SAXONBURG — Owning his own fabrication and automotive shop, Tyler Dietz knows how to build a race car.

“I built a car for one guy, then built my cousin (John Hartman) one, then started building a third one,” the Saxonburg resident said.

“That third car was half for myself, half if I was able to sell it. I began putting my own special tweaks to it, then I couldn't bring myself to part with it.”

That was in 2015, when the 2007 Knoch graduate decided to compete in the Pro Stock division at Lernerville Speedway. Dietz, 30, had previously competed in Micro-Sprints and Crate Late Models for a couple of years each.

He tallied just one feature win combined in those two divisions — a Crate Late Model triumph at Mercer in 2008.

While preparing his Pro Stock car, Diez built it with one goal in mind.

Beat Corey McPherson.

And he eventually did.

Dietz won four features in Pro Stocks at Lernerville last year, winning the Sarver track's points championship on the final night of racing. He won the race that evening by passing McPherson with eight laps remaining.

McPherson had won four successive Pro Stock championships at Lernerville, six titles in the last seven years.

“I have the utmost respect for him,” Dietz said of McPherson. “Corey is one of the top five Lernerville champions of all time, all divisions, as far as I'm concerned.”

Dietz tallied 395 points to McPherson's 389. He avenged a disappointing conclusion to the 2018 season, when he lost the points title to McPherson by a couple of points.

“I thought we were the better car last year,” Dietz said. “I had a few DNF's that year and Corey was very consistent. That cost me in the end.

“I had a DNF early in the (2019) season and figured that was it. I was 40 points behind at one point and didn't think I had a chance. Then we started to win and I was in good shape in the standings with a couple of weeks to go.”

Dietz's pit crew included Tom Schmidley, Todd Yerkins, Jeremy Bowser, Mike Wetzel and Dan Huston.

While other drivers have won meaningful points titles at Lernerville, Dietz insists his much-anticipated championship was as meaningful as any.

He won it in his own backyard — almost literally.

“I grew up in the trailer park right next to that track,” he said. “I was sneaking over here to watch racing since I was 8, 9, 10 years old.

“To win a championship here was winning at home. There's no feeling like that.”

Dietz has upped his Pro Stock win total at Lernerville to 14 — placing him among the top 15 in the division all-time. He'd love to repeat that feat.

But he has bigger things in mind moving forward.

Also driving a Late Model owned by Huston, he finished second in points at Lernerville last year in that division, though a distant 66 points behind champion Ken Schaltenbrand.

Dietz described his team's Late Model performance as “a top-five car almost every week.”

He is sill seeking his first career Late Model feature win.

“We had a 13-second lead with two laps to go in a feature last year, then got taken out during a restart,” Diez recalled. “Just one of those bad breaks in racing.”

No driver has ever won two points crowns in the same season at Lernerville.

“It would be cool if that happened, but it's not real big on my list,” Dietz said of winning twin titles. “We've put together another Late Model that I'm planning to travel around with and run in some Outlaw shows. That travel may affect my chances of winning points.

“But if we're in a position to win both championships with two weeks or so left in the season, we're going to go for it.”

The only question now is when dirt track racing will be up and running.

“Realistically, I'm hoping we can race in July,” Dietz said. “Once we do get going, I'm hoping Lernerville considers revising the schedule and extending the season.

“I don't think we should go up against high school football, but I can see us doing Thursday night shows, maybe starting an hour earlier. I think something like that would be well-received.”