ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — Defending track champion Troy Wagaman started on the pole for the 30-lap feature at Lincoln Speedway on Sunday afternoon, but it was Danny Dietrich who made a statement, charging to victory in a thrilling battle through lapped traffic and late-race restarts.
At the drop of the green flag, Wagaman led the field into turn one with Chase Dietz settling into second, followed by Dietrich in third and Chad Trout in fourth. Brock Zearfoss ran fifth in the early laps but quickly worked his way past Trout for fourth. The top three—Wagaman, Dietz, and Dietrich—raced the high line through turns three and four while Dietrich experimented with the low groove in turns one and two.
The first caution of the race flew on lap six when Jordan Givler spun in turn two. On the restart, Wagaman led Dietz, Dietrich, Zearfoss, and Trout, but a red flag quickly followed after Freddie Rahmer flipped in turn one. The incident also collected Brandon Rahmer, JJ Loss, and Lucas Wolfe. Loss and Brandon Rahmer were able to rejoin the field for the restart.
When racing resumed, Wagaman defended the top lane, but Dietz made his move, diving to the bottom of turn three to take the lead on lap seven. Dietrich followed suit, passing Wagaman for second as Brock Zearfoss challenged for third. An intense moment saw Brock scrape the wall in turn two, nearly spinning before regaining control. The incident caused Trout to check up, allowing Tyler Ross and Matt Campbell to move up positions.
Dietz reached lapped traffic on lap 12, with Dietrich hot on his heels. Sticking to his preferred low line, Dietrich battled Dietz wheel-to-wheel, officially leading the race at the halfway point. Tyler Ross continued his charge forward, breaking into the top five after passing Campbell.
A caution on lap 19 for a Justin Whittall spin in turn four reset the field, with Dietrich leading Dietz, Wagaman, Zearfoss and Ross. Ross made quick work of Zearfoss to take fourth, as Zearfoss struggled and fell off the pace.
A final caution on lap 23, brought on by Zearfoss’ coming to a stop in turn 2, erased Dietrich’s 1.8-second lead, but the Gettysburg driver nailed the restart, maintaining control in the closing laps. A hard-charging Chad Trout battled with Campbell for fifth, but a slip-up allowed Aaron Bollinger to sneak by.
Dietrich emerged victorious, claiming his first win of the season in the second race at Lincoln Speedway. The race ended under red flag conditions after Whittall was involved in another incident after the checkered waved for Dietrich.
Lincoln Kearchner won the East Coast Legends feature.
The finish:
Danny Dietrich, Chase Dietz, Troy Wagaman Jr., Tyler Ross, Matt Campbell, Aaron Bollinger, Chad Trout, Logan Rumsey, Dylan Norris, T.J. Stutts, Billy Dietrich, Gerard McIntyre Jr., Cameron Smith, Jeff Halligan, Domenic Melair, Joey Amantea, Justin Whittall, Brock Zearfoss, Jordan Givler, Brandon Rahmer, J.J. Loss, Chris Frank, Lucas Wolfe, Freddie Rahmer.
