ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — Brian Montieth held off Danny Dietrich and Aaron Reutzel to win his second Dirt Classic at Lincoln Speedway, earning $20,000.
Known as “The Edge,” Montieth, a name certainly synonymous with victories and championships in the Pigeon Hills, accomplished such a feat, leading the final 16 circuits of Saturday’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions main event.
“The boys do all of their homework. I’m just the lucky one who gets to stand up here,” said Montieth, who earned his first Dirt Classic title in 2015. “All the work is done at the shop through the week. I just can’t thank everyone enough.”
Although starting from the pole position, Montieth, driver of the H&H Contractor/XXX Chassis/Beerhill Gang/No. 21 sprint car, did not take command for the first time until lap 25, wrapping-up what turned out to be a 24-lap battle with recent Tommy Classic winner and current Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 point leader, Aaron Reutzel.
Utilizing his well-known line around the outer edge of the speedway, Montieth stalked Reutzel lap after lap before executing his winning move in turns three and four, eventually slingshotting around the 14-time All Star Circuit of Champions winner in 2019 to take control before the leaders raced back to the flagstand.
A red-flag period on lap 11 for Dillsburg’s Anthony Macri, who was battling within the top-five at the time of the caution, set the stage for Montieth’s eventual takeover.
The ensuing restart allowed Reutzel the opportunity to control in clean air, but Montieth stayed in his tracks, eventually knocking down Reutzel’s command that pushed to 1.5 seconds on lap 17 to less than a second by lap 20.
By lap 21, the top-two, as well as Dietrich, who raced into third from 18th on lap 13, were under a blanket. With slower traffic now creating a road black for Reutzel around the bottom of the speedway, Montieth jumped to the top and made his move, executing his slingshot action in turn three of lap 25.
“This is great for the team leading into the next few weeks,” Brian Montieth said. “Honestly, leading here sucks in lapped traffic. Aaron (Reutzel) was doing everything he had to do. I just got lucky and was able to get around him.”
Using a last-lap pass to also get around Reutzel, Dietrich chased Montieth to the final checkers, followed by Reutzel, Freddie Rahmer and Brian Brown.
“Love me or hate me, sounds like everyone enjoyed that one,” an elated Danny Dietrich said. “I feel like all we can do is run second here. Maybe next year we can do one better.”
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 21m-Brian Montieth [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [18]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer [7]; 5. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 6. 59-Jim Siegel [5]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 8. 87k-Alan Krimes [9]; 9. 70-Brock Zearfoss [10]; 10. 2M-Kerry Madsen [12]; 11. 26-Cory Eliason [8]; 12. 88-Brandon Rahmer [24]; 13. 69K-Lance Dewease [21]; 14. O7-Gerard McIntyre [23]; 15. 75-Chase Dietz [13]; 16. 99-Skylar Gee [11]; 17. 73B-Brett Michalski [26]; 18. 70X-Justin Peck [15]; 19. W20-Greg Wilson [27]; 20. 99M-Kyle Moody [14]; 21. 9-James McFadden [20]; 22. 21T-Scott Fisher [28]; 23. 5-Dylan Cisney [22]; 24. 72-Ryan Smith [19]; 25. 39M-Anthony Macri [3]; 26. 1X-Chad Trout [17]; 27. 14T-Tyler Walton [16]; 28. 11-Dale Blaney [25]Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-24), Brian Montieth (25-40)