Dietrich Hein Bros 1
Danny Dietrich, seen here earlier this season, finished on the podium at Grandview Speedway Tuesday night. (Hein Brothers photo)
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NOTES: A Strong Grandview Result For Dietrich

June 30, 2021

BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. — For years, Grandview Speedway has offered far more frustration to Danny Dietrich than reward.

But as the spirited driver briefly removed his glasses to wipe sweat from his eyes on a sweltering Tuesday evening at the third-mile facility, center stage of a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd after a 12th-to-third charge, he began to recognize his accomplishment.

In round five of Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek, Dietrich finished on the podium with two of the winningest drivers in the country — winner Kyle Larson and runner-up Brent Marks.

While Larson won his 15th race of the year and while Marks had a shot to win his fourth in the past 10 days, Dietrich relished standing on the frontstretch of a track he once considered his weakness.

“Twelfth to third [at] Grandview, we’re actually getting really good here,” Dietrich said through a rising smile. “Sporty is the word of the week, the past two weeks [if you include Ohio Speedweek]; sporty behind the two fastest cars in the country,” Dietrich added. “We’ll take a third.”

Dietrich lost some ground to Marks in the PA Speedweek title race, slipping from 73 to 88 points behind going to Port Royal Speedway on Wednesday. But that didn’t carry much weight, if any, in Dietrich’s view.

The Gettysburg, Pa., driver followed Larson to the front of the field and pulled to his right rear numerous times throughout longer runs. While Larson had found the middle-bottom groove, Dietrich hammered the upper part of the racing surface, nearly generating enough momentum to overtake this year’s NASCAR Cup Series wins leader.

Then, a caution flag slowed the charge.

“We didn’t need that caution with nine [laps] to go,” he said. “We were rolling really good. I about snuck past Kyle there. Cautions were just killers for me. I couldn’t get going on those restarts. I don’t know why. Maybe we need to sipe our tires more or do something.”

After snapping a 31-race winless spell on June 15, part of a second-place points run in Ohio Speedweek, Dietrich is back in the right state of mind.

Finishes of third, fourth, 14th, fourth and third have him in the hunt for the Speedweek title with five races to go, all big half miles that could tilt things his way.

“We’ve been consistent all but one night in Speedweek,” said Dietrich. “All I need is a beer and water right now,” Dietrich said. “I’m dehydrated. On to Port Royal.”

— Brent Marks set fast time for the fourth time in the past 10 days.

But then the handling of Marks’ race car deteriorated, perhaps due to a lack of laps at the track, allowing for Kyle Larson to not only pass Marks for the win, but also to restrict Marks’ points gain.

Marks heads next to Port Royal Speedway, a place he finished second at on May 1. (You already said this in the Dietrich bit.)

— Kyle Larson surged to his 14th victory of the year on Tuesday across four disciplines.

The breakdown of Larson’s win total goes like this: six in a winged sprint car, four in the NASCAR Cup Series, two in a dirt late model, and two in a midget. 

— Christopher Bell wrapped up his two-race PA Speedweek deal with Swindell SpeedLab on Tuesday.

The NASCAR Cup Series driver for Joe Gibbs Racing posted finishes of fifth and seventh at Lincoln and Grandview speedways, respectively, including a heat race win at Lincoln.

— Former World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series champion Daryn Pittman is set to take over the Swindell SpeedLab No. 39 the next four races.

— Tuesday’s Greg Hodnett Cup at Grandview attracted a 27-car field, an ironic number considering Hodnett ran No. 27 leading up to his sudden death in a racing accident Sept. 2018.

Bell, Larson, USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget Series point leader Buddy Kofoid and National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Lance Dewease headlined the field.

— Kyle Moody bounced back from a pair of missed main events to finish fifth Tuesday night at Grandview.