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CRAIG VON DOHREN WINS BATTLE WITH BRIAN HIRTHLER, HOLDS OFF LATE CHARGE FROM BRETT KRESSLEY TO SCORE NASCAR MODIFIED VICTORY
Snyder Photo
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – Brett Gilmore of Kutztown, Pa. scored the biggest win of his racing career capturing a $3500 payday with a victory in Grandview Speedway’s 56th annual T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Firecracker 40 Sportsman Championship on Saturday evening.
Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa. put an end to his personal win drought, scoring a thrilling win in the 30-lap T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modified feature race following a back-and-forth lead swapping duel with Brian Hirthler of Green Lane, Pa., then withstanding a late race charge from Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. to pick up the feature 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 Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts banner.
Gilmore took command of the Championship feature on lap fourteen, after a four-lap battle with his father Kenny Gilmore of Fleetwood, Pa. and Steve Young of Collegeville, Pa., then withstood some serious late race pressure in the final seven laps from Jesse Landis of Gilbertsville, Pa. to pick up the win.
Gilmore’s winnings included $2000 in base purse, a $400 bonus from Steve Sabo Track Photographer at SDS Photography, a $500 payout for winning the Roy Miller II Keller Williams Real Estate heat winners Cash Dash, $50 for winning his heat race from Stringer’s Collision, $50 for his heat win from the Iatalese family in memory of Hunter Iatalese, $200 for winning from division sponsor T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment, and $300 from Manmiller Electric for being the highest finishing driver who had not yet won a feature this season.
Gilmore became the eighth different winner of the Firecracker 40 since the 2019 season, when the T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman division took over running the race from the Late Model division, which had been discontinued following the 2018 racing season.
For Von Dohren the feature win put an end to a season that has been difficult at times for the veteran, who has been fast, but could not seem to find any racing luck. Von Dohren stormed forward from his twelfth starting spot, caught race leader Hirthler at the half-way mark swapping the lead several times over three laps before securing the lead on lap seventeen, then withstood lapped traffic and pressure from Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. in the final seven laps to score his 127th career Saturday night NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts feature win and overall his 135th career 358 Modified win (counting Thunder on the Hill series victories).
The T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman Firecracker 40 saw Steve Young lead early, before Kenny Gilmore grabbed the top spot exiting turn four to score lap ten, following a great three car battle for the lead between the two Gilmore’s and Young.
The next five laps saw the father and son duo battle for the lead, with Brett in the outside lane and Kenny in the bottom lane, before Brett would grab the lead exiting turn two on lap fifteen, while another great battle was going on behind them between Landis, Colton Perry of Topton, Pa. and Gavyn Krupp of Barto, Pa.
With Brett Gilmore leading, Kenny Gilmore would hook up in a battle with Mike Toth of Hellertown, Pa. for second, while Landis and Krupp were in another two-car battle behind them, before the race’s second and final caution would wave on lap eighteen to reset the field.
Following the restart, Brett Gilmore would pull out to a small lead, while Kenny Gilmore and Landis battled, followed by Toth and Teague Miller of Barto, Pa. battling for position, followed by Krupp and sixteenth starting Colin Cox of Perkasie, Pa. also battling for the top five positions.
Landis would clear Kenny Gilmore for second on lap twenty-six, and started tracking down leader Brett Gilmore, while Toth, Cox, Krupp and Jordan Henn of Kutztown, Pa. were locked in a fight for position.
With ten laps to go Landis had closed within three car lengths of leader Brett Gilmore, while third running Kenny Gilmore closed back in on the lead duo, setting up a great three car battle between each other and through lapped traffic.
With five to go Landis was throwing everything he had into challenging for the lead, with Colin Cox joining the race up front, making for a fantastic four-car race for the lead in the final stages.
The four drivers circled the track practically under a blanket in the final laps, with Brett Gilmore surviving some serious pressure in the final laps from Landis and dad Kenny to go on to his fourth career Saturday night NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts feature win.
Following Brett Gilmore to the exciting finish were Jesse Landis, Kenny Gilmore, Colin Cox, Teague Miller, Jordan Henn, Gavyn Krupp, Mike Toth, Decker Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa., and Dylan Hoch of Mertztown, Pa, who advanced to tenth from twenty-first starting spot.
