Mike Gular Steals The Show At Grandview For $3,500 Mod Thunder On The Hill Win Tuesday

Story By: BOB MILLER / THUNDER ON THE HILL – BECHTELSVILLE, PA – Mike Gular won the 30-lap NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Modified feature on Tuesday Night at Grandview Speedway which took numerous twists and turns until the checkered flag fell.

Tim Buckwalter’s misfortune was Gular’s benefit in the feature event. The winningest driver in Grandview Speedway history, Craig Von Dohren, started on the pole of the 30-lap feature event, alongside Douglasville, PA’s Tim Buckwalter. Buckwalter took the lead at the drop of the green flag, followed by Matt Stangle moving into the second position.

The only caution of the evening flew on lap 6 when Von Dohren spun on the backstretch while running inside the top-5. Buckwalter held control on the restart, while the battle for second heated up with Stangle, Ryan Krachun, Mike Gular, and Jeff Strunk. Buckwalter maintained a rapid pace for the bulk of the event, with his sight set on a $5,000 payday sweetened by the Pioneer Pole Building first-time winner bonus – that came to a halt when Buckwalter’s No. 23X machine slowed on the backstretch suffering from a flat right rear tire.

Buckwalter kept the lead until the white flag flew, but Gular closed quickly, with Ryan Krachun and Matt Stangle right behind. Gular would inherit the lead and earned $3,500 since he was a previous Thunder on the Hill feature winner. GT Radiators posted the extra $500 for the repeat winner and added an additional $200 to the runner-up spot. Krachun finished in the second position, Matt Stangle in the third spot, Craig Whitmoyer in fourth, and Jeff Strunk in fifth. Buckwalter limped home in the ninth position. The first time Thunder on the Hill winner’s bonus had four drivers, Buckwalter, Krachun, Stangle and Whitmoyer in the hunt for the $5,000 payday.

Modified Qualifying Heat races were won by Duane Howard, Tim Buckwalter and Mike Gular, collecting a $100 bonus courtesy of GT Radiator Repair of Ambler, Pennsylvania.

NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series returns on Thursday, August 26, with the All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Cars and the NASCAR 358 Modifieds presented by Levan Machine & Truck Equipment.

358 Modifieds

Heat 1 (10 Laps) – 1. Duane Howard 2. Jeff Strunk 3. David Burns 4. Matt Stangle 5. Brian Hirthler 6. Alex Yankowski
Heat 2 (10 Laps) – 1. Tim Buckwalter 2. Danny Bouc 3. Ryan Krachun 4. Aaron Bowes 5. Jack Butler 6. Rick Laubach
Heat 3 (10 Laps) – 1. Mike Gular 2. Craig VonDohren 3. Jared Umbenhauer 4. Craig Whitmoyer 5. Brett Kressley 6. Davey Sammons

Consi (10 Laps) – 1. Kevin Hirthler 2. Dylan Swinehart 3. Kenny Gilmore 4. Justin Grim 5. Ryan Beltz 6. Meme DeSantis

Feature (30 Laps) – 1. Mike Gular 2. Ryan Krachun 3. Matt Stangle 4. Craig Whitmoyer 5. Jeff Strunk 6. Duane Howard 7. Danny Bouc 8. Jared Umbenhauer 9. Timmy Buckwalter 10. Brett Kressley 11. Rick Laubach 12. Alex Yankowski 13. Craig Von Dohren 14. Dylan Swinehart 15. Davey Sammons 16. Jack Butler 17. Ryan Beltz 18. Brian Hirthler 19. David Burns 20. Aaron Bowes 21. MeMe DeSantis 22. Justin Grim 23. Kevin Hirthler 24. Kenny Gilmore