YORK HAVEN, Pa. – Not deterred by his fifth-row starting position, Danny Dietrich put on a show Sunday night at BAPS Motor Speedway and ultimately charged his way through the field to snag his second All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event victory of the season.
The Johnny Mackison Clash score, earning the Gettysburg, Pa.-native a $5,000 payday, commenced with Dietrch starting 10th on the grid. He climbed his way to a top-five spot by lap 12, all before tracking down race leader Hunter Schuerenberg to steal command with two circuits remaining. Dietrich’s All Star win pushes his career total to 15.
Schuerenberg held on to finish second, followed by Ryan Smith, Freddie Rahmer, who led the first 12 circuits, and 12th-starting Anthony Macri.
“Hats off to the track prep team here tonight. This is the best this track has been in a long time…there was a top, middle, and bottom…that was a lot of fun,” Dietrich said. “We needed a win pretty badly. Our schedule has been all over the place this year, so to get this win close to home makes things even more special. We’ll celebrate this one tonight and get ourselves ready for a busy weekend next weekend.”
After getting by Rahmer with a slider on lap 13, Schuerenberg was off to the races, scooting away from the rest of the frontrunners even as traffic entered the picture on lap 15. Meanwhile, Dietrich was a force to be reckoned with. The former Central PA Sprint Cars points champion battled his way to fifth by lap 12, then getting by Bill Balog for fourth two circuits later. By lap 20, Dietrich had worked his way to the runner-up position, sliding by Smith on lap 20 to secure the position. Schuerenberg did his best hide and seek impression in traffic, but Dietrich was too quick to outrun.
By lap 26, Dietrich was all over Schuerenberg for the race lead, utilizing the top of turns one and two, as well as the bottom of turn three, to make up most of his ground. An eventual slider over Schuerenberg on lap 28 would seal the deal.
The finish:
1. 48-Danny Dietrich [10]; 2. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [4]; 3. 10X-Ryan Smith [3]; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer [1]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri [11]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [13]; 7. 17B-Bill Balog [8]; 8. 58-Troy Wagaman Jr. [12]; 9. 99M-Kyle Moody [9]; 10. 19-Brent Marks [20]; 11. 13-Justin Peck [2]; 12. 5-Ian Madsen [21]; 13. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 14. 26-Cory Eliason [15]; 15. 27-Devon Borden [16]; 16. 4-Cap Henry [22]; 17. 67-Justin Whittall [19]; 18. 4R-Doug Hammaker [18]; 19. 21-Matt Campbell [6]; 20. O7-Skylar Gee [23]; 21. 1W-Aaron Bollinger [14]; 22. 33-Gerard McIntyre [24]; 23. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [7]; 24. 75-Tyler Ross