MECHANICSBURG, Pa.: You could make the argument that Danny Dietrich should have at least two or three wins on his season resumé.
The speed is there. Dietrich entered Friday night’s program at Williams Grove Speedway with six top-five finishes, two of which were runner-up runs and two more in which he was on the podium.
Circumstance hasn’t been on Dietrich’s side. Sure, there have been a couple of mistakes … no driver is flawless. But lapped cars, a late caution, or simple misfortune have the Gettysburg, Pa., driver frustrated and scratching his head.
Dietrich added to his season statistics at the Grove, and it wasn’t in the win column. This particular second-place finish was especially taxing in that the Gary Kauffman machine was faster than winner Lance Dewease, and he just wasn’t able to end his winless streak to start the 2023 campaign.
“I’m tired of running second, it’s as simple as that,” Dietrich said while wiping the sweat off his face. “We had the fastest car, there. I don’t know … blame me, blame the lapped cars, blame whatever you want. It’s still second at the end of the day, and we don’t come here to run second.”
All of the setbacks were on display. It started with the draw, when Dietrich pulled a satisfying No. 2 pill, but Dewease, the most accomplished driver in Williams Grove Speedway history, pulled the pole.
OK, no problem. Dewease isn’t unbeatable, and Dietrich was faster in his heat race and pretty much throughout the early part of the season.
But a good start by Dewease put Dietrich behind, and when he did get close, a lapped car moved to the high side and blocked his progress. Still, Dietrich pulled a slide job on Lap 14, only to have Dewease duck back under at the exit of Turn 4.
There were a couple of other opportunities, but Dietrich slipped back in traffic or made a slight mistake on the cushion. It allowed Dewease to pull ahead by a half-straightaway, and Dietrich had to waste three laps catching up.
“You get clean air, and he gets a half-straightaway on you, and I showed him a nose off of two,” Dietrich said. “I thought I could get a run on him, but I kind of stalled out, and he started sliding himself.
“I don’t know, a couple of lapped cars didn’t allow me to get to the point where if he slid up, I could get underneath him. I knew before the race that we would go non-stop with 20 cars and not see much lapped traffic. I would’ve rather had no lapped traffic than what we had tonight.”
It certainly didn’t help. But if you are looking for Dietrich to make excuses or whine about his situation, think again. He takes full responsibility and is looking for a way to finish these races off.
“The driver has to get better,” Dietrich said. “I have to figure out a way to do a better job. I feel like I’m doing a good job, but I need to be better.
“I tried to have a good start and get a jump on Lance, and he did his job and held me back. I don’t know if it would’ve even mattered. The first two laps, I wasn’t any good, and he probably would’ve drove under me until I figured out how to run. After that, I feel like I was a half-second faster than he was.”
Continued Dietrich, “I’m getting to the point where I’m going to rip a car in half to win a race. In three and four tonight, it was full send. The car is really good, and I just can’t get the job done.”
There is a bright side. The speed and balance are there to win races. It’s better than the alternative, which is a confused driver and crew searching for answers while trying to make adjustments to make the car faster.
Dietrich just needs to finish the job. And with BAPS Motor Speedway, one of his best stracks, left on the weekend schedule, he has a good chance of ending that 22-race win drought that dates back to last year.
“I feel like I’m on the verge of sweeping the weekend,” Dietrich said. “If we get a win tonight, I don’t think it matters where we go tomorrow … we could win, and obviously, Sunday we can win.
“I just need to get the first one out of the way and get the monkey off our back, whatever the monkey is. I don’t think it’s a monkey … I don’t know. We need to get the first one out of the way and move forward.
“We are inches away from sweeping a weekend or clicking off a bunch of wins. We should have a win at each speedway in this area, and we don’t have any. So, it sucks.”
BORDEN PENALIZED: Devon Borden lined up 10th in the 410 Sprint Car A-Main Friday night and was running fifth by the end of Lap 1.
The race went non-stop for the entire 25-Lap distance. Borden crossed the line third at the checker, but officials felt he jumped the start and penalized him two spots, dropping him to fifth.
It should be noted that Borden has been pretty good this season. A week ago, he landed his first win of 2023 at Port Royal Speedway. Friday’s fifth-place finish puts him second in central Pennsylvania top-five finishes with six.
MORE NOTES: The Alex Bright-Briggs Danner show that dominates USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series action continued at Williams Grove Friday night. Bright won this battle, beating Danner to the stripe. … In the Pennsylvania 305 Sprint Car Series main event, Logan Spahr outran the field for the win.