Paul "Grampa" Grynewics takes FASTRUCKS at Bronson
By Rick Warren
The Fastruck Series returned to the high banks of Bronson Motor Speedway Saturday night, and despite skies that were threatening rain all daylong, a good field of racers turned out, as well as a great crowd of fans. The local fans remembered the great show the last time the Fastrucks were here, and were looking forward to more of the same. The Racers did not disappoint the fans, and put on a very exciting and professionally run race. The first action for the trucks was Qualifying, and these guys laid down some very fast laps in there quest for the fastest time. When the dust cleared, and qualifying was done, the #5 truck of Jimmy Gill had run the fastest lap with a time of 14.426 seconds. He was followed by James Wright III with a time of 14.583 seconds. Third was Tommy King, followed by Tim Shaffner. When the draw for starting inversion was made, it was determined that the first 9 trucks would be inverted.
The race started with Brandon Anderson and Paul Grynewicz on the front row, followed by Marty Wolf, Paul Grynewicz III and Tim Shaffner. Grynewicz powered to the lead and was attempting to put some distance between his truck and the pack of racers behind him. A series of early cautions and 1 red flag, kept the pack tight, and racing tough. The first caution flew on lap3 for the #15 truck of Eddie Moran, as he spun exiting turn 4. Caution again flew on lap 7 as the #46 of Anderson and the #44 of Grynewicz III made contact off turn 2. The race restarted with Anderson in his original position and Grynewicz III starting from the rear.
Caution was out on lap 9 for a multi truck wreck in turn 1, that caused the red flag to come out on lap12 for the track to be cleared. The trucks of Kelly Caudill, Billy Barstow, and Bill Stacy were involved, with the racer of Barstow receiving major damage. Fortunately all the drivers were uninjured. The race restarted with Grynewicz still on the point, and looking to pad his lead. Marty Wolf in the #9 had other plans for the outcome of the race, and stuck like glue to the truck of Grynewicz, and was running hard, trying to find a spot to get by the leader.
Caution was once again displayed on lap 18 as the #4 of Al Nuemann got loose and spun off turn 4. The race restarted with the running order of Grynewicz, Wolf, Shaffner, Bobby Owens, Gary Foxworth. After this restart the race stayed green until lap 45. Grynewicz held his line, and didn’t allow the constant pressure from the pack behind him to force a mistake. While this was going on, the #56 of James Wright III had the fans on there feet as he made a big charge from the middle of the pack to join the hunt for the lead. Wright spent the last 10 laps of the race running the outside lane and advancing his position. Caution was brought out on lap 45 for the #01 of Bobby Owens, as he got loosened up and spun down the front straight. The race restarted for a 5 lap shootout, and “Grampa” Grynewicz, showed the way home, picking up a hard fought win. Second went to Wolf, followed by Shaffner, WrightIII, and Al Neumann. Congratulations to Paul Grynewicz .
Next up were the BMS Regulars, and they too treated the fans to some very exciting racing. First on the track were the Mini Stocks. Current BMS point leader and last weeks winner, Don Faunce took the lead early, and set sail for the win. He didn’t have it easy, as Rick Sirmans got loose from traffic and went to work on Faunce. Sirmans was all over Faunce like a cheap suit trying to find a way around the leader. Add the cars of Larry Goolsby and Dave Westrich to the mix, and it becomes a real battle royal . Clint Foley was about to become a player in this game but mechanical troubles caused his early exit from the race. When the checkered flag waved, Faunce held on to the front spot, but you could have covered the first four cars with your mama’s tablecloth.
The modifieds were up next, and Gary Southard wasted no time getting to the front. Point leader Monty Morgan followed in second with a patched up car that had been seriously damaged last week. Morgan has been running a back up car for several weeks as his primary car is being rebuilt after a big crash that nearly destroyed it. Last weeks winner, Gene Owen was forced to exit early with mechanical problems. Southard went on to win, followed by Morgan and Buddy Hughes.
Rob Cooper once again captured the win in the sportsman division, but he had to work pretty hard for this one. Kyle Maynard took the early lead, and appeared to be on the way to victory, but a series of cautions allowed the pack to stay close, and Cooper to eventually drive his new Southard built racer to the victory. Maynard hung on to second, followed by David Knutson.
The Pure stocks put on there usual rockem-sockem road show, with a very competitive race. Several drivers swapped the lead, with Arthur Conquest taking the lead for good when Tomy Ausburn and Daniel Pinner got together in turn 2 while racing for the lead. Ausburn was out for the evening, and Pinner restarted from the rear. Conquest went on to win followed by Mike Baker and Cliff Erhardt.
The V8 Bombers saw Michael Holbrook pick up his third feature win this season, cased closely by Ken Sheffield and Kevin Hodge.
Rick Fort captured the 4cyl bombers, followed by Joey Durbin.
