BILLINGS, Mont. – Phil Dietz closed out his 2021 racing season with a bang, winning the ASCS Frontier Region sprint car series finale Saturday night at Big Sky Speedway.
The Laurel, Montana driver was running second and inherited the lead when points leader Logan Forler jumped the cushion and spun out with nine laps completed. Dietz held of Helena, Montana’s Trever Kirkland and led the remaining 16 laps and scored his second win of the season aboard his No. 72 Maxim.
Dietz, who ran part time in ASCS Frontier Region action this season after retiring from racing for about four years, also won at Big Sky Speedway on July 23rd. Saturday’s win was his ninth career ASCS Frontier Region victory, tying him with J.J. Hickle for fourth on the series all-time win list, dating back to the region’s start in 2013.
Kirkland, a two-time winner this season, finished second aboard his No. 37 Shark-powered Triple X and earned his tenth Top 5 finish this season. He finished the season fourth in the points after a late season surge of two wins and several podium finishes vaulted him from well outside the top ten following a disastrous opening stretch.
Forler regrouped from his earlier mistake and came back to finish third in his family’s No. 2L Fischer-powered Maxim. His series leading 12th Top 5 finish of the season was more than enough to lock up the 2021 ASCS Frontier Region championship for the Boise, Idaho driver, and this came despite sitting out a main event in late July with mechanical issues. Forler, who won Friday night at Gallatin Speedway, had a series leading five wins this season.
Tyler Driever of Meridian, Idaho finished fourth in his family’s No. 33t Shark-powered Maxim and locked up second place in the points as well as Rookie of the Year honors for the 19-year-old. James Setters of Spirit Lake, Idaho finished fifth in his family’s No. 2J Borillo-powered Helix. Kory Wermling crashed out late after contact with another car and was scored eighth, but still secured third place in the final points standings.
Heat races earlier in the evening were won by Kirkland and Forler.
Saturday’s finale was the 16th event completed by the ASCS Frontier Region in 2021. One other event was rained out. The series ran at five different tracks in Montana, Wyoming and Utah.
More information on the Frontier Region of the American Sprint Car Series, as well as the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour and other ASCS regional tours, can be found online at www.ascsracing.com. Stagg Motor Sports, the promoting company of the ASCS Frontier Region, can be found at www.staggmotorsports.com.
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American Sprint Car Series – Frontier Region
Big Sky Speedway
Billings, MT
September 11, 2021
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
10 cars
Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 37 Trever Kirkland, 2. 72 Phil Dietz, 3. 2J James Setters, 4. 9k Kory Wermling, DNS – 20 David Hoiness.
Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 2L Logan Forler, 2. 33t Tyler Driever, 3. 28 Joe Perry, 4. 2 Shad Petersen, 5. 81 Darren Smith.
Feature (25 laps): 1. 72 Phil Dietz, 2. 37 Trever Kirkland, 3. 2L Logan Forler, 4. 33t Tyler Driever, 5. 2J James Setters, 6. 2 Shad Petersen, 7. 81 Darren Smith, 8. 9k Kory Wermling, 9. 28 Joe Perry, DNS – 20 David Hoiness.