Qualifying heat races for the 44 cars on hand were won by Brett Gilmore, Steve Young, Kenny Gilmore and Mark Mohr of Gilbertsville, Pa., while Dylan Hoch and Jimmy Leiby of Boyertown, Pa. won the consolations.
All heat and consolation winners received $50 from the Iatalese Family in memory of Hunter Iatalese, while all heat winners were awarded $50 from Mike & Tina Stringer from Stringers Collision.
Following the qualifying heats, the heat winners went into a four-lap Cash Dash presented by Roy Miller II of Keller Williams Real Estate, with Brett Gilmore outrunning his dad Kenny, Mark Mohr and Steve Young to score a $500 payday!
The 30-lap T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modified feature saw Chris Gambler of Trexlertown, Pa. grabbing the early lead, before Eric Biehn of Barto, Pa. quickly moved in to challenge for the top spot, while Kenny Bock of Oley, Pa. Brian Hirthler, and Carroll Hine III of Reading, Pa, were battling for positions.
Biehn pressured Gambler until taking the lead with a pass off turn four to score lap eight, before two quick cautions would reset the field on laps nine and ten, turning out to be the only slowdowns of the race.
Brian Hirthler would take the lead away from Biehn on the lap ten restart, while twelfth starting Von Dohren was on the move, having reached fifth by lap ten, third by lap eleven, and taking second on lap thirteen.
At the half-way mark, Von Dohren caught leader Hirthler, and the next three laps saw the two drivers make some exciting moves on each other, swapping the lead back and forth at both ends of the track, before Von Dohren took full control of the lead on lap eighteen, while the rim-riding Kressley joined the action up front on lap eighteen, taking second from Hirthler on the following circuit.
With ten laps to go Von Dohren led by a small margin with Kressley trying to close the gap, while Hirthler, Hine III, Biehn, Ryan Graver of Lehighton, Pa., Jim Houswoth of Upper Black Eddy, Pa, and Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa. were all battling for the top positions.
Von Dohren hit lapped traffic by lap twenty-four setting up the final exciting laps, as Kressley moved in to challenge for the lead, while Hirthler, Hine III and Graver battled for the top five spots, while the action behind them was hot and heavy as nineteenth starting Logan Watt of Boyertown, pa. twentieth starting Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, Pa. and sixteenth starting Anthony Perrego of Montgomery, N.Y. were still advancing through the field.
The final five laps saw Kressley putting pressure on leader Von Dohren who was switching lanes and searching for the fast way around the track with lapped traffic coming into play in the final laps.
The final lap saw Kressley move right up behind Von Dohren and look to the low groove off turn four to the checkered, but Von Dohren had the speed powering off the final turn to capture the win by just more than a car’s length at the wave of Starter Ray Kemp’s checkered flag.
Following Von Dohren to the finish were Brett Kressley who also ended some recent struggles with a good run, Brian Hirthler and Ryan Graver who also scored their best runs of the season, Eddie Strada who was the race’s Hard Charger advancing fifteen positions, Logan Watt, Carroll Hine III, Anthony Perrego and Louden Reimert.
Qualifying heats for the 45 cars on hand were won by Eric Biehn, Craig Von Dohren, Kyle Smith of Fleetwood, Pa. and Brian Hirthler while Rick Laubach of Quakertown, Pa. and Jared Umbenhauer of Richland, Pa. won the consolations.
Grandview Speedway will be presenting another NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts program next week featuring the T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment NASCAR Modifieds and Sportsman along with the Outlaw Racing Series Vintage cars on Back to the 90’s Night with $10 grandstand admission!
The show on Saturday, July 18, sponsored by T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment, will include qualifying events leading into a 30-lap T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modified feature, a 25-lap feature for the T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman, along with a 15-lap main event for the Vintage cars who will be participating in the Dave Smith Memorial.
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 $10, 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.
It will actually be a double-header weekend of racing as the Outlaw Racing Series Enduro & Vintage cars will be in action on Friday, July 17 joined by the Xcel 600 Modifieds starting at 7 pm.
On Friday night pit gates will open at 2 pm, and grandstand gates will open at 5 pm. Grandstand admission is $10, children ages 12 and under are admitted free, while pit admission is $35 for the Friday event.
