Dietrich earns second Port Royal victory of the season
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By Todd Heintzelman
Racing correspondent
PORT ROYAL -- Danny Dietrich passed Chase Deitz and then held him off in lapped traffic to win the Living Legends Dream Race Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway.
Dietrich's second Port Royal win of the season was worth $20,000 in a
race honoring Davey Brown Sr., Don Kreitz Jr., and Tom Peck as Living
Legends of the sport.
Dietrich, of Gettysburg, also drove Gary Kauffman's No. 48 to victory
Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway giving him a weekend sweep.
"It's been a long time since we've had a weekend like this," Dietrich
said. "It feels good. Everything went right. The guys did their job
today and I did my job tonight. I don't know if we would have made
another lap. We were out of fuel. We were ripping around the top. We
could get wide into three and get on the curb and ride it around."
Lucas Wolfe started on the pole and led the opening seven laps of the
sprint car feature. Dietz and Dietrich shared the second row and raced
hard for second before Dietz grabbed the spot. Dietz then went after
Wolfe and took the lead.
Dietrich passed Wolfe as well and wasted no time challenging Dietz
again, this time for the top spot.
Dietz, of York, led Dietrich as they raced through heavy traffic.
Dietz went low into turn three to lap a slower car and Dietrich took
advantage passing him with 13 laps to go in the 30-lap feature. Dietz
tried to drive back under Dietrich, but couldn't pass him back.
Dietrich began to get some breathing room over Dietz as Justin
Whittall closed on the top two with 10 laps to go.
Dietz got sideways off the fourth turn, losing second to Whittall.
Dietz saved the car from spinning and continued.
Whittall was closing on Dietrich, but did a 360-spin in the fourth
corner. This brought out the yellow flag. Per track rules, if a driver
does a 360, even if they continue, the yellow comes out and they go to
the rear.
On the restart, it was Dietrich on top, Dietz in the middle and Ryan
Smith challenging low in the first and second turns.
Dietrich held onto the win as Smith took second from Dietz on the
final lap. Cam Smith and Australian driver Ryan Newton completed the
top five. Brent Shearer, Mark Smith, Lance Dewease, Wolfe and 22nd
starter Troy Wagaman Jr. rounded out the top 10.
A strong field of 39 were in the pits for the PA Posse Sprint Car
Series race. Smith was fastest overall in qualifying time trials with
a lap of 15.386. Wolfe was fastest in his group at 15.829.
Drake Troutman, of Hyndman, started on the pole and led all 25 laps of
the late model feature earning $5,000. It was his second career Port
Royal win.
With Troutman in complete control, the battle was for second with
Gregg Satterlee winning that race over Rick Eckert, Ross Robinson, and
Levi Yetter. Trevor Feathers, Clay Harris, Hayes Mattern, Austin Berry
and Colton Flinner completed the top 10.
Robinson was quick-time at 19.005. Heat races for the 23 cars were won
by Yetter, Satterlee and Troutman.
With thunderstorms forecasted to move into the area by late-evening,
speedway officials made the decision to move the start time up by two
hours, which allowed them to complete the event.
Port Royal returns to action Friday night this week with the opening
night of the "Rumble by the River" featuring the Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series, plus the limited late models. The track returns Saturday
night for the $50,000 to win finale for the late models, along with
the limited late models once again.
RACING RECAP
Dietrich won the Jack Gunn Memorial Friday night at Williams Grove
Speedway with a late-race pass of Dietz. His first Grove win of the
season was worth $8,000. Dietz, Logan Rumsey, and Freddie Rahmer
completed the top five.
Doug Dodson won the PA Sprint Series 305 feature at Selinsgrove Friday
night. Logan Spahr, Mike Alleman, Tyler Erdley and Ken Duke Jr.
completed the top five.
Florida racer Clay Harris picked up a first career Selinsgrove win in
the late model feature. He earned $5,000. Drake Troutman, Ross
Robinson, Justin Weaver and Rick Eckert completed the top five.
Williams Grove returns to action Friday night, while Selinsgrove has a
special Sunday night race featuring the 410 sprints and street stocks.