YORK HAVEN, Pa. – While Brent Marks smoked the Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek field for the second night in a row Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway, there was another side to that script.
Danny Dietrich and Rico Abreu exited round two on Saturday at Lincoln Speedway just three and six points off Marks’ pace, respectively, right in the thick of things.
However, when they packed up shop Sunday, quiet performances rattled the course.
Abreu started 13th and finished 12th, while Dietrich started 16th and finished 13th.
The two drivers that evoke perhaps the most fan reaction amongst the PA Speedweek field find themselves more than 100 points out of the series championship chase.
Abreu is 105 points off Marks in third. Dietrich, meanwhile, has slipped to fourth, 113 points back.
Rough start to the night, & with a wet/dirty race track, we just couldn't make up for a piss poor time trial effort at @bapsrace. Started 16th, finished 13th in the A-main. Only a couple spots from being the Jake's Carts hard charger. Take that for what it's worth.
— Danny Dietrich (@dannydietrich) June 28, 2021
📸 @ChadCwp pic.twitter.com/mGWsoPENvO
Freddie Rahmer didn’t have a headline-making night but he benefited from Abreu’s and Dietrich’s non-factor nights, moving to second in points and 101 back after finishing ninth.
All three – Rahmer, Abreu, and Dietrich – hope to swing things back in their favor as the series makes its second stop at Lincoln Speedway. Rahmer is the reigning track champion, while Abreu won a PA Speedweek show at the Abbottstown, Pa., track last year.
Dietrich is seventh all-time in wins at the venue and another victory Monday would tie him for sixth all-time with Bobby Abel at 56.
– Texas native Sam Hafertepe Jr. entered the top five in the PA Speedweek championship race on Sunday with his third-place effort.
He’s now 127 points behind Marks and 14 behind Dietrich, who’s fourth.
– Ryan Smith turned in a solid performance Sunday night at BAPS Motor Speedway.
After finishes of 15th and 18th in the opening PA Speedweek races, Smith finished second, three seconds behind Mark’s winning pace.
Post-race with @RyanSmithRacing.
— Kyle McFadden (@ByKyleMcFadden) June 28, 2021
Runner-up for him tonight at @bapsrace in round three of @PASpeedWeek. pic.twitter.com/h9YkfpUzs3
– Anthony Macri rebounded after a stunning DNQ in round two of PA Speedweek on Saturday at Lincoln.
The 22-year-old won his heat and finished fifth. He’s 164 points behind Marks in the PA Speedweek championship race.
– TJ Stutts turned in a sixth-place run Sunday night at BAPS aboard Barshinger Racing’s No. 24, righting the ship after finishing a lap down Friday at Williams Grove and failing to finish Saturday at Lincoln.
– Dylan Norris, the 17-year-old out of Hanover, Pa., registered a fine performance on Sunday.
He qualified third overall and eventually finished the 30-lap feature in seventh.
– A pair of well-known heavy hitters are set to join the PA Speedweek run Monday at Lincoln.
Kyle Larson, the NASCAR Cup Series wins leader and five-time sprint car winner this year, enters the fray aboard Paul Silva’s No. 57. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell – a Cup Series winner at Joe Gibbs Racing – makes his first dirt appearance since the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in January in the Swindell SpeedLab No. 39.
Unofficial Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek points, *expected full-week drivers only*
- No. 19M Brent Marks 471 points
- No. 51 Freddie Rahmer -101
- No. 24 Rico Abreu -105
- No. 48 Danny Dietrich -113
- No. 15 Sam Hafertepe Jr. -127
- No. 5 Paul McMahan -163
- No. 39M Anthony Macri -164
- No. 5W Lucas Wolfe -197
- No. 13 Justin Peck -205
- No. 6 Ryan Smith -223
- No. 24 TJ Stutts -263
- No. 27 Devon Borden -345
- No. 99M Kyle Moody -412
- No. 67 Justin Whittall -413