(Image Credit: Soldierboy Productions)
Andrew Kunas (September 12, 2015) BELGRADE, Mont. - Phil Dietz continued his march towards a fifth Montana sprint car championship when he won the Big Sky Supernationals at Gallatin Speedway in ASCS Frontier Region competition.
It was the third win of the season for the Laurel, Montana driver, piloting the Dietz Prevost Racing No. 72 Kistler-powered Maxim, this coming after a winless 2014 season. With the win, Dietz now holds a commanding 269-point lead with four scheduled events left. The 2013 ASCS Frontier Region champion also won titles under different banners in Montana in 2003, 2007 and 2012.
Dietz started the 25-lap feature on the pole after the Top 8 redraw. Billings driver Joe Perry, who was the high points scorer in heat race action earlier in the evening, challenged Dietz for the lead midway through the event, leading Lap 12 by the nose of his car, but Dietz motored back ahead on the next lap and didn't look back from there.
Perry eventually slipped back to third place as Helena, Montana's Trever Kirkland moved into the second position. While unable to seriously challenge Dietz, Kirkland still took a season best runner-up finish aboard the Kirkland Racing No. 37 Shark-powered Triple X. Perry settled for a podium finish aboard his father Chuck's No. 28 Santos & Sons-powered Maxim despite losing a tire at the finish.
East Helena's Jerry Brown Jr., who returned to the drivers seat a couple of months ago after being out of the car for a couple of years, made a late run to finish fourth in the Brown Racing No. 38 Maxim. Josh Ostermiller of Billings took fifth place in the Harvey Ostermiller No. 12 Wesmar-powered Gf1.
Magrath, Alberta youngster Cody Masse finished sixth to match his career best mark. Jeremy McCune was involved in a late race accident but still came back to finish seventh. Jay Burns, Shad Petersen and Roger Cummings rounded out the Top 10.
Heat races earlier in the evening were won by Ostermiller, Perry and Dietz. Perry made a last lap pass of McCune to win Heat 2, and in going from the fifth starting position to win that one he earned the high passing points score of the evening with a mark of 120. As part of Gallatin Speedway's annual Big Sky Supernationals weekend, all heat races were ten laps in length instead of the typical eight.
The ASCS Frontier Region next moves to Billings Motorsports Park for the annual Dan Laber Memorial next Friday and Saturday, September 18th and 19th. J.J. Hickle of Washington is the defending overall winner of the event. The series closes its 2015 season with the rescheduled Montana Round-Up at Electric City Speedway on Friday and Saturday, September 25th and 26th.
The Frontier Region of the American Sprint Car Series, presented in part by Speedmart Inc. is a winged 360 dirt sprint car tour racing around the state of Montana and beyond. More information on the ASCS Frontier Region can be found online at frontier.ascsracing.com or you can follow the series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ascsfrontier. The national website of the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by MAVTV Motorsports Network is www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
ASCS Frontier Region
Gallatin Speedway – Belgrade, Mont.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Car Count: 18
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 12-Josh Ostermiller; 2. 38-Jerry Brown Jr; 3. 22-Chris Roberts; 4. 35-Charles (Chip) Roe; 5. 24-Leroy Brush; 6. 4N-John Nelson
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Joe Perry; 2. 0J-Jeremy McCune; 3. 0-Jay Burns; 4. 35M-Cody Masse; 5. 3M-Shane Moore; 6. 4-Cliff Nelson Jr.
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 72-Phil Dietz; 2. 27DD-David Hoiness; 3. 37-Trever Kirkland; 4. 38B-Bryan Brown; 5. 2-Shad Peterson; 6. 00-Roger Cummings
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 72-Phil Dietz[1]; 2. 37-Trever Kirkland[4]; 3. 28-Joe Perry[3]; 4. 38-Jerry Brown Jr[2]; 5. 12-Josh Ostermiller[6]; 6. 35M-Cody Masse[7]; 7. 0J-Jeremy McCune[5]; 8. 0-Jay Burns[10]; 9. 2-Shad Peterson[15]; 10. 00-Roger Cummings[18]; 11. 27DD-David Hoiness[8]; 12. 35-Charles (Chip) Roe[12]; 13. 24-Leroy Brush[13]; 14. 4-Cliff Nelson Jr.[17]; 15. (DNF) 38B-Bryan Brown[9]; 16. (DNF) 22-Chris Roberts[11]; 17. (DNF) 3M-Shane Moore[14]; 18. (DNF) 4N-John Nelson[16]
- Bryan Hulbert on Sep 13, 2015
- Article Date: 9/13/2015