When Chase Dietz teamed with Stehman Motorsports and accomplished crew chief Tommy Carl at the beginning of the 2025 season, he knew his chances of contending for more victories around Central Pennsylvania and beyond would increase.
After winning 11 races from 2021-24 while driving for car owner John Trone and his family-owned No. 2D team, Dietz nearly matched that total in his first season with Stehman Motorsports, collecting nine victories in 71 starts in 2025.
Now, just halfway through 2026, the 29-year-old already has 15 victories — more than he managed over the previous four seasons combined and well on his way to surpassing his win total from the previous five years combined. Wednesday night's victory at Port Royal Speedway was his nation-leading 15th overall and fourth through the first six races of PA Speedweek.
Fifteen-win campaigns aren't too common in modern 410 Sprint Car racing. Outside of last season — when Rico Abreu, David Gravel, Cap Henry, Anthony Macri and Ryan Timms all reached the mark — no more than two drivers had done so in a season since 2020.
Dietz, meanwhile, is there by July 1, the earliest anyone has since Donny Schatz reached 15 victories by June 27, 2017. Even Macri didn't notch his 15th win until July 8 during his 23-win 2022 season, while Kyle Larson didn't get there until July 14 on his way to his illustrious 32-win Sprint Car campaign in ’20.
“I knew I was capable of doing it. I knew this team was capable of doing it. It was just a matter of everyone putting in the work and being on the same page,” Dietz said. “We’re making it happen. We’re going to ride the wave while we can. We still have a couple races left this week and a lot more the rest of the year. We’ll keep plugging away.”
While his blazing first half has carried into the early stages of the second, Dietz is far from satisfied. At his current pace, a 23-win season — if not more — is well within reach.
Plenty of opportunities remain, including Central Pennsylvania's biggest events — the $100,000 Weikert Memorial, Tuscarora 50 and National Open — as well as marquee national races like Eldora Speedway's Kings Royal and Knoxville Raceway's Knoxville Nationals.
Before any of that, however, comes the immediate task at hand: securing what would be his first PA Speedweek championship.
Dietz's late rally around race-long leader Anthony Macri on Wednesday at Port Royal — when he darted beneath the three-time reigning PA Speedweek champ after Macri lost momentum while trying to lap a slower car with three laps remaining — could ultimately prove to be the defining moment of this year's title fight.
The pass represented a 50-point swing in the Speedweek standings, extending Dietz's advantage over Macri from 40 to 65 points because the winner receives 125 points while the runner-up earns 100. Had Macri held on, Dietz's lead would have been trimmed to just 15 points entering Thursday's Round 7 at Hagerstown Speedway.
But landing on the favorable side of those toss-up situations — where one timely break can determine a driver's night — is simply another sign of the proverbial wave Dietz and Stehman Motorsports are riding right now.
“We’re very fortunate to have started up front and to have capitalized on the situation there with Anthony at the end,” Dietz said. “We’ll take it.”
The breaks have fallen his way, but only because Dietz has repeatedly put himself in position to capitalize. He patiently reeled in and passed Freddie Rahmer in Monday's $50,019 Steve Smith Tribute Race, drove from seventh to win Sunday's BAPS feature, and overcame an imperfect car through turns one and two in Saturday's Lincoln victory. All of it has come after failing to qualify for last Friday's Speedweek opener at Williams Grove.
“We’re taking advantage of the opportunities we’re being given,” Dietz said.
The relationship Dietz has forged with Carl — the veteran crew chief who orchestrated years of success with Zemco Racing and spent part of the 2024 season paired with Dietz before the team quietly shuttered that winter — has become one of the driving forces behind his breakout campaign.
“Communication. There’s great communication between all of us here,” Dietz said. “Me and Tommy especially. We have a great relationship. I feel, when we talk about things, we’re thinking pretty much alike, for the most part. If there’s something we’re not 100 percent sure on, I’ll leave that to him. It’s not for me to think about. Again, a lot of great attributes this team has. We’re able to do really well together. That’s what it takes.”
Carl's experience proved invaluable Wednesday after Port Royal's recently resurfaced track forced teams away from their usual notebooks. With roughly 80 truckloads of clay added last month, the half-mile raced unlike Dietz expected, but Carl found a setup that made the No. 23 comfortable.
“For the way the track was tonight, there wasn’t really a whole lot we could go through the notebook on,” Dietz said. “Just because it was very unique. I expected to come here and this place be pretty slick. That wasn’t the case. We had to kind of think outside the box. Tommy got me comfortable there for the feature with the way the surface was. Typically, we’re not too great on this kind of stuff. He got me maneuverable there.
“Look, we stay focused on what we need and what the car is asking. We’re just doing our jobs. We continue to do that, we’ll continue to do what we’re doing right now.”
Wednesday's victory was especially meaningful because Port Royal has rarely been Dietz's best track. He didn't win there until last May, though Carl's expertise at the Speed Palace — including five straight track titles with Logan Wagner — has accelerated that learning curve.
The final four Speedweek races — all at half-miles — will provide another measuring stick: Hagerstown on Thursday, Williams Grove on Friday, Port Royal on Saturday and Selinsgrove Speedway on Sunday.
Dietz, however, believes his team can continue producing the same results, regardless of track configuration.
“You have to be good all around. You have to be good everywhere,” Dietz said. “Honestly, we are. Tonight, I felt like we were going to be good. We’re back here Saturday. Friday we have the Grove, which I feel honestly we’ve been really strong at. There’s really no place I feel like we’re slacking.
“Again, we keep doing our jobs, putting our heads together, and being smart with what we’re doing — taking advantage of the opportunities we’re given. There’s no reason we can’t keep doing this.”