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DYLAN SWINEHART OVER JARED LABAGH BY INCHES IN PHOTO FINISH BECOMES ELEVENTH DIFFERENT SPORTSMAN WINNER, KENNY GILMORE & JAKE FOSTER TAKE VINTAGE VICTORIES
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. won out on a spectacular three driver battle for the lead, grabbing the top spot with just four laps remaining, to score his fifth 30-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified feature win of the season Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.
Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa. also scored a dramatic win in the 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature event by .02 of a second in a side-by-side photo finish with Jared LaBagh of Middletown, N.Y., after the two drivers ran the final three laps side-by-side to the finish.
The Outlaw Racing Series Vintage Cars were on hand participating in the Dave Smith Memorial race, with Kenny Gilmore (Modified) and Jake Foster (Sportsman) scoring wins in their respective classes during the division’s 15-lap main event.
Kressley, who started from sixteenth position, joined Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, Pa. and leader Ryan Beltz of Barto, Pa. for a hard fought battle for the win with ten laps remaining in the evening’s Modified main event.
The three drivers circled the track for several laps, practically under a blanket, before Kressley was able to secure second from Strada on lap 24, then made a power move out of turn four passing Beltz to take the lead as the field scored lap 26, then motored home the final four laps to score his fifth win of the 2024 season, and his 29th career Saturday night NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series win.
For Swinehart, he moved into second position on lap 16, then spent several laps tracking down leader LaBagh whom he caught with five laps remaining. Swinehart continued to pressure the leader, then spent the last three laps completely alongside of LaBagh, circling the track together.
The two drivers exited the final turn in a drag race to the finish with Swinehart winning by inches for his first victory of the season and seventh career Grandview Speedway T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman win.
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.
The winners also received bonus Hoffman Speed Supplies gift Certificates ($200 to Modified & Sportsman, $100 each Vintage), along with $25 gift certificates for Candy’s Homemade Ice Cream from Donna Bailey in rememberance of Randy and Mike Bailey.
The 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature saw Chris Esposito of Telford, Pa. race out to the lead at the start, with Darrin Schuler of Stroudsburg, Pa. running in second, Ryan Beltz in third, followed by a three car battle between Ron Haring Jr. of Alburtis, Pa., Ray Swinehart of Gilbertsville, Pa., and Nate Brinker of Macungie, Pa.
Haring Jr. cleared the two drivers he was battling with and moved up into another fight for position with Beltz and Schuler.
Disaster struck on lap seven, as Haring Jr. was making quick progress on the outside groove of the track, making a move around Beltz and attempting to clear Schuler at the same time, when contact was made with Haring Jr. bouncing into the wall with several other drivers unable to avoid the mishap.
The accident ended up collecting Cody Manmiller of Philadelphia, Pa. Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa., Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., and Duane Howard of Oley, Pa., with only Haring Jr. and Manmiller unable to continue.
On the restart another mishap occurred after a three wide maneuver down the backstretch into turn three involving Jimmy Leiby of West Milford, N.J., Mike Gular of Boyertown, Pa., Jeff Strunk of Boyertown, Pa. and Eric Kormann of Carneys Point, N.J.
These two mishaps shuffled the field considerably, including the second mishap which occurred directly in front of Kressley, but he avoided being involved with some miraculous driving, while also moving forward was Eddie Strada who avoided any involvement in the two tangles to advance quickly from last starting spot as a provisional into twelfth place for the second restart.
Only one more quick caution slowed the action on lap twelve, when Ray Swinehart and Jon Kellner of Lansdale, Pa. tangled on the homestretch while battling for a top ten position.
Things settled down and the racing became quite intense the rest of the way, with Esposito continuing to set a quick pace with Beltz challenging, while Brinker, Tim Buckwalter of Douglasville, Pa., and Strada all battled for third spot.
At the halfway mark, Beltz was really pressuring Esposito, with the two locking into a great duel for the lead with Buckwalter advancing to third and involved in a struggle with Strada and a quickly advancing Kressley who were now fighting each other for third.
As the race continued for the lead between Esposito and Beltz, the other three drivers battling for third would eventually catch up to them, making for a brief five car battle for the lead.
