CRYSTAL, Mich. (Sept. 14, 2024) – A career-best season for Austin Harnick got even better Saturday night, while Rob Brillhart made history of his own at Crystal Motor Speedway.
Harnick won the 32nd annual Great Lakes Nationals feature for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and $5,000 while Brillhart topped the $2,000 to win IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main, in that division’s debut at Michigan’s premier sanctioned event.
Not much more than a month removed from his 22nd birthday, Harnick had the second quickest time in Friday qualifying and started outside Mitchell Hunt on the front row for the Modified 40-lapper.
Winner of the Rage Chassis Race of Champions at Boone the previous weekend, Hunt saw early advantages erased by a couple cautions. Harnick took the lead following a restart 12 laps in and the front pair fought for the lead most of the way, before Harnick was able to pull away as the race wound down.
“The last five laps or so was just pretty much going for it with everything I have,” said Harnick, newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “Taking the white flag and going down the back stretch, I had to protect the bottom because I wasn’t sure how close they were behind me. Coming down the front stretch and taking the checkers was great.”
Hunt, Kody Johnson, Jeff Reay and Brenten DeYoung rounded out the top five.
Harnick’s win came in his first Modified start at the Great Lakes Nationals. He’d finished fourth in a pro stock feature earlier in his career at the season-ending special.
“Those guys are some of the greatest around Michigan,” Harnick said, citing previous Modified winners of the Great Lakes Nationals. “To be able to put your name along with them is pretty cool.”
The Saturday win was his 11th of the season and came in Harnick’s 32nd start of 2024.
“We got hooked up with the Diamond by CPR guys last year and ended up getting a car through them,” he said. “We had some back luck at the early in the year, then things started rolling and the momentum kept up. Everything has just worked out.”
Brillhart started on the pole in the Stock Car feature and passed Megan Wiggins for the win in the Stock Car debut on the Great Lakes Nationals stage at Crystal.
Rob Brillhart banked $2,000 for his Great Lakes Nationals IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature win. He’ll return to Boone next September eligible to qualify for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. (Photo by Chris Johnston)
“I was ecstatic,” said Brillhart, a veteran of local street stock and pro stock classes and now eligible to qualify for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitationals next September. “That was my biggest career win to date.”
Chance Allen, Andrew Fidler and Vern Buskirk ran 3-4-5.
An IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s regular since 2018, Brillhart is already looking forward to returning to Boone and finding speed on the Iowa dirt.
“If you want to be the best,” he said, adding a shout out to the crew at BHE, “you have to race with the best.”
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