RPW Exclusive: Brad Brightbill Collects 2 nd Sportsman Win of Season at Grandview – Quotes and Notes

RPW EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY: Mark Hackett / RPW – BECHTELSVILLE, PA  – Brad Brightbill and Teague Miller swapped the lead on lap 8 and then battle side by side until lap 12 when Brightbill took the lead and command of the race right into victory lane for his second Grandview win of the season.

On the lap 3 restart; Brad Brightbill dropped to the bottom and made a dramatic two for one pass of Stephen Laubach & Tyler James moving 3 rd to take the early lead. But on the 3 rd restart Teague Miller took over the lead with Brightbill battling side by side with Miller until re-emerging into the lead on lap 13 and from there Brightbill drove into victory lane with a one second lead over Teague Miller and a hard charging Addison Meitzler taking 3rd at the line over Mike Toth.

Qualifying heats for the 34 cars on hand were won by Brad Brightbill, Tyler James and Shannon Slaughter with Brayden Shelton scoring the win in the consolation.

Brad Brightbill took his second win of the season from his 6th starting position and got passed by Teague Miller for the lead only to take the lead back 5 laps later to add his second win of the season to his season opener win.

In victory lane Brad noted “We won the season opener and have had awful luck since than until right now.  We had a good heat race to start the night. In the feature, I really thought I was toast after Teague got by me and I was just fighting the top until he left me and I was very thankful he ran me clean.  It was awesome racing with ten laps of side by side racing for the lead.  I was fortunate that the track came to me as the feature ran on.”  

“We were coming off several bad weeks at Grandview and a real crappy Friday night at Big Diamond. But tonight our luck turned when we got that two for one pass into the lead on lap 3 and then on top of that was able to re-pass Teague for the lead on lap 13 to put the cap on a great night and a great win.”

Back at the trailer Brad commented “We had a good draw in the season and started up front and made it happen.  After that we had some self-inflicted pain in the next three weeks from Yuke tires to set up problems but nonetheless I felt confident that we were back to where we needed to be to get back up front.

“We had a good run in the heat and made the feature handicap.  We got to start 6th in the feature and got out front early.  We had a good race with the 917 and wasn’t quite sure where to be when he passed me but then got the chance to search around a little and found a better lane a little higher up and I was able to get the lead back. Overall, a very strong night.”

Teague Miller finished 2nd from his 8th starting position.  

Teague reflected “The season has been one of those seasons so far. Luck has not been on our side, and we have been struggling to find the car.  Over the past couple week with us being off we talked about going back to our old notes and what we did last year to see if we could find a little something.”

“Last night we made those changes and went out for hot laps and instantly could feel and see a difference and I was a lot more comfortable again. When we went out for the heat race we didn’t do too much to the car as it felt good.  I knew rolling off 3rd we had to just race our race and keep it clean. With finishing 2nd that slated us for 8th in the feature. 

“We made some changes for the feature that were very similar to what we had used last year.  Going out for the feature I knew I needed to find something early and just watching my nose trying to make it through traffic.  We made it to the front pretty early making most passes on the outside. I knew Brad was going to be hard to beat and I made a few mistakes, but it was a great learning experience and a great battle with a race driver that has been around for years.  On the last restart my left front was going flat but was able to hold onto 2nd until the end.  We arrived a little late due to a rough Friday night at Big Diamond but in the end, it really paid off for us at Grandview.”

Addison Meitzler rolled to an at the line 3rd place finish from his 17th starting position.

Addison noted “Took the first 4 races to get the car where I want it.  Last week we were fast and ripped a shock tower off first lap of feature. So, this was the first week we came back with the same setup all season.

“Heat was good but track not very racy.  Got just enough to make it but missed invert.  Started 17th in the feature and moved forward. A couple times things happened, and I lost 6 spots throughout the race so that was more time wasted making it back up.  But I was able to drive up to 3rd.  Solid night that we desperately needed. The car is pretty good right now but could be better. I feel we are a couple of tweaks away from really being good.  We will try a couple small adjustments in the next few weeks and see if we can fine tune it. Last year we had no luck to start the season which gave us some decent starting positions that we were able to take advantage of.  This year we are in the points hunt already at 5th in points and with the invert it will be tough. You need a lot to go right to come from that deep in 25 laps.”

Pit Notes

Defending 2025 Crate points champion Colin Cox finished 10th from his 22nd starting position and has moved into the points lead for the first time this season.  Weekly newcomer to Grandview, Joe Toth has quietly made consistent weekly runs from the back of the field to the front and is currently a close 2nd to Cox in the standing points.  Joe is still looking forward to his first Grandview win.

Joe’s dad Mike Toth is also racing weekly at Grandview after the closing for New Egypt Speedway.  Mike had a tough wreck last year at the Freedom 38th only to find himself in another hard wreck at the 2026 season opener but the next week  Mike’s persistence paid off with his first win at Grandview.   Tonight Mike came out with a duck taped number and some mismatched panels but posted a consistent and impressive 4th place finish to go along with his early season win.  

After an August season ending wreck last year,  Stephen Laubach returned to post a 5th place finish in only his 2nd outing this season.

Matthew Laubach finished 8th from his 23rd starting position and survived an early tangle that sent him all the way to the back of the field.  Matthew has been running back to front almost every week this season, and it shows with his 4th place in the current crate points standings.  Dad Rick Laubach is 3rd in the modified points standings as the father son duo is off to a great start at Grandview.

Adrianna Delliponti had an unfortunate rollover in her heat race at Big Diamond on Friday night leaving her without a car available for Saturday night until Kenny Gilmore stepped up and provided his 88x for the night.  Addie failed to qualify but the effort was there for team 22a who will be working hard to return and hit the track running.  Adie still sits 7th in the season points standings.

Tuesday, May 19 – THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES – High Limit 410 Sprint Car Series – $20,000 to win 410 Sprints – 7:30 pm – (Rain date Wednesday 5/20)

Saturday, May 23 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds, T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, TRIVIA NIGHT – 7:30 pm

Saturday, May 30 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds TWIN 25-LAP FEATURES, T. P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman – 7:30 pm