BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. — Danny Dietrich defended Pennsylvania Posse territory proudly on Thursday night and opened the four-day Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 swing through the Keystone State with a victory at Grandview Speedway.
Dietrich outdueled two-time All Star champion and point leader Aaron Reutzel en route to his second series victory of the season.
Dietrich, who was battling in the second position when the white flag was waved, made incidental contact with Reutzel as the duo were entering turn one. The contact, Dietrich’s front bumper to Reutzel’s back bumper, caused the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports entry to lose grip and spin, ultimately allowing Dietrich to inherit the top spot.
Dietrich survived the green-white-checkered restart to score the $5,000 payday. The Grandview Speedway win bumps Dietrich’s All Star career-win total to 13.
“We were really good. I wanted to win pretty bad,” Dietrich said. “Aaron (Reutzel) and I race each other pretty hard. I can’t thank my crew enough. These guys work hard all week to come out here and do this.”
Reutzel jumped to the early advantage from the pole with Freddie Rahmer, Paul McMahan and Dietrich in tow. Reutzel maintained control for the first 20 circuits, keeping a firm grip on the field even after slower traffic appeared as early as lap eight.
Meanwhile, Dietrich was climbing, eventually sneaking by McMahan to take control of third on lap six, just before driving underneath Freddie Rahmer to snag second three circuits later.
A caution on lap 12 gave Dietrich the opportunity to restart on the tail tank of Reutzel. Despite clean air and a clear track for the Texan, Dietrich stayed glued to the No. 87, keeping pace as the duo found the back of the field yet again on lap 17.
On lap 21, Dietrich made his first bid for the lead, using momentum to blast around Reutzel at the exit of turn two. Not deterred by the move, Reutzel returned the favor on lap 24, also using momentum to blast around Dietrich to reclaim the top spot at the exit of turn two.
Reutzel maintained control until lap 34, hugging the very bottom of the speedway where the faster groove seemed to be. With less than a car length separating the lead pair, the duo made the aforementioned contact entering turn one on the white-flag lap.
“I think we had the better car,” Dietrich continued. “I could run way harder into the corner than (Reutzel) could. We have twin features tomorrow night. We’ll be back at it then.”
Christopher Bell, who climbed from fifth, chased Dietrich during the green-white-checkered finish, followed by Rahmer, James McFadden and McMahan.
The finish:
Feature (35 Laps): 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 2. 39-Christopher Bell [5]; 3. 51-Freddie Rahmer [2]; 4. 9-James McFadden [6]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 6. 5-Brent Marks [11]; 7. 17-Josh Baughman [7]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri [9]; 9. 11-Zeb Wise [12]; 10. 14-Tony Stewart [8]; 11. 88-Brandon Rahmer [13]; 12. 99-Skylar Gee [10]; 13. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [15]; 14. 24-Lucas Wolfe [14]; 15. 73B-Brett Michalski [16]; 16. 26-Cory Eliason [17]; 17. W20-Greg Wilson [21]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [19]; 19. 99M-Kyle Moody [20]; 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 21. M1-Mark Smith [18]; 22. O7-Gerard McIntyre [22]; 23. 88C-Chad Miller [24]; 24. 49H-Bradley Howard [23] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-20), Danny Dietrich (21-23), Aaron Reutzel (24-34), Danny Dietrich (35,36)