By KEN BRUCE
Just when it looked like Jeff Strunk was going to win his first race of the season at Big Diamond Speedway on Friday night, Brett Kressley was shot out of a cannon to go from fourth to first on a lap 23 restart to win the Quandel Concrete Modified feature on “Topless Night.”
Kressley, who has shown consistent speed all season at Big Diamond, earned his second win in 2023 and taking home the $5,000 first place prize. Since his two DNF’s to start the season, both due to motor issues, Kressley has finished second, third, first, third, first and has taken over the points lead. Friday’s win was the 10th Modified win for Kressley at Big Diamond.
“I just have a lot of confidence in this car right now,” said a happy Kressley as his No. 19K was going through post-race tech. “I always know what it is going to do. It was a little tricky tonight without the sheet metal on it, but once we got some laps under us tonight and the track gets the way the car likes it, it seems I can just put it where it wants to at the end.”
Kressley’s sheet metal comment was referring to the removal of the windows and roof for tonight’s topless race and he explained how it makes the car different.
“Without the roof and the windows, the car tends to drive a little freer,” mentioned Kressley. “It is definitely a different feeling not only with how the car reacts but also the feeling you get driving. There is more light inside the car and you can feel a lot more air.”
A lap 23 restart turned out to be the key moment for Kressley as he used the topside to get by Mike Lisowski and Rick Laubach through turns three and four and into second then continued his outside charge going into turn one to get by Strunk for the lead on lap 24.
“Most of the time the cautions come out when you don’t need them, but tonight it worked in our favor,” cited Kressley. “You can’t control that kind of stuff. If it stays green the rest of the race it is probably a different story, but here we are. It doesn’t matter how you got there. Hats off to my guys and Troy who busts his ass in the shop all week. The Morgantini engines are staying together now which is good and if they stay together, we have a dream season started. Those first two weeks put a damper on the start but now we have everything clicking and we are consistent with everything going the way it should.”
Strunk Not Happy with Second-Place Finish
Jeff Strunk has been consistently fast all season long, not just here at Big Diamond Speedway but everywhere he and Glenn Hyneman No. 126 have raced. The team has plenty of top fives but just hasn’t been able to close the deal on a win. Friday night it looked like Strunk was finally going to grab that elusive win only to be passed by Brett Kressley with six laps to go relegating Strunk to another second-place finish.
“What are you going to say, it was one of those deals,” said Strunk after the race. “The car got hurt there when we got forced into the fence and I knew we were in trouble. I thought when Craig (Von Dohren) got into me there it was going to be bad, but we were able to finish. You don’t want to finish second after leading, but second is better than third. I knew with the damage to the car that we were a sitting duck there at the end. The car was hurt and wasn’t as good as it was in the early laps and definitely didn’t need that caution, but I don’t know if that would’ve mattered anyway.”
Big Diamond Nuggets
There were 25 Modifieds signed in on Friday night with heat race wins going to Craig Von Dohren, Louden Reimert and Mike Lisowski…
Lisowksi has started to come on, running upfront most of the feature and finishing in the sixth spot. Lisowski backed up that strong finish with a top five run Saturday night at Grandview…
Rick Laubach and the Shaker Motorsports No. 20 team have registered back-to-back podium finishes…
Ryan Watt continued his ride jumping on at Big Diamond as he was back in the Shawn Fitzpatrick No. T102 on Friday night registering an eighth-place finish…
Congratulations to Mike Loney for winning the USS Achey Crate 602 Sportsman feature after a long absence from victory lane at Big Diamond…
Craig Von Dohren’s 2023 Big Diamond season has not gone to plan. After winning on opening night Von Dohren has struggled as the team is learning the ins and outs of using coils at Big Diamond for the first time. There is no doubt that CVD and crew chief Jason Bashore will make progress and be back in the mix for wins soon…
Von Dohren’s car owner Dave Dissinger had a good feature race until late in the race when the No. 157 dropped out…
Louden Reimert and Von Dohren were having a battle for second when Reimert got into the back of Von Dohren and sent him spinning. Von Dohren showed his displeasure with Reimert as the field came back around by pinning him up against the wall. Reimert was penalized for rough riding and put to the rear. Reimert and Duane Howard had an issue earlier this season battling for a race win. All three drivers are from Oley, PA, just saying’…
Brett Kressley leads the race for the 2023 championship by 118 points over Mike Gular after seven races in. Jeff Strunk, Duane Howard and Rick Laubach complete the top five in the race for the title…
In the Crate 602 Sportsman title chase, Logan Watt is the leader in a close race over Jordan Henn, Kevin Olenick, Mike Schneck Jr and Mike Loney…
This Friday night, June 2nd will be the return of the ULMS Super Late Models as they join the Modifieds, Crate Sportsman and Roadrunners…
If you have any comments or questions, I can be reached via email dirtracefan25@hotmail.com and on Twitter @dirtracefan25
