Friday night’s Quandel Concrete 358 Modified feature at Big Diamond Speedway was a race that fans will surely be talking about for years to come. In a thrilling run to the checkers following a last lap restart, Brett Kressley nipped runner-up Mike Gular by mere inches. For Kressley it marked his third win the past four starts.
Both drivers traded the lead in an intense contest, impressing the audience with their amazing skills en route to delivering the spectacular conclusion.
And if that wasn’t enough, trailing closely behind the lead pair were Duane Howard, Jeff Strunk and Ryan Watt, which only elevated the level of excitement. That all-star grouping represented a combined 195 Big Diamond Speedway feature wins and 19 track championships enhancing what the legacy of this race will become.
Pole sitter Joel Smith took control of the first two laps before fourth starting Kressley charged to the front at the outset of lap three and brought Kevin Beach Jr., and Howard along with him.
By lap six Gular was showing his hand as he thrust his way from fourth to second and from that point it was game-on between him and Kressley. Around the same time Strunk advanced to fourth.
Once in second place Gular began to put immense pressure on Kressley. Running at breakneck speeds and at most times side-by-side, their battle for the top spot was electrifying. On lap 10 Gular was scored the leader but not so quick to give in, Kressley rebounded on the next go-around and was back at the helm.
“We were side-by-side and never touched and I greatly appreciate it,” stated Kressley.
“I knew I had to be better, and I was a little but lazy on that one restart when he beat me. I knew the car had the speed in it going into (turn) one, I just had to execute better and not be so lazy on the restarts and really get up on the wheel.”
If that ongoing encounter wasn’t enough, Howard and Stunk clashed intensely in much the same fashion and then joining the hunt later in the going was Watt. With that trio zeroed in behind the leaders it raised the action to fever pitch.
Coming up on the last lap everyone had a chance to catch their breath as the caution waved but. Despite the amazing action that had already transpired, the race came down to a final lap shootout. On the restart Gular pulled even with Kressley and thus began their two-wide run to the checkers. Exiting the last corner, they remained deadlocked and approaching the finish line Kressley had just enough of a lead to pull off the win, with his margin of victory a mere .021-seconds.
“That was definitely a wild finish and was exciting to have a good battle the way we did and fortunately we came out on the winning end of it. That kind of racing is what we love and that’s why we do it every week to race like that,” said Kressley.
Kressley is noted for running the high line but on this night, he needed to make it work from the bottom groove, and it did.
“We got the lead and then hoped to maintain it but he (Gular) always has a good car and he’s always a little bit better on the bottom and I’m better on the top but it wasn’t quite there so we had to switch and try and make it happen on the bottom lane and luckily we barely did,” declared Kressley.
“It just seemed like the way I had the car setup it was a little bit better on the bottom. I tried to roll the top a couple times, but it didn’t seem to work as good.”
When the season began Kressley was nowhere to be found in the points, something that has become a common trait. But after winning for the third time in the past four starts he has suddenly emerged to make a challenge towards a third straight title.
“The car has had good speed all year, it’s just that I had to try and figure out were we need to have a little extra speed, and I feel we’re starting to get there now. Really, I think the biggest issue was that everyone with the new set-up didn’t have a good notebook and now we’re finally running some consistent races, and everything is starting to jive a little bit better, and the track was very racy tonight too.”
For Gular, it was only his second top five and first since his Opening Day win on April 4.
“Obviously we would have liked to be one spot better and that was about as close to winning without winning,” reflected Gular, who is second in points and was able to narrow his deficit on point leader Louden Reimert with his runner-up.
“He (Kressley) gave me room, and he raced me clean, and I gave the respect to him, and we like to keep it that way. We’re still learning the car this year and trying to see what it likes and doesn’t like, and I think we’ve figured it out and we’ll see if we can repeat it next week,’ he continued.
“I hope the fans liked it and hopefully it will get more to keep coming out. They did a really good job on the track tonight, and it had two good lanes, it was smooth and racy.”
Last week when Jordon Henn finished sixth in the USS Achey 602 Crate Sportsman feature, it marked the end of an incredible run of 17 consecutive top-5 finishes dating back to last season. So, what better way to start a new streak than by winning.
Henn started 10th and needed a dozen laps before taking the lead from a very impressive running McKenzie Smith. But once he did there was no denying this performance as he easily separated himself from the pack and went on to claim his first win of the year.
“I think the driver has not been as good as the car as and last week I made a costly mistake and learned from it, and we came back more patient this week. Being able to finally pick this one off I feel that we should have had several more this year but that’s all part of racing, it’s good to finally get one,” noted Henn.
The victory, his seventh career with the Crate class, helped pad his point lead over Mick Schneck Jr.
“Were still here for wins and I feel that when you start point racing you start to give up the wins. We keep looking for the victories and hopefully it all pans out in the end,” said Henn.
While Henn ultimately demonstrated his authority, the first half of the race featured an engaging contest between Smith and Tyler Vidal. Throughout the first 12 laps, Smith – who began from pole position – defended her lead against multiple challenges from Vidal, particularly following restarts.
