solomon, Dylan Swinehart, Gavyn Krupp, TJ Mayberry, Teague Miller, Jesse Landis, Brett Grim, Addison Meitzler, Logan Watt, Colton Perry, Brett Gilmore, Mike Schneck Jr., Jesse Hirthler, Logan Bauman, Kaitlyn Bailey, Ryan Graver, Mark Mohr, Tyler James, Adrianna Delliponti, Kenny Bock, Joey Vaccaro, Zane Roth, Mike Stofflet, Dakota Kohler
DID NOT QUALIFY: Parker Guldin, Nick Faust, Stephen Smith III, Troy Bollinger, Steve Young, Shannon Slaughter, Nathan Mohr, Lawson Szerencits, Stephen Laubach, Mark Gaugler, Alex Bartorillo
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Jared Labagh
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Dylan Swinehart +10
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Jared LaBagh ($75), Brayden Shelton ($50), Ronnie Solomon ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Brayden Shelton
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Friday, July 26 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, Slingshots – 7 pm
Saturday, July 27 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7:30 pm
Friday, August 2 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, Xcel 600 Modifieds – 7 pm
Saturday, August 3 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, KIDS MONEY SCRAMBLE – 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 10 – 54th annual FORREST ROGERS MEMORIAL – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds 50-laps, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, PLUS FIREWORKS – 7:30 pm
