ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa -- Greg Hodnett and Danny Dietrich ended the 2011 racing season at Lincoln Speedway by capturing Friday's Twin 20’s for 410 Sprint cars on John Gleim, Jr. Excavating 59th Anniversary Night.
Hodnett’s Trone Outdoor Motorsports sprinter raced home the winner of the first 20 lap main, while Dietrich drove the Gary Kauffman Motorsports mount to victory in the second feature. Hodnett also set a new one lap track record in time trials with a lap of 13.137 seconds. That eclipses the previous record of 13.200 set by Alan Krimes on October 8, 2011.
Fifth-starting Fred Rahmer was up to second on the restart but Gerard McIntyre, Jr. kept the 10-time track champion at bay before Rahmer took the lead with 11 laps complete. Hodnett, who started sixth moved into second spot on lap 12 and began to close on the leader when Rahmer made contact with the backstretch wall and then crashed hard into the third turn wall bringing out a red flag.
Hodnett assumed the point and was never challenged in scoring his second straight win in the Pigeon Hills and his 25th career, moving him into 11th place on the all-time track win list.
“We were very fortunate tonight, there was obviously a lot of contact in front of us and we just took advantage of their misfortune,” said the Thomasville driver following his $2,700 payday, according to the track's website. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. We’ll take any break we can get.”
Hodnett saw Rahmer’s contact with the wall as he was chasing down the leader with five laps to go. “We were good in three and four and could run pretty hard,” he added. “He tapped the wall in two and I was doing the same thing trying to open up the entry and then he really wopped it in three.”
Four-time track champion Brian Montieth finished in the runner-up spot over Danny Dietrich.
Dietrich, who lined up sixth on the original start blasted from third to first on the lap six restart to assume command of the second feature race.
Despite several late race yellow flags for spins by Lynton Jeffrey, Dietrich was able to keep the field at bay and score his fourth win of the year and seventh of his Lincoln career.
“We wouldn’t want to have it any other way,” said the Aspers driver as he capped off a great season in victory lane. “We’ve been so close the last several weeks and we knew eventually we were gonna be in victory lane. Just glad we could do it tonight.”
Jim Siegel finished in the runner-up spot over Alan Krimes, Montieth, 12th starting Chad Layton, Hodnett, Cory Haas, Marks, Bohlke and Nick Schlauch, Jr.
“This team behind me and my crew work so hard,” Dietrich added. “I just wheel this thing and they do the rest. You win races from the shop, too.”
Justin Henderson of Indiana won the annual Fall Fest 410 feature Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway. Brain Leppo started on the pole for the 25-lap Lawrence Chevrolet feature, but on the sixth lap, Henderson gained the lead with a fourth-turn pass. Henderson was later able to gain a 12-length edge.
Henderson's comfortable lead was lost with a lap 20 caution. Following the restart, Henderson drove away from the field for his second victory of the season. Daryn Pittman finished in second with Steve Buckwalter, Fred Rahmer and Greg Hodnett rounding out the top six.
Cannon finished first in the 358 feature and gained enough points to win the 2011 Williams Grove Speedway 358 Sprint Car point title.
Information used in this story was provided by Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway. Video used in this report is courtesy of www.SportsPlusVideo.com and Lynn Schaeffer Productions.
