Decker Swinehart Claims Sportsman Victory – Grandview Quotes & Notes
RPW EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY: Mark Hackett – RACE PRO WEEKLY – BECHTELSVILLE, PA – The feature opened with two cautions on the first two laps collecting more than 8 cars. The front row leaders were battling and spun in front of the field. On the restart it was Decker Swinehart pulling into the lead with Brett Grim and Brad Brightbill giving chase right to the checkered flag.
Decker Swinehart got his first win of the season from his 3rd starting position.
In victory lane Decker reflected “I just let them two up front figure it out, stayed clear of them, and then made my move after their wreck was done.”
“Car was good, looked like the track rubbered up on the bottom. It was a good race with Brett Grim and Brad Brightbill. My car was strong on the bottom and in the end it all worked out for us to get our first win of 2026.”
“We have struggled since Grandview changed to right side Panhard last year but now we have a foot in the right direction.”
Back at the trailer Decker commented “Car has been pretty decent all year long. We are just struggling in the heat races, and I feel like the car is good in the feature week to week. We just need to find some setup changes to improve in the heat races.”
“In hot laps the car felt the best it has all year, basically driving itself. In the heat race the main goal was to get the jump on the 715 which I did, then just stay out front.”
“In the Feature car fired off great and felt really fast from the start. I patiently waited for 187 and 13 to mess up, then capitalize and got out in front. Tried my best to hit my marks on the bottom and it ended up working out.”
Brett Grim finished 2nd from his 6th starting position to post his best finish of the season.
Brett noted “Early on this season we have been struggling with some specific parts not working the way we expected and then getting the steering box freshen up by Eric Kormann which seems to have made a big difference for us this week and hopefully going forward.”
“The car was really solid all night long. I cannot thank Ron Seltmann enough, he is very sharp with his stuff, and he worked very closely with me to fine tune what I need as a driver.”
“In the heat race the car was really good, there was a big puddle of water entering the bottom of turn 3 so I had to adjust to driving around the puddle. Kenny got me with 2 to go but we still made the handicap which is key at Grandview.
In the feature, from the drop of the green the car was on point. I felt like the track took rubber late in the race, we got to 2nd and could chase Decker down but didn’t have enough to get around him, I can’t thank all my sponsors and family that help every week make this happen.”
Brad Brightbill finished 3rd from his 10th starting position. Brad’s season has been up and down to say the least; Brad has two wins and this 3rd along with two 20 plus finishes and two DNQ’s. Brad is the only Crate driver with two wins so far this season.
Brad stated “We were OK in the heat but just a little loose because of stagger selection. In the feature we had a solid run and didn’t tighten enough to run in the slick but overall, it was a good night for us.”
SPORTSMAN PIT NOTES – 6/13/26
In only his 3rd last this season; NES transplant Mike Butler finished 4th from his 15th starting position.
Mike commented “I got lucky a couple of times and was in the right spot at the right time. We had a good car and a good night for only our 3rd outing at Grandview, which races completely different from our old Saturday home NES. We’ve been working to make the right adjustments to get the car better and we seem to have gotten close this week to where we need to be. We look forward to next week when we will be eligible for the handicap for the first time this season.”
Jimmy Lieby finished 9th from his 26th starting position running through the field from back in 26th to 9th place finish for the 2nd week in a row and vaulting into 2nd in the Grandview season point standings.
Jimmy reflected “The heat race was interesting with a super wet track which caused a lot of people to struggle. We got run over by a car from behind but managed to salvage a 6th place finish. We picked up the final qualifying position in the consolation.”
“In the feature, the car was good until a late caution, when we started to fade, and I was just hanging on the best I could. We were fortunate to be able to avoid several wrecks that allowed up to gain some positions.”
Joe Toth continues to lead the points standings and finished 10th from his 18th starting position. Joe has an average finish of 9th place this season and continues to quietly show consistency week in and week out.
Matthew Laubach has been on a tear in his rookie season with several back to front feature finishes. This week he qualified for the invert and had his best starting spot of the season, only to be collected in a lap one tangle that ended his night with his first DNF of the season. Matt still sits 5th in Grandview’s points standings for the season.
T.P. TRAILERS & TRUCK EQUIPMENT NASCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25 laps): 1. DECKER SWINEHART, 2. Brett Grim, 3. Brad Brightbill, 4. Mike Butler, 5. Joey Vaccaro, 6. Mike Toth, 7. Jesse Landis, 8. Steve Hughes, 9. Jimmy Leiby, 10. Joe Toth, 11. Addison Meitzler, 12. Adrianna Delliponti, 13. Gavyn Krupp, 14. Colin Cox, 15. Nick Van Wickle, 16. Kyle Hartzell, 17. Chase Gular, 18. Kaitlyn Bailey, 19. Tyler James, 20. Teague Miller, 21. Kenny Gilmore, 22. Dakota Kohler, 23. Brayden Shelton, 24. Johnny Fugelo, 25. Steve Young, 26. Matthew Laubach
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Tuesday, June 16 – THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES –JESSE HOCKETT CLASSIC EASTERN STORM – USAC National Sprint Tour, 358 Modifieds* – 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 20 – MACMILLAN OIL COMPANY OF ALLENTOWN NIGHT – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, LDE Sportsman Match Races, TRIVIA NIGHT – 7:30 pm.
Saturday, June 27 – A.D. MOYER LUMBER COMPANY NIGHT – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds & Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7:30 pm
Tuesday, June 30 – THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES – PA POSSE 410 SPRINT CAR SERIES – PA 410 Sprint Car Speed Week – $10,000 to win 410 Sprints, 358 Modifieds* – 7:30 pm
