Story By: A2DPR / KODY HARTLAUB RACING – ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – If you haven’t noticed, Kody Hartlaub has not only been building the depth of his program and his equipment, but he has also been taking every opportunity to add to his experience in the seat.
As last weekend approached, he was at it again.
Hartlaub turned his two race weekend into three by doing double duty at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night. He entered both his 358 and 410 sprint cars into competition at the famed oval.
With less than a full field of 410 sprint cars signed in Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway, Hartlaub’s decision to enter competition that night was a smart one. It provided guaranteed track time without the pressure to make the show.
His night got off to a good start by going forward in his heat race from his 5th starting spot to a 4th place finish.
Hartlaub appeared ready to score his first career top ten in a 410 sprint car in the 25-lap A-main. From his starting spot outside the sixth row, he surged into the top ten on the opening lap and raced his way up to 8th by lap five.
Things got a little more difficult after a caution near the midpoint of the race. The throttle spring on Hartlaub’s car broke, meaning the gas pedal would not come back up on its own when he lifted his foot. The East Berlin, PA driver was forced to manually lift the pedal with his foot each time. It was enough to suppress how aggressive he could be, and it relegated him to a 14th place finish.
“We decided to bring the 410 up tonight along with the 358 to get me more laps in that division. Like I said earlier this year, we are just taking every 410 start we make and trying to learn as much as we can each time I hit the track. It was awesome racing side by side with Danny for a few laps until the spring broke. But sometimes that’s just racing no matter how much preventative maintenance you do.”, Hartlaub shared.
The 358 sprint car portion of Friday’s program brought 25 teams to compete. Heat lineups for the Summer Series event were set by pill draw, with the top four finishers going to the redraw.
Hartlaub started 7th in the final heat race 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 and he wasted no time, charging into 3rd on the opening lap. He held that spot to lock himself into the redraw.
The A-main redraw dealt Hartlaub the same hand as the earlier draw, a 7th starting spot. At the drop of the green, he got shuffled back to 9th in traffic, but he was able to recover the track position within the next two circuits.
Hartlaub clearly had a good car and when he found his rhythm, the march to the front began. He cracked the top five on lap nine and reached 3rd on lap thirteen with a calculated but aggressive drive.
When Hartlaub moved into the runner-up spot, he was a full straightaway behind leader Zach Newlin, but he immediately began to visibly close the gap. In traffic with only four laps remaining, he dover under Newlin in turn one to claim the lead.
Newlin battled back to reclaim the lead in turn four and the pair waged a wheel to wheel battle, duking it out through traffic over the remaining circuits. Hartlaub came up just short and crossed under the checkered flag in 2nd.
“Once again, I feel like we had the car to beat tonight in the 358. Driving from the 7th starting spot to running the leader down from that far back just shows how great of a piece my team gives me each and every week. I would have loved to get our new partners with J Fuels in victory lane on our debut night with their logo on the car, but I just made one too many mistakes once I passed Zach and left him the opportunity to get me back. I can’t wait to get our first win at Williams Grove being such a historic track. “, Hartlaub commented.
Hartlaub now sits 2nd in the 358 sprint car season championship point standings at Williams Grove Speedway, just 50 points behind leader Derek Locke.
Saturday night brought Hartlaub back to his home track, Lincoln Speedway, where he sits atop the 2023 season championship 358 sprint car point standings with two victories to his credit and a 110 point advantage over Steve Owings.
Hartlaub kicked off his night with a strong early run, coming from 8th to claim a runner-up finish in his heat race. His effort gave him a handicapped starting spot of 9th for the A-main.
Although he wasn’t able to climb into the top five by the conclusion of the 20-lap feature, Hartlaub did achieve a 6th place finish and he was able to finish in front of his closest pursuers in the season championship standings.
“Lincoln was just another solid night for our team. Unfortunately, you can’t win them all but when you can’t, we just go out and get all we can and tonight that just was a 6th place run. From where we started 2 years ago to where we are now, I can’t ask for anything more. I think about that a lot, I’m just thankful to have the opportunity I have to do what I love to do.”, Hartlaub said.
Kody and the team will return to Williams Grove Speedway Friday night, August 4th with their 358 sprint car for another Summer Series event.
The following night they will take 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 410 sprint car to Lincoln Speedway.