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Denny Eckrich Midwest Wireless 50 Champ
by Bill Nelson
Spring Valley MN (August 10) - An abnormally cool night was in store for the
first ever World Dirt Racing League event at Deer Creek Speedway. A
spectacular crowd was on hand for the cool temperature. Also on hand to
do battle with the WDRL racers was NASCAR NEXTEL cup driver Ken Schrader
driving the Schwans #49 Dirt Late Model. Schrader was on hand thanks to
Featherlite Trailers. Schrader signed autographs and took pictures with
fans for over an hour early in the afternoon before taking to the track.
After some very enjoyable heat races in both classes the USRA modfieds took to
the track for their feature event. The 30 lap feature found a very
strong field of cars battling for the $1,000 top prize. Unfortunately 5
cautions in the first 8 laps slowed the pace drastically. Hank Rollinger
used the pole position to take the early lead. With twenty four laps to
go the fifth restart say Dean Mahlstedt take the lead only to break going into
turn one. Mike Sorensen was poised to take advantage of the problem to
bolt to the lead. Bruce Angst used the restarts early on to make up some
ground and after starting 19th was sitting in the second position with Mark
Noble coming from eighteenth to challenge for the position. The final
caution of the event waved with eighteen laps to go. On the restart
Sorensen held the point with Jay Ihrke working on Angst for third. Ihrke
took the spot as Doug Hillson moved into the fray. Tim Donlinger and
Kelly Shryock were working their way to the front and were racing directly
behind Hillson. Ihrke worked over Noble hard for the second spot but
Noble was too strong in the middle of the track and held his ground as
Sorensen built up a straightaway lead to take home the checkers. Noble
second, Ihrke third, Hillson fourth and Shryock fifth.
The fifty lap Midwest Wireless 50 for the Polydome World Dirt Racing League
pulled onto the track for their feature event. With the traditional
4-wide salute to the crowd completed it was time for action. They raced
two and three wide for the first two laps with the cushion against the wall
until the only caution flew for the car of Matt Furman stopping on the
track. Denny Eckrich took the lead at the start of the race and kept the
lead on the restart of the event. The battles back through the field
were great as Jimm Mars, Pat Doar, John Anderson and others were trying to
make their way forward. John Hampel sat comfortably in second
early on as the long green flag run began. Eckrich slowly pulled away
from the field as Gary Webb, Joe Kosiski and Mitch Johnson were locked in a
great battle inside the top ten. With ten laps in the books Hampel
started to make up ground on Eckrich as the field continued to run two wide in
their battles. Brady Smith and Kyle Berck battled for the third spot for
most of the first thirty laps. Smith held the spot early in the event
while Berck gained the spot later. With thirty laps left fourteenth
starting Jimmy Mars worked into the fifth spot. Just a couple laps later
lapped traffic really came into play with Hampel hetting a run on Eckrich
mutliple times over the next half dozen laps. Hampel took the lead a few
times but was unable to make the pass hold to the line with Eckrich taking the
credit for the lead each lap. Twenty laps remained on the counter as the
field migrated to the bottom half of the track. The seventh through
tenth spots were in a heated race with Brad Waits, John Anderson, Eric Pember
and Mitch Johnson swapping positions. With fourteen circuits left Hampel
was having a hard time keeping the car down in turn two allowing Berck to take
over second from him. Two circuits later Smith took over third with
Hampel in fourth. Eckrich held on for the win leading every lap on his
way to the victory over point leader and reigning WDRL champion Berck.
WDRL Results
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.
USRA Mods
Heat 1 - Dean Mahlstedt, Bobby Sorensen, Bob Timm, Les Duellman, Neil Eckhart
Heat 2 - Jay Poidinger, Dain Schultz, Kenny Wytaske, Todd Klees, Jesse
Frericks
Heat 3 - Brad Waits, Mike Sorensen, Steve Wetzstein, Jay Ihrke, Bruce Angst
Heat 4 - Dan Bohr, Hank Rollinger, Doug Hillson, Karl Fenske, Mark Noble
Feature - M. Sorensen, Noble, Ihrke, Hillson, Kelly Shryock, Tim Donlinger,
Klees, Duellman, Bohr, B. Sorensen
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