Even after Henn took over the reigns they still battled on. Vidal would hold on for a season best second, doing so by fending off a hard charging Brennan Chapman. Schneck and Matt Martino unseated Smith in the closing laps to round out the top five.
“They (Smith/Vidal) both ran a phenomenal race, and it was tough. Everybody has gotten better this year. and you have to get lucky on top of being good,” added Henn.
“Tyler Reber (car owner) gives me a car that can compete every week here and this isn’t an easy place because it can be tough to pass and tough to get to the front. I can’t thank him enough and Cody Reber, my mom and dad and all the guys who help out to get this car to the track every week.”
The night of racing was also special for the Red White and Blue Autos Inc., Roadrunners who competed in the “Double B” Bob Bowers Memorial. On tap were twin 12-lap features that paid each winner a record payout of $1450, thanks largely to the efforts by the Bowers family who collected the funds plus that of track owners Jake and Jasmine Smulley.
In the first feature young Ryan Murphy led the early going but had some heavy company coming from Kris Ney. Ney would actually grab the lead for a brief moment, getting out front on lap five but the next time by, Murphy was back in command.
He then would fend off Alex Schoffstall to the checkers. However, in what would have been his career first win took a turn when his car did not pass post-race inspection due to an engine infraction which then handed the verdict over to Schoffstall, who got his first triumph of the season class record extending 35th overall.
In the second main Jim Kost had the lead on the opening tour but by the time lap two was scored Andrew Fayash III was showing the way and would never back down, going on to notch is second win of 2025.
Joe Bassininsky raced to second over Schoffstall. For Schoffstall, his earlier win coupled with his top three in the second feature, bumped him third to first in the point standings.
Also on tap were the East Coast Legends Series and going on to capture the win was Tanner Jones. Jones took the lead on lap 11 from Logan Jones and once in front there was no looking back as he had the field covered nicely the rest of the way.
L. Jones had his hands full in keeping current point leader Colton Freise off his tail as that pair came across the line very close for second and third receptively.
358 Modified feature finish (25 laps): 1. Brett Kressley, 2. Mike Gular, 3. Duane Howard, 4. Jeff Strunk, 5. Ryan Watt, 6. Jack Butler, 7. Louden Reimert, 8. Kevin Beach, 9. Tyler Dippel, 10. Brandon Edgar, 11. Rick Laubach, 12. Jax Yohn, 13. Ken Eckert Jr., 14. Michael Burrows, 15. Heath Metzger, 16. Kevin Olenick, 17. Mike Lisowski, 18. Tim Fitzpatrick, 19. Corey Renninger, 20. Logan Watt, 21. Joel Smith, 22. Timmy Buckwalter, 23. Ron Haring Jr, 24. Dan Hineline DNQ: Cliff Quinn, Wayne Witmer, Craig Von Dohren
602 Crate Sportsman feature finish (20 laps): 1. Jordon Henn, 2. Tyler Vidal, 3. Brennan Chapman, 4. Mike Schneck Jr., 5. Matt Martino, 6. McKenzi Smith, 7. Kevin Smith, 8. Ed Mrochko, 9. John McGeoy, 10. George Hildebrant, 11. Dakota Kohler, 12. Kevin Brady, 13. Daryl Dissinger, 14. Mark Behm, 15. Nick Hamm, 16. Jim O’Hara, 17. Glenn Rowan, 18. Ralph Mele, 19. Brandon Firestine, 20. Dylan Cappel
1st Roadrunner feature finish (12 laps): 1. Alex Schoffstall, 2. Mike Reichert, 3. Joe Bassininsky, 4. Chuck Fayash, 5. Jarod Bassininsky, 6. Jesse Krasnitsky, 7. TJ Fitzpatrick, 8. Jim Kost, 9. Andrew Fayash III, 10. Kris Ney, 11. Joey Brennan, 12. Johnathan Trumbo, 13. Eric Buchinski, 14. Andrew Buchinski DQ: Ryan Murphy
2nd Roadrunner feature finish (12 laps): 1. A. Fayash III, 2. Joe Bassininsky, 3. Schoffstall, 4. Jarod Bassininsky, 5. C. Fayash, 6. Kost, 7. Reichert, 8. Fitzpatrick, 9. Trumbo, 10. Ney, 11. Brennan, 12. E. Buchinski, 13. A. Buchinski, 14. Krasnitsky
Legends feature finish (20 laps): 1. Tanner Jones, 2. Logan Jones, 3. Colton Freise, 4. Seth Kearchner, 5. Kelby Freise, 6. Hunter McElroy, 7. Mike Kelly, 8. Lincoln Kearchner, 9. Scott Spidle, 10. Scott Montgomery, 11. Andrew Mowen, 12. Ryan Walls Jr., 13. Dalon Freise, 14. Colby Miller, 15. Darren Lucas, 16. Donald Stoudt, 17. Rick Hartwig, 18. Eric Hurst, 19. Ben Morrow, 20. Scott Houdeshell, 21. Richie Dobson Jr., 22. Bill Funk, 23. Ryan Walls, 24. Tyler Kaylor DNS: Tim Hahn, Dave Benner, Brad Freise, Eugene Drew
-BY DINO OBERTO