Story By: A2DPR / KODY HARTLAUB RACING – PORT ROYAL, PA – It’s no secret that Kody Hartlaub has more laps in a sprint car at Lincoln Speedway than anywhere else.
He has had plenty of success there, including wins and a championship in the 358 division. In his young 410 sprint car career, he has posted strong qualifying and race results there as well.
Despite having fewer laps at places like BAPS Motor Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway, and Port Royal Speedway, the East Berlin, PA resident has shown flashes of speed and ability at those facilities too.
Hartlaub is focusing on seat time with a dash of variety in his destinations in 2024 as he tries to build a notebook, both for himself and his equipment, that will set up him to be a consistent contender in the years to come.
BIG TEST AT HOME
The lucrative Weldon Sterner Memorial brought a high-quality field of 32 cars to Hartlaub’s home track, Lincoln Speedway. It would serve as an early measuring stick.
Hartlaub was up to the task from the start. He turned the 3rd quickest lap in his group in qualifying and backed it up with a 2nd place run in his heat race to earn a top ten starting spot in the biggest race of the season thus far in Central Pennsylvania.
In the 40-lap main event, Hartlaub eyed his first top-ten finish of the season but in the early going he faded back to 14th. During the closing stages of the race he battled back, claiming an 11th place finish at the checkered flag.
Although a top-ten finish would have looked better on paper, it was a strong night for Hartlaub against a very tough field that included a lot of veteran drivers. It was a good night for the team’s notebook.
BRANCHING OUT
Hartlaub kicked off last weekend at Williams Grove Speedway where he qualified 6th fastest in his group, then recorded a 5th place finish in his heat race to put the Brewer Home Improvements, J Fuels, MooseBlocks.com, Bigham Appraisal, Griffith Plumbing Services, T and N Solutions No.95 in the show.
From his 18th starting spot, Hartlaub moved forward to a 15th-place finish in the 25-lap A-main.
The Ninety Five Motorsports team planned to compete at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday night but when the track canceled due to weather, the decision was made to head to Port Royal Speedway for the first time in 2024 to begin collecting notes and experience.
The Keith Kauffman Classic attracted 35 teams to compete for an attractive purse. Hartlaub had been to The Speed Palace in 2023 at the wheel of Bill Rose’s No.6 sprint car for the World of Outlaws event there but it was the first time circling the big fairgrounds oval in his own No.95.
He wasted no time showing he could adapt. Hartlaub spun off the 7th quickest lap in Flight A during qualifying, then brought home a 3rd place finish in a competitive heat race.
The early evening effort provided Hartlaub with a solid starting spot for the event, inside row six. He raced just outside the top ten during the first third of the 30-lap race but during a red flag for a mid-race incident, Hartlaub’s left rear tire was ignited by flames projecting from his header pipe.
The fire was quickly extinguished but the issue brought an early end to his night.
Hartlaub summed up not only his weekend but probably his whole season so far in one statement.
“We just need to put a whole night together.”, he said.
The stats align with that statement.
“We have had good speed and/or good luck during part of every night out this year, but there’s always one point in the night where either we make the wrong decision, I make a mistake, or luck just doesn’t fall our way.”, Hartlaub continued.
“That’s racing, but the more experience we get the more of those moments we can eliminate or overcome. We are out here to finish up front and to win races. We are making races and giving ourselves a chance to progress. I’m happy with our effort and gains so far. It’s still early, there’s a lot of racing to do this year.”
VALUED PARTNER
Hartlaub expressed a huge thanks to partner Bigham Appraisals, who have stepped up to make sure the team has the resources they need to run both upcoming World of Outlaws shows at Williams Grove Speedway May 10th-11th.
“We couldn’t do this without partners like Bigham Appraisals. We greatly appreciate what they have done for us not only for the entire 2024 season and then stepping up with more to make sure we can compete with the Outlaws.”, Hartlaub said.
UP NEXT
Hartlaub’s focus will turn aimed at Lincoln Speedway for the upcoming week. Saturday night May 4th he will be in attendance there for the Outlaw tune-up event, then just four days later he will return to compete against the World of Outlaws at his home track.