YORK HAVEN, Pa.: Danny Dietrich had a little less bounce in his step when he climbed out of the car Sunday night at BAPS Motor Speedway.
It’s understandable. Especially when your team loads up at one track, drives the truck and trailer 12 hours overnight, and pulls into the pit area the next day on fumes with very little sleep.
But it didn’t hurt Dietrich’s on-track performance. He stalked early-leader Jeff Halligan before pulling the trigger on a pass for the lead just short of the halfway point and drove away to his second-straight win at the York Haven facility on FK Rod Ends Night presented by Engler Machine.
“Before I go any further, I’ve got to thank Chad and Shawn,” Dietrich said after pulling into Victory Lane. “Man, we’re tired. I slept more than anybody in the truck, but it’s not very good through Indiana.
“Chad and Shawn drove their asses off to get us back here. We were really worried about time last night, and Chad said, ‘I would hit the road.’ Boy, it paid off. Chad is on two hours sleep, and I don’t know how much I got. It’s hard in the back of the truck when it bounces around.
“It’s for you, the fans. I said I was going to be here, and we really didn’t want to surrender last night [at Pevely]. We didn’t drive 12 hours to surrender, but unfortunately, sometimes, you’ve got to get your priorities right, and this is our priority … to be here for our sponsors and fans.”
Continued Dietrich, “I hope we represented well out there. Thank you to Gary Kauffman for letting us go out there. We found out we have a lot of speed against [the Outlaws], and that’s not a track that is really my forte. It was a huge group effort this weekend, and this is the way to cap it off.”
A couple of cautions marred the start of the event. Austin Bishop spun in the first corner on the initial attempt, and Billy Dietrich spun in the third corner before the opening lap could be completed.
When the race finally went green, Doug Hammaker jumped out front, with Halligan and Dietrich in tow. Halligan wrestled the top spot away on the second circuit and carried the lead for the next 12 laps.
Dietrich slipped under Hammaker entering Turn 3 on the seventh circuit. Halligan had a big lead, but the Gettysburg driver chased the leader down and grabbed the lead coming off the second corner on Lap 15.
The race for the win was over. Dietrich pulled away over the last 16 circuits and claimed his third win of the 2025 season by a hefty 6.8 seconds.
“I felt like I was really, really good around the top, and I could slide myself really deep in behind lapped cars and catch the cushion,” Dietrich said. “Respect to those guys … they probably could’ve dropped down and drove by, but they were very respectful, and I appreciate it.
“It’s just cool to come back and win. I can’t thank everybody enough … my team, sponsors, fans. I just can’t say enough.”
Dietrich was in a race of his own, but the fans were still treated to top-flight battles in the top five. The foursome of Troy Wagaman Jr., Brock Zearfoss, Anthony Macri, and Freddie Rahmer raced with a few car-lengths of each other for the better part of 15 laps, trading slide jobs and positions.
Halligan was able to hold the quartet off for second. Zearfoss threw an impressive move on Wagaman on the last lap to nail down third at the wire. Rahmer held off Macri for fifth.
In the Wingless Super Sportsman main event, Tony Jackson topped the field to claim another BAPS Motor Speedway victory.
Brett Perigo led the first seven laps before Jackson executed a pass. The leader survived multiple cautions the rest of the way and took the win by 1.489 seconds over Cliff Brian Jr. and Trent Yoder at the finish.
The Limited Late Models had a feature-only program and Coleby Frye topped a stout field to win the 20-Lap affair.
Frye was seventh after the first lap and had the lead four laps later. He had no equal the rest of the way and took the checker over Lane Snook.
- Kolten Gouse on Apr 14, 2025
- Article Date: 4/14/2025