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ZACH STEFFEY SCORES SPORTSMAN CAREER FIRST WIN AFTER SIDE BY SIDE BATTLE WITH KENNY BOCK, BRIAN HIRTHLER ADDS TO CAREER WIN TOTALS WITH SPORTSMAN MAKE-UP FEATURE WIN
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – The weather was hot on Saturday night at Grandview Speedway, but the racing action was really hot on the track, as the fans witnessed a spectacular night of racing on 90’s night!
Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. and Duane Howard of Oley, Pa. locked into an unbelievable battle for the win on Saturday night, with both drivers taking turns leading the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature race. But it was Kressley who was able to take the lead for a final time entering turn one on lap 27, to then motor home to his third win of the season and the 27th NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series win of his career at the track.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman division participated in two 25-lap feature races, with all-time feature win leader Brian HIrthler of Green Lane, Pa. grabbing the lead on a lap 17 restart, then surviving a late race caution to win the main event that was held-over from the June 29th race program, and in the process scored his 22nd career win at the Speedway.
Zach Steffey of Sinking Spring, Pa. has had a rough first half of the season so far, but showed a real strong car in the second 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman main event, even running two full laps side-by-side with Kenny Bock of Oley, Pa. for the lead, but held firm in the lead to race home with his first ever Grandview Speedway 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.
The T.P. Trailer Modified feature saw Nate Brinker of Macungie, Pa. take the early lead under pressure from Ray Swinehart of Gilbertsville, Pa., while tenth Starting Kressley and twelfth starting Howard were on the move and quickly advancing toward the front.
Swinehart would have a mechanical problem and draw a caution on lap four, at which time Kressley would already be up to third position behind Brinker and Joe Funk of Coopersburg, Pa., while Howard would be sitting in sixth spot.
The restart would see Brinker continue to set the pace, while Howard would run the outside lane up to third spot behind Craig Whitmoyer of Hamburg, Pa. who also advanced on the restart, even passing Kressley in the process, before a great battle began for second between Whitmoyer, Howard, and Kressley.
Howard and Kressley would throw a couple of sliders on each other while battling for position behind Whitmoyer, entertaining the spectators.
By lap ten the three car battle for second would catch leader Brinker setting up an entertaining race for the top spot, while Jon Kellner of Lansdale, Pa. and 16th starting Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa. were now moving into contention sitting in fifth and sixth positions and having their own contest for position.
Kressley would make the move to pass Whitmoyer for second on lap twelve followed by Howard to third spot, just before a caution on lap thirteen.
Kressley would make an inside groove pass on Brinker entering turn one following the restart to take the lead, with Howard making a similar pass the following lap to grab second spot.
From lap fifteen on the battle for the lead would rage on, with Kressley leading laps 14 through 17, including the two drivers running side-by-side for a lap and a half before Kressley would hold firm in the lead.
Another restart on lap 17 would allow Howard a chance to take the lead from Kressley with a neat outside groove move out of turn four coming in to score lap eighteen.
From this point to the end there were no more cautions, and Howard would build up a small advantage over Kressley, while a great race was going on behind them between Kellner, Von Dohren, Whitmoyer, and Doug Manmiller of Shoemakersville, Pa.
As the laps clicked off Kressley would slowly reel Howard back in and the battle for the lead became real intense from lap 22 until the end, with Howard running the high lane and Kressley down low, lap after lap in a tremendous heavyweight title fight.
Kressley continued to put heavy pressure on Howard until finally making a low groove pass entering turn one on lap 27 to regain the number one position, and then had to hold tight in the top spot the final laps, holding off Howard despite closing in on lapped traffic in the final stages of the feature race.
At the checkered Kressley scored his third feature win of the season followed by Howard for his best run of the season in second, Kellner likewise for his best run of the year, Von Dohren, Manmiller, Whitmoyer who also scored his best finish of the season, Kyle Smith of Fleetwood, Pa. for his top run of the year, Ryan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. up from 22nd starting spot, Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa., and Brinker.
Qualifying heats for the 37 cars on hand were won by Swinehart, Kellner, Ryan Grim of Laurys Station, Pa., and Kressley while Justin Grim of Orefield, Pa. and Watt won the consolations.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature that was held over from June 29th was run early in the night, but became the tale of two separate races with great racing and loads of action through the first thirteen laps and a lot of cautions and mishaps in the second half of the race.
Troy Bollinger of Palmerton, Pa. would lead the first half of the event followed by BJ Joly III of Oley, Pa., Zach Steffey, and Steve Young of Collegeville, Pa. right behind him.
Following a lap thirteen restart, Young would advance to second followed by thirteenth starting Brett Gilmore of Kutztown, Pa. and fifteenth starting Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. who would advance to third and fourth positions using the top lane of the track.
The racing up front was very entertaining and competitive, but a caution on lap 13, three on lap 15, and cautions again on laps 17, 21, and 23 would deplete the field, and scramble the running order.
Brian Hirthler started the race in sixth spot, but fell back as far as ninth before starting his move forward, entering the top five on lap 16 in fourth, third on lap 17 before the caution.
On this restart Hirthler would glide around the top lane passing Young and Bollinger to grab the lead and survive the final laps to score the win.
Misfortune would strike for Bollinger who would get involved in a mishap in the closing stages losing his good run, and mechanical issues took Young from the main event.
In the final laps 18th starting Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa. and 21st place starting Addison Meitzler of Kempton, Pa. made late race charges to advance into the top five, along with 22nd starting Adrianna Delliponti of Norristown, Pa. and 23rd place starting Mike Schneck Jr. of Lebanon, Pa.
