BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – For many seasons, drivers who race at NASCAR sanctioned Grandview Speedway have the opportunity to not only race for the lucrative track point fund monies, but also for the NASCAR Local Racing Series powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts National, Regional and State championships as well.
For the just completed season, it has paid off in a big way for Grandview Speedway track regular Jeff Strunk of Bechtelsville, Pa., as he has been announced as the 2026 NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I Northeast Region Champion for the first time in his career representing Grandview Speedway, a title that will reward Strunk with a hefty $15,000 bonus from NASCAR, as well as capturing another NASCAR Local Racing Series Division I Pennsylvania State Championship crown.
Strunk’s total rewards from NASCAR in addition to the $15,000 for being the Division I Northeast Region Champion, include $1200 for placing third in Grandview’s track standings, an OMP fire suit for being the NASCAR Division I Pennsylvania State Champion, and he will be going to the NASCAR Local Racing Series banquet in Charlotte in November!
The NASCAR Local Racing Series Regional and State championships are determined by using a driver’s best fourteen finishes during the season, regardless of how many events a driver competes in during the course of a race season.
For Strunk, Grandview Speedway hosted eighteen regular Saturday night NASCAR Local Racing series feature races, plus two mid-week Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Modified specials which also carried NASCAR points, enabling Strunk to compete in a total of twenty NASCAR point races at just one venue during the season, and still compete for and win the NASCAR Division I Northeast Region Championship.
The chase for the Northeast regional crown came down to the final week of points, with Strunk and Autodrome Granby regular Samuel Charland of Bon-Conseil, Quebec, Canada ending the season in a tie, each with 364 points.
The first tie breaker by NASCAR rules was feature wins, with each driver having three, so the second tie breaker was used based on points earned on each driver’s starting position in their three feature wins, with Strunk winning that tie-breaker, having started all three of his feature wins from ninth or further back in the starting line-up.
The final Northeast region standings were extremely close, as just four points behind the top two drivers in the standings and finishing third was 2026 T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Grandview Speedway Modified Champion Logan Watt of Boyertown, Pa., giving yet another Grandview Speedway regular a top regional finish, which was worth a bonus of $3500!
It was yet another solid season for Jeff Strunk at the one-third-of-a-mile high-banked Grandview oval, scoring three feature wins, eleven top five finishes, and thirteen top ten finishes during the Grandview Speedway point season, on his way to finishing third in the track’s weekly standings, in which he had a shot at the title up until the final point night, and the two mid-week Thunder on the Hill special events (which do not count in the race for the track title), helping to propel him to the Northeast region and Pennsylvania State championship crowns.
“It will be a special moment representing Grandview Speedway at the NASCAR banquet in a season in which we have honored Theresa Rogers,” stated Strunk, referring to the late track owner who passed away during the middle part of the 2026 season, and stating that she was “a very special woman,” according to Strunk.
“Earning this championship and attending this banquet will be a very special night in my racing career,” said Strunk who is no stranger to winning and receiving honors, with eleven track championships at Grandview Speedway alone, in addition to a total of 100 career Grandview feature wins (82 Saturday night NASCAR Local Racing Series victories plus 18 Thunder on the Hill Series feature wins).
Even more satisfying for Strunk was the fact that the success this season was accomplished with a new race team of owners that were put together right before the start of the 2026 season, which includes Keith Hoffman, Todd Baer and Danny Hieber (HBH Racing), “who are very pleased with outcome of our year together,” said Strunk, in addition to the fact that while the ownership team was new for Strunk, his core group of garage help and race night pit crew members have been with him for a long time, which made the season results satisfying for the veteran driver.
“Racing at Grandview is harder than ever before,” mentioned Strunk, “years ago you could outwork or outdrive your competition, but now with virtually everyone having the same good equipment, and with Grandview’s handicapping system, you need to have luck on your side and be fast each week to have any success.”
Strunk “Is very grateful to Grandview and to NASCAR for providing a driver with the opportunity to race for the additional prize money and championship honors.”
Strunk would also like to send out a “Huge thank you to his team owners, crew members, and great race team sponsors for all their support this year, without them this all would not have been possible, and he will be very grateful to represent and honor them and Grandview Speedway at the NASCAR banquet.”
Jeff Strunk will be officially crowned for his championship on Friday, November 20, during the NASCAR Local Racing Series awards banquet to be held in the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Additional Grandview drivers will be recognized by the NASCAR Local Racing Series as well, including first year Grandview regular Anthony Perrego of Montgomery, N.Y. who has been named as the Division I Northeast Region Rookie of the Year worth a $1500 bonus, plus Perrego gets $450 for his sixth place finish in Grandview’s track standings.
Other Grandview drivers with top placings in the final Division I Northeast region standings include Boyertown, Pa. driver Logan Watt who finished third and will receive $3500, plus an additional $3500 for being the Grandview track champion along with a new helmet, Lake Ariel, Pa. ace Eddie Strada who placed seventh in regional points worth $1300, plus $2000 for his second place finish in Grandview points, and finishing ninth in Northeast Region points was Louden Reimert of Oley, Pa. who will receive $1100 for his regional points finish and $800 from NASCAR for his fifth place Grandview point finish.
Additionally, the NASCAR Local Racing Series will do a payout to the top ten drivers in the Grandview track point standings, with Division I drivers (Modified) dividing up $10,000, while Division II drivers (Sportsman) will divide up a $4000 payout, including $1000 to T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman Champion Joe Toth of Upper Makefield, Pa.
Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through September, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.
Information is always available at http://www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Saturday, March 27, 2027 – FREE-to-the-Public Open Practice – All Divisions – 12 Noon
Saturday, April 3, 2027 – 65th Anniversary Season Opener – 10th Annual BRUCE & THERESA ROGERS MEMORIAL MONEY MAKER – 358 Modifieds 50-Laps, Sportsman – 6 pm