Tyler Dietz’s late model racing career started with a chance conversation.

Already a well-established ace in the pro stock class, Dietz was approached by Dan Huston about a late model he had in his garage at Lernerville Speedway’s season finale weekend, the Steel City Stampede, in 2019.

“Dan told me he had a late model in his garage that he hadn’t raced in a few years and I could race it the next day if I could get it running,” Dietz said. “He dropped it off at my garage. We got it running, and I think we started 20th and got up towards the top 10 that night. It kind of all went from there.”

Dietz, a 2007 Knoch grad, has progressed quite well in late models.

He leads the points standings in the division and paces a local contingent that will go up against the national touring drivers of the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series at Lernerville on Thursday through Saturday for the 17th annual Firecracker 100.

Saturday’s 100-lap finale pays $50,000 to the winner.

In addition to the Lucas series, the RUSH crate late model series is on the card with the Bill Emig Memorial, which pays $20,000 to the winner of Saturday night’s feature.

Dietz leads the Lernerville late model standings by a dozen points over Sarver’s Michael Norris. Defending champ John Garvin Jr., also of Sarver, is 19 points back.

“We were able to change some stuff with our program over the winter and change the shock package that we had, and we’ve been working at it week to week,” Dietz said. “It’s definitely starting to pay off. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car. The biggest thing is learning the adjustments on them. The cars are so technical and 25 pounds here or there on a corner of the car can really throw it off.”

Dietz is a three-time champ in the pro stocks and is still on top of his game in that division as well, leading the standings in that division by 32 points.

He could become a rare points champion in two divisions. The last time it happened was when Blackie Watt won two titles in 1982. David Scott nearly pulled off the feat in 2000, winning the sprint car championship, but he finished second to Nick Jones in the late model points title.

This weekend, however, is all about the late models, and there’s a new format for the Firecracker.

The field will be split in two for the preliminary nights. Each group will run a complete program, meaning there will be two 25-lap $5,000-to-win mains Thursday and Friday.

Drivers will accumulate points based on qualifying, heat race and feature finishes each night to determine starting spots for heat races Saturday.

Dietz said the new format is a benefit to local racers.

“It gives everyone more seat time,” Dietz said. “The way that it was, only 24 drivers got to run a feature Thursday and Friday. Half the field there probably feels they have a chance to win, but the other half is just there to enjoy the event and see how good they can do. It’s nice knowing that you’ll probably run a feature (Thursday and Friday). It gives the local and regional guys an opportunity to race more and do it against some of the best guys in the country.”

Ricky Thornton, Jr. is in the midst of a breakout year and is the current Lucas series point leader. Hudson O’Neal is second in series points. Two-time Firecracker winner Brandon Overton is third.

Another two-time Firecracker champion and defending winner of the event, Tim McCreadie, sits fourth. Jonathan Davenport, who won the $129,000-to-win Dream at Eldora Speedway in Ohio a couple weeks ago, will also be in attendance. The Firecracker is one of only a few major dirt late model races in the country that Davenport hasn’t won.

As the points leader, Dietz has a provisional starting spot for Saturday’s main event if he needs it. He made the Saturday feature once, finishing 20th in 2020, and is aiming to make it on merit again this year.

“The goal is to be competitive and race my way in each night,” Dietz said. “We’ve been close the last couple years, and I did race my way into it once. I think our program is the strongest it’s been. The nice thing about having a guaranteed spot is I’ve been way better at the end of the night when the track slicks off. That’s my strong suit right now, so it makes it a little easier to prepare and be ready just knowing I do have a spot in it.”

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