BRADY BACON STORMS AWAY WITH $10,000 JESSE HOCKETT CLASSIC USAC WIN; RYAN WATT CLAIMS NASCAR 358 MODIFIEDS

NAPA AUTO PARTS THUNDER ON THE HILL OPENS 30TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON IN A BIG WAY. . . . .

BRADY BACON STORMS AWAY WITH $10,000 JESSE HOCKETT CLASSIC USAC WIN; RYAN WATT CLAIMS NASCAR 358 MODIFIEDS

Story By: Bob Miller/TOTH

Photos By: Dan DeMarco/RacersGuide.com

BECHTELSVILLE, PA (June 11, 2019) – Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon picked up his third consecutive win and the $10,000 winner’s share as part of the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Jesse Hockett Classic on Tuesday Night at Grandview Speedway. This event marked the one-hundred and thirty-third Thunder on the Hill event since the series started in 1990.

Bacon was the winner of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car portion of the Thunder season kick-off while Boyertown, Pennsylvania’s Ryan Watt picked up the victory in the NASCAR 358 Modifieds – his second career Thunder on the Hill Racing Series win.

A drag race down the front stretch started the 40-lap USAC main event with front row starters Justin Grant and Brady Bacon. Bacon gained the advantage and quickly pulled away from the twenty-two car field.

Behind the leader, Grant and Tyler Courtney swapped the second-place spot multiple times before the red flag flew on lap 9 for local favorite Tim Buckwalter, who clipped the outside retaining wall — violently flipping down the frontstretch of the speedway. Buckwalter, a Douglassville, PA native, walked away uninjured.

On the restart, Bacon continued his quest for the win, maintaining the lead over Justin Grant and CJ Leary.

The best-of-the-best in USAC competition battled it out for the second spot. Five cars challenged Grant including Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Tyler Courtney.

All eyes were on Chris Windom, powering from his ninth-place starting position into the top five. Forging a battle with Grant, Windom moved into the third spot at the halfway point – the two stole the show, swapping sliders for multiple laps and exchanging the second position numerous times.

It was all Bacon for the remainder of the event, claiming the victory and the prize money. CJ Leary would grab the second position with three laps remaining and Chris Windom would settle for third.

Tyler Courtney came home in the fourth position followed by Kevin Thomas Jr.

USAC Heat Races were won by Tim Buckwalter, Carson Short, and Chad Boespflug while Jason McDougal won the B-Main with a new 12-lap track record.

Ringoes, NJ’s Ryan Godown led the NASCAR 358 Modified field to the drop of the green flag with Watt quickly moving into the second spot. Godown set the pace, but Watt closed quickly, stalking the leader and waiting patiently to make a move for the top spot.

The only yellow of the event flew on lap 10, as the leader, Ryan Godown slowed entering turn 3 handing the lead over to Watt.

On the restart, Craig Von Dohren charged inside the leader, with Duane Howard close on his tail – but neither could complete the pass on Watt. Howard moved passed VonDohren a few laps later, setting his sights on the leader.

The leaders approached lapped traffic on the 20th circuit closing the gap and allowing Howard to challenge for the win. Howard’s No. 357 machine moved inside Watt’s, showing the nose but unable to complete the pass.

The pair raced down the backstretch side-by-side as the checkered flag approached. The battle for the lead shaped up, but Watt gained an advantage while Howard struggled with a noticeable right rear flat tire. Watt would roll on for the victory, Howard held on for the second position, Craig VonDohren finished in third, Jared Umbenhauer in fourth, and Brett Kressley rounding out the top five finishers.

Modified heat races were won by Brett Kressley, Kevin Hirthler and Brian Hirthler with TJ Lily winning the Modified Consolation.

The NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series returns on Tuesday, July 2 for Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek with $10,000 to win for the 410 Sprint Cars – also on the card, the NASCAR 358 Modifieds. NASCAR competitor Kyle Larson has picked up the victory in the past two Grandview Speedway Speedweek events.

