Bilderback Sweeps At Grundy, Takes Over All-Time Series Wins
2024-07-07
It was a wild evening at Grundy County Speedway Friday night, when the Big 8 Series returned for round number three of the 2024 season. The field battled hard for position throughout the feature event, resulting in several bent fenders and some bent feelings. All was clear up at the front with Michael Bilderback leading from flag-to-flag to capture his 18th series victory, which now puts him alone on top of the series wins list.
Kendrick Kreyer picked up the fast-time during qualifying with a 15.366, which beat out the previous track record set in the spring by Brady Bill at 15.436 seconds. The lap was just over one-tenth quicker than the second fastest qualifier of Jake Gille.
When the first heat race kicked off, Michael Bilderback worked his way around the outside of Jon Reynolds Jr. to earn the win and led to him starting on the front row. Heat two saw Randy Sargent open up a .7 second lead on Gille to pick up the win.
Sargent would not have as much luck in the feature when he was caught up in a lap one incident, leaving him with an 18th place finish. The accident occurred when Mahlon Bortregor smacked the outside wall of the front straightaway, triggering a pileup heading into turn one.
Just a couple laps after the following restart, the track went under yellow once again when Gille slowed to a near stop with mechanical issues. Five other cautions slowed the race with spins from multiple drivers and an incident between Jerry Mueller and Shane Radtke that ended both of their evenings.
Despite the many restarts, Bilderback was able to maintain a sizable lead each time while drivers battled fiercely behind him. Grant Brown and Brandon Laing swapped spots for the runner-up position early on, and Reynolds Jr. joined the fight later on.
“We didn’t lay down a good qualifying lap like we thought,” Bilderback said in victory lane. “But we had a good starting spot and it was safe for us. I knew if these guys could get clean they were going to be fast, it was fun.
With 15 laps to go, Kreyer and Laing came together which sent Kreyer to the rear. It only brought the intensity for Kreyer, who climbed back to 2nd in the remaining laps but ran out of time to battle Bilderback.
“It’s an enduro out there that’s for sure,” Kreyer said. “Went to the rear two times, but got back through the field again just like the Spring Classic. It was fun racing Grant (Brown) and the others.”
Bilderback and Kreyer also finished first and second in the Spring Classic at Grundy Co. Speedway back in April. Brown, Reynolds Jr., and Laing were the remaining drivers in the top-five.
The Big 8 Series heads to State Park Speedway on Friday, July 26th for the Larry Detjens Memorial race.
