SELINSGROVE, Pa.: It’s been a disappointing Pennsylvania Speedweek for Danny Dietrich and the Gary Kauffman-owned Sprint Car team.
Coming into Sunday’s finale at Selinsgrove Speedway, Dietrich not only didn’t garner a victory in the first eight races, he failed to make the podium. That’s odd considering his prowess behind the wheel and the momentum he had coming off a successful Ohio Speedweek performance.
So, there was a little extra motivation for Dietrich in this one. Not only did he want to end a grueling stretch of 18 races in 24 days on a high note, he wanted to show that someone could beat Brent Marks on Central Pa. turf.
It looked bad early, but Dietrich made it happen. He chased down Marks in the closing stages of the 30-Lap Jan Opperman-Dick Bogar-Ralph Heintzelman Memorial to collect his eighth victory of the season. The triumph was worth $10,099.
“We needed this one,” Dietrich said. “It has been a long week, and this kind of saved our it. These guys busted their asses. It just wears you out, 18 races in 24 days, and it just pounds you and wears you out. Tomorrow is going to a much-needed R&R day.
MARKS IN CHARGE: Like so many other nights during the 2022 version of Pennsylvania Speedweek, Marks was the dominant car early. The difference this time was that the Myerstown, Pa., ace couldn’t finish it off.
Marks started third and got under Dietrich coming down the frontstretch toward Turn 1 on the initial start. He carried that momentum down the backstretch and shot under Steve Buckwalter to take the lead away in Turn 3.
But Buckwalter didn’t give it away easy. He got back under Marks coming out of Turn 4 and was able to maintain the top spot until Lap 7. Marks managed to wear the leader down and took the top spot away with a low move heading into the third corner.
BACK IN CONTENTION: Dietrich slipped back to third on the initial start, but he got rolling and caught up to Buckwalter on the 11th circuit.
Buckwalter tried to hold Dietrich at bay, but he couldn’t fight off the charge. The Gettysburg driver nailed the bottom in Turn 3 and took over the runner-up spot.
Dietrich didn’t have to wait long to catch Marks. Buckwalter stopped on the high side of the fourth corner on Lap 17 to bring out the lone caution of the event and set up Dietrich’s charge to victory.
Marks took off, but Dietrich moved around the track and found more speed. He started to nail the top in Turns 1 and 2 and was content to follow Marks through the third and fourth corner. By the time Lap 26 was scored, the lead was down to five car-lengths.
“We kept running the bottom, running the bottom, and then at the halfway point, I really didn’t want to see the caution,” Dietrich said. “I just ran the outside of the 44 [Dylan Norris], and I thought I could start gapping cars.
“It was probably a blessing, because sometimes you’re better off running second at this place. The roles have been reversed here when I’ve been leading, and it feels good to be on the other side of that.”
THE WINNING MOVE: Marks seemed married to the bottom, which gave Dietrich every opportunity off the top side of Turns 1 and 2.
Dietrich closed to within three car-lengths on Lap 27. On the next circuit, he blew around the top of Turns 1 and 2 and cruised by Marks going down the backstretch.
“Brent is so damn good, and he is rolling and hitting his stride,” Dietrich said. “We were hot going into Ohio Speedweek, carried into that, and then fell off a little bit. It feels so good to finish with a win this week. My guys deserve this, and we are here to win races.”
Said Marks, “Man, that was a frustrating losing the race late, but I really didn’t know the top was coming in down there in one and two. I just got to lapped traffic, and my pace slowed down way too much.
“I thought about going to the top, but I just knew how good the bottom was, and I didn’t want to go to the top and get caught in the loose dirt up there. Danny was running the bottom behind me, and I didn’t want him to slip by me. It’s a no-win situation, and being the leader wasn’t the place to be right there. Danny did a great job.”
Dietrich led the last two laps and claimed the win by 1.301 seconds. Marks, Justin Peck, Mike Walter II, and Rico Abreu completed the top five.
THE CHAMP: Brent Marks completed an incredible run through Pennsylvania Speedweek that included five wins and nine podium finishes in nine events.
The final tally had Marks (1,424 points) taking the $6,000 title by 253 markers over Justin Peck. Anthony Macri, who didn’t attend Sunday’s race at Selinsgrove, was third with 1,070 points. Danny Dietrich (983) and Lucas Wolfe (874) completed the top five.
“It would’ve been awesome to go five in a row and cap it off with $21,000, but it didn’t work out there,” Marks said. “I can’t complain about second and can’t complain about this week. It just feels good to be up here on the podium again.
“This means a lot to me. I’ve been close a few times, especially last year, and we just kept having so many things go wrong. It seemed like everything went right this year, so that is the way fate works sometimes. I’m honored to be standing up here and to be a Speedweek champion.”
410 Sprint Car Feature Finish, 30 Laps: 1. Danny Dietrich; 2. Brent Marks; 3. Justin Peck; 4. Mike Walter II; 5. Rico Abreu; 6. Blane Heimbach; 7. Dylan Cisney; 8. Devon Borden; 9. Ryan Timms; 10. TJ Stutts; 11. Ryan Smith; 12. Freddie Rahmer; 13. Lucas Wolfe; 14. Jason Shultz; 15. Dylan Norris; 16. Kyle Moody; 17. Chase Dietz; 18. Steve Buckwalter; 19. Matt Campbell; 20. Anthony Fiore; 21. Mark Smith; 22. Niki Young; 23. Ryan Linder.
305 Sprint Car Feature Finish, 20 Laps: 1. Kenny Heffner; 2. Tyler Snook; 3. Josh Spicer; 4. Austin Reed; 5. Ken Duke; 6. Doug Dodson; 7. Mike Melair; 8. Paul Moyer; 9. Dustin Young; 10. Zach Rhodes; 11. Erin Statler; 12. Drew Young; 13. Domenic Melair; 14. Jon Scarborough; 15. Logan Jones; 16. Jake Waters; 17. Mike Alleman; 18. Owen Dimm; 19. Chad Phillips; 20. Cassandra Minium; 21. Cale Reigle; 22. Matthew Swift; 23. Nathan Gramley; 24. Roger Weaver; 25. Garrett Bard; 26. Logan Spahr; 27. Kruz Kepner.