This past Saturday night, John Willman won his first modified feature in five years at Grandview Speedway. But, before he could celebrate in victory lane, the heavens opened, a downpour ensued, and the night ended.
Willman, of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, wanted to get his time in the spotlight and share the special moment with certain people.
There was his wife, Beth. She jumped up and down on his trailer so wildly that track security asked her to stop, for her own safety. Beth missed Willman’s last Grandview Speedway win in 2019 because she was home taking care of her elderly father who has since passed.
There was Joe and Pam Smith, owners of P & J Auctions, who sponsor Willman’s modified. Willman credited them for stepping up their sponsorship and making “the ultimate underdog” a front-runner.
There were his crew members, Tom Solderich, Nathan Keim, Steve Keller, and Greg Snyder. It was their first win with Willman. When he last won, Willman had just Beth and a neighbor helping.
Lastly, there were the fans. Many of them were still talking about the B-main for the Short Track Super Series May 21 feature at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
“I was in the lead and got punted by Paulie Hartwig with two laps to go,” Willman said. “It wasn’t just a punt — it was a body check. That got everyone talking. That’s all I heard about all week.
“I got tired of people asking questions about how I felt about the Action Track incident. Now, everyone is talking about my first win in five years of trying hard to win every week.”
While John Willman said the victory lane celebration will take place this Saturday, the victory wasn’t all bad.
“After the win, I came into the pits to see a very happy crew,” said Willman. “All I could think about, though, was that we could have a second feature if the rain held off. I wanted to win again.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
