DANNY “DOUBLE D” DIETRICH STEALS THUNDER CUP IN DRAMATIC FASHION; VONDOHREN CLAIMS MODIFIED WIN AT GRANDVIEW THUNDER THURSDAY
(Dan DeMarco Photo)
DANNY “DOUBLE D” DIETRICH STEALS THUNDER CUP IN DRAMATIC FASHION; VONDOHREN CLAIMS MODIFIED WIN AT GRANDVIEW THUNDER THURSDAY
AUGUST 27, 2020
CONTACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
BECHTELSVILLE, PA – August 27, 2020 – A wild finish and wet weather highlighted a thrilling night of racing at Grandview Speedway, on Thursday, for the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Thunder Cup presented by Levan Machine & Truck Equipment. Grandview Speedway and Thunder on the Hill pull off another upset, beating Mother Nature, her rain, thunder and lightning to complete the double header event by 11 PM. And the show was a thriller on an exceptionally well prepared and fast track. A field of twenty-five sprint cars and thirty-three modifieds were in the pits for the 139th Thunder on the Hill Racing Series event at Grandview.
In dramatic fashion, Danny Dietrich scored the Ollie’s All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car victory, and Craig VonDohren won the NASCAR 358 Modified portion of the event.
Dietrich, of Gettyburg, PA, found himself in second place when the white flag waved, with Aaron Reutzel in the lead and on his way to a third-consecutive All Star win at Grandview Speedway. The leaders swapped the top spot on lap 20 of the feature with Reutzel regaining the lead from Dietrich. But on the final lap, with slower traffic ahead, the leaders made contract entering turn one. Dietrich took the lead and the contact sent Reutzel spinning in turn one displaying the yellow flag.
“There’s not really a lot to say,” Dietrich explained about the altercation during Victory Lane ceremonies. “Our car was good, and I wanted to win.”
A pair of previous winners led the field to the green flag with Reutzel starting on the pole of the 35-lap Thunder Cup A -Main and Freddie Rahmer starting in the second position.
At the drop of the green flag, Reutzel quickly darted to the lead and held command of the field for the first ten circuits while Dietrich, Rahmer, and Christopher Bell dueled for second spot behind him. Dietrich charged inside Rahmer for second, with Bell muscling his way around Rahmer into third just two laps later.
Dietrich and Bell didn’t let Reutzel out of their sights. As the No. 48 and the No. 39 rand down Reutzel’s No. 87, and waited to strike. With Bell on his tail, Dietrich charged outside Reutzel taking the top position on lap 20.
Traffic continued to be an obstacle for the leaders, with Reutzel maneuvering back into the lead just four circuits later.
Poised and waiting for the right opportunity, Dietrich hunted down Reutzel waiting for the All Star Series Point leader to make a mistake.
The white flag flew, indicating the final trip around the one-third-mile raceway. Heavy-footed, Dietrich motored into turn 1, making contact with Reutzel who spun. The caution left Reutzel to restart in the 20th position.
Dietrich would roll on through a green, white, checkered finish to claim the Thunder Cup win and the $5,000 prize money. Christopher Bell finished in second position, Freddie Rahmer in the third position, James McFadden in fourth, and Paul McMahan in fifth.
In the NASCAR 358 Modified main event, Boyertown, PA’s Craig VonDohren battled with Reading, PA’s Doug Manmiller to win the 30 lap, $3,000 to win main event.
Justin Grim started second and led the early stages of the event before Manmiller took control on the third circuit, with VonDohren following into the second position.
VonDohren claimed the top spot on the 6th lap dueling with Manmiller side-by-side.
In the end, VonDohren would sail on to victory, his seventh career Thunder on the Hill win. Manmiller would settle for second position, Brett Kressley finished in third, Billy Pauch, Jr. in fourth, and Mike Gular finishing in the fifth spot.
A brief rain shower slowed the action during NASCAR 358 Modified qualifying. The track crew worked vigorously to maintain control of the one-third-mile clay oval, and the storm only saw a 30-minute delay. An exercise too often displayed at the Thunder on the Hill events.
