Team Will Enjoy Off Weekend Before Returning for Double-Bill Weekend to Close Out July
Abbottstown, PA – July 19, 2023
by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Mgmt
Photo Credit: Jeremy Zarfos Photography
Over the past month, Mother Nature has interfered with the Central Pennsylvania racing schedule, but Kody Hartlaub managed to squeeze in another 410 sprint car start, plus a couple more outings in his 358 sprint car.
The result was more of the consistent, quality runs fans have become accustomed to from Hartlaub in 2023.
Division: 410 Sprint Cars
Date: June 17, 2023
Track: Lincoln Speedway
City, State: Abbottstown, PA
Quick Stats: 29 cars, Qualifying 24th, Heat 8th (8), B-main 4th (6), A-main 14th (22)
Division: 358 Sprint Cars
Date: July 8, 2023
Track: Lincoln Speedway
City, State: Abbottstown, PA
Quick Stats: 36 cars, Heat 2nd (5), A-main 11th (12)
Division: 358 Sprint Cars
Date: July 15, 2023
Track: Lincoln Speedway
City, State: Abbottstown, PA
Quick Stats: 33 cars, Heat 2nd (3), A-main 4th (12)
Making 410 Laps
An off week for the 358 sprint cars on June 17th at Lincoln Speedway presented Hartlaub with a chance to get more 410 sprint car seat time. With 29 teams on hand for the PA Speedweek tuneup show, it wasn’t a guaranteed start. He would have to earn his way into the show.
Hartlaub’s pill draw put him on track late in the order for time trails and his best lap ranked as 24th quickest in the field. That equated to starting 8th in his heat.
The East Berlin, PA driver wasn’t able to move forward in the heat race and was relegated to the 6th starting spot in the B-main. Hartlaub needed to stay in the top six to transfer and he managed to secure a little insurance by finishing 4th.
Hartlaub’s night got even better after he secured the 22nd starting spot in the A-main. By the end of lap two he had advanced 3 spots to 19th and by lap five he was 15th in the running order.
Midway through the race Hartlaub slipped back to 17th but continued to battle and eventually climbed back to 15th. With three laps remaining he turned his quickest lap of the feature and worked his way into the 14th position. He held on there to the checkered flag.
“That was a decent night, I’ll take it. Things happen a little quicker in these cars obviously and I think what hurts me right now is that I don’t run them regularly. At the beginning of the night I feel like I’m still adjusting to the speed, not in terms of running hard but in terms of decision making. As the night goes on, I adjust and things slow down and I feel like I race better because I’m making better decisions. All part of the learning process.“, Hartlaub said.
Racing the Rubber
Thanks to Mother Nature and schedules, Hartlaub didn’t make a lap for three weeks before finally getting the chance to strap in again on July 8th at Lincoln Speedway. It was a 358 sprint car night for the Littlestown, PA native and 35 other teams were pit-side with him. The regular format called for the top five finishers in each heat to transfer to the main event, with the top three being handicapped to the front.
Hartlaub started 5th in the final heat. Nearly halfway through the ten lap qualifying race he was sitting in 4th, in the show but not in the handicap. He continued to work forward, taking the 3rd spot on lap five and capturing the final handicap spot on the final lap.
Being the current point leader at Lincoln Speedway, Hartlaub assumed the 12th starting spot for the 20-lap feature. On lap three he moved into 11th but the racing surface had taken rubber, making it a one lane affair around the bottom. The best he could do was make sure he didn’t miss his marks so he didn’t go backwards. He finished 11th, his first time outside of the top ten in his 358 sprint car since March.
Feeling Normal
Saturday night July 15th brought another typical field of over thirty 358 sprint cars to Lincoln Speedway. With a slightly better draw than the week before, Kody Hartlaub started 3rd in his heat and managed to claim a spot in the handicap with a 2nd place finish. Once again, as the points leader at the track, his reward was a 12th starting spot in the 20-lap main event.
Although those things were all similar to prior weeks for Hartlaub, the rest of the night felt more like 2021 when he was passing a lot of cars and charging from the back to the front in the Brewer Home Improvements, Moose Blocks, Smith Titanium, SRR Engines, Siegel Racing, T&N Solutions, Inch & Co. Real Estate, Bigham Appraisals, Pretzel Boy, HAAS Shocks, Chop Designs, Herr Electric, Hartlaub’s Furniture, Kody Hartlaub Racing No.95.
From that 12th starting spot, on a very racy surface, Hartlaub got right to work. By lap three he was in the top ten. The methodical climb continued throughout the night.
Hartlaub reached 7th on lap eight but had to fight for several laps to secure it, finally taking it for good on lap twelve. With seven laps remaining he cracked the top five and a couple laps later moved into 4th. When the checkers waived, the 4th place finish was official.
Hartlaub has been having a tremendous season but it was surprising to note that this was his first top five finish since May 27th at BAPS Motor Speedway. Overall, it was his 10th top ten in twelve races spanning three different tracks. A remarkable statistic.
“These 20-lap deals are tough when you get handicapped to 12th for the start. You have to go forward right away. I’ve been working hard this year on being aggressive but smart. I will take chances out there but I want to take the correct chances. So far I feel like I’m doing a better job at that than I did last year.“, Hartlaub said.
“It’s the little things like knowing I can catch the car in front of me but being smart about exactly when I catch it. With so few laps to work with, I need to make sure I pass someone the first chance I get, not spend three laps trying to get it done. Those are the things I’m thinking about behind the wheel.“
Up Next
Kody and the team will enjoy a weekend off before returning for a two-race weekend at Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway on July 28th and 29th respectively in their 358 sprint car.
Season Stats: 358 Division
12 races, 2 wins, 7 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 11 top 15’s
Trivia Question
The answer to last week’s trivia question is Kody Hartlaub’s favorite restaurant is Texas Roadhouse!
Now, on to this week’s question. How about a multiple choice question this week? What is Kody’s favorite music genre?
(A) Country
(B) Rock
(C) Pop
(D) Classical
Did you know Kody has a website? You might want to visit KodyHartlaub.com!
The answer in the next press release!
KODY HARTLAUB RACING
Follow Kody’s season at: A2DPR.com/latest-news
Kody Hartlaub Racing on Facebook: Facebook.com/KodyHartlaubRacing
Kody Hartlaub on Twitter: Twitter.com/KodyHartlaub
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS!
The entire team would like to express their appreciation to all their partners for the support during the 2023 racing season!
Brewer Home Improvements, LLC
MooseBlocks.com
Smith Titanium
SRR Engines
Siegel Racing
T and N Solutions
Inch & Co. Real Estate
Bigham Appraisal
Pretzel Boy
HAAS Shocks
Chop Designs
Herr Electric
Hartlaub’s Furniture, Inc.
- administrator on Jul 21, 2023
- Article Date: 7/19/2023 by Addicted2Dirt PR