Jason Dietsch secured his first career title in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals. He won the event after also taking the title at the rain-delayed Gatornationals, completing a back-to-back victory within 24 hours.
Dietsch entered race day as the No. 3 qualifier, defeating Josh Hart in the opening round. He advanced past David Janac in the quarterfinals with a winning time of 7.730 seconds against Janac’s 7.770 seconds.
“I was focusing on just getting the first one this weekend,” Dietsch said. “We’re excited and this day just went so smoothly. To win both races is unbelievable. This special 25th anniversary silver Wally is really cool. I got four trophies this weekend, and that’s awesome.”
In the semifinals, Dietsch faced his son, Taylor, marking their second competition against each other at an NHRA national event. The matchup pitted the No. 2 and No. 3 qualifiers, with Dietsch winning in 7.737 seconds to Taylor’s 7.744 seconds.
“I had to race my son in the semis to get this second win,” Dietsch said. “We raced each other last year at St. Louis in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and it ended up he won. We’re super competitive. I want him to give me everything he’s got. I’m going to give him everything I got, and it’s a win for our team, no matter what.”
Dietsch’s final race was against the No. 1 qualifier, Lee Hartman, who was aiming for his first career win. Dietsch recorded his quickest run of the day with a time of 7.725 seconds at 177.93 mph, edging out Hartman, who ran a quicker 7.716 seconds.
“This weekend was tough. I had to do my job, and we got it done today,” Dietsch said. “This was awesome. This weekend is the highlight of my career. I’m pretty happy. Everyone in this class is super supportive. A lot of these guys are my customers. I build their motor homes and sell them trailers. We’re buddies off the track, but when we are on the track, we’re gonna beat each other up.”
In earlier competition, Alex Anderson claimed the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown $1,000 bounty after Jonathan Allegrucci’s Ford Mustang Cobra Jet broke at launch. Anderson won his first round of the season with a time of 7.864 seconds at 174.82 mph.
The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will return June 6-8 at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
