Archive for category: Kody Hartlaub

With the support of partner Brewers Home Improvements, Hartlaub purchased a new Eagle chassis last winter.  He also picked up a used 410 engine from Danny Dietrich.  His 2023 goal was simply to get some seat time and begin the learning process to eventually make the move to full-time 410 sprint car racing someday.

Hartlaub’s strategy for his limited 410 starts in 2023 was simply to make laps and learn, even voluntarily running at the back of the field if necessary to accomplish it.  

That’s exactly how the first couple outings in June played out but Hartlaub realized he was more comfortable in the car than he anticipated.  He started to compete and mix it up a little bit in July and logged a 14th-place finish at Williams Grove Speedway.

In his last two 410 races of the season in August, Hartlaub showed he was clearly accomplishing his goals for the season, and more.  He registered a runner-up finish at Lincoln Speedway and a 6th place at BAPS Motor Speedway.

“I’m glad we did what we did this year.  I definitely learned a lot.  We had some good runs and I feel like I was able to really make progress behind the wheel because we had a decent car.  Had the car been total junk, it would have been difficult for me to get good experience.  That’s a credit to my team and the people who support us.“, Hartlaub commented.

“Our 410 car was completely different than our 358 car, so that’s a big confidence boost to me and my team, knowing we didn’t just find something that worked on one car and stayed with it.  We figured out a completely different car and ran pretty well.“

410 SPRINT STATS:  6 races, 0 wins, 1 top 5’s, 2 top 10’s, 4 top 15’s

Hartlaub was among a field of 28 drivers set to do battle Friday night, September 1st at Williams Grove Speedway.  The heat lineups were set using a handicapping system, which put point leader Hartlaub outside the fourth row.  That improved to outside row three when two lesser experienced drivers opted to start at the rear of the field.

By the time one lap was complete, Hartlaub was already 4th and poised for more when the caution appeared.  On the ensuing restart, he dove into turn one but the hole he thought he saw closed quickly.

With little time to adjust, Hartlaub spun and was collected another car.  He pushed off and restarted at the back of the pack, but the car was wounded.  He managed to finish 6th to transfer into the A-main 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.

There was significant damage to the front suspension but with help from Steve Owings, Doug Hammaker and others, the team patched the car back together to put Hartlaub on track for the feature.

Hartlaub’s car wasn’t its competitive self though and the East Berlin, PA driver just survived to salvage a 19th place finish.

“I made a mistake and paid for it.“, Hartlaub said of the misjudged passing attempt in the heat race.  “I owe a big thanks to Steve Owings, Doug Hammaker and everyone else that came down to help us salvage what we could in the feature.“

Upon returning to the shop late Friday night, the team spent several hours swapping their 358 motor into their 410 sprint car so they could race at Lincoln Saturday night.

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.“