For Mertztown's Ryan Taylor, Grandview Speedway's Hodnett Cup is more than just another race

Jun. 26—In his second season of winged 410 sprint car racing, 19-year-old Ryan Taylor found himself in the pits next to Greg Hodnett, one of the winningest drivers in Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek history.

Amazed by the fanbase Hodnett had built through years of success in the sport, Taylor asked Hodnett how he was able to sell so much merchandise.

"Just worry about winning races, and the T-shirts will sell themselves," Taylor remembered Hodnett said.

The conversation was an early interaction between the two drivers who would eventually become good friends, with Hodnett serving as Taylor's mentor at the racetrack and in everyday life.

"We were always basically having lunch at least once a week together," Taylor said. "We became pretty close."

Hodnett gave Taylor advice on a wide range of topics, from buying a home to racing to finances.

"We were friendly at the racetrack and we talked and could walk in each other's trailer at any time," Taylor said. "Outside of the racing stuff is where I learned a lot from him."

Hodnett, who lived in Spring Grove, was killed in a sprint car accident at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, York County, in September 2018. He was 49.

"Not many people really saw it or knew it, but he was somebody to really look up to, (and) I did a lot," Taylor said. "One of those people you want to make proud."

After Hodnett's death, Taylor added his late friend's signature to the back of his racing helmet to recognize the impact that he had on the young sprint car driver.

"I always try to have him a little bit with me, because he was such a good mentor," said the 34-year-old Taylor. "A good person to learn from."

Taylor will be one of the drivers competing in the race that bears Hodnett's name on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Grandview Speedway. The one-third mile dirt racetrack located outside Bechtelsville in Washington Township will host the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Hodnett Cup, which is scheduled race No. 4 of the 2023 Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek series.

"He was such a genuine, good guy and just a great ambassador for the sport," Thunder on the Hill Racing Series promoter Bob Miller said about Hodnett. "His competitors never had a harsh word."

A four-time Pennsylvania Speedweek champion, Hodnett won nine winged 410 sprint car features at Grandview, including three during Speedweek. The race was dedicated in his honor in 2019, and utilizes one of his former trophies as part of the winner's prize.

"I've been racing a long time, and I don't know anybody who's done more good for the sport from a driver perspective than Greg Hodnett," Miller said. "That's the reason that we salute him, not only for his accomplishments on the racetrack, but (for) the type of person he was."

After a series of time trials and heat races, the 410 sprint car drivers will compete for the Hodnett Cup in a 35-lap feature race, with $10,000 going to the winner. The 358 modifieds — which race weekly at the track — will also be in action.

"Grandview is your oddity that you get to race once or twice a year, so your chances are very slim," Taylor said. "The quality of competition that comes there is very high, so it's a very difficult task."

Former NASCAR Truck Series driver Tanner Thorson is expected to race on Tuesday night after finishing sixth in his first winged 410 sprint car appearance at Grandview a year ago. Thorson is most well-known for his win at the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals, widely regarded as the top midget race in the United States.

In recent years, the Hodnett Cup has featured some of the top drivers in NASCAR, including 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who won the race in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021. Fellow Cup Series driver Christopher Bell won the event in 2019.

"Racing with those guys is a lot of fun," Taylor said. "It's difficult. They're super aggressive — clean aggressive."

Former Truck Series driver Rico Abreu is the defending Hodnett Cup champion after leading every lap a year ago. The victory was Abreu's first at Grandview.

"It makes you elevate your own game," Taylor said about racing against top competition. "You got to work harder, you got to drive better than you ever have."

In addition to Thorson, Larson, Bell and Abreu, three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and former Cup Series drivers Kasey Kahne and Dave Blaney have raced in the event at least once in the last five years. As of Monday, there was no confirmation of the participation of NASCAR drivers in this year's race other than Thorson.

"You get lined up with them in a feature or a heat race, you better put down the best 10 to 25 laps that you have yet in your career," Taylor said. "To compete, that's what you have to do. That's the level they race at on a consistent basis."

Taylor is no stranger to Grandview, having grown up attending races at the high-banked speedway since he was 8 years old. Taylor grew up in Perkasie, Bucks County, but currently resides just outside Mertztown.

"I would just be out there hanging out, watching the races," Taylor said. "I never got in trouble, because I was always so into what was going on on the racetrack."

Taylor began racing go-karts at age 9 and quickly progressed up the ranks, moving to 358 modifieds by age 14. He began racing modifieds at Grandview at 16, and continued until he was 18.

"If you grow up local to Grandview, there's a prestige about it," Taylor said. "It's always been a big goal to race there."

Taylor made his debut in a winged 410 sprint car at Grandview when he was 18 in 2007. He has made 13 starts in the division at his home track, recording two top-five finishes.

"Some nights you have to worry about survival," said Taylor, who is still looking to earn his first feature win of any kind at Grandview. "It's a small racetrack, so when stuff happens, it happens quickly."

This year's Hodnett Cup is part of the 10-race Speedweek series, which features races at seven tracks across Pennsylvania and Maryland. Established in 1991, the winged 410 sprint car series has grown to attract some of the best sprint car drivers from North America and even a few from Australia.

"It's always fun getting to go back to Grandview," Taylor said. "If you can succeed there and get a win in that win column, you've done something."

Grandview joined the series in 1995, but did not hold its first race until 1997 after two years of cancellations due to rain. At one-third of a mile, Grandview is the smallest track in the series.

"It's so different than the other tracks that these 410 drivers compete at," Miller said. "Watching a 410 sprint car race at Grandview, if that doesn't bring you to the edge of your seat, nothing will."

The annual event has become the track's most well-attended race. Brent Marks of Myerstown, Lebanon County, is the defending series champion.

In addition to appearances from several NASCAR drivers, Speedweek primarily features the top sprint car drivers from across the state, known collectively as the "PA Posse." In addition to Marks, four-time series champion Lucas Wolfe, two-time champion Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Freddie Rahmer and Elverson's Austin Bishop are expected to be in action on Tuesday night.

"Grandview is not a very forgiving track," Miller said. "You've got this car with all this power and might, but where you've got to navigate with it really comes down to driving skill and ability."

With a talented field of drivers and $10,000 on the line, Taylor said he expects fierce competition Tuesday night. While he looks to be in contention for the victory, Taylor is also racing to honor his old friend and mentor, Greg Hodnett.

"I'd love to just be on the podium," Taylor said. "Being that it's the race named after him, it's extra special."