Iowa Driver Picks Up First Series Win of the Season
(Spring Valley, MN) Denny Eckrich held off a six car, bumper-to-bumper scramble Tuesday night to win the Featherlite Trailers/Midwest Wireless 50, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Super Series event at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota.
Eckrich led from the drop of the green flag, but was challenged by John Hampel throughout the middle stages of the event, before holding off series points leader Kyle Berck, Brady Smith, Hampel, Jimmy Mars, and Steve Laursen at the line in front of a standing room only crowd.
“We need all the boost we can get with this long streak of WDRL races we have the next few weeks,” said Eckrich, who moved into third place in the series point standings with the win.
“Hopefully this will get us going.”
Coming from his inside front row starting position, Eckrich’s Precision Performance/Mac Tools entry darted into the lead at the drop of the green flag with Smith and Hampel running wheel-to-wheel for second.
The race was interrupted by a single caution flag on lap two when Matt Furman’s car number 51 lost power, but when racing resumed, Eckrich again wheeled into the lead with Hampel outrunning Smith for second, a short distance ahead of Kyle Berck.
By lap 20, the front runner began to work up on slower traffic, with Hampel in hot pursuit. Six laps later, Hampel powered to the outside as the pair raced out of turn two to grab the momentary advantage, but when the leaders came in front of the grandstand, Eckrich again held a slight advantage.
Hampel, of Nodaway, Iowa, continued to apply pressure, and a lap later, the leaders tangled briefly in turn four battling for the advantage.
“I was trying to get under the 9I (Steve Isenberg), and there was rubber above him and I figured he would shoot up and I could get underneath him” noted Eckrich.
“The next corner I had to go three-wide into the corner and there wasn’t much room and I skated up and made contact with John. I’m sorry about that, but we were racing for the lead and we had to get it.”
Over the final 15 laps, Smith, Berck, Mars and Laursen closed on the leaders setting the stage for an exciting six-car dash to the finish. With the crowd on its feet, Eckrich crossed the line less than a car length ahead of Berck, with Smith glued to Berck’s bumper for third.
“I knew they were there – I could feel the heat in the oven,” quipped Eckrich in victory lane. “I just had to be patient and not get slipped out of the rubber.”
“I knew I couldn’t pass the lapped cars so it was going to be hard for them to pass me in the rubber. They would have had one good car, or I would have had to screw up real big.”
Hampel followed the Eckrich, Berck, and Smith at the line for fourth, with Jimmy Mars, who started 14th, finishing fifth. Cumberland, Wisconsin’s Steve Laursen was a close sixth.
Nextel Cup star Kenny Schrader started 18th in the field and finished 14th.
RACE REPORT:
First PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Brady Smith (Solon Springs, WI), 2. Justin Fegers (Mound, MN), 3. Mitch Johnson (Hickson, ND), 4. Joe Kosiski (Omaha, NE), 5. Jimmy Mars (Elk Mound, WI).
Second PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Kyle Berck (Marquette, NE), 2. Steve Laursen (Cumberland, WI), 3. Jerry Bloom (Grand Meadow, MN), 4. Lance Matthees (Winona, MN), 5. Steve Isenberg (Marshfield, WI).
Third PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Brad Waits (Zumbrota, MN), 2. John Hampel (Nodaway, IA), 3. Ace Ihm (Hazel Green, WI), 4. John Anderson (Omaha, NE), 5. Mark Teske (Spring Valley, MN).
Fourth PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Denny Eckrich (Tiffin, IA), 2. Eric Pember (Pittsville, WI), 3. Gary Webb (Blue Grass, IA), 4. Bill Stettner (Inver Grove Heights, MN), 5. Kenny Schrader (Concord, NC).
KSE Racing Products Consolation: 1. Teske, 2. Keith Foss (Winona, MN), 3. Matt Furman (Iowa City, IA), 4. Pat Doar (New Richmond, WI), 5. Isenberg.
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. Smith, 3. Hampel, 4. Waits, 5. Berck, 6. Laursen.
Featherlite Trailers/Midwest Wireless 50: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. Berck, 3. Smith, 4. Hampel, 5. Mars, 6. Laursen, 7. Anderson, 8. Pember, 9. Johnson, 10. Waits, 11. Fegers, 12. Webb, 13. Kosiski, 14. Schrader, 15. Doar, 16. Ihm, 17. Stettner, 18. Matthees, 19. Teske, 20. Isenberg, 21. Dave Eckrich (Cosgrove, IA), 22. Bloom, 23. Foss, 24. Furman.