At the checkered it was Hirthler in for the win followed by Swinehart, Meitzler, Gilmore, Watt who rebounded from a mishap, Schneck Jr., Delliponti, Lawson Szerencits of Catasauqua, Pa., Jesse Landis of Gilbertsville, Pa., and Logan Bauman of Bechtelsville, Pa.
Qualifying heats for the 44 cars in attendance were run on June 29th and were won by Steffey, Szerencits, Hirthler and Young while the consolations were held-over and won by Nathan Mohr of Reading, Pa. and Meitzler.
The regularly scheduled 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature was a hotly contested affair, with Randy Graber of Boyertown, Pa. taking the early lead followed closely by Steffey and Kenny Bock.
Following a lap five restart, Graber continued to lead leaving Steffey and Bock to battle for second, Szerencits and Kyle Hartzell of Allentown, Pa. to battle for fourth, followed by another fantastic battle between Brett Grim of Coplay, Pa., Shannon Slaughter of Lititz, Pa., and Brett Gilmore.
On lap eight, Graber would slide a little too high in turn two allowing Steffey and Bock to sneak by to grab the top two spots, leaving Graber in third followed by a strong running Hartzell and the three car battle behind him which was still happening.
By lap fifteen Steffey and Bock were locked in a real close fight for the lead, including two full laps of side-by-side racing with Steffey running the outside lane and Bock on the bottom.
A lap nineteen restart would see Steffey get away cleanly, but Bock would stay close behind till the end of the race, followed by a great race for position between Slaughter, Grim, Gilmore and a hard charging 20th place starting Mike Stofflet of Mertztown, Pa.
Steffey would not be denied surely earning his first career win after the great race with Bock who would finish second followed by Slaughter for her career best finish in her rookie season, Gilmore, Stofflet, Mike Schnck Jr. who had two good finishes, Jesse Hirthler of Boyertown, Pa., Brett Grim, Mark Mohr of Macungie, Pa., and Decker Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa.
Qualifying heats for the 40 cars on hand were won by Jesse Hirthler, Brett Grim, Steffey, and Szerencits with Dylan Swinehart and Logan Bauman 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 and T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman will be in the spotlight participating in the 54th annual Firecracker 40 championship race, the biggest race program of the summer for the division paying $2000 to the winner.
The show on Saturday, July 13 will include qualifying events for both classes leading into the 40-lap championship feature for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman and the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature.
Adult grandstand admission is $25, students 10-15 with ID are $12, while children ages 9 and under are admitted free of charge. Pit admission is $35 for NASCAR members and $45 for non-members.
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.
The weekend will also see racing for the Outlaw Racing Series Enduro/Vintage series presenting a double program joined by the Xcel 600 Modifieds on Friday, July 12 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.
The T.P. Trailer Modifieds will see their fourth heat completed along with the two consolations and 30-lap feature from the June 29 program, added to the show on Saturday, July 20, in addition to a complete new two-division program of T.P. Trailer Modified and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman action.
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, Duane Howard, Jon Kellner, Craig Von Dohren, Doug Manmiller, Craig Whitmoyer, Kyle Smith, Ryan Watt, Louden Reimert, Nate Brinker, Mike Gular, Jeff Strunk, Kevin Hirthler, Jimmy Leiby, John Willman, Jared Umbenhauer, Justin Grim, Mike Lisowski, Frank Yankowski, Eddie Strada, Ryan Beltz, Darrin Schuler, Ryan Grim, Bryan Rhoads, Joe Funk, Eric Kormann, Kevin Graver Jr., Ray Swinehart
DID NOT QUALIFY: Tim Buckwalter, Carroll Hine III, Bobby Trapper Jr., Chris Gambler, Cody Manmiller, Brian Hirthler, Eric Biehn, Chris Esposito, Ron Haring Jr.
T.P. TRAILERS WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Brett Kressley
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Watt +14
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Brett Kressley ($75), Duane Howard ($50), Jon Kellner ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Brett Kressley
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN (FEATURE FROM JUNE 29) FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): BRIAN HIRTHLER, Dylan Swinehart, Addison Meitzler, Brett Gilmore, Logan Watt, Mike Schneck Jr., Adrianna Delliponti, Lawson Szerencits, Jesse Landis, Logan Bauman, Troy Bollinger, BJ Joly III, Zane Roth, Dakota Kohler, Steve Young, Ryan Graver, Zach Steffey, Jesse Hirthler, Teague Miller, Nathan Mohr, Mark Gaugler, Shannon Slaughter, TJ Mayberry, Jared LaBagh, Joey Vaccaro, Decker Swinehart, 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
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Brian Hirthler
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Addison Meitzler +17
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Brian Hirthler ($75), Dylan Swinehart ($50), Addison Meitzler ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Troy Bollinger
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): ZACH STEFFEY, Kenny Bock, Shannon Slaughter, Brett Gilmore, Mike Stofflet, Mike Schneck Jr., Jesse Hirthler, Brett Grim, Mark Mohr, Decker Swinehart, Nathan Mohr, Logan Bauman, Logan Watt, Addison Meitzler, Ryan Graver, Adrianna Delliponti, Kyle Hartzell, Randy Graber, Brayden Shelton, Joey Vaccaro, Parker Guldin, Lawson Szerencits, Jared LaBagh, Dakota Kohler, Tyler James, Steve Young
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
T.P. TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Zach Steffey
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Mike Stofflet +14
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Zach Steffey ($75), Kenny Bock ($50), Shannon Slaughter ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Zach Steffey
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Friday, July 12 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, Xcel 600 Modifieds – 7 pm
Saturday, July 13 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, 54th annual FIRECRACKER 40 – T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman 40 laps – 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 20 – T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NIGHT – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, TRIVIA NIGHT, PLUS 2 consolations & MODIFIED FEATURE FROM 6/29 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 27 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7:30 pm
