Archive for month: August, 2023

Back at full strength physically, Kody Hartlaub joined 22 other teams at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night to get a little more 410 sprint car seat time in the J Fuels, Brewer Home Improvements, Moose Blocks, Smith Titanium, SRR Engines, Siegel Racing, T&N Solutions, Inch & Co. Real Estate, Bigham Appraisals, Pretzel Boy, HAAS Shocks, Chop Designs, Herr Electric, Hartlaub’s Furniture, Kody Hartlaub Racing No.95.

Hartlaub started outside row two in the 10-lap heat race and quickly moved into 3rd on the opening lap.  On the next circuit, he claimed the 2nd spot and looked to have it in hand until Freddie Rahmer tracked him down with two laps to go and relegated Hartlaub to a 3rd place finish.  The spot was still good enough to squeak into the handicapping for the feature lineup.

In the 30-lap A-main, Hartlaub appeared ready to make some headlines in central Pennsylvania racing news.  From his 5th starting spot he surged into 3rd by the completion of lap number one.  He held that through the first ten laps, then with his fastest lap of the race he moved into the runner-up spot.

Just past the halfway point, Hartlaub took command of the race by passing Kyle Spence for the top spot.  Meanwhile Freddie Rahmer was inching his way toward the front as well.

On lap nineteen, Rahmer wrestled the lead away.  Hartlaub held on for a strong 2nd place finish, his first career 410 sprint car podium finish.  An admirable accomplishment for the young man who has less than ten 410 sprint car starts until his belt.

“Hard to put into words what this means to me and my team.  From dreaming of someday getting to run a 410 sprint car to actually being able to do it, and to have the speed we had, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.“, Hartlaub commented.  “We led laps and learned a lot.“

“I have to thank everyone that made this possible, all the support from my friends and family, my wife, my crew, Pat Brewer, Austin Funk, Jim and Steve Siegel, and all my sponsors because without them we wouldn’t be here.“

The 358 sprint car portion of Friday’s program brought 25 teams to compete.  Heat lineups for the Summer Series event were set by pill draw, with the top four finishers going to the redraw.

Hartlaub started 7th in the final heat race in the J Fuels, Brewer Home Improvements, Moose Blocks, Smith Titanium, SRR Engines, Siegel Racing, T&N Solutions, Inch & Co. Real Estate, Bigham Appraisals, Pretzel Boy, HAAS Shocks, Chop Designs, Herr Electric, Hartlaub’s Furniture, Kody Hartlaub Racing No.95 and he wasted no time, charging into 3rd on the opening lap.  He held that spot to lock himself into the redraw.

The A-main redraw dealt Hartlaub the same hand as the earlier draw, a 7th starting spot.  At the drop of the green, he got shuffled back to 9th in traffic, but he was able to recover the track position within the next two circuits.  

Hartlaub clearly had a good car and when he found his rhythm, the march to the front began.  He cracked the top five on lap nine and reached 3rd on lap thirteen with a calculated but aggressive drive.

When Hartlaub moved into the runner-up spot, he was a full straightaway behind leader Zach Newlin, but he immediately began to visibly close the gap.  In traffic with only four laps remaining, he dover under Newlin in turn one to claim the lead.  

Newlin battled back to reclaim the lead in turn four and the pair waged a wheel to wheel battle, duking it out through traffic over the remaining circuits.  Hartlaub came up just short and crossed under the checkered flag in 2nd.

“Once again, I feel like we had the car to beat tonight in the 358. Driving from the 7th starting spot to running the leader down from that far back just shows how great of a piece my team gives me each and every week. I would have loved to get our new partners with J Fuels in victory lane on our debut night with their logo on the car, but I just made one too many mistakes once I passed Zach and left him the opportunity to get me back. I can’t wait to get our first win at Williams Grove being such a historic track. “, Hartlaub commented.

Hartlaub now sits 2nd in the 358 sprint car season championship point standings at Williams Grove Speedway, just 50 points behind leader Derek Locke.