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Kody Hartlaub scored his first 410 sprint car win Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway.  The victory drew emotions from Hartlaub, who has worked hard to achieve his lifelong goal.

The East Berlin, PA, second-year 410 pilot led the 25-lap A-main wire-to-wire, then soaked it all in during a cool-down lap, and climbed from the cockpit to celebrate by climbing to the top of his mount to acknowledge the crowd.

After the race, the emotion of the moment and the achievement were still evident in his voice as he spoke, sharing details of not only his night but the journey that brought him to that moment.

“Racing a Sprintcar has been a dream of mine ever since I understood what racing was. I grew up in a racing family on both my mother’s and father’s sides.  From R/C cars to go-karts to micros, sprintcars were always the one division I never thought I’d be able to reach,” Hartlaub shared.

“Fast forward through multiple 358 wins, a championship, and plenty of challenges along the way—I can finally say we won a 410 sprintcar race!”

Hartlaub put it all together Friday night.  He turned in a solid time trial lap and heat race performance, then executed 25 flawless laps from his starting spot outside the front row.

Hartlaub held veteran T.J. Stutts at bay throughout the event, including a restart and lapped traffic to claim his first win at Williams Grove Speedway in any division.

“I focused on hitting my marks.  There wasn’t as much grip when I got off the top, so I had to time it right when I caught lapped cars so I could keep my rhythm and momentum.” Hartlaub explained.

“I sure wish my family were here.  My wife and daughter are at home.  I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”

“It’s impossible to list and thank everyone who has been part of this journey, but I can’t thank each of you enough.  To my parents, my wife for putting up with the racing lifestyle, my family, Pat Brewer for making sure we always have what we need, my crew—Justin, Austin, and Lane—for busting your asses every week preparing the car, my friends at the track, and especially all the sponsors who support me THANK YOU,” Hartlaub posted on social media.

“Brewer Home Improvements/Pat Brewer, J Fuels, Bigham Appraisal, Griffith Plumbing Services, Moose Blocks, T&N Solutions/Travis Lobb, Herr Electric, Smith Titanium, Thomas Wells Paving Inc, Siegel Racing 59, Pretzel Boy, Pruitt Innovation & Technologies, Don Ott Racing Engines, AL Driveline, DMI Performance, Speed Comm, Factory Emlet Powder Coating, Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management, and Hartlaub’s Furniture Inc., I sincerely appreciate and thank you all for your support.”

“This place (Williams Grove) is tough to drive.  It’s unique, and you have to get some experience to get good at it.  I want to thank John Trone for the opportunity to drive his car last season, because that gave me a lot of laps around this place.”

Following Friday’s victory, Hartlaub received congratulations in person and by phone from numerous fellow competitors, a sure sign of respect earned from accomplished veterans with names like Macri, Pittman, Zearfoss, Ross, Dietrich, and Stutts.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Hartlaub seems to have a proven approach.  He built his 358 sprint car team in a similar fashion.  He steadily grew his resources, mixing full seasons with limited schedules as necessary, and refined his skills behind the wheel until the wins came.  That led to a championship.

Now nearing the completion of his second full season in 410 sprint cars, there are signs of parallels.  By that measure, he may even be ahead of schedule

“410 sprint car racing is such a huge step up.  The level of competition is on another level.  It’s a mind game.  Everything has to be perfect.  I have been working on my mental game, and as a team, we have been constantly working on every aspect of our program,” Hartlaub commented.

“It has always been said you have to lose a couple before you win one.  Going through that is tough.  You battle your own confidence, wondering if you really belong at this level.  It’s not about proving it to others, it’s about proving to yourself that you can do it.  That you can win at this level.”

“It is also often said you don’t really know who you are as a 410 driver until year four or five because there is so much to learn and so much experience needed to get good at it.  In our area, Troy Wagaman is a good example.  He reached those years of his career and really started to run well week in and week out.”

In his first fifteen races this season, Hartlaub didn’t record any top-five finishes; however, in his last ten races, he has three.  It’s a good time of the year to be hitting your stride, especially in Central Pennsylvania, with big races coming up in the home stretch of the season.

“Justin is figuring out what I need, and I am figuring out how to give feedback in a way that helps him.  We are really starting to click together.  As a result, we are putting full nights together,” Harlaub shared when asked about the improvement.

“It’s true that the more you race, the more you figure out and the better you get, but it’s also true that time off now and then to clear your head and rest can be just as helpful.  A good example for us is Speedweek this year.  We raced a lot.  We struggled, but we learned a lot.  After that, we took some time off.  Since we came back, we’ve definitely been better.”

So how does Hartlaub measure success in the next chapter now that he, Pat Brewer and the rest of the NinetyFive Motorsports team have checked off the box next to ‘first 410 win’?

“We don’t put numbers on things, like aiming for a certain number of wins or top-fives.  Success for us is to put ourselves in a position to compete for wins every time out and put our best effort together for full nights every time.  That’s it.  If we do that, the stats will take care of themselves,” Hartlaub said.

RECENT RESULTS (starting position in parentheses)

• Date/Location:  July 18, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Results:  Qualifying 3rd, Heat 1st (1), A-main 3rd (3)

• Date/Location:  July 23, 2025 / BAPS Motor Speedway, York Haven, PA
  • Results:  Group Qualifying 11th, Heat 9th (6), B-main 14th (?)

