Danny Dietrich Closes Out 2019 With $10,000 Payday Saturday At BAPS Motor Speedway
Story By: KALI LANDIS / BAPS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – YORK HAVEN, PA – It’s been a rough couple of months for Danny Dietrich, who has dealt with his share of misfortune after getting off to a fast start.
Dietrich piled up 12 wins by the time Speedweek was complete. Since then, the Gettysburg driver has struggled and could only muster two more triumphs.
None of that mattered Saturday at BAPS Motor Speedway. Dietrich disposed of Outlaw invader Daryn Pittman and finished off the 2019 season on a high note by capturing his 15th win of the season in the 30-lap Goofy’s Eatery and Spirits Sprint Showdown.
“The last two months haven’t been [good], but you can’t live in the past,” said Dietrich after the $10,000 score. “Some people live in the past, but we live in the future. That’s what will make this team so successful in the future.”
If Dietrich can run like he did in the season ender at BAPS, he is going to rack up plenty of wins and first-place checks in the future.
Pittman and Dietrich were even coming down the frontstretch on the initial start. The Outlaw regular was able to nail the bottom in the first and second corner and take the lead heading down the backstretch.
There was very little separation between the top two drivers. Dietrich raced in Pittman’s tracks and was only .233 seconds back at the completion of Lap 4.
The leaders started to encounter lapped traffic on the sixth circuit. Still, Pittman was able to slice through backmarkers and open up a .978-second lead by the time Lap 11 was scored.
Anthony Macri entered the mix one lap later. He caught Dietrich one lap later, as the top three raced within 1.369 seconds. At the halfway point, the top three drivers ran within 1.073 seconds.
Pittman continued to hug the bottom of the speedway. Dietrich continued to run the top and held off Macri before closing to within .414 seconds of the leader by Lap 18.
Dietrich continued to nail the top in Turn 2. It paid off on the 19th circuit, as he got a push off the second corner and blew by Pittman on the backstretch. When Dietrich nosed out front, he cut down his entrance to Turn 3 and held the spot until he hit the flagstand.
“I had to make sure I got across his nose,” Dietrich said. “That’s just the way it is racing for $10,000. You’ve got to get across his nose and take the air off him so he can’t get underneath you … And you sure as hell don’t want him to push you up the racetrack, because then you are really in trouble.
“I knew coming off of two that I had to beat him down the backstretch, and I had to do it in a hurry or he was going to move down and protect. When the opportunity comes up, you’ve just got to do it.”
Within three laps, Dietrich built a 1.518-second advantage over Pittman. It was the biggest lead of the day, but it was also one that was needed.
Dietrich blew through the first corner on Lap 26, skidded high, and almost smacked the fence. Luckily, he saved the car and only lost .400 seconds and continued to pace the field.
Pittman never got another crack. Dietrich was flawless the rest of the way and took the win by .832 seconds at the finish to bag a big season-ending payday.
“I was pretty good up there, beforehand, but it rubbered up just enough,” Dietrich said. “When these tires get to where they lose their tread, you just lose your grip in the dirty crap. That’s when you know you can’t go up there, because the thing just won’t stick.
“I was happy to get down there and not lose the lead. It actually allowed me to get my car turned and look behind me and see how close they were. I saw I had a decent lead, so that was an advantage, but it wasn’t an advantage to almost knock the fence down.”
Pittman settled for second, with Macri finishing third. Shark Racing teammates, Jacob Allen, and Logan Schuchart, completed the top five.
Doug Hammaker capped another solid 358 Sprint Car season with his division-leading ninth win of the season in the 25-lap main event.
Kurt Conklin challenged Dylan Norris for the top spot in Turn 3 on Lap 6. Norris took the line away, and Conklin spun trying to avoid heavy contact.
On the restart, Hammaker, who took over the second spot when Conklin spun, shot around Norris to take the lead. He dominated the rest of the way and took the victory over Justin Foster, and Brett Wanner.
