BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. – On a race night that finally had nice weather, it was double the racing, double the action, and double the excitement from start to finish with Twin 25-lap T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modified features Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.
When all the wild and exciting race competition was complete, Brett Kressley of Orefield, Pa. and Chris Esposito of Telford, Pa. emerged as the winners of the twin T.P. Trailer Modified headline main events, while Lawson Szerencits of Catasauqua, Pa. scored his first ever 25-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature event victory.
For Kressley it was a thrilling drive to the win, as he charged forward from his 16th starting position, rim-riding the outside lane of the speedway passing cars steadily until reaching second spot. He then tracked down leader Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, Pa. in lapped traffic, making an outside groove pass off of turn two on lap 22 to grab the lead, and race home to the exciting win.
In feature number two, Chris Esposito emerged from an early spectacular six-car battle for the lead, moving around the outside of Carroll Hine III of Reading, Pa. on lap eight to secure the top spot. Esposito then survived two restarts and several challenges from Tim Buckwalter of Douglasville, Pa. to score his first T.P. Trailer Modified win since September 20, 2008, ending a long victory drought and scoring a hard earned win.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman feature saw Lawson Szerencits part of an early battle for the lead with Brad Brightbill of Sinking Spring, Pa. and eventually Brett Gilmore of Kutztown, Pa., leaving Szerencits in third spot. Following a brief tangle between the top two, which sent them both to the pits, Szerencits took over the lead, holding off all challenges in the closing laps to score his first career Grandview Speedway win.
The winners received bonus money (both Modified features $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 first 25-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature took the green, and saw Eddie Strada grab the lead and maintain the top spot through two early race cautions, both on lap five, which would be the only ones of the race.
With Strada leading, Kevin Graver Jr. of Lehighton, Pa., Duane Howard of Oley, Pa., and Eric Biehn of Barto were all battling for position right behind the leader, soon to be joined by the high side flying Kressley, who would arrive in fifth spot from 16th starting position by the completion of lap eight.
Kressley would work past the others and into second by lap 15, finding himself a quarter straightaway behind leader Strada, who would encounter lapped traffic at the same time Kressley moved into second spot.
Graver Jr. and Howard would continue to battle each other, and would be joined by Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa. in the battle for third position, while Kressley was trying to track down leader Strada.
Strada and Kressley would weave in and out of the lapped traffic, with Kressley catching Strada on lap 21, making his move passing Strada on the outside lane exiting turn two on lap 22 to grab the lead and race home to the thrilling and hard earned win.
For Kressley, it was his 30th career Saturday night NASCAR Advance Auto Part Weekly Series win at Grandview Speedway, and he was followed to the finish by Strada, Graver Jr., Logan Watt, Howard, Ryan Watt of Boyertown, Pa., Biehn, Mike Gular of Boyertown, Pa., Justin Grim of Orefield, Pa., and Craig Von Dohren of Oley, Pa.
