Story By: A2DPR / KODY HARTLAUB RACING – ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – What a difference a week makes.
The opening weekend of the month of August was a tough one for Kody Hartlaub. Back on August 4th, after qualifying well at Williams Grove in his 358 sprint car, the feature was rained out. The following night he took his 410 sprint car to Lincoln Speedway, and he struggled through the night both on and off the track, largely due to being ill.
Hartlaub quickly erased the memories of the previous weekend by netting his first career podium finish in a 410 sprint car this past Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Back at full strength physically, Kody Hartlaub joined 22 other teams at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night to get a little more 410 sprint car seat time 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.
Hartlaub started outside row two in the 10-lap heat race and quickly moved into 3rd on the opening lap. On the next circuit, he claimed the 2nd spot and looked to have it in hand until Freddie Rahmer tracked him down with two laps to go and relegated Hartlaub to a 3rd place finish. The spot was still good enough to squeak into the handicapping for the feature lineup.
In the 30-lap A-main, Hartlaub appeared ready to make some headlines in central Pennsylvania racing news. From his 5th starting spot he surged into 3rd by the completion of lap number one. He held that through the first ten laps, then with his fastest lap of the race he moved into the runner-up spot.
Just past the halfway point, Hartlaub took command of the race by passing Kyle Spence for the top spot. Meanwhile Freddie Rahmer was inching his way toward the front as well.
On lap nineteen, Rahmer wrestled the lead away. Hartlaub held on for a strong 2nd place finish, his first career 410 sprint car podium finish. An admirable accomplishment for the young man who has less than ten 410 sprint car starts until his belt.
“Hard to put into words what this means to me and my team. From dreaming of someday getting to run a 410 sprint car to actually being able to do it, and to have the speed we had, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.“, Hartlaub commented. “We led laps and learned a lot.“
“I have to thank everyone that made this possible, all the support from my friends and family, my wife, my crew, Pat Brewer, Austin Funk, Jim and Steve Siegel, and all my sponsors because without them we wouldn’t be here.“
Kody will strap back into his 358 sprint car for the upcoming weekend. He returns to Williams Grove Speedway Friday night, August 18th, for a makeup feature plus a full program.
The following night they will head to Lincoln Speedway for a Summer Series event.