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 NASCAR MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (30 laps): CRAIG VON DOHREN, Brett Kressley, Brian Hirthler, Ryan Graver, Eddie Strada, Logan Watt, Carroll Hine III, Anthony Perrego, Louden Reimert, Jim Housworth, Kyle Smith, Eric Biehn, Ryan Watt, Rick Laubach, Chris Gambler, Jax Yohn, Justin Grim, Jeff Strunk, Mike Gular, Duane Howard, Tim Buckwalter, Ryan Grim, Kenny Bock, Nathan Mohr, Jack Butler, Mike Laise, Ryan Beltz, Mike Lisowski, Jared Umbenhauer
DID NOT QUALIFY: Cody Manmiller, Chris Esposito, Brandon Edgar, Jon Kellner, Darrin Schuler, Ron Haring Jr., Matt Yoder, Dylan Swinehart, Mark Gaugler, Bobby Trapper Jr., Bobby Butler, John Willman, Bobby Gunther Walsh, Craig Whitmoyer, Bobby Trapper Sr., Eric Kormann
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Craig Von Dohren
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Eddie Strada +15
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Craig Von Dohren ($75), Brett Kressley ($50), Brian Hirthler ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Brian Hirthler
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN 56th ANNUAL FIRECRACKER 40 FEATURE FINISH (40 laps): BRETT GILMORE, Jesse Landis, Kenny Gilmore, Colin Cox, Teague Miller, Jordan Henn, Gavyn Krupp, Mike Toth, Decker Swinehart, Dylan Hoch, Joe Toth, Mark Mohr, Addison Meitzler, Nick Van Wickle, Steve Hughes, Brad Brightbill, Brayden Shelton, Joey Vaccaro, Jimmy Leiby, Adrianna Delliponti, Brett Grim, Colton Perry, Chase Gular, Mike Butler, TJ Mayberry, Bryan Rhoads, Steve Young, Mike Stofflet
DID NOT QUALIFY: Johnny Fugelo, Lawson Szerencits, Shannon Slaughter, Matthew Laubach, Jason Graber, Kaitlyn Bailey, Dennis Graber, Dylan Cappel, Dakota Kohler, Stephen Laubach, Taylor Kramer, Alex Bartorillo, Brandon Banos, Josh Mittman, Mark Behm, Paul Houseknecht
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Brett Gilmore
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Colin Cox +12
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Brett Gilmore ($75), Jesse Landis ($50), Kenny Gilmore ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Brett Gilmore
DRIVEN RACE OIL/JOHN WILLMAN MOTORSPORTS OIL & FILTER KIT 7th PLACE: Gavyn Krupp
ROY MILLER II KELLER WILLIAMS REAL ESTATE CASH DASH WINNER ($500): Brett Gilmore
SDS PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURE WINNER’S BONUS ($400): Brett Gilmore
BREITENSTEIN MOTORSPORTS – IN MEMORY OF RANDY & MIKE BAILEY BONUS – 14th PLACE FINISHER ($181): Nick Van Wickle
JIMBO’S EXTERIORS BONUS – 20th PLACE FINISHER ($120): Adrianna Delliponti
STRINGER’S COLLISION CENTER BONUS – 23rd PLACE FINISHER ($50): Chase Gular
STRINGER’S COLLISION CENTER HEAT WINNER’S BONUS ($50 EACH): Brett Gilmore, Steve Young, Kenny Gilmore, Mark Mohr
HUNTER IATALESE FAMILY HEAT WINNER’S BONUS IN MEMORY OF HUNTER IATALESE ($50 EACH): Brett Gilmore, Steve Young, Kenny Gilmore, Mark Mohr
PASTOR DON & KAREN KERNS – GOD BLESS AMERICA BONUS 7th PLACE FINISHER ($80): Gavyn Krupp
HUNTER IATALESE FAMILY BONUS IN MEMORY OF HUNTER IATALESE – 24th PLACE FINISHER ($100): Mike Butler
HUNTER IATALESE FAMILY CONSI WINNER’S BONUS IN MEMORY OF HUNTER IATALESE ($50) EACH): Dylan Hoch, Jimmy Leiby
MANMILLER ELECTRIC BONUS – HIGHEST FINISHING NON-FEATURE WINNER ($300): Brett Gilmore
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Friday, July 17 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro & Vintage, Xcel 600 Modifieds – 7 pm
Saturday, July 18 – T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NIGHT – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, BACK TO THE 90’S NIGHT – $10 GRANDSTAND ADMISSION – 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 25 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, USAC East Coast Sprints – 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 1 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, LDE Modified Match Races, KIDS MONEY SCRAMBLE – 7:30 pm