Beltz would take the lead off turn four to score lap eighteen, with Strada following into second on lap nineteen, while Kressley would gain two spots around Buckwalter and Esposito to arrive in third on lap twenty.
The final ten laps were tremendously exciting, with the top five all fighting for positions, with Beltz holding the lead over Strada and Kressley, while Buckwalter and Esposito were joined by Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa. in a fight for the remaining top five positions.
Eventually the top three broke free and circled the track under a blanket fighting for the lead lap after lap, with Beltz and Strada running high, and Kressley down low.
Kressley kept the pressure on the other two, grabbing second on lap 24, then ran side-by-side with Beltz for the top spot, grabbing the lead with a power move off of turn four to score lap twenty-six.
Kressley would pull out to a safe advantage in the remaining four laps and race home to his division leading fifth T.P. Trailer Modified win of the season, followed by Strada who won the VP Fuels hard charger coming from last starting spot to second, Beltz for his best finish of the year in third, Buckwalter and Reimert who would complete the top five.
Rounding out the top ten were Brinker with another solid run after his win last week, Strunk with a great comeback after the earlier mishap, Esposito with his best outing of the season after leading a good part of the race, Von Dohren who also rallied for a top ten after the earlier wreck, and Doug Manmiller of Shoemakersville, Pa. who recovered from a heat race mishap for a top ten run.
Qualifying heats for the 38 cars on hand were won by Esposito, Haring Jr., Howard, and Beltz with Jon Kellner and Kyle Smith of Fleetwood, Pa. winning the consolations.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature saw Stephen Laubach of Bangor, Pa. set the pace for the first half of a fast paced feature, with action hot and heavy behind him between BJ Joly III of Oley, Pa., Kyle Hartzell of Allentown, Pa., Stephen Smith III of Whitehall, Pa, Nate Horn of Slatedale, Pa., and Steve Young of Collegeville, Pa. who were all fighting it out for the top spots.
By the half-way mark Laubach continued out front, with Hartzell now challenging for the lead, with the two engaged in a good struggle for the top spot.
There were only two cautions in the feature event, both occurring on lap fourteen, but the second one on a restart significantly changed the event, as several cars got together up front entering turn one, triggering a 16-car pile-up causing a red flag and a delay to clean up the mess.
Amazingly only two cars could not continue, and 24 of the original 26 starters would line-up for the restart with eleven laps to go, with the running order changed significantly.
Laubach would continue as the leader, with Parker Guldin of Temple, Pa. now second followed by Jared LaBagh of Middletown, N.Y., Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa., Kenny Bock of Oley, Pa., Zach Steffey of Sinking Spring, Pa., and Smith III now occupying the front positions.
On the restart, LaBagh would make an exciting outside groove move entering turn one, sweeping around everyone in front of him to capture the lead by the time the field hit the backstretch.
LaBagh would pull out to a small but safe lead while Swinehart would quickly advance from fourth on the restart to second and chase after the leader, with Guldin, Laubach, Bock and now Brett Gilmore of Kutztown, Pa. all fighting for the top five spots.
With five laps to go, Swinehart would catch leader LaBagh, and begin pressuring him for the lead, with the two divers then locking into a side-by-side fight over the final three laps, with LaBagh racing the high line and Swienhart down low and each driver inching ahead of the other at various times in the final stages.
Exiting turn four racing to the checkered flag, Swinehart made one last push, and the two crossed the finish line side-by-side in a photo finish, with Swinehart winning by inches (.02 of a second) over LaBagh in a tremendous ending to the race.
Following Swinehart and LaBagh to the finish were Bock with a late race push for third, Guldin for his best outing of the year, Gilmore with another late race rally, Laubach and Smith III for their career best finishes, Adrianna Delliponti of Norristown, Pa., Hartzell, and Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa., the last three who rallied back from the earlier accident.
Qualifying heats for the 37 cars on hand were won by Young, Horn, Watt, and Guldin with Dylan Swinehart and TJ Mayberry of Sellersville, Pa. winning the consolations.
The Outlaw Racing Series Vintage cars were on hand racing in the Dave Smith Memorial sponsored by Circa Restorations, Wehrungs Home Center and Dove Plastics. Kenny Gilmore won out on an entertaining battle with Ron Myers to grab the lead on lap eight of the 15-lap feature, then motored home to the win.
