ROSSBURG, Pa. — Danny Dietrich didn’t want to head back to the trailer Saturday afternoon at Eldora Speedway.
Finishing second to Tyler Courtney in the 38th Kings Royal was a monumental accomplishment for he and his team, and he wanted to preserve the moment.
“Hey, guys, don’t go anywhere,” Dietrich told his team. “Let’s get a picture.”
So, there Dietrich and his crew stood, on the concrete runway right outside victory lane, smiling through their sunburned faces for a photo in front of the Gary Kauffman Racing No. 48 machine.
They came just .711 seconds shy of the $175,000 prize. In the 37th Kings Royal that night, Dietrich finished 10th. Dietrich and company were one of four teams to earn top 10 runs in both Kings Royals.
The others were Brad Sweet, Carson Macedo and Sheldon Haudenschild.
Just two weeks ago, Dietrich was sick of these shortcomings. He won the Pennsylvania Speedweek championship without actually winning a race. Instead, he used seven top four finishes across those eight races for the mini-series title. He did, however, receive a trophy in the form of a glass vase for winning PA Speedweek, but Dietrich didn’t want to accept that as a prize.
“I appreciate what they do for PA Speedweek, trophy and purse and all … but I just want to win some [expletive] races,” Dietrich said after a win slipped away at Selinsgrove Speedway in the PA Speedweek finale on July 4.
Dietrich has won twice all year: March 14 at Lincoln Speedway and June 15 at Sharon Speedway with the All Star Circuit of Champions.
But the thing is, with a top-five rate at nearly 50 percent (26 in 55 races), he’s having one of his most efficient years, which has left him confused as to how to close the gap.
“I don’t know what I have to do to win,” Dietrich said. “I feel like we’ve tried everything.”
On Saturday at Eldora, Dietrich finally felt a sense of reward. By his math, he’s made three trips to the Rossburg, Ohio, clay oval, failing to make a feature up until Saturday.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had any speed here,” Dietrich said. “We didn’t come in here with any notes, I can tell you that.”
But the simplistics helped Dietrich drive freely. He started eighth in the 40-lap main event and by the midway mark, he passed Donny Schatz to crack the top four.
“We were just solid all day,” Dietrich said. “Despite having a burned face and a tired crew, it’s rewarding.”
Once he raced to third, he stared down Courtney and Gravel.
“I thought, ‘Boy, if they both slip up, I just need to put myself in a position where if they screw up I can [capitalize],’” Dietrich said.
Courtney never faltered, racing to his first Kings Royal title in his debut in the event, but Dietrich was equally smooth. A step out of the rubber from Courtney, or mismanagement of his tires, and Dietrich could have pounced. For that reason, a silver lining was there for the taking.
“We aeren’t winning races right now, but we’re having one hell of a year,” Dietrich said. “This might be one of those years if we can’t get these freaking wins, we have had a really good second half of the season. And it’s the month of money. Hope we can keep this moving. You have to be consistent to make money. That’s what we are doing right now.”