Modified driver Jeff Strunk has won more than 200 features in his modified racing career that goes back to 1988. While he earned the track championship at Grandview Speedway in 2024, he did not win a feature. He finally returned to victory lane last Saturday.
“It’s tough to go through the grind week after week with people saying, ‘You’re a seasoned vet — Why don’t you win?’” Strunk, of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, said. “They don’t realize that no one is harder on me than myself.”
(For more on Strunk’s latest championship, read “Jeff Strunk: Reunion with Norm Hansell Results in Championship.”)
Last year wasn’t Strunk’s first winless year, but his last came when George Bush was president. Not the younger Bush, but the elder, back in 1991.
“I don’t like admitting it, but when I went through a drought years ago, it wasn’t as stressful,” said Strunk. “At Grandview Speedway, it was July the year before last that I had a win — a lot of top five and seconds, but that’s not a win.”
Strunk, like his peers at Grandview Speedway, had to adjust to the track’s new Panhard bar rule. His crew chief Jay Thomas and Dig Race Products’ Brandon Planck also worked with him to find the path back to victory lane.
(For more on the rule, read “Left-Side Panhard Bars Get Banned: In-Depth Analysis.”)
“Me and Dale [Brandon Planck’s late father] were best friends,” Strunk said. “I just went up to Thunder Mountain Speedway in New York on Memorial Day in his honor. We were best friends since ’91 or ’92. He and his son were a huge influence on me. They taught me a lot on coil springs and how to use the spring smasher. I miss him like crazy.”
Luck also plays a factor with winning at Grandview Speedway.
“The draw is a big part of winning at Grandview,” said Strunk. “There could be so much talent starting in front of you that drawing 16th, 15th, or even a 14th could mean tough sledding for 30 laps. There is so much talent — there are 12 or more guys who haven’t won a modified feature at Grandview Speedway in two years or more.”
Last Saturday, Jeff Strunk drew an eighth starting spot. With a well-prepared car, he finally put a win on the board at Grandview Speedway.
“It was a much-needed win,” Strunk said. “I felt terrible. I won the championship last year, but I needed a win.”
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.
