By Bret Emrick
LaSalle,IL 7-31-04
Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville,FL scored his fourth Stacker2® Xtreme DirtCar Series sanctioned main event victory of the season Saturday pocketing $10,000 for his efforts in the “Illinois Valley Challenge 50” at LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle,IL. Starting sixth aboard the Lucas Oil/Dunn-Benson Ford No. 1 Team L Corporation Rocket Chassis/Wallace Racing Engines Ford Taurus, Pearson Jr. swept past Billy Drake exiting turn four during lap 24 grabbing the lead at the halfway point and holding off Drake by four car lengths to secure the win. Trailing Pearson Jr. and Drake were 21st starting Shane Clanton in third followed by outside pole sitter Donnie Moran and 18th starting Steve Shaver in fifth. Completing the top ten finishers were Matt Miller in sixth then pole sitter Brian Birkhofer trailed by Eddie Carrier Jr., 22nd starting Tony Izzo Jr. and 17th starting Ryan Dauber.
“I just have to thank everyone associated with this Lucas Oil/Dunn Benson-Ford car”, stated the very happy winner. “We fell back to eighth early in the race and then the car started to come on. I never thought I’d be able to roll around Billy like that running the high-side but it worked. Once I got by him I though I’d try and run the top but within a few laps I saw Billy down below me. That’s when I told myself to get back down to the bottom. The Goodyear Eagles did their job once again. A hard 50 laps and the tires look like they haven’t even been raced. This whole Stacker2 deal is so good. >From all the sponsors right on down to the staff. I couldn’t be happier. And, I need to thank the fans as well. Without them none of us would be able to do this”.
Pearson Jr.’s win coupled with a 22nd place finish for Jimmy Mars, who led the “YJ Stinger Cup” point standings by 55 points over Pearson Jr. entering the event, is now the point leader by 22 points heading into next week-ends action at Cedar Lake (WI) Speedway.
Birkhofer and Moran brought the 24 car starting field to the green flag with Moran winning the drag race off of turn two to move into the lead at the end of the first lap trailed by Birkhofer, Drake, Carrier Jr. and Miller. Before lap 2 could be completed John Mason spun in turn two to bring out the caution flag. One lap after going back to green Drake used the low side of the high-banked ¼ mile speedway to take second from Birkhofer as Moran rode the highside. Ray Cook took fifth from Miller on lap 4 before the caution would wave one lap later when Jeep Van Wormer stopped in turn four with mechanical woes.
One lap after going back to green Cook continued his move to the front taking fourth from Carrier Jr. who suddenly saw himself back to sixth on lap 8 when Mars grabbed the position. Moran enjoyed a three car margin over Drake as the race continued but the action was for fifth as Mars and now Miller wrestled for the spot with Miller taking it on lap 12. Drake’s low-line allowed him to close on Moran as they entered lapped traffic on lap 15. Working lap 17 Moran got pinched behind a lapped car in turn four allowing Drake to grab the lead. Drake opened up a four car length lead on Moran who now had his hands full with Birkhofer. Meanwhile, Pearson Jr. was slowly working his way to the top five taking fifth from Miller on lap 22.
Contact in turn one on lap 23 between Moran and Birkhofer sent Birkhofer spinning to a stop resulting in the yellow flag to fly. On the restart Cook went to the extreme outside edge of the track in turn three but jumped the cushion in turn four sending him into the turn four concrete and bringing the caution right back out. At this point Mars came to a stop on the backchute with a broken lift-bar forcing him from the action for his first DNF of the season.
One lap after going back to green Pearson Jr. used the outside groove to reel in Drake just nosing ahead at the stripe to lead lap 25. Miller was now third with Moran fourth and Darren Miller now fifth trailed by Tim Hamburg, Carrier Jr., Clanton, Izzo Jr. and Dauber. Pearson Jr. ran the top for the next three laps but quickly shot to the bottom once he saw Drake pull even with him. The most intense battle on the track was the fight for fourth between Moran and D. Miller. The two traded the spot nearly every lap from laps 28 – 35 until Moran finally grabbed the spot on lap 36. Moran and D. Miller quickly ran down M. Miller and while working lap 38 the three drivers all went for the same spot entering turn three resulting in D. Miller spinning to a stop ending his great run.
