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JOHNNY FUGELO WINS SPORTSMAN MAIN EVENT IN EXCITING NIGHT OF NASCAR STOCK CAR RACING
Snyder Photography Photo
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – Grandview Speedway paid tribute to its founder and builder Forrest Rogers, and also celebrated the track’s 64th anniversary, with another highly competitive racing program on Saturday night.
The 56th annual 50-lap Forrest Rogers Memorial T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modified Championship race saw Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. charging forward from his fourteenth starting spot, taking the lead on lap thirty, and never looked back on his way to a $10,000 plus win in the midsummer classic.
Kressley picked up a $10,000 payday for the win, plus a $300 bonus from division sponsor T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment, in addition to a $100 Hard Charger bonus from Yocom Drywall, and product certificates from VP Racing Fuels (Hard Charger) and Penske Racing shocks for the win.
Johnny Fugelo of Norristown, Pa. won out on a lead swapping battle with Dakota Kohler of Kutztown, Pa. to capture his second win of the season in the 25-lap T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman division main event.
It was the 56th year that the Rogers Family, founders, builders and operators of the one-third-of-a-mile Speedway paid tribute to Forrest Rogers, the founder and builder of the track. The annual tribute race also served as the 64th birthday celebration for the track which opened August 11, 1963.
Following the opening green flag to start the T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modified 50-lap Forrest Rogers Memorial feature, Chris Esposito of Telford, Pa. darted out to the early lead, with Kenny Bock of Oley, Pa., Craig Whitmoyer of Hamburg, Pa., Ryan Beltz of Barto, Pa., Jim Housworth of Upper Black Eddy, Pa., and Kyle Smith of Fleetwood, Pa. were all fighting for positions behind him.
A caution on lap five for a multi-car first turn tangle, saw Esposito maintaining the lead on the restart, with Whitmoyer advancing to second, and a great battle for third between Bock, Housworth, Smith and a fast charging Brett Kressley.
By lap twelve, twelfth starting Rick Laubach of Quakertown, Pa. had advanced to sixth, while Housworth advanced to third, ahead of Bock and Kressley, while Jax Yohn of Woodchoppertown, Pa., Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa., Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa., Duane Howard of Oley, Pa. and Jeff Strunk of Bechtelsville, Pa. were all fighting for top ten spots.
With an extended run of green flag action, Esposito would catch lapped traffic by lap eighteen, allowing Whitmoyer to close in and challenge for the lead, with Housworth now locked into a battle with Kressley and Laubach for the top five positions.
Kressley would move past Housworth for third on lap twenty-one, with Laubach slipping into fourth on lap twenty-five, while Kressley and Laubach quickly closed in on the lead duo of Esposito and Whitmoyer.
A lap twenty-eight restart would reset the field and allow Whitmoyer to power past race long leader Esposito for the top spot one lap later, with Kressley powering to the outside lane, going around Esposito and then charging past Whitmoyer for the lead exiting turn four to score lap thirty.
With no more cautions to slow the race, Kressley would pull out to a safe advantage, while Whitmoyer and Laubach hooked up in a terrific battle for second, while Yohn and Reimert would swap positions several times behind them, while more great racing was going on behind them between Esposito, Von Dohren, eighteenth starting Anthony Perrego of Montgomery, N.Y., Smith, Strunk, and Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, Pa.
Kressley would reach lapped traffic with ten laps to go, but worked through it to perfection, never allowing anyone to get real close in the closing laps, while Yohn would advance to fourth on lap thirty-nine to join Whitmoyer and Laubach in the fight for the top spots.
Kressley would maintain the top spot to Starter Ray Kemp’s checkered flag to score his third win in the prestigious event (2020, 2022, 2026), and also pick up his second consecutive win at Grandview.
Following Kressley to the finish were Rick Laubach, who grabbed second position off the final corner, Craig Whitmoyer and Jax Yohn who scored their best runs of the season, Louden Reimert, Anthony Perrego and Eddie Strada who were still moving forward in the closing laps, Craig Von Dohren, defending race winner and 20th place starter Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. and Jeff Strunk.
Qualifying heats for the 48 cars on hand were won by Mike Laise of Pottstown, Pa., Craig Von Dohren, Jax Yohn, Kenny Bock and Duane Howard while Dylan Swinehart of Fleetwood, Pa. and Eric Kormann of Carneys Point, N.J. won the consolations.
Parker Guldin of Temple, Pa. would take the early lead in the 25-lap T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman feature, while Mark Behm of Alburtis, Pa., Steve Young of Collegeville, Pa., Johnny Fugelo, Colton Perry of Topton, Pa., and Steve Hughes of Coopersburg, Pa. would be fighting for the next several positions.
A lap twelve restart would see Fugelo, who used the outside lane to advance to second prior to the caution, power around Guldin exiting turn two following the restart to become the new leader, with Dakota Kohler also running the top lane, to pick up second spot by lap seventeen.
