ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa.: Danny Dietrich has put an emphasis on getting back to the aggressive nature that has won him so many races in central Pennsylvania.
It seemed that slipped a bit in 2021. The end result was good consistency, but Dietrich could only muster six wins, the last of which occurred Sept. 16 and kickstarted a 23-race winless streak heading into Saturday.
The speed has been there in early-season events for Dietrich to end that drought. All he had to do was be in position to make something happen.
Starting 10th at Lincoln Speedway on a chilly afternoon didn’t seem like the right recipe. Then again, Dietrich has a habit of making it work, and he did just that in his march to victory in the 30-Lap 410 Sprint Car main event.
“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of laps here,” Dietrich said after his 56th career win at the speedway, which ties him with Bobby Abel for sixth all time. “That helps a lot.
“I’ve got to stay smart and aggressive at the same time. That’s hard to do. Last year, I lacked being aggressive, and that’s something I’ve got to get back this year. Just be consistent, and I can get back to being aggressive with a good car and hopefully stand here a lot again.”
Zane Rudisill started on the pole and got the jump off the front row, leading Brie Hershey and Jim Siegel to the stripe to complete Lap 1.
Before the leaders could find a rhythm, Aaron Bollinger spun in the second corner to bring out the first of two cautions over the race distance. When the race went back to green, the top three remained the same with Devon Borden settling into fourth.
Siegel disposed of Hershey for second on the third circuit. One lap later, Borden also surged by Hershey and started to track down the top two.
Borden was on the move and went high in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 8. He dove off the cushion when Siegel slid high and got a bite off the rail coming out of the fourth corner to take the runner-up spot.
While Borden was carving his way to the front, Dietrich was also making a move. He advanced into the top five on Lap 4 and was running in the fourth position by the time the sixth circuit was scored.
The Gettysburg driver slipped by Siegel for third on Lap 11 and blew by Rudisill for second one lap later. By the time hit the halfway point, Dietrich was a mere .329 seconds behind Borden and making a bid for the lead.
“This track has been really good all year,” Dietrich said. “Hats off to the track crew. Fred [Putney] has done a phenomenal job and for the track to be this good this early in the year for four races in a row, I don’t think fans can complain.
“If you are at home watching on Flo, get here to the races because the entertainment here is much better than sitting on the couch.”
Dietrich was the show. He slid by Borden for the top spot on the 16th circuit, but the battle wasn’t done. Borden stayed close enough to challenge and was still within .768 on Lap 20.
Any chance Borden had of collecting a win ended on Lap 21. He made contact with the lapped car of Zach Allman, which sent the backmarker into a spin in Turn 2. During the caution, Borden pulled off the speedway and didn’t return.
Dietrich pulled away on the restart and left the competition sit. By the time Lap 25 was in the books, he had built a 2.978-second lead over Siegel, who was in a fierce scrap with All Star Circuit of Champions regular Justin Peck.
Peck, finally, got the best of Siegel on the 28th circuit. As for catching Dietrich, that seemed unlikely with the leader having a three-second cushion.
That changed on the last lap. Freddie Rahmer was dicing with Austin Bishop in the top 10 when he came to rest on the frontstretch. That put Peck on Dietrich’s bumper with one last crack at stealing the win.
Dietrich was ready and had the field covered. He blocked the slider and led the rest of the way to take the win over Peck by .525 seconds.
“We’ve had a good car … we just need to get rolling,” Dietrich said. “The track is pretty phenomenal. It’s so much fun to race on a track like this. You’ve got the top, you’ve got the bottom, and we were able to diamond it.
“I didn’t want to see any cautions, because I knew I was picking lapped cars off pretty good. So, it all worked out. I knew with Justin behind me, I had to hit my marks on that restart, because he’s going to pull a slide job.
“He likes to run hard like I do, and you can’t just blow in on top and not expect the slide job. So, I had to protect that and keep some speed in three and four.”
Siegel posted his first top-five finish of the season by placing third. Alan Krimes stormed from 20th to fourth, with Justin Whittall completing the top five.
In the 305 Sprint Car main event, Doug Dodson led all 20 laps to secure the victory. He was followed to the line by Kruz Kepner, Logan Spahr, Ken Duke Jr., and Domenic Melair.
410 Sprint Car Feature Finish, 30 Laps: 1. Danny Dietrich; 2. Justin Peck; 3. Jimmy Siegel; 4. Alan Krimes; 5. Justin Whittall; 6. Parker Price-Miller; 7. Dylan Norris; 8. Zane Rudisill; 9. Brie Hershey; 10. Tim Glatfelter; 11. Chase Dietz; 12. Aaron Bollinger; 13. Brandon Rahmer; 14. Austin Bishop; 15. Fredde Rahmer; 16. John Walp; 17. Niki Young; 18. Kyle Moody; 19. Riley Emig; 20. Billy Dietrich; 21. Scott Fisher; 22. Devon Borden; 23. Zach Allman; 24. T.J. Stutts.
DNQ: Michael Millard; Tyler Esh; Lynton Jeffery; Chad Trout; Trey Hivner; Jordan Givler; Anthony Macri; Jon Stewart; Tim Wagaman.
305 Sprint Car Feature Finish, 20 Laps: 1. Doug Dodson; 2. Kruz Kepner; 3. Logan Spahr; 4. Ken Duke Jr.; 5. Domenic Melair; 6. Austin Reed; 7. Dave Wickham; 8. Scott Frack; 9. Josh Harner; 10. Owen Dimm; 11. Matthew Swift; 12. Jon Scarborough; 13. Donnie Hendershot; 14. Ryan Neil; 15. Dylan Smith; 16. Mike Melair.