BAPS Motor Speedway
York Haven, Pa.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPRINTCARUNLIMITED.COM 410 SPRINT CARS – GOOFY’S EATERY & SPIRITS SPRINT SHOWDOWN
Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 48-Danny Dietrich ($10,000), [2]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman, [1]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri, [3]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart, [5]; 6. 51-Freddie Rahmer, [7]; 7. 5-Dylan Cisney, [9]; 8. 72-Ryan Smith, [8]; 9. 75-Chase Dietz, [6]; 10. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr ($500, Wicked Energy Gum Hard Charger), [13]; 11. 88-Brandon Rahmer, [11]; 12. 24-Lucas Wolfe, [10]; 13. 8-Billy Dietrich, [14]; 14. 91-Anthony Fiore, [16]; 15. 73B-Brett Michalski, [15]; 16. 99M-Kyle Moody, [19]; 17. 55K-Robbie Kendall, [17]; 18. 19M-Landon Myers, [12]; 19. 21-Brian Montieth, [18]; 20. 55-Dallas Schott, [22]; 21. (DNF) 49H-Bradley Howard, [21]; 22. (DNF) 44-Dylan Norris, [20]; 23. (DNF) 97-Brie Hershey, [24]; 24. (DNF) 13S-Jon Stewart, [25]; (DNS) 3-Jeff Paulson,
Lap Leaders – Daryn Pittman (1-18), Danny Dietrich (19-30)
410 Sprint Car Time Trial Results – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman 14.553 ($500, Emory Transmissions Fast Time Award); 2. 39M-Anthony Macri 14.716; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich 14.819; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen 14.880; 5. 88-Brandon Rahmer 14.939; 6. 21-Brian Montieth 15.035; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart 15.044; 8. 5-Dylan Cisney 15.053; 9. 19M-Landon Myers 15.062; 10. 75-Chase Dietz 15.084; 11. 51-Freddie Rahmer 15.198; 12. 72-Ryan Smith 15.204; 13. 91-Tony Fiore 15.218; 14. 55K-Robbie Kendall 15.250; 15. 24-Lucas Wolfe 15.268; 16. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr. 15.402; 17. 8-Billy Dietrich 15.417; 18. 49H-Bradley Howard 15.475; 19. 99M-Kyle Moody 15.558; 20. 44-Dylan Norris 15.744; 21. 73B-Brett Michalski 16.011; 22. 55-Dallas Schott 16.121; 23. 97-Brie Hershey 16.220; 24. 13S-Jon Stewart 16.777; 25. 3-Jeff Paulson 16.914.
410 Sprint Car Heat 1 Finish (10 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 75-Chase Dietz ($100, Hampden Automotive), [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, [2]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman, [4]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, [3]; 5. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, [6]; 6. 91-Anthony Fiore, [5]; 7. 99M-Kyle Moody, [7]; 8. 55-Dallas Schott, [8]; 9. 3-Jeff Paulson, [9].
410 Sprint Car Heat 2 Finish (10 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 51-Freddie Rahmer ($100, Hampden Automotive), [1]; 2. 39M-Anthony Macri, [4]; 3. 5-Dylan Cisney, [2]; 4. 88-Brandon Rahmer, [3]; 5. 8-Billy Dietrich, [6]; 6. 55K-Robbie Kendall, [5]; 7. 44-Dylan Norris, [7]; 8. (DNF) 97-Brie Hershey, [8].
410 Sprint Car Heat 3 Finish (10 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 72-Ryan Smith ($100, Hampden Automotive), [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, [4]; 3. 24-Lucas Wolfe, [5]; 4. 19M-Landon Myers, [2]; 5. 73B-Brett Michalski, [7]; 6. 21-Brian Montieth, [3]; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard, [6]; (DNS) 13S-Jon Stewart.
410 Sprint Car Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman, [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, [3]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri, [2]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart, [5]; 6. 75-Chase Dietz, [6]; 7. 51-Freddie Rahmer, [7]; 8. 72-Ryan Smith, [8]
358 SPRINT CARS
Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 66-Doug Hammaker, [5]; 2. 32-Justin Foster, [6]; 3. 54-Brett Wanner, [9]; 4. 44-Dylan Norris, [1]; 5. 21T-Scott Fisher, [2]; 6. 00-Chris Frank, [7]; 7. 66A-Cody Fletcher, [4]; 8. 2-Steven Kisamore, [11]; 9. 17-Andrew Hake, [8]; 10. 13S-Jon Stewart, [10]; 11. 45-Kurt Conklin, [3]; 12. 15-Cameron Burke, [12]; (DNS) 3-Jeff Paulson.
Lap Leaders – Dylan Norris (1-6), Doug Hammaker (7-25)
358 Sprint Car Heat 1 Finish (8 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 66-Doug Hammaker ($50, Hampden Automotive), [2]; 2. 44-Dylan Norris, [4]; 3. 21T-Scott Fisher, [1]; 4. 00-Chris Frank, [6]; 5. 54-Brett Wanner, [7]; 6. 2-Steven Kisamore, [5]; (DNS) 93-Mike Bittinger.
358 Sprint Car Heat 2 Finish (8 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 45-Kurt Conklin ($50, Hampden Automotive), [3]; 2. 32-Justin Foster, [5]; 3. 66A-Cody Fletcher, [2]; 4. 17-Andrew Hake, [7]; 5. 13S-Jon Stewart, [6]; 6. 15-Cameron Burke, [4]; (DNS) 3-Jeff Paulson.