Dietrich Powers From Eighth To Win 44th Williams Grove Jack Gunn Memorial In Style
2026-08-22 14:35
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Mechanicsburg - In a performance of sheer power, Danny Dietrich of Gettysburg took no prisoners and charged from eighth to the win in the 44th annual Jack Gunn Memorial for 410 sprint cars at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night.
To get the $8,000 win, Dietrich had to pass the nation's winningest driver in the form of Chase Dietz.
The victory was his second in a row in the prestigious Williams Grove event and his fourth overall.
In other action, Tony Jackson swept both 20-lap super sportsman mains, taking wins in both the winged and wingless divisions.
Dietrich's charge to the lead and win in the 30-lap Gunn Memorial was nothing short of impressive.
After starting eighth Dietrich broke into the top five on the fifth lap as Chase Dietz led the field.
Dietrich first drove by Freddie Rahmer and then Preston Lattomus and with six away he was up to fourth behind Logan Rumsey.
With a full head of steam Dietrich methodically tracked down and drove by each of his competitors, getting Rumsey on lap eight and Brent Shearer for second on lap nine.
At that point Dietz held a five second lead over the field but Dietrich was having none of it.
The leader entered traffic with 10 laps down and Dietrich closed the gap quickly and was trailing by just 1.5 seconds at the halfway point and with 10 laps to go Dietz's advantage was just .664 seconds.
Dietrich took his first swipe for the lead with an inside run in the first corner with seven to go only to see Dietz ride the cushion back into control.
And then the only caution flag of the race appeared with five laps remaining for three-time Gunn winner Lance Dewease who was sitting high between the first and second turns.
The yellow flag wiped out a .762 second lead held by Dietz.
Dietrich raced in the leader's shadow on the restart and simply pounded the outside line into submission.
With unbridled power and speed Dietrich set his No. 48 machine as high into the first corner on lap 28 as he had run the entire race in the hopes he would come through the corner unscathed as well as with the lead.
And the move worked masterfully as he muscled enough of a run to draw beside Dietz on the cushion before willing his car into control as the pair raced onto the backstretch.
Dietz was left to ride home second by 1.885 seconds.
Rumsey was third followed by Cameron Smith and Freddie Rahmer.
Sixth through 10th went to Troy Wagaman Jr., Preston Lattomus, Justin Whittall, Austin Bishop and Brent Shearer.
Heats went to Shearer, Whittall, Wagaman and Lattomus.
Joey Amantea won the consolation race.
Dietz set fas time over the 35-car field with a lap of 16.692 seconds.
Tony Jackson started eighth in the winged super sportsman main and was up to third by lap seven, behind leaders Kenny Edkin and Jay Fannasy.
It seemed as though Jackson was destined to finish second behind Edkin as the race waned however Edkin slowed to a stop with just four laps to go, surrendering the lead and win to Jackson.
Jackson then started fourth in the wingless sportsman feature before taking second on the fourth circuit.
He overtook leader Marty Brian on lap seven before driving to the victory.
Jackson set fast time over the wingless field with a lap of 21.110 seconds.
Scott Dellinger was fastest over the winged sportsman cars with a lap of 20.235 seconds.
Feature Finishes
8/21//26
410 Sprints, 30 Laps: 1. Danny Dietrich, 2. Chase Dietz, 3. Logan Rumsey, 4. Cameron Smith, 5. Freddie Rahmer, 6. Troy Wagaman Jr., 7. Preston Lattomus, 8. Justin Whittall, 9. Austin Bishop, 10. Brent Shearer, 11. Kyle Moody, 12. JJ Loss, 13. Lance Dewease, 14. Doug Hammaker, 15. Dylan Norris, 16. Mike Thompson, 17. TJ Stutts, 18. Ryan Newton, 19. Dallas Schott, 20. Joey Amantea, 21. Matt Campbell, 22. Lucas Wolfe, 23. Tyler Ross, 24. Ryan Smith
DNQ: Buddy Schweibinz, Samuel Miller, Cole Knopp, Jake Karklin, Talan Haas, Kody Lehman, Brie Hershey, Troy Fraker, Dylan Cisney, Chris Frank, Jordan Givler
Wingless super sportsman, 20 laps: 1. Tony Jackson, 2. Cliff Brian Jr., 3. Marty Brian, 4. Steve Wilbur, 5. Curt Stroup, 6. Brandon Shearer, 7. Jay Fannasy, 8. Jordan Fulton, 9. Frankie Herr, 10. Chad Thomas, 11. Luke Lenker, 12. Derek Sheaffer, 13. Lee Kauffman, 14. Ricky Rutt, 15. Adam Meier, 16. Evan Semhoff III., 17. Scott Smith, 18. Andy Burkhart, 19. Stan Wanner, 20. Roy Denike, 21. Brian Nace, 22. Chris Henry
Winged super sportsman, 20 laps: 1. Tony Jackson, 2. Jay Fannasy, 3. John Edkin, 4. Troy Rhome, 5. Scott Dellinger, 6. Frankie Herr, 7. Paul Miller, 8. Adam Edkin, 9. Timmie Barrick, 10. Chris Keshishian, 11. Barry Thomas Sr., 12. Chad Baker, 13. Derek Sheaffer, 14. Stan Wanner, 15. Tyler Wolford, 16. Evan Semhoff III., 17. Kenny Edkin, 18. Scott Smith, 19. Matt Ondek, 20. Roy Denike, 21. JT Meier