Pearson Jr. stayed glued to the bottom of the racetrack once the race restarted with Drake using the same groove but just couldn’t catch the leader. Clanton used every groove on the speedway to work his way into fourth on lap 39 and then took third one lap later. The final 10 circuits were all Pearson Jr. as he opened his lead to four car lengths over Drake when the checkered flag fell.
The $42,000 event attracted 40 drivers to the Izzo family owned and promoted speedway with Denny Eckrich earning the RINGERS GLOVES Time Trials Fast Time Award with his fast lap of 12.693 seconds. M. Miller scored the MSD IGNITIONS Heat Race while Moran copped the JE PISTONS Heat Race, Birkhofer the WRISCO INDUSTRIES Heat Race and Carrier Jr. the BERT TRANSMISSION Heat Race. Dauber notched the SUNOCO RACE FUELS “B” Main with Shaver taking the second “B” Main event. Birkhofer scored the YJ STINGER EXTREME ENERGY DRINK dash.
The Stacker2® Xtreme DirtCar Series will next be in action Aug. 5 – 7 at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond,WI for the running of the $40,000 to win “17th Annual USA Nationals”. For further information phone Cedar Lake Speedway toll free at 866-425-7386, 612-363-0479 or by visiting the Cedar Lake Speedway website located at www.cedarlakespeedway.com. Cedar Lake Speedway is located 15 minutes east of Stillwater,MN on Wisconsin State Highway 64. Turn north on County Road C for four miles and turn left on Country Road CC and follow for two miles to Cedar Lake Speedway.
Stacker2® Xtreme DirtCar Series Race Report For 7-31-04
Race No. 18-2004 Season-"Illinois Valley Challenge 50"
LaSalle Speedway-LaSalle,IL-1/4 Mile Oval
$42,000 Purse-$10,000 To Win-50 Lap Feature
Fin.Pos.
StartPos.
Car#
Driver
Laps Fin.
Reason Out (if any)
Purse
1 6 1 Earl Pearson Jr. 50 Running $10,000
2 5 9 Billy Drake® 50 Running $6,000
3 21 25 Shane Clanton® 50 Running $3,000
4 2 99 Donnie Moran 50 Running $2,600
5 18 0 Steve Shaver 50 Running $2,000
6 3 7 Matt Miller 50 Running $1,900
7 1 15B Brian Birkhofer 50 Running $1,700
8 4 28 Eddie Carrier Jr.® 50 Running $1,500
9 22 16 Tony Izzo Jr. 50 Running $1,200
10 17 64 Ryan Dauber 50 Running $1,100
11 13 57 Tim Hamburg 50 Running $1,000
12 12 2 Brady Smith 50 Running $950
13 23 72 John Mason 50 Running $900
14 10 32D Darrren Miller® 50 Running $875
15 7 53 Ray Cook 50 Running $850
16 19 14P Jim Partipilo 50 Running $825
17 16 72F Jay Fiene 50 Running $800
18 9 50 Denny Eckrich 49 Running $750
19 24 1x1 Sonny Conley® 47 Running $700
20 11 1X Wes Steidinger 33 Driveshaft $700
21 15 W56 Gary Webb 27 Mechanical $700
22 8 28M Jimmy Mars 23 Suspension $700
23 14 5 Bret Seivert 22 Mechanical $700
24 20 55 Jeep Van Wormer® 5 Mechanical $700
Time Of Race: 32 Mins. 33 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Five: Laps 1, 5, 23, 23(rs), 38
Red Flags: None
Lap Leaders: Three - Moran 1-16, Drake 17-24, Pearson Jr. 25-50
GEMINI AUTO CARE CENTERS "Hard Charger Of The Race": Clanton (advanced 18 positions)
LUCAS OIL "Rookie Of The Race": Drake
Provisional Starters: Mason, Conley
Car Count: 40
RINGERS GLOVES Time Trials Fast Time Award: Eckrich 12.693 secs.
MSD IGNITION Heat Race Winner: M. Miller; JE PISTONS Heat Race Winner: Moran
WRISCO INDUSTRIES Heat Race Winner: Birkhofer; BERT TRANSMISSION Heat Race Winner: Carrier Jr.
