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Kody Hartlaub felt like his second career 410 sprint car win was within reach last Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway.

He had good reason to feel that way.  He timed 5th quickest overall, then led every lap in his heat race, winning by over 2.3 seconds, to earn the pole for the A-main.

Hartlaub led 19 laps, but unfortunately, bad luck intervened.

“That one stings.  A bolt came out of the brake pedal on lap 2, and I had no brakes. I feel so bad for my guys and my sponsors. I feel we had that one,” a disappointed Hartlaub explained.

“I was able to hang on to the top spot for most of the race, but the lack of brakes became extremely challenging. I tried my hardest to race the car to maintain as much speed as possible, but unfortunately, we dropped a few spots and ended up 5th.”

LEARNING FROM CHALLENGES

Coming off his first career 410 sprint car win six weeks ago, Hartlaub was feeling good about his team’s growth and progression through the 2025 season. 

Hartlaub was inching closer to that moment for several races.  The Williams Grove victory gave the East Berlin (PA) driver an average finishing position of 6.75 over a four-race stretch, a significant improvement over his average finish of 16th in the four races before that stretch.

With the Central Pennsylvania season heading into the home stretch, this was the timely momentum Harlaub, team owner Pat Brewer, and the entire NinetyFive Motorsports team needed.

The showing this past Friday certainly proves Hartlaub’s win in August was not a fluke, and it also shows the team can work through challenges and find their rhythm again.

The weekend after that August 15th win, Hartlaub kept the momentum going with two more top ten finishes at Williams Grove Speedway’s Jack Gunn Memorial and Lincoln Speedway’s Kramer Klash.  However, the final weekend of August brought challenges and frustrating nights for Hartlaub and his team, who finished outside the top ten twice and failed to make the starting field once.

Hartlaub, Brewer, and the NinetyFive Motorsports team are well aware you can’t rest on your laurels in sprint car racing.  What works today may not work tomorrow.  It is a constant battle to find the combination needed to be competitive every time a team unloads.

“Some of the things we tried Labor Day weekend didn’t work like we had hoped, but that’s what you have to do in this sport.  You have to constantly work to get better, but sometimes you learn the most from the things that don’t work,” Hartlaub explained.

“We took a week off at the beginning of September, and we worked on the changes we felt we needed to make to get our speed back.  It felt good to see that pay off by getting back in the top ten at Williams Grove.”

Hartlaub was referring to the team’s effort back on September 12th, where he recorded a runner-up finish in his heat race and a 6th-place finish in the feature.

The following night at Lincoln Speedway, Hartlaub struggled, dropping out of the main event at the halfway point due to an ill-handling racecar, once again proving that what worked yesterday may not work today.  The team went back to work that week to get ready for Williams Grove, and we now know they bounced back strong and nearly captured another win.

It’s an ongoing battle for every team in sprint car racing, a roller-coaster ride if you will, but when a team overcomes those challenges and achieves success, there’s nothing quite like that feeling of satisfaction.  It’s only a matter of time until Hartlaub feels that again.

UP NEXT

Hartlaub and the NinetyFive Motorsports team will return to Williams Grove Speedway Friday night for the final tuneup before the National Open.  Saturday night, they will venture to Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, NJ, to take on the High Limit Racing series on the high-banked 4-tenths mile oval.

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)