BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. (August 27, 2020) – ‘Double-D’ Danny Dietrich defended Pennsylvania Posse Territory proudly on Thursday night and opened the four-day Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 swing through the Keystone State with a victory at Grandview Speedway. The second Series win of the season for the Gettysburg-native, Dietrich was forced to outduel two-time All Star champion and championship point leader, Aaron Reutzel, on his way to the Thunder Cup win, doing so in dramatic fashion with just one circuit remaining.
Dietrich, who was battling in the second position when the white flag was waved, made incidental contact with race leader, Aaron Reutzel, as the duo were entering turn one. The contact, Dietrich’s front bumper to Reutzel’s back bumper, caused the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports entry to lose grip and spin, ultimately allowing Dietrich to inherit the top spot. Dietrich survived the ensuing green-white-checkered restart to score the $5,000 payday. The Grandview Speedway win bumps Dietrich’s All Star career-win total to 13.
“We were really good. I wanted to win pretty bad,” Danny Dietrich said, driver of the Gary Kauffman Racing, Weikert’s Livestock, Sandoe’s Fruit Market, Pace Performance, Big Cove Whitetail Trophy Hunts, Drop Of Ink Tattoo, Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Self Made, Graver’s Garage, No. 48 sprint car. “Aaron (Reutzel) and I race each other pretty hard. I can’t thank my crew enough. These guys work hard all week to come out here and do this.”
Utilizing the pole position, Reutzel jumped to the early advantage with Freddie Rahmer, Paul McMahan and Danny Dietrich in tow. Reutzel maintained control for the first 20 circuits, keeping a firm grip on the field even after slower traffic appeared as early as lap eight. In the meantime, Dietrich was climbing, eventually sneaking by McMahan to take control of third on lap six, just before driving underneath Freddie Rahmer to snag second three circuits later.
A caution on lap 12 gave Dietrich the opportunity to restart on the tail tank of Reutzel. Despite clean air and a clear track for the Texan, Dietrich stayed glued to the No. 87, keeping pace as the duo found the back of the field yet again on lap 17.
On lap 21, Dietrich made his first bid for the lead, using momentum to blast around Reutzel at the exit of turn two. Not deterred by the move, Reutzel returned the favor on lap 24, also using momentum to blast around Dietrich to reclaim the top spot at the exit of turn two. Reutzel maintained control until lap 34, hugging the very bottom of the speedway where the faster groove seemed to be. With less than a car length separating the lead pair, the duo made the aforementioned contact entering turn one on the white flag lap.
“I think we had the better car,” Dietrich continued. “I could run way harder into the corner than (Reutzel) could. We have twin features tomorrow night. We’ll be back at it then.”
Christopher Bell, who climbed from fifth, chased Dietrich during the green-white-checkered finish, followed by Freddie Rahmer, James McFadden and Paul McMahan.
Ollies Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Grandview Speedway
Bechtelsville, PA
Thursday August 27, 2020
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.713; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 11.725; 3. 9-James McFadden, 11.760; 4. 14-Tony Stewart, 11.778; 5. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 11.804; 6. 11-Zeb Wise, 11.843; 7. 39-Christopher Bell, 11.843; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri, 11.856; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich, 11.861; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 11.864; 11. 17-Josh Baughman, 11.881; 12. 99-Skylar Gee, 11.911; 13. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.913; 14. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 11.936; 15. 20-Ryan Taylor, 11.972; 16. 88-Brandon Rahmer, 12.014; 17. 5-Brent Marks, 12.019; 18. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.070; 19. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 12.074; 20. 99M-Kyle Moody, 12.132; 21. M1-Mark Smith, 12.168; 22. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.273; 23. 49H-Bradley Howard, 12.413; 24. 73B-Brett Michalski, 12.500; 25. 88C-Chad Miller, 13.161
Heat #1 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 39-Christopher Bell [2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart [3]; 4. 88-Brandon Rahmer [6]; 5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [7]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 9. 88C-Chad Miller [9]
Heat #2 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 17-Josh Baughman [1]; 2. 39M-Anthony Macri [2]; 3. 5-Brent Marks [6]; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer [3]; 5. 24-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 6. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 7. 99M-Kyle Moody [7]; 8. 49H-Bradley Howard [8]
Heat #3 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 48-Danny Dietrich [2]; 2. 99-Skylar Gee [1]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 11-Zeb Wise [3]; 5. 73B-Brett Michalski [8]; 6. M1-Mark Smith [7]; 7. 20-Ryan Taylor [5]; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 51-Freddie Rahmer [2]; 3. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 5. 39-Christopher Bell [5]; 6. 9-James McFadden [6]; 7. 17-Josh Baughman [8]; 8. 14-Tony Stewart [7]
A-Main (35 Laps)
1. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 2. 39-Christopher Bell [5]; 3. 51-Freddie Rahmer [2]; 4. 9-James McFadden [6]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 6. 5-Brent Marks [11]; 7. 17-Josh Baughman [7]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri [9]; 9. 11-Zeb Wise [12]; 10. 14-Tony Stewart [8]; 11. 88-Brandon Rahmer [13]; 12. 99-Skylar Gee [10]; 13. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [15]; 14. 24-Lucas Wolfe [14]; 15. 73B-Brett Michalski [16]; 16. 26-Cory Eliason [17]; 17. W20-Greg Wilson [21]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [19]; 19. 99M-Kyle Moody [20]; 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 21. M1-Mark Smith [18]; 22. O7-Gerard McIntyre [22]; 23. 88C-Chad Miller [24]; 24. 49H-Bradley Howard [23] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-20), Danny Dietrich (21-23), Aaron Reutzel (24-34), Danny Dietrich (35,36)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of August 27, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 4418
2. Cory Eliason – 4342
3. Zeb Wise – 4142
4. Paul McMahan – 3920
5. Skylar Gee – 3870
6. Greg Wilson – 3760
7. Josh Baughman – 3628
8. Kyle Larson – 2642
9. Brock Zearfoss – 2518
10. Danny Dietrich – 2486