You have to LOVE a FIRST TIME WINNER

In all my years of going to the dirt track races, about 30 of them, it's ALWAYS just a special night, a "feel good" night if you will, a night that just about everyone in the grandstands gets on their feet at the end of the feature race, and stands there and applauds the winner, it doesn't matter who your "favorit driver" is....It's a night at the races when a racer, who has paid his "dues" over many years, FINALLY gets his first career win.

That's exactly the scenario that went down at the Big Diamond Raceway last Friday night....Long time racer and BDR supporter Dale Hartz SHOCKED the Pa sbm racing scene Friday night, when he drove the Huber #178 to victory lane for the first time EVER in the sbm division....The night started off pretty well for Hartz and the #178 team, as in his heat, he lead the enitre distance, only to have the hottest driver on the scene lately, Craig Von Dohren, go up on the outside on the last lap, in turn 4, and pass the #178 for the heat win, not a bad way to start the night off though, eh....Now it was Feature Race time, and Hartz started the #178 on the pole, on the outside of him was Colt Harris in the C7....The green flag drops and Hartz leads the way....Only 2 caution flags flew during this race, and both were early in the feature race....The race goes back green, and with about the last 20 laps going non stop, Dale Hartz CHECKED OUT, I mean he was GONE, and the Huber #178 was FLYING on Friday night....Towards the final laps of the race, Hartz had to deal with lapped traffic, which he did VERY WELL, but the traffic did allow 2nd place finisher Mike Nicholas to close the gap a bit, but it wasn't close enough.

When the checkered flag flew, it was Dale Hartz taking the win for the first time in the sbm division....Hartz did win at BDR years back when he raced in the Road Runner division, then he moved up to the SPTS class, never won....And a few years back Hartz and his family and team moved up to the sbm's....Hartz did have some success over the years, but nothing to compare what transpired Friday night....As a matter of fact, almost a year ago, during the running of BDR's biggest race, the Coal Cracker 100, Hartz found himself upside down ON FIRE, on the frontstretch in the family owned #15, WOW, talk about paying your dues....Almost a year later from that horrible accident, during this year BDR's Pepsi Challenge Night (which by the way, last year, another first time winner won on this night, Ryan Grim took his first sbm win) it all FINALLY PAID OFF for Dale Hartz and his race team....As Dale Hartz FINALLY got to feel what it's like to be on top of the racing world he's known for many years....With the fans in the grandstands, standing and applauding him, as he was doing that "roof dance" many racers do after that first BIG WIN....OH YEAH, YOU HAVE TO LOVE A FIRST TIME WINNER.