Special thanks to the fans and race teams who once again supported all the efforts and displayed outstanding cooperation to get this show completed. We also thank Levan Machine and Truck Equipment of Fleetwood, PA for their support and efforts. It was truly a big win in getting this show completed.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlets All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Cars
Time Trials – 1. Aaron Reutzel – 11.713, 2. Paul McMahan – 11.725, 3. James McFadden – 11.760, 4. Tony Stewart – 11.778, 5. Freddie Rahmer – 11.804, 6. Zeb Wise – 11.843, 7. Christopher Bell – 11.843, 8. Anthony Macri – 11.856, 9. Danny Dietrich – 11.861, 10. Brock Zearfoss – 11.864, 11. Josh Baughman – 11.881, 12. Skylar Gee – 11.911, 13. Cory Eliason – 11.913, 14. Lucas Wolfe – 11.936, 15. Ryan Taylor – 11.972, 16. Brandon Rahmer – 12.014, 17. Brent Marks – 12.019, 18. Gerard McIntyre – 12.070, 19. Kyle Reinhardt – 12.074, 20. Kyle Moody – 12.132, 21. Mark Smith – 12.168, 22. Greg Wilson – 12.273, 23. Brad Howard – 12.413, 24. Brett Michalski – 12.499, 25. Chad Miller – 13.161
Heat 1 (10 Laps) – 1. Christopher 2. Aaron Reutzel 3. Tony Stewart 4. Brandon Rahmer 5. Brock Zearfoss 6. Kyle Reinhardt
Heat 2 (10 Laps) – 1. Josh Baughman 2. Anthony Macri 3. Brent Marks 4. Freddie Rahmer 5. Lucas Wolfe 6. Paul McMahan
Heat 3 (10 Laps) – 1. Danny Dietrich 2. Skylar Gee 3. James McFadden 4. Zeb Wise 5. Brett Michalski 6. Mark Smith
Dash 1 (6 Laps) – 1. Aaron Reutzel 2. Freddie Rahmer 3. Paul McMahan 4. Danny Dietrich 5. Christopher Bell 6. James McFadden 7. John Baughman 8. Tony Stewart
A-Main (35 Laps) – 1. Danny Dietrich 2. Christopher Bell 3. Freddie Rahmer 4. James McFadden 5. Paul McMahan 6. Brent Marks 7. Josh Baughman 8. Anthony Macri 9. Zeb Wise 10. Tony Stewart 11. Brandon Rahmer 12. Skylar Gee 13. Kyle Reinhardt 14. Lucas Wolfe 5. Brett Michalski 16. Cory Eliason 17. Greg Wilson 18. Brock Zearfoss 19. Kyle Moody 20. Aaron Reutzel 21. Mark Smith 22. Gerard McIntyre 23. Chad Miller 24. Bradley Howard
NASCAR 358 Modifieds
Heat 1 (10 Laps) – 1. Billy Pauch, Jr. 2. Brett Kressley 3. Bobby Trapper, Jr. 4. Justin Grim 5. Brett Gilmore 6. Kevin Hirthler
Heat 2 (10 Laps) – 1. Craig Von Dohren 2. Doug Manmiller 3. Mike Gular 4. Briggs Danner 5. Brian Hirthler 6. Jared Umbenhauer
Heat 3 (10 Laps) – 1. Rick Laubach 2. Ray Swinehart 3. Eric Biehn 4. Ryan Lilick 5. Jeff Strunk 6. Craig Whitmoyer
Consi (10 Laps) – 1. Keith Hoffman 2. Duane Howard 3. Matt Stangle 4. Ryan Watt 5. Kyle Lilick 6. Mark Kratz
Feature (30 Laps) – 1. Craig VonDohren 2. Doug Manmiller 3. Brett Kressley 4. Billy Pauch Jr. 5. Mike Gular 6. Jeff Strunk 7. Justin Grim 8. Bobby Trapper, Jr. 9. Rick Laubach 10. Briggs Danner 11. Ray Swineahrt 12. Brian Hirthler 13. Ryan Watt 14. Matt Stangle 15. Ryan Lilick 16. Jared Umbenhauer 17. Eric Biehn 18. Keith Hoffman 19. Craig Whitmoyer 20. Kyle Lilick 21. Kevin Hirthler 22. Brett Gilmore 23. Mark Kratz 24. Duane Howard.