SUNOCO RACE FUELS "B" Main Winner: Dauber, Other "B" Main Winner: Shaver
YJ STINGER EXTREME ENERGY DRINK Dash Winner: Birkhofer
LaSalle,IL 7-31-04
Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville,FL scored his fourth Stacker2® Xtreme DirtCar Series sanctioned main event victory of the season Saturday pocketing $10,000 for his efforts in the “Illinois Valley Challenge 50” at LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle,IL. Starting sixth aboard the Lucas Oil/Dunn-Benson Ford No. 1 Team L Corporation Rocket Chassis/Wallace Racing Engines Ford Taurus, Pearson Jr. swept past Billy Drake exiting turn four during lap 24 grabbing the lead at the halfway point and holding off Drake by four car lengths to secure the win. Trailing Pearson Jr. and Drake were 21st starting Shane Clanton in third followed by outside pole sitter Donnie Moran and 18th starting Steve Shaver in fifth. Completing the top ten finishers were Matt Miller in sixth then pole sitter Brian Birkhofer trailed by Eddie Carrier Jr., 22nd starting Tony Izzo Jr. and 17th starting Ryan Dauber.
“I just have to thank everyone associated with this Lucas Oil/Dunn Benson-Ford car”, stated the very happy winner. “We fell back to eighth early in the race and then the car started to come on. I never thought I’d be able to roll around Billy like that running the high-side but it worked. Once I got by him I though I’d try and run the top but within a few laps I saw Billy down below me. That’s when I told myself to get back down to the bottom. The Goodyear Eagles did their job once again. A hard 50 laps and the tires look like they haven’t even been raced. This whole Stacker2 deal is so good. >From all the sponsors right on down to the staff. I couldn’t be happier. And, I need to thank the fans as well. Without them none of us would be able to do this”.
Pearson Jr.’s win coupled with a 22nd place finish for Jimmy Mars, who led the “YJ Stinger Cup” point standings by 55 points over Pearson Jr. entering the event, is now the point leader by 22 points heading into next week-ends action at Cedar Lake (WI) Speedway.
Birkhofer and Moran brought the 24 car starting field to the green flag with Moran winning the drag race off of turn two to move into the lead at the end of the first lap trailed by Birkhofer, Drake, Carrier Jr. and Miller. Before lap 2 could be completed John Mason spun in turn two to bring out the caution flag. One lap after going back to green Drake used the low side of the high-banked ¼ mile speedway to take second from Birkhofer as Moran rode the highside. Ray Cook took fifth from Miller on lap 4 before the caution would wave one lap later when Jeep Van Wormer stopped in turn four with mechanical woes.
One lap after going back to green Cook continued his move to the front taking fourth from Carrier Jr. who suddenly saw himself back to sixth on lap 8 when Mars grabbed the position. Moran enjoyed a three car margin over Drake as the race continued but the action was for fifth as Mars and now Miller wrestled for the spot with Miller taking it on lap 12. Drake’s low-line allowed him to close on Moran as they entered lapped traffic on lap 15. Working lap 17 Moran got pinched behind a lapped car in turn four allowing Drake to grab the lead. Drake opened up a four car length lead on Moran who now had his hands full with Birkhofer. Meanwhile, Pearson Jr. was slowly working his way to the top five taking fifth from Miller on lap 22.
Contact in turn one on lap 23 between Moran and Birkhofer sent Birkhofer spinning to a stop resulting in the yellow flag to fly. On the restart Cook went to the extreme outside edge of the track in turn three but jumped the cushion in turn four sending him into the turn four concrete and bringing the caution right back out. At this point Mars came to a stop on the backchute with a broken lift-bar forcing him from the action for his first DNF of the season.
One lap after going back to green Pearson Jr. used the outside groove to reel in Drake just nosing ahead at the stripe to lead lap 25. Miller was now third with Moran fourth and Darren Miller now fifth trailed by Tim Hamburg, Carrier Jr., Clanton, Izzo Jr. and Dauber. Pearson Jr. ran the top for the next three laps but quickly shot to the bottom once he saw Drake pull even with him. The most intense battle on the track was the fight for fourth between Moran and D. Miller. The two traded the spot nearly every lap from laps 28 – 35 until Moran finally grabbed the spot on lap 36. Moran and D. Miller quickly ran down M. Miller and while working lap 38 the three drivers all went for the same spot entering turn three resulting in D. Miller spinning to a stop ending his great run.
