WEST LEBANON, NY (July 30, 2017) – Wrapping up a weekend that included double round trips from Pennsylvania to New York, “Double-D” Danny Dietrich is now a two-time main event winner with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions in the state of New York, leading all 25 laps around the Lebanon Valley Speedway half-mile to score $7,000 for his part-time car owner, Tom Buch.
Dietrich’s dominating performance, crossing under the final checkers two seconds ahead of the running order, concluded a productive weekend in the Empire State for the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, native; two podium finishes including a fourth place performance at Outlaw Speedway on Friday. The pilot of the Apex/Sweeney Cars/Pace Performance/DKW Transport/No. 13 is now an eight-time winner during Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions competition over the course of his young career; his first in New York since 2013.
“Man, this is such a big win for this team,” Danny Dietrich explained in victory lane. “This is Tom Buch’s first All Star win as a car owner, so this is obviously really special. It has been a long weekend; a lot of running around and covering a lot of miles. Luckily for me, I have great people who stand behind me. I can’t thank Tom enough for his opportunity. Unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow so there won’t be much celebrating tonight.”
After a caution during the opening circuit which forced a complete restart, it was “Double-D” Danny Dietrich earning the early advantage, driving by the flagstand for the first time with Caleb Armstrong and Chad Kemenah in tow. Despite an additional caution on lap three, as well as traffic coming into play as early as lap nine, Dietrich maintained a strong command, extending his advantage to nearly a half-straightaway before caution flags waved again on lap 14.
After a quick fuel stop, Dietrich brought the field back to life, quickly returning to his lengthy lead over Armstrong, Swindell and Kemenah. Dietrich’s advantage quickly grew to two seconds, but caution flags flew again on lap 18 erasing all of his momentum.
From that point forward, it was all Danny Dietrich at the front of the running order, quickly returning to his familiar half-straightaway command during the course of the final eight circuits, ultimately crossing under the final checkers two seconds ahead of Caleb Armstrong, Sammy Swindell, Chad Kemenah, and “Smoke” Tony Stewart.
“I figured we were in pretty good shape even after that fuel stop,” Dietrich said. “I felt comfortable the entire race, even after we got into some heavy traffic. Hopefully I can carry this momentum into August. We’ll be heading west in a few days.”
The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will not return to competition until Thursday evening, August 17, when the Series reunites with the notorious Pennsylvania Posse for a four-pack of events over four straight days. The return to Central Pennsylvania will include visits to Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville on Thursday, August 17; Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg on Friday, August 18; Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown on Saturday, August 19; and Susquehanna Speedway near York Haven on Sunday, August 20.
More news and notes pertaining to the Arctic Cat All Star weekend in Central Pennsylvania will be posted in the near future. Fans are encouraged to stay tuned online at www.allstarsprint.com.
Contingency Awards/Results: Lebanon Valley Speedway- Sunday, July 30, 2017:
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 25 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Sammy Swindell – 16.997 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Sammy Swindell – 16.894 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Tony Stewart
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Caleb Armstrong
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Paulie Colagiovanni
JE Pistons Dash #1: Danny Dietrich
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Caleb Armstrong (2nd)
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Brandon Spithaler (+14)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Tony Stewart
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Coleman Gulick
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Lee Jacobs
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 35s-Sammy Swindell, 16.894; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, 17.064; 3. 17-Caleb Helms, 17.206; 4. 91-Anthony Fiore, 17.592; 5. 5-Justin Barger, 17.595; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs, 17.692; 7. 98-Joe Trenca, 17.749; 8. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 17.828; 9. 35-Tyler Esh, 17.862
Group (B)
1. 14C-Coleman Gulick, 17.28; 2. 13D-Danny Dietrich, 17.319; 3. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 17.422; 4. 13-Brandon Matus, 17.654; 5. 7K-Dan Shetler, 17.696; 6. 8M-TJ Michael, 17.899; 7. 51-John Garvin, 18.33; 8. 33-Brent Matus, 18.686
Group ( C )
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 17.237; 2. 59-Ryan Smith, 17.438; 3. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 17.509; 4. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni, 17.588; 5. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 17.609; 6. 33MM-Matt Tanner, 17.738; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison, 17.76; 8. 10-Joe Kata, 17.906
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 9 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [3]; 2. 91-Anthony Fiore [1]; 3. 17-Caleb Helms [2]; 4. 35S-Sammy Swindell [4]; 5. 5-Justin Barger [5]; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs [6]; 7. 98-Joe Trenca [7]; 8. 1080-Jordan Mackison [8]; 9. 35-Tyler Esh [9]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 9 Transfer
1. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [2]; 2. 13D-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 13-Brandon Matus [1]; 4. 14C-Coleman Gulick [4]; 5. 7K-Dan Shetler [5]; 6. 51-John Garvin [7]; 7. 8M-TJ Michael [6]; 8. 33-Brent Matus [8]
Heat #3 – Group ( C ) (8 Laps) – Top 9 Transfer
1. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni [1]; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 3. 33M-Max Stambaugh [2]; 4. 59-Ryan Smith [3]; 5. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]; 6. 22-Brandon Spithaler [5]; 7. 10-Joe Kata [8]; 8. 33MM-Matt Tanner [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 13D-Danny Dietrich [1]; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [2]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 4. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni [3]; 5. 17-Caleb Helms [5]; 6. 35S-Sammy Swindell [8]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart [6]; 8. 91-Anthony Fiore [7]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 13D-Danny Dietrich [1]; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [2]; 3. 35S-Sammy Swindell [6]; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah [3]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [7]; 6. 17-Caleb Helms [5]; 7. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni [4]; 8. 7K-Dan Shetler [14]; 9. 33M-Max Stambaugh [9]; 10. 14C-Coleman Gulick [11]; 11. 22-Brandon Spithaler [25]; 12. 59-Ryan Smith [12]; 13. 5-Justin Barger [13]; 14. 51-John Garvin [16]; 15. 81-Lee Jacobs [17]; 16. 35-Tyler Esh [24]; 17. 1080-Jordan Mackison [23]; 18. 8M-TJ Michael [18]; 19. 10-Joe Kata [21]; 20. 33-Brent Matus [22]; 21. 13-Brandon Matus [10]; 22. 95-Hunter Mackison [15]; 23. 91-Anthony Fiore [8]; 24. 33MM-Matt Tanner [20]; 25. 98-Joe Trenca [19] Lap Leaders: Danny Dietrich [1-25]
Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (July 30, 2017):
1. Chad Kemenah – 4244
2. Ryan Smith – 3954
3. Caleb Armstrong – 3916
4. Max Stambaugh – 3580
5. Caleb Helms – 3430
6. T.J. Michael – 3367
7. Brandon Spithaler – 3347
8. Tyler Esh – 3225
9. Brandon Matus – 3162
10. John Garvin – 3082