One final caution on lap eighteen set up a dramatic late race battle, as Kohler would stay with Fugelo on the restart and grab the lead entering turn one, only to have Fugelo regain the lead on the back stretch.
The two drivers would then swap the lead back and forth several times over the next couple laps, before Fugelo finally grabbed the lead for good with three laps remaining to motor home to the exciting win, his second of the season and second of his career at Grandview for the first year T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman driver.
At the finish it was Fugelo in for the exciting and hard fought win, followed by Dakota Kohler, Steve Young, Parker Guldin, late charging drivers Mike Toth of Hellertown, Pa., Joe Toth of Upper Makefield, Pa., Teague Miller of Barto, Pa., Steve Hughes, Colin Cox of Perkasie, Pa., and Mark Mohr of Gilbertsville, Pa.
Qualifying heats for the 41 cars on hand were won by Mark Behm, Parker Guldin, Steve Young and Steve Hughes while Shannon Slaughter of Lititz, Pa. and Colin Cox 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, August 15, 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.
Grandstand admission is $10, while children ages 9 and under are admitted free of charge. Pit admission is $35 for NASCAR members and $45 for non-members.
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.
56th ANNUAL FORREST ROGERS MEMORIAL RACE SUMMARY – AUGUST 8, 2026
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR MODIFIED FORREST ROGERS MEMORIAL FEATURE FINISH (50 laps): BRETT KRESSLEY, Rick Laubach, Craig Whitmoyer, Jax Yohn, Louden Reimert, Anthony Perrego, Eddie Strada, Craig Von Dohren, Logan Watt, Jeff Strunk, Jared Umbenhauer, Chris Esposito, Kyle Smith, Duane Howard, Billy Pauch Jr., Brian Hirthler, Ryan Watt, Mike Gular, Kenny Bock, Cody Manmiller, Jim Housworth, Bobby Trapper Jr., Tim Buckwalter, Dylan Swinehart, Ryan Beltz, John Willman, Eric Kormann, Mike Laise, Ron Haring Jr.
DID NOT QUALIFY: Mike Lisowski, DJ Hunt, Bobby Gunther Walsh, Jon Kellner, Carroll Hine III, Darrin Schuler, Mark Gaugler, Matt Yoder, Brandon Edgar, Chris Gambler, Ryan Graver, Jack Butler, Nathan Mohr, Ryan Grim, WB James, Justin Grim, Hunter Metzger, Aleia Geisler, Eric Biehn
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($300): Brett Kressley
VP RACING FUELS HARD CHARGER: Brett Kressley +13
YOCOM DRYWALL HARD CHARGER ($100): Brett Kressley +13
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Brett Kressley ($75), Rick Laubach ($50), Craig Whitmoyer ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Chris Esposito
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): JOHNNY FUGELO, Dakota Kohler, Steve Young, Parker Guldin, Mike Toth, Joe Toth, Teague Miller, Steve Hughes, Colin Cox, Mark Mohr, Chase Gular, TJ Mayberry, Nick Van Wickle, Addison Meitzler, Brett Gilmore, Jesse Landis, Decker Swinehart, Kyle Hartzell, Adrianna Delliponti, Shannon Slaughter, Mark Behm, Jimmy Leiby, Brad Brightbill, Brayden Shelton, Jordan Henn, Bryan Rhoads, Colton Perry, Brett Grim, Gavin Krupp, Paul Houseknecht
DID NOT QUALIFY: Alex Bartorillo, Matthew Laubach, Del Howell, Taylor Kramer, Dennis Graber, Ebby Ridge, Jason Graber, Xavier Sprague, Kaitlyn Bailey, Josh Mittman, Dallas Breidenbach
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT WINNER’S BONUS ($200): Johnny Fugelo
GRANDVIEW $100 HARD CHARGER: Teague Miller +17
YOCOM DRYWALL HARD CHARGER ($100): Teague Miller +17
PENSKE RACING SHOCKS CERTIFICATES: Johnny Fugelo ($75), Dakota Kohler ($50), Steve Young ($25)
DAN’S DELI HALFWAY LEADER GIFT CERTIFICATE: Johnny Fugelo
DRIVEN RACE OIL/JOHN WILLMAN MOTORSPORTS OIL & FILTER KIT 7th PLACE: Teague Miller
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Saturday, August 15 – T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NIGHT – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, KIDS MONEY SCRAMBLE, BACK TO THE 90’s NIGHT $10 GRANDSTAND ADMISSION – 7:30 pm
Friday, August 21 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro & Vintage, Xcel 600 Modifieds – 7 pm
Saturday, August 22 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, TRIVIA NIGHT – 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 29 – A.D. MOYER LUMBER COMPANY NIGHT – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, Keystone Sport Compact Series – 7:30 pm