• Date/Location:  August 1, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Results:  Heat 3rd (6), A-main 13th (8)

• Date/Location:  August 9, 2025 / Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA
  • Results:  Qualifying 7th, Heat 1st (1), A-main 10th (6)

• Date/Location:  August 15, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Results:  Group Qualifying 3rd, Heat 2nd (3), A-main 1st (2)

As the summer heat built, so did the schedule of races for the 95 team and Kody Hartlaub. Eyeing an extensive Speedweek schedule, with 10 nights of action, Kody and team had a long stretch of late nights and hard work ahead of them. Even with Mother Nature ruining a few nights of action, the grind of Speedweek is something that local teams have to persevere through.

With the first two races being scratched with teams already at the track and ready to compete, BAPS Motor Speedway, on Sunday, would be the first show to be completed. Hartlaub and team started out the night on a good note, with a 2nd place effort in group qualifying. Things took a turn in the heat, after a slide back to 7th, made for a necessary trip to the B Main. Luckily, the driver and team were able to make an A Main appearance and ended up starting off Speedweek with an 18th-place finish.

A quick turnaround followed as the team moved to Lincoln Speedway on Monday. The NinetyFive Motorsports car was quick right out of the gate. With Kody taking home quicktime and making the redraw out of the heat race, the night was looking up. Rolling off on the outside of the front row of the feature, which was his best starting spot of the season, Kody was able to maintain and even challenge early for the lead, before slipping back just a few spots and garnering a 4th place finish. This was his best A Main result of the season.

“We finally just put a whole night together from time trials to the feature.” Hartlaub went on to mention that they “changed some things and went more aggressive than we normally do setup-wise, and I really think that benefited us later.”

Rain gave the team a chance to recoup on Tuesday before making a trip to the Port Royal Speedway on Wednesday. Even with little experience at the track, Hartlaub was able to start off the night strong yet again, by going 5th quick in time trials and transferring into the feature from the heat race. Starting 15th, and in one of the weirder features of the year, Kody was able to finish in 18th. This started the real grind for the team, as this began a streak of four-straight nights of racing.

Hagerstown Speedway was next up and would be the second large half-mile of the week. Again, Hartlaub would have a good qualifying effort and be able to transfer into the feature out of the heat. Kody would end up not finishing the entire feature and exit on lap 9 of the race. An upsetting result, but the team would again grind to get the car ready for another night, this time at Williams Grove.

The Mitch Smith Memorial took center stage on Friday. Kody and team again unloaded with a fast 95 car. Qualifying 5th and running second in the heat meant the team would roll off 10th in the feature. Getting a good jump and grabbing the 9th spot for a few laps would be the best part of the 30-lap feature, as Hartlaub would slide back and ultimately pull off with 7 to go in the feature.

“This is a humbling sport,” mentioned Kody. “Just as soon as I thought we had Williams Grove figured out, they proved to us this week that we don’t.”

Trying to put that night behind them, the team headed to Port Royal Speedway for the Greg Hodnett Classic. Fighting from the time the team left the shop, the track surface proved to be tough to get a hold of. Timing 13th in his group and finishing 8th in his heat, the B Main would be the place where the 95 would round out the night. Missing the transfer and finishing 13th in the B Main was a stark contrast to that of Wednesday night’s effort.

Travel trouble on Saturday and the fact that the team hurt two motors over the course of the week would ultimately lead to the team deciding to skip the final race of the week at Path Valley. Nonetheless, the team completed Speedweek with some newfound knowledge on what the car needs to maybe find some extra speed.

“Still have a little bit of work to do, but I feel like we are making the right gains,” said Hartlaub.

Even with the team missing a few nights with rainouts, it was still a massive undertaking to compete in all the races they did.

“I don’t think some fans actually understand what all has to happen between each race. You still have all the same car maintenance,” mentioned Kody. And a lot of teams have to continually restock all of their fuel, tire, and other expendable part supplies. Hartlaub went on to mention that he is glad that Speedweek is only a once-a-year event, as it is a lot of strain and sleepless nights preparing for the next show. 

“I want to thank all my crew and family for everything this past week,” knowing just how much effort everyone put in to make it happen.

The team will get a much-needed week to regroup before racing action starts back up, and it’s soon time for the Outlaws to come to town and pose another challenge to the 95.

“We never back down from a challenge, and I’m excited to see what will happen.”

RECENT RESULTS (starting position in parentheses)

• Date/Location:  June 30, 2025 / Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA
• Results:  Qualifying 1st, Heat 4th (4), A-main 4th (2)

• Date/Location:  July 1, 2025 / Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, PA
• Results:  Rain

• Date/Location:  July 2, 2025 / Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 5th, Heat 4th (2), A-main 18th (15)

• Date/Location:  July 3, 2025 / Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, MD
• Results:  Group Qualifying 10th, Heat 5th (5), A-main 22nd (19)

• Date/Location:  July 4, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 5th, Heat 2nd (2), A-main 20th DNF (10)

• Date/Location:  July 5, 2025 / Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 14th, Heat 8th (7), B-main 13th (11)