The USAC National Midget Championship comes to Grandview Speedway on Tuesday, July 30 alongside the NASCAR 358 Modifieds for the Ken Brenn Midget Masters event.

For more information visit www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com

Complete Results

USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship

Time Trials — 1. Chase Stockon 13.478 2. CJ Leary 13.616 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. 13.792 4. Tyler Courtney 13.799 5. Brady Bacon 13.829 6. Justin Grant 13.936 7. Steve Drevicki 13.956 8. Robert Ballou 13.959 9. Chris Windom 13.992 10. Timmy Buckwalter 14.024 11. Jason McDougal 14.127 12. Carmen Perigo 14.17 13. Dave Darland 14.188 14. Carson Short 14.209 15. Chad Boespflug 14.294 16. Joey Biasi 14.377 17. Trevor Kobylarz 14.516 18. Ryan Godown 14.551 19. Dustin Christie 14.611 20. Bill Balog 14.627 21. Kyle Lick 14.673 22. Dominick Buffalino 14.925 23. Brian VanMeveren 14.953 24. Heidi Hedin 15.797 Isaac Chapple NT

Heat 1 (8 Laps) – 1. Tim Buckwalter 2. Joey Biasi 3. Tyler Courtney 4. Dave Darland 5. Chase Stockon

Heat 2 (8 Laps) – 1. Carson Short 2. Robert Ballou 3. Trevor Kobylarz 4. Brady Bacon 5. CJ Leary

Heat 3 (8 Laps) – 1. Chad Boespflug 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. 3. Chris Windom 4. Ryan Godown 5. Justin Grant

B-Main (12 Laps) – 1. Jason McDougal 2. Steve Drevicki 3. Carmen Perigo 4. Isaac Chapple 5. Kyle Lick 6. Bil Balog 7. Dustin Christie

13th Annual Jesse Hockett Classic (40 Laps) – 1. Brady Bacon 2. CJ Leary 3. Chris Windom 4. Tyler Courtney 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. 6. Robert Ballou 7. Chase Stockon 8. Justin Grant 9. Jason McDougal 10. Chad Boespflug 11. Ryan Godown 12. Carson Short 13. Steven Drevicki 14. Dave Darland 15. Joey Biasi 16. Bill Balog 17. Isaac Chapple 18. Carmen Perigo 19. Trevor Kobylarz 20. Kyle Lick 21. Timmy Buckwalter 22. Dustin Christie

NASCAR 358 Modifieds

Heat 1 (10 Laps) – 1. Brett Kressley 2. Billy Pauch Jr. 3. Duane Howard 4. Jordan Henn 5. Louden Reimert 6. Justin Grimm

Heat 2 (10 Laps) – 1. Kevin Hirthler 2. Ryan Watt 3. Craig VonDohren 4. Ryan Godown 5. Frank Cozze 6. Jeff Strunk

Heat 3 (10 Laps) – 1. Brian Hirthler 2. Jared Umbenhauer 3. Doug Manmiller 4. Rick Laubach 5. Mike Gular

Consi (10 Laps) – 1. TJ Lilly 2. Alex Yankowski 3. Dylan Swinehart 4. Richie Hitzler 5. Kris Graver 6. Mike Lisowski

Modified Feature (30 Laps) – 1. Ryan Watt 2. Duane Howard 3. Craig VonDohren 4. Jared Umbenhauer 5. Brett Kressley 6. Doug Manmiller 7. Rick Laubach 8. Jeff Strunk 9. Billy Pauch Jr. 10. Mike Gular 11. Frank Cozze 12. Kevin Hirthler 13. Louden Reimert 14. Alex Yankowski 15. Justin Grim 16. Dylan Swinehart 17. Kris Graver 18. TJ Lilly 19. Richie Hitzler 20. Brian Hirthler 21. Jordan Henn 22. Ryan Godown 23. Danny Erb 24. Mike Lisowski