Billet Proof Lap Leaders: Denny Eckrich (1-50)
QA1 Shocks Passing Points: Berck (67.8)
Seubert Calf Ranches Rookie-of-the-Race: Smith
Chase Race Decals Hard Luck Driver: Furman
(Spring Valley, MN) Denny Eckrich held off a six car, bumper-to-bumper scramble Tuesday night to win the Featherlite Trailers/Midwest Wireless 50, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Super Series event at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota.
Eckrich led from the drop of the green flag, but was challenged by John Hampel throughout the middle stages of the event, before holding off series points leader Kyle Berck, Brady Smith, Hampel, Jimmy Mars, and Steve Laursen at the line in front of a standing room only crowd.
“We need all the boost we can get with this long streak of WDRL races we have the next few weeks,” said Eckrich, who moved into third place in the series point standings with the win.
“Hopefully this will get us going.”
Coming from his inside front row starting position, Eckrich’s Precision Performance/Mac Tools entry darted into the lead at the drop of the green flag with Smith and Hampel running wheel-to-wheel for second.
The race was interrupted by a single caution flag on lap two when Matt Furman’s car number 51 lost power, but when racing resumed, Eckrich again wheeled into the lead with Hampel outrunning Smith for second, a short distance ahead of Kyle Berck.
By lap 20, the front runner began to work up on slower traffic, with Hampel in hot pursuit. Six laps later, Hampel powered to the outside as the pair raced out of turn two to grab the momentary advantage, but when the leaders came in front of the grandstand, Eckrich again held a slight advantage.
Hampel, of Nodaway, Iowa, continued to apply pressure, and a lap later, the leaders tangled briefly in turn four battling for the advantage.
“I was trying to get under the 9I (Steve Isenberg), and there was rubber above him and I figured he would shoot up and I could get underneath him” noted Eckrich.
“The next corner I had to go three-wide into the corner and there wasn’t much room and I skated up and made contact with John. I’m sorry about that, but we were racing for the lead and we had to get it.”
Over the final 15 laps, Smith, Berck, Mars and Laursen closed on the leaders setting the stage for an exciting six-car dash to the finish. With the crowd on its feet, Eckrich crossed the line less than a car length ahead of Berck, with Smith glued to Berck’s bumper for third.
“I knew they were there – I could feel the heat in the oven,” quipped Eckrich in victory lane. “I just had to be patient and not get slipped out of the rubber.”
“I knew I couldn’t pass the lapped cars so it was going to be hard for them to pass me in the rubber. They would have had one good car, or I would have had to screw up real big.”
Hampel followed the Eckrich, Berck, and Smith at the line for fourth, with Jimmy Mars, who started 14th, finishing fifth. Cumberland, Wisconsin’s Steve Laursen was a close sixth.
Nextel Cup star Kenny Schrader started 18th in the field and finished 14th.
RACE REPORT:
First PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Brady Smith (Solon Springs, WI), 2. Justin Fegers (Mound, MN), 3. Mitch Johnson (Hickson, ND), 4. Joe Kosiski (Omaha, NE), 5. Jimmy Mars (Elk Mound, WI).
Second PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Kyle Berck (Marquette, NE), 2. Steve Laursen (Cumberland, WI), 3. Jerry Bloom (Grand Meadow, MN), 4. Lance Matthees (Winona, MN), 5. Steve Isenberg (Marshfield, WI).
Third PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Brad Waits (Zumbrota, MN), 2. John Hampel (Nodaway, IA), 3. Ace Ihm (Hazel Green, WI), 4. John Anderson (Omaha, NE), 5. Mark Teske (Spring Valley, MN).
Fourth PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Denny Eckrich (Tiffin, IA), 2. Eric Pember (Pittsville, WI), 3. Gary Webb (Blue Grass, IA), 4. Bill Stettner (Inver Grove Heights, MN), 5. Kenny Schrader (Concord, NC).
KSE Racing Products Consolation: 1. Teske, 2. Keith Foss (Winona, MN), 3. Matt Furman (Iowa City, IA), 4. Pat Doar (New Richmond, WI), 5. Isenberg.
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. Smith, 3. Hampel, 4. Waits, 5. Berck, 6. Laursen.
Featherlite Trailers/Midwest Wireless 50: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. Berck, 3. Smith, 4. Hampel, 5. Mars, 6. Laursen, 7. Anderson, 8. Pember, 9. Johnson, 10. Waits, 11. Fegers, 12. Webb, 13. Kosiski, 14. Schrader, 15. Doar, 16. Ihm, 17. Stettner, 18. Matthees, 19. Teske, 20. Isenberg, 21. Dave Eckrich (Cosgrove, IA), 22. Bloom, 23. Foss, 24. Furman.
Billet Proof Lap Leaders: Denny Eckrich (1-50)
QA1 Shocks Passing Points: Berck (67.8)
Seubert Calf Ranches Rookie-of-the-Race: Smith
Chase Race Decals Hard Luck Driver: Furman
