Greg “Stumpy” Steltenpohl took home his first expert wins June 20 at the CCS Midwest and Great Plains road racing rounds at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas. It was all Stumpy Sunday morning at Heartland in the GT endurance races. Aboard his #256 Honda 600rr, Stumpy led the entire 25 minute GTU endurance race while holding off veteran road racer, #31 Jeff Purk. In his next race, Stumpy played it cool in second place until the last lap when he passed #161 Jason Jenkins for the win in the 25 minute GTO endurance race.
“I got my suspension dialed in perfectly for this round with help from Lithium Motorsports,” said Stumpy. “I was supposed to be in championship mode and not try anything stupid, but when I saw those wins in reach, I had to take them. Heartland Park has a notoriously bad surface so I really worked with Ryan from Lithium so the bike could handle the bumps. I also can say that riding the bumpy U.P. roads all my life had me prepared for this track.”
“The GTU was pretty stressful. I wanted that first win, and Purk was right behind me the whole time keeping the pressure on. I just kept my head down and raced smart so I could cross the line first without throwing it away!” said Stumpy.
“The GTO was more fun than difficult. Jenkins started to get away from me on his GSX-R1000 and I was settling into second place. As I got more comfortable, my lap times dropped and I reeled him back in. I knew I would have to wait until the last section to pass him so he wouldn’t be able to power past me with his big bike so I did just that and it paid off with the win.” Stumpy was back in the top three when he finished in second place in Heavyweight Superbike. He finished top five in Middleweight GP, Middleweight Supersport and Middleweight Superbike.
Stumpy will head next to Mid-America Motorplex for the 4th of July CCS Great Plains and Midwest Rounds in Pacific Junction, Iowa. Stumpy is currently ranked #1 in the CCS Midwest region and the CCS Great Plains region.
Race Results—GTU –1st place, GTO – 1st place, Middleweight GP - 5th place, Middleweight Superbike – 6th place, Middleweight Supersport - 5th place, Heavyweight Supersport – 5th place, Heavyweight Superbike – 2nd place, Unlimited GP - 6th place, Unlimited Supersport – 6th place