Pearson Jr. stayed glued to the bottom of the racetrack once the race restarted with Drake using the same groove but just couldn’t catch the leader. Clanton used every groove on the speedway to work his way into fourth on lap 39 and then took third one lap later. The final 10 circuits were all Pearson Jr. as he opened his lead to four car lengths over Drake when the checkered flag fell.
The $42,000 event attracted 40 drivers to the Izzo family owned and promoted speedway with Denny Eckrich earning the RINGERS GLOVES Time Trials Fast Time Award with his fast lap of 12.693 seconds. M. Miller scored the MSD IGNITIONS Heat Race while Moran copped the JE PISTONS Heat Race, Birkhofer the WRISCO INDUSTRIES Heat Race and Carrier Jr. the BERT TRANSMISSION Heat Race. Dauber notched the SUNOCO RACE FUELS “B” Main with Shaver taking the second “B” Main event. Birkhofer scored the YJ STINGER EXTREME ENERGY DRINK dash.
The Stacker2® Xtreme DirtCar Series will next be in action Aug. 5 – 7 at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond,WI for the running of the $40,000 to win “17th Annual USA Nationals”. For further information phone Cedar Lake Speedway toll free at 866-425-7386, 612-363-0479 or by visiting the Cedar Lake Speedway website located at www.cedarlakespeedway.com. Cedar Lake Speedway is located 15 minutes east of Stillwater,MN on Wisconsin State Highway 64. Turn north on County Road C for four miles and turn left on Country Road CC and follow for two miles to Cedar Lake Speedway.
Stacker2® Xtreme DirtCar Series Race Report For 7-31-04
Race No. 18-2004 Season-"Illinois Valley Challenge 50"
LaSalle Speedway-LaSalle,IL-1/4 Mile Oval
$42,000 Purse-$10,000 To Win-50 Lap Feature
Fin.Pos.
StartPos.
Car#
Driver
Laps Fin.
Reason Out (if any)
Purse
1 6 1 Earl Pearson Jr. 50 Running $10,000
2 5 9 Billy Drake® 50 Running $6,000
3 21 25 Shane Clanton® 50 Running $3,000
4 2 99 Donnie Moran 50 Running $2,600
5 18 0 Steve Shaver 50 Running $2,000
6 3 7 Matt Miller 50 Running $1,900
7 1 15B Brian Birkhofer 50 Running $1,700
8 4 28 Eddie Carrier Jr.® 50 Running $1,500
9 22 16 Tony Izzo Jr. 50 Running $1,200
10 17 64 Ryan Dauber 50 Running $1,100
11 13 57 Tim Hamburg 50 Running $1,000
12 12 2 Brady Smith 50 Running $950
13 23 72 John Mason 50 Running $900
14 10 32D Darrren Miller® 50 Running $875
15 7 53 Ray Cook 50 Running $850
16 19 14P Jim Partipilo 50 Running $825
17 16 72F Jay Fiene 50 Running $800
18 9 50 Denny Eckrich 49 Running $750
19 24 1x1 Sonny Conley® 47 Running $700
20 11 1X Wes Steidinger 33 Driveshaft $700
21 15 W56 Gary Webb 27 Mechanical $700
22 8 28M Jimmy Mars 23 Suspension $700
23 14 5 Bret Seivert 22 Mechanical $700
24 20 55 Jeep Van Wormer® 5 Mechanical $700
Time Of Race: 32 Mins. 33 Secs.
Yellow Flags: Five: Laps 1, 5, 23, 23(rs), 38
Red Flags: None
Lap Leaders: Three - Moran 1-16, Drake 17-24, Pearson Jr. 25-50
GEMINI AUTO CARE CENTERS "Hard Charger Of The Race": Clanton (advanced 18 positions)
LUCAS OIL "Rookie Of The Race": Drake
Provisional Starters: Mason, Conley
Car Count: 40
RINGERS GLOVES Time Trials Fast Time Award: Eckrich 12.693 secs.
MSD IGNITION Heat Race Winner: M. Miller; JE PISTONS Heat Race Winner: Moran
WRISCO INDUSTRIES Heat Race Winner: Birkhofer; BERT TRANSMISSION Heat Race Winner: Carrier Jr.
SUNOCO RACE FUELS "B" Main Winner: Dauber, Other "B" Main Winner: Shaver
YJ STINGER EXTREME ENERGY DRINK Dash Winner: Birkhofer