Gilmore was followed to the finish by Myers, Scott Schaeffer, Jr. Mikosz, Rich Baker, and Jake Foster who was the first Sportsman powered car across the line to receive his in class victory.
Grandview Speedway will be presenting another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series program next week featuring the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman.
The show on Saturday, August 3 will include qualifying events for both classes leading into a 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature and a 25-lap feature for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman.
Saturday’s program will also be a special night for the younger fans, as there will be a kid’s money scramble. The kids will be divided into three age groups and sent scrambling to pick up as many scattered coins as they can in a certain amount of time!
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 racing action for the weekend actually begins on Friday, August 2, as another Outlaw Racing Series Enduro/Vintage double program will be presented along with the addition of the Xcel 600 Modifieds.
On Friday, grandstand admission for adults is $10, children ages 12 and under are free, while pit admission is $30. Pit gates open at 2 pm, while grandstand gates open at 5 pm, and racing starts at 7 pm.
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. TRAILER NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): BRETT KRESSLEY, Eddie Strada, Ryan Beltz, Tim Buckwalter, Louden Reimert, Nate Brinker, Jeff Strunk, Chris Esposito, Craig Von Dohren, Doug Manmiller, Mike Gular, Kevin Hirthler, Duane Howard, Kyle Smith, Jared Umbenhauer, Mike Lisowski, Joe Funk, Brian Hirthler, Darrin Schuler, Bryan Rhoads, Jon Kellner, Ray Swinehart, Eric Kormann, Jimmy Leiby, Eric Biehn, Ron Haring Jr., Cody Manmiller, John Willman, Craig Whitmoyer
DID NOT QUALIFY: Bobby Trapper Jr., Ryan Watt, Glenn Owens, Sean Weiss, Carroll Hine III, Justin Grim, Chris Gambler, Kevin Graver Jr., Frank Yankowski
T.P. TRAILERS WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Brett Kressley
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Eddie Strada +26
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Brett Kressley ($75), Eddie Strada ($50), Ryan Beltz ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Chris Esposito
HOFFMAN SPEED SUPPLIES GIFT CERTIFICATE (FROM Donna Bailey $200): Brett Kressley
CANDY’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM GIFT CERTIFUCATE (FROM Donna Bailey $25): Brett Kressley
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): DYLAN SWINEHART, Jared LaBagh, Kenny Bock, Parker Guldin, Brett Gilmore, Stephen Laubach, Stephen Smith III, Adrianna Delliponti, Kyle Hartzell, Logan Watt, Addison Meitzler, Zach Steffey, Kaitlyn Bailey, Jesse Landis, Brett Grim, TJ Mayberry, Jesse Hirthler, Ryan Graver, Mark Mohr, Logan Bauman, BJ Joly III, Ronnie Solomon, Dakota Kohler, Steve Young, Nate Horn, Joey Vaccaro
DID NOT QUALIFY: Nathan Mohr, Zane Roth, Lawson Szerencits, Gavyn Krupp, Alex Bartorillo, Tom Miller Jr., Mike Schneck Jr., Braydon Shelton, Bastian Miller, Teague Miller, Colton Perry
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Dylan Swinehart
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Dylan Swinehart +20
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Dylan Swinehart ($75), Jared LaBagh ($50), Kenny Bock ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Stephen Laubach
HOFFMAN SPEED SUPPLIES GIFT CERTIFICATE (FROM Donna Bailey $200): Dylan Swinehart
CANDY’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM GIFT CERTIFUCATE (FROM Donna Bailey $25): Dylan Swinehart
OUTLAW RACING SERIES VINTAGE DAVE SMITH MEMORIAL FEATURE FINISH (15 laps): KENNY GILMORE, Ron Myers, Scott Schaeffer, Jr. Mikosz, Rich Baker, JAKE FOSTER, Tori Hall, Curt Neiman, BJ Joly III, Gage Philips, Matt Smith, Sven Olsen, Dave Dissinger
UPCOMING EVENTS –
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 $10,000 to win, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 17 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage (Forrest Rogers Memorial Rain date) – 7:30 pm.
Saturday, August 24 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, TRIVIA NIGHT – 7:30 pm
