The effort paid off July 10-11 when Price-Miller and Gravel went to victory lane with the Outlaws on back-to-back nights at Iowa’s 34 Raceway and Wisconsin’s Wilmot Raceway, respectively.
The weekend not only marked Dietz Motorsports’ first victory as a team, but it put Dietz alongside Karl Kinser in an exclusive category of crew chiefs who earned World of Outlaws wins on consecutive nights with two different drivers.
“I felt like it just took us a while to jell, and there’s no doubt that every year it seems like we end up having to run a little bit different setup to suit the difference in cars and difference in tires and whatnot, but to have both Parker and David get to victory lane was really cool. Really special to be a part of,” Dietz noted. “We fought a few mechanical issues at the start of the season. I feel it kind of set us back, but once we resolved those and were able to focus on our cars and get them better and get both drivers more comfortable … things became a lot easier and I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer on our setups.
“I don’t think that will be the last time you’ll see that for us. I hope it won’t be, anyway,” he added.
While things may currently look as good as they ever have for Dietz, that certainly wasn’t the case two years ago.
At that point, Dietz was just coming off the shocking loss of his cousin in a racing accident at Beaver Dam (Wis.) Raceway and admitted there were doubts as to whether he — or the team — would continue in racing.
“Obviously, it was his team; we were all part of it, but at the end of the day, it was Jason Johnson that made up Jason Johnson Racing,” noted Dietz. “We didn’t know if we could manage it on our own. On top of that, there are so many people that make up our team. We knew that if one or two of those people decided to back out and not really want to be a part of it anymore, since Jason was gone, that it would be a huge concern for us.
“But once we found out that everyone was on board to keep the team going and everyone was feeling positive about it, that’s when Bobbi (Johnson, Jason’s widow) and I sat down and discussed it,” Dietz added. “And we both felt that it would be a great way to honor Jason and try to go out and make him proud by carrying on like we have.”
Carrying on might be an understatement, considering Dietz was the winning crew chief at the Knoxville Nationals for the second time in his career last August, this time with Gravel behind the wheel.
The effort has had to clear some hurdles along the way, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Dietz and both of the teams he works with have pushed through those speed bumps.
“I think our biggest challenge right now is just the schedule,” he said. “With everything going on in the world today, our schedule has just been all over the place. At one point we thought we were going to sit idle for several months and then the next thing you know, we were up and racing again … and actually won that first race back with David and JJR. But that part of it has been really challenging. It’s always nice to kind of know where you’re going, so you can be able to book hotel rooms and make sure that your equipment is prepared for some of the bigger races later in the year.
“This year has been a little bit different for both teams. We actually have all new people, obviously, for the (No.) 14, but even at JJR. We ended up hiring a new car chief (former Outlaws driver Clyde Knipp), as well as the tire chief. All of us working together for the first time has been a challenge, but again, I feel like we’ve jelled really well over the last three to four months.
“I think our results are starting to show that.”
As busy as he is, however, Dietz says he’s having fun with his duties at the track and hopes to continue in that capacity going forward.
“I really enjoy it,” he affirmed. “I enjoy the challenge. It’s fun. It keeps me busy. It keeps me on my toes.”