YORK HAVEN, Pa. – In June, Danny Dietrich lost the Pennsylvania Speedweek race at BAPS Motor Speedway on a late-race restart to Brent Marks.
Facing an identical scenario Thursday night in the Greg Hodnett Foundation Race at the four-tenths-mile clay oval, Dietrich wasn’t left outsmarted and disappointed in the latest bout.
Dietrich turned back Marks on a one-lap dash to win his sixth event of the year and the $5,000 payday. He led 19 of 30 laps in a race he started from the pole.
Until Thursday, Dietrich hadn’t started on the front row since July 20 at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway.
“It felt good to finally draw a one or two,” Dietrich said. “It’s been a while. … It felt good to get a win on the front row and not have to chase anybody down to get the win. I don’t mind running them down.”
Dietrich had to buzz through the field from the 10th-starting spot in his Aug. 29 win with the All Star Circuit of Champions win at the speedway.
The latest victory, his third in the past 19 days, came in the race that honored the late Hodnett and the foundation in his name.
Hodnett died at BAPS Motor Speedway in a freak racing incident three years ago this week. His foundation, managed by Hodnett’s wife, Sherry, financially supports families of drivers whose lives are lost during race competition.
The turning point of Dietrich’s drive to victory was when he finished off early leader Ryan Smith in traffic on lap 12.
Smith took the lead from Dietrich on the outside front row, the preferred start and restart lane all evening.
In those proceeding laps, Dietrich attempted four shots at Smith — all slide jobs — on both ends of the race track. Dietrich’s fifth attempt finally stuck on lap 12. The driver of Gary Kauffman Racing’s No. 48 heaved his machine into turn three, underneath Smith and up the turn-four banking for the go-ahead pass.
“Ryan has a fast car,” Dietrich said. “But I knew I had the better car.
“It was going to take a pretty good car to beat us, in my opinion,” he added. “I thought I got through lapped traffic really well. When you can get through lapped traffic as easily as that was, in a sense, you know your car is good and you just need to maintain it.”
While Dietrich ballooned his lead to three seconds, Freddie Rahmer, debuting in the Rich Eichelberger No. 8, knifed through the field.
Rahmer eventually finished third from the 12th-starting spot breaking in the car he’ll primarily drive next year.
His qualifying effort was .010 of a second short of Marks’ fast-time mark in his group. That would have given Rahmer a better starting spot in the redraw.
“I’m really looking forward to [driving for] Rich,” Rahmer said. “It’s cool to come out tonight and show speed. … Just really looking forward to it, really.”
Two cautions for Paul Emig tested Dietrich down the stretch.
But clean launches from Dietrich on restarts with five laps and one-lap to go kept Marks from making anything happen on the bottom lane.
“I really wish it was single-file restarts there at the end,” Marks said. “I feel like we could have had a shot at it. Starting on the bottom was such a disadvantage. I don’t think there was a [restart] won on the bottom tonight.
“All in all, we had a really good night,” he added. “Car was great.”
Smith finished fourth and Rico Abreu placed fifth, earning hard-charger honors from the 15th-starting spot.
Justin Peck, Chase Dietz, Anthony Macri, Troy Wagaman and Bill Balog completed the top 10.