By Tom Lathen
(Davenport, Iowa) Brian Birkhofer grabbed the lead from Steve Kosiski 18 laps from the checkers Wednesday night and went on to win the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds 40, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Super Series event, at Davenport Speedway in Davenport, Iowa.
The win was Birkhofer's fourth consecutive WDRL win on the eastern Iowa half-mile over a two-year span.
"It's pretty awesome to have this many fans, as good as we've been here," said Birkhofer in front of an appreciative crowd following the win. "Everybody says, 'Davenport is Birkhofer.' But your luck can run out pretty quickly, so I just take every night as it comes.
"Tonight I thought a top-five was going to be the best we could do," he added. "But I just dug down and got into the lead."
The race went green the opening dozen circuits with the pole-sitting Kosiski racing to the advantage, followed closely by Birkhofer, Jimmy Mars and Darren Miller.
The first caution flag waved on lap 13 when Ace Ihm got turned around in turn two. But when racing resumed, Kosiski again darted into the lead with Birkhofer and Mars battling it out wheel to wheel for second.
After swapping positions on lap 14, Birkhofer's Daufeldt Transport/MasterSbilt/Monte Carlo battled its way past Mars and back into the runner-up position on lap 17 and, four laps later, moved to the inside of Kosiski as the two front-runners raced out of turn four in front of the grandstand.
Birkhofer powered past Kosiski out of turn two to grab the lead before the second caution flag of the night came out on lap 23. The Muscatine, Iowa crowd favorite survived a final caution flag on the white flag lap when Wisconsin driver Chris Carlson got turned around in the corner, but Birkhofer was able to hold off Kosiski to secure the win.
"I think the whole crowd as well as me thought I was going to run about third or fourth," commented Birkhofer. "On that first restart, I kind of wheelspun, and Jimmy got a roll on me and he got to second. The next lap I thought, 'All right, Brian. Slow down and let them make a mistake and just get yourself in position to take the lead.'"
"I knew once I got in front, my car would drive a little better," he said.
Finishing behind Birkhofer and Kosiski was Mars, with Miller and Brady Smith rounding out the top five. Smith's fifth-place finish, coupled with point leader Kyle Berck's 18th-place run, moved the Solon Springs, Wisconsin driver to within 15 points of the series lead.
Heat 1:
1. Todd Davis
2. Mark Teske
3. Mark Curwen
4. Dave Eckrich
5. Brian Harris
Heat 2:
1. Steve Kosiski
2. Denny Eckrich
3. Billy Moyer
4. Johnny Johnson
5. Andy Eckrich
Heat 3:
1. Darren Miller
2. Jimmy Mars
3. Matt Furman
4. Joe Kosiski
5. Chris Smyser
Heat 4:
1. Ray Guss Jr.
2. Brady Smith
3. Chris Carlson
4. Jeff Larson
5. Jeff Bair
Heat 5:
1. Brian Birkhofer
2. Ace Ihm
3. Darrell Deffrance
4. Keith Foss
5. Nick Marholf
B Main 1:
1. Joe Kosiski
2. Nick Marolf
3. Brian Harris
4. Kurt Kile
B Main 2:
1. John Anderson
2. Johnny Johnson
3. Chad Simpson
4. Chris Smyser
Feature:
1. Brian Birkhofer
2. Steve Kosiski
3. Jimmy Mars
4. Darren Miller
5. Brady Smith
6. Mark Teske
7. Keith Foss
8. Ray Guss Jr.
9. Billy Moyer
10. Denny Eckrich
11. John Anderson
12. Steve Isenberg
13. Johnny Johnson
14. Dave Eckrich
15. Nick Marolf
16. Joe Kosiski
17. Brian Harris
18. Kyle Berck
19. Chad Simpson
20. Chris Carlson
21. Jeff Bair
22. Darrell DeFrance
23. Matt Furman
24. Ace Ihm
25. Todd Davis
26. Mark Curwen
Billet Proof Lap Leaders: Steve Kosiski (1-21), Birkhofer (22-40)
QA1 Shocks Passing Points winner: Birkhofer 67.8
Seubert Calf Ranches Rookie-of-the-Race: Smith
Chase Race Decals Hard Luck Award winner: Steve Boley (West Liberty, IA)
Contingency Award Winners:
Oval Craft Racing Aluminum Designs: Steve Kosiski, Mars and Miller
MSD Ignition Systems: Smith
Performance Bodies: Teske
Peterson Fluid Systems: Foss
Fast Shafts: Guss
Hooker Harness: Denny Eckrich
Weld Racing Wheels: Anderson
Diamond Oil/Sunoco Race Fuels: Isenberg
(Davenport, Iowa) Brian Birkhofer grabbed the lead from Steve Kosiski 18 laps from the checkers Wednesday night and went on to win the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds 40, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Super Series event, at Davenport Speedway in Davenport, Iowa.
