JOLIET, Ill. — Last year Jason Dietsch ran the table at Rt. 66 Raceway winning two national events in the span of 24 hours. Today the veteran driver from Edgerton, Ohio, ran his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet to the No. 1 qualifier position.
Dietsch is No. 1 ahead of current points leader Jonathan Allegrucci and championship contender Scott Libersher’s COPO Camaro at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals presented by Peak.
Dietsch posted his quickest time of the weekend in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series in the opening qualifying session with a quickest of the event elapsed time 7.644 seconds at 179.30 mph.
“It was a long day,” said Dietsch, who along with the rest of the class had to deal with a schedule adjustment. “I was ready to go for that last qualifier, and we’ll be ready for first round. My son Taylor isn’t here this weekend, so I have all the good parts this weekend. I had to leave him at home, so I could try to get a win.”
Through two qualifying sessions Dietsch and the rest of the class had to adjust to changing weather conditions. In the final qualifying session the full field of COPO Camaros, Dodge Drag Paks and Mustang Cobra Jets stepped up their respective performances wowing the packed grandstands.
Early in the session David Davies II ran his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to a solid jump from No. 13 to No. 9 with a quicker 7.751 at 178.78 mph run from his previous quickest of 7.814 seconds at 174.84 mph.
Doug Duell and his Dodge Drag Pak stepped up from 7.772 seconds at 172.92 mph to 7.757 at 178.40 mph to go into eliminations as the No. 10 qualifier. Lee Hartman, who is looking for his first race win, matched his quickest time of 7.694 seconds in Q3, which was quickest of the session.
In the final pair it was Allegrucci beside Dietsch in a possible preview of a final round match-up. Allegrucci posted an impressive 7.697 seconds at 178.95 mph pass door to door with Dietsch’s 7.699 seconds at 178.54 mph run.
“I mean that last run was pretty good,” said Dietsch. “We knew the air wasn’t as good as before, so we weren’t going to run as quick. We went out there and ran almost identical times, so it’s pretty cool. I hope it’s like that in the finals. I need to get a win badly. I want one of those new Diamond Wally’s. They’re pretty sweet.”
Kim Shirley will race No. 2 qualifier Allegrucci, who will be trying to defend the $1,000 Flexjet Bounty, in the first round. Allegrucci won the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte and is looking for his second win in a row and the chance to double the bounty at the next race.
