Grosz’s top 10 run at Knoxville vanishes after incident

Photo courtesy of Chuck Stowe.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (April 24, 2018) – Lee Grosz made his first appearance of the season to the “Sprint Car Capital of the World,” Knoxville Raceway this past weekend. A practice session on Friday night allowed the team to try out different setups and get the Fischer Auto Body/HI-10 Sports No. 4J dialed in for Saturday night.

While the results sheet will show a 23rd place finish, Lee had a much stronger night than it would appear.

The Harwood, N.D. driver showed decent speed right out of the gate during time trials, posting the 12th quickest time out of the stout 26-car 360 Sprint Car field.

“I started third in the heat race, and on the start, I hit the inside berm and got crossed up down the front straightaway,” said Lee. “I lost a couple of spots because of that and ended up finishing fifth.”

That mired Lee back in the 18th starting position for the main event. Lee quickly moved his way forward, passing seven cars in the first nine circuits.

“On lap nine I was running 11th and got by Tasker Phillips for 10th going into the corner,” Lee explained. “Then I was going to drive by Robbie Price on the outside. I don’t know what happened but his right front tire hit my left rear and just turned me sideways down the backstretch. I ended up spinning across the track and backing into the inside guardrail, which ended our night. The car felt really good though. Everybody I caught, I felt like I could pass.”

Lee and his father, Leroy, have made the minor repairs to the car and are all set to take on the $10,000-to-win South Dakota Sprint Car Nationals at Park Jefferson Speedway.

“I’m really looking forward to this weekend. There are not many opportunities to run for that big of a purse for a 360 show,” Lee said. “We ran decent there last year. We don’t have a win there yet, but we’ve always been in contention I feel. After Knoxville, the motor is running good and the car feels good so that gives me some confidence going into the weekend.”

Lee competed at Park Jefferson Speedway on three occasions last season, picking up top 10s in each race, including two third place efforts.

Up Next:
April 27-28: Park Jefferson Speedway – S.D. Sprint Car Nationals w/ MSTS 360s & Neb. 360s

2018 Stats:
Races: 3
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Heat Wins: 0