The win was Birkhofer's fourth consecutive WDRL win on the eastern Iowa half-mile over a two-year span.
"It's pretty awesome to have this many fans, as good as we've been here," said Birkhofer in front of an appreciative crowd following the win. "Everybody says, 'Davenport is Birkhofer.' But your luck can run out pretty quickly, so I just take every night as it comes.
"Tonight I thought a top-five was going to be the best we could do," he added. "But I just dug down and got into the lead."
The race went green the opening dozen circuits with the pole-sitting Kosiski racing to the advantage, followed closely by Birkhofer, Jimmy Mars and Darren Miller.
The first caution flag waved on lap 13 when Ace Ihm got turned around in turn two. But when racing resumed, Kosiski again darted into the lead with Birkhofer and Mars battling it out wheel to wheel for second.
After swapping positions on lap 14, Birkhofer's Daufeldt Transport/MasterSbilt/Monte Carlo battled its way past Mars and back into the runner-up position on lap 17 and, four laps later, moved to the inside of Kosiski as the two front-runners raced out of turn four in front of the grandstand.
Birkhofer powered past Kosiski out of turn two to grab the lead before the second caution flag of the night came out on lap 23. The Muscatine, Iowa crowd favorite survived a final caution flag on the white flag lap when Wisconsin driver Chris Carlson got turned around in the corner, but Birkhofer was able to hold off Kosiski to secure the win.
"I think the whole crowd as well as me thought I was going to run about third or fourth," commented Birkhofer. "On that first restart, I kind of wheelspun, and Jimmy got a roll on me and he got to second. The next lap I thought, 'All right, Brian. Slow down and let them make a mistake and just get yourself in position to take the lead.'"
"I knew once I got in front, my car would drive a little better," he said.
Finishing behind Birkhofer and Kosiski was Mars, with Miller and Brady Smith rounding out the top five. Smith's fifth-place finish, coupled with point leader Kyle Berck's 18th-place run, moved the Solon Springs, Wisconsin driver to within 15 points of the series lead.
Heat 1:
1. Todd Davis
2. Mark Teske
3. Mark Curwen
4. Dave Eckrich
5. Brian Harris
Heat 2:
1. Steve Kosiski
2. Denny Eckrich
3. Billy Moyer
4. Johnny Johnson
5. Andy Eckrich
Heat 3:
1. Darren Miller
2. Jimmy Mars
3. Matt Furman
4. Joe Kosiski
5. Chris Smyser
Heat 4:
1. Ray Guss Jr.
2. Brady Smith
3. Chris Carlson
4. Jeff Larson
5. Jeff Bair
Heat 5:
1. Brian Birkhofer
2. Ace Ihm
3. Darrell Deffrance
4. Keith Foss
5. Nick Marholf
B Main 1:
1. Joe Kosiski
2. Nick Marolf
3. Brian Harris
4. Kurt Kile
B Main 2:
1. John Anderson
2. Johnny Johnson
3. Chad Simpson
4. Chris Smyser
Feature:
1. Brian Birkhofer
2. Steve Kosiski
3. Jimmy Mars
4. Darren Miller
5. Brady Smith
6. Mark Teske
7. Keith Foss
8. Ray Guss Jr.
9. Billy Moyer
10. Denny Eckrich
11. John Anderson
12. Steve Isenberg
13. Johnny Johnson
14. Dave Eckrich
15. Nick Marolf
16. Joe Kosiski
17. Brian Harris
18. Kyle Berck
19. Chad Simpson
20. Chris Carlson
21. Jeff Bair
22. Darrell DeFrance
23. Matt Furman
24. Ace Ihm
25. Todd Davis
26. Mark Curwen
Billet Proof Lap Leaders: Steve Kosiski (1-21), Birkhofer (22-40)
QA1 Shocks Passing Points winner: Birkhofer 67.8
Seubert Calf Ranches Rookie-of-the-Race: Smith
Chase Race Decals Hard Luck Award winner: Steve Boley (West Liberty, IA)
Contingency Award Winners:
Oval Craft Racing Aluminum Designs: Steve Kosiski, Mars and Miller
MSD Ignition Systems: Smith
Performance Bodies: Teske
Peterson Fluid Systems: Foss
Fast Shafts: Guss
Hooker Harness: Denny Eckrich
Weld Racing Wheels: Anderson
Diamond Oil/Sunoco Race Fuels: Isenberg
