Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMCA and courtesy of Jason Dietsch
There is no doubt that Jason Dietsch is as dedicated as they come.
He competes in multiple classes in Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals and Holley NMRA Ford Nationals, and he gives everything he has at every event.
Dietsch, who owns Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales, the Official Trailer Distributor for the NMCA and NMRA, is leading the 2024 points chase in NMCA Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, and holds the class records with 7.713 and 178.78 passes in his Mustang Cobra Jet built by Watson Racing and maintained by KSR with a 327 cubic-inch Ford engine, 3.0L Whipple supercharger and Turbo 400 by RPM Transmission. Additionally, he is in tenth-place in NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp and in twelfth-place in NMRA ARP Open Comp, and he also competes in the Cobra Jet Showdown.
Away from both series, the Ohioan runs in Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown, and gave himself — and his family and fans — a scare while competing in the class at the 18th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in late June at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
“I was in the right lane and got into a wheelie and out of the groove a little bit, and that sucked my car into the retaining wall on the right side,” said Dietsch. “My car then went across to the left side of the track and hit the retaining wall head on. I was probably doing close to 110 mph. When I got out of the car, my tailbone hurt pretty badly, and I was pretty sore all over, but the harness did its job by holding me in place and my car did its job by protecting me from further injury.”
A medical team assessed Dietsch’s condition and suggested he go to the hospital for some xrays, which he did. Fortunately, no bones were broken, but his tailbone was badly bruised and he still has some soreness more than a month later.
As soon as he was able to, he performed body and paint work on his car, as he wanted to get back to racing.
“I had to replace everything on the front of the car, and I installed a new right door, quarter, right wheelhouse and rear bumper,” said Dietsch. “I did the paint, and instead of going with black paint again, I went with grey, and KSR put the drivetrain back in the car after they went through the engine to make sure it was not hurt. KSR also went through my Strange rear end.”
Because the car was not ready in time for the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Nitto Tire & Saturday Thrill Festival in mid-July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, fellow racer Jim Betz offered to let Dietsch pilot his Mustang Cobra Jet, the same one Chuck Watson II so successfully piloted, so that he could continue his chase to the championship.
“We put my drivetrain in Jim Betz’s car so that I would not miss the race in Michigan,” said Dietsch, who felt at home in Betz’s car and qualified in the second spot with a 7.73 and finished as the runner-up with a 7.75 against Tony Scott. “His car felt just like my car. Watson Racing did an amazing job on these Mustang Cobra Jets.”
Dietsch is debuting his repaired and repainted Mustang Cobra Jet at the 42nd Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota the weekend of Aug. 16-18, but he will be back in Betz’s Mustang Cobra Jet for the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels NMCA All-American Nationals & Xtreme Sports Festival, Aug. 23-25 at Summit Motorsports Park, and the 23rd Annual NMCA World Street Finals presented by Chevrolet Performance, Sept. 19-22 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana.
“I am ready to go back to Norwalk,” said Dietsch. “It is one of my favorite tracks, and as a bonus, it is only two hours from my house.”
,
Racing with Dietsch at Summit Motorsports Park will be his son, Taylor, who is leading NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp points as well as NMRA ARP Open Comp points, and his daughter, Jaden, who is in sixth-place in NMRA Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts Street Bandit 10.10 and twelfth-place in NMRA ARP Open Comp.
“I would like to thank KSR, as well as my crew chief, Kim Mapes, who tunes my car with Big Stuff 3,” said Dietsch. “I would also like to thank my crew members who help me get to the track, and my wife, Jennifer, and kids, Taylor and Jaden.”
Photos by NMCA and courtesy of Jason Dietsch
There is no doubt that Jason Dietsch is as dedicated as they come.
He competes in multiple classes in Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals and Holley NMRA Ford Nationals, and he gives everything he has at every event.
Dietsch, who owns Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales, the Official Trailer Distributor for the NMCA and NMRA, is leading the 2024 points chase in NMCA Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, and holds the class records with 7.713 and 178.78 passes in his Mustang Cobra Jet built by Watson Racing and maintained by KSR with a 327 cubic-inch Ford engine, 3.0L Whipple supercharger and Turbo 400 by RPM Transmission. Additionally, he is in tenth-place in NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp and in twelfth-place in NMRA ARP Open Comp, and he also competes in the Cobra Jet Showdown.
Away from both series, the Ohioan runs in Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown, and gave himself — and his family and fans — a scare while competing in the class at the 18th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in late June at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
“I was in the right lane and got into a wheelie and out of the groove a little bit, and that sucked my car into the retaining wall on the right side,” said Dietsch. “My car then went across to the left side of the track and hit the retaining wall head on. I was probably doing close to 110 mph. When I got out of the car, my tailbone hurt pretty badly, and I was pretty sore all over, but the harness did its job by holding me in place and my car did its job by protecting me from further injury.”
A medical team assessed Dietsch’s condition and suggested he go to the hospital for some xrays, which he did. Fortunately, no bones were broken, but his tailbone was badly bruised and he still has some soreness more than a month later.
As soon as he was able to, he performed body and paint work on his car, as he wanted to get back to racing.
“I had to replace everything on the front of the car, and I installed a new right door, quarter, right wheelhouse and rear bumper,” said Dietsch. “I did the paint, and instead of going with black paint again, I went with grey, and KSR put the drivetrain back in the car after they went through the engine to make sure it was not hurt. KSR also went through my Strange rear end.”
Because the car was not ready in time for the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Nitto Tire & Saturday Thrill Festival in mid-July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, fellow racer Jim Betz offered to let Dietsch pilot his Mustang Cobra Jet, the same one Chuck Watson II so successfully piloted, so that he could continue his chase to the championship.
“We put my drivetrain in Jim Betz’s car so that I would not miss the race in Michigan,” said Dietsch, who felt at home in Betz’s car and qualified in the second spot with a 7.73 and finished as the runner-up with a 7.75 against Tony Scott. “His car felt just like my car. Watson Racing did an amazing job on these Mustang Cobra Jets.”
Dietsch is debuting his repaired and repainted Mustang Cobra Jet at the 42nd Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota the weekend of Aug. 16-18, but he will be back in Betz’s Mustang Cobra Jet for the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels NMCA All-American Nationals & Xtreme Sports Festival, Aug. 23-25 at Summit Motorsports Park, and the 23rd Annual NMCA World Street Finals presented by Chevrolet Performance, Sept. 19-22 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana.
“I am ready to go back to Norwalk,” said Dietsch. “It is one of my favorite tracks, and as a bonus, it is only two hours from my house.”
,
Racing with Dietsch at Summit Motorsports Park will be his son, Taylor, who is leading NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp points as well as NMRA ARP Open Comp points, and his daughter, Jaden, who is in sixth-place in NMRA Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts Street Bandit 10.10 and twelfth-place in NMRA ARP Open Comp.
“I would like to thank KSR, as well as my crew chief, Kim Mapes, who tunes my car with Big Stuff 3,” said Dietsch. “I would also like to thank my crew members who help me get to the track, and my wife, Jennifer, and kids, Taylor and Jaden.”