BIRKHOFER HOLDS OFF MILLER TO GRAB DAVENPORT WDRL OPENER Muscatine, Iowa driver grabs fifth career series win at Davenport Speedway
By Tom Lathen

Davenport, IA (April 8, 2006) - Brian Birkhofer held off relentless pressure from Darren Miller Saturday night to win the season-opening Mississippi Valley 40, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Late Model Series event here at Davenport Speedway.

The win was the popular Muscatine, Iowa driver’s fifth career series win on the historic Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds half-mile, most of any PolyDome Late Model Series driver.

“The race track got a little rough tonight and I’m sure there are going to be some guys who are upset about it,” commented Birkhofer in AMSOIL Victory Lane. “But its April and its Iowa and we’ve had a lot of rain. You just have to deal with what’s dealt to you.”

“I think for the fans, it was a good race,“ he added. “They got to see us bouncing around and dicing for the lead. It could have been slick or rubbered up and then there wouldn’t have been much racing.“

Following a runner-up finish in the Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash, Birkhofer started the 40-lapper on the outside front row and darted past pole-setter Kerry Hansen to grab the advantage as the leaders powered out of turn two on the opening circuit.

Following a lap two caution flag, when Cosgrove, Iowa’s Dave Eckrich got into the wall heading out of turn two, Birkhofer again raced into the lead, with Hansen running a close second, just ahead of Dan Schlieper, Miller, and Jimmy Mars.

As the two front-runners raced in front of the grandstands to complete lap six, Hansen got to the inside of Birkhofer’s Daufeldt Transport/Rocket/Pro Power Monte Carlo and grabbed the point as the pair raced nose-to-tail out of turn two and down the back straightaway. Hansen’s lead was short-lived however, as Birkhofer returned the favor a lap later, motoring around the Spencer, Wisconsin native to reclaim the top spot with eight laps in the books.

By lap ten, the leaders were beginning to run up on slower traffic, with Birkhofer continuing to fend off the challenges of Hansen and Miller outracing Mars and Schlieper to grab third.

Caution again slowed the field on lap 17 when Omaha, Nebraska’s John Anderson coasted to a halt in turn three, but when racing resumed, it was again Birkhofer motoring to the advantage, followed closely by Hansen, Miller, Mars, and rookie contender Trent Follmer, who had started 14th.

Miller outran Hansen to grab second on lap 21, and four laps later, the Milledgeville, Illinois hot-shoe received the break he needed, when veteran Al Humphrey lost a rear-end in his Blaha Racing entry, while running in the top-ten, bringing out the final caution flag of the night.

Following the restart, Miller squeezed to the bottom as the two pace- setters raced into turn two to grab the advantage by a nose, but Birkhofer fought back to retake the top spot as the pair made their way down the back straightaway and into turn three.

“I don’t know, but I think something might have happened to his (Miller’s) car,” noted Birkhofer. “I think he felt he probably had the better car, but we had the luck.”

“I had track position at the time,” he added. “A lot of luck went into this one, man.”

Birkhofer opened a ten car length advantage over Miller with ten laps to go, but “The Thriller” closed the gap in traffic and again began to apply pressure over the final few circuits.

At the line, Birkhofer held on for the win, with Miller finishing ahead of Mars to grab the runner-up spot. Follmer was impressive with a strong fourth place finish, followed by Schlieper, and defending PolyDome Late Model Series champion Denny Eckrich. Eckrich got into the field on a series provisional and was forced to bring out his back-up car after tangling with the turn two wall while leading the fourth qualifying race.

Hansen meanwhile, held on for seventh, followed by Ray Guss, Jr., Brian Harris, and Chris Spieker.

RACE SUMMARY:

First PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Kerry Hansen (Spencer, WI), 2. Dave Eckrich (Cosgrove, IA), 3. Ray Guss, Jr. (Milan, IL), 4. Steve Isenburg (Marshfield, WI), 5. Andy Eckrich (Oxford, IA).
Second PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Darren Miller (Milledgeville, IL), 2. Chad Simpson (Mount Vernon, IA), 3. Tommy Elston (Keokuk, IA), 4. Terry Casey (New London, WI), 5. Craig Jacobs (Freeport, IL).
Third PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Dan Schlieper (Sullivan, WI), 2. John Anderson (Omaha, NE), 3. Kyle Berck (Marquette, NE), 4. Chris Spieker (Massena, IA), 5. Trent Follmer (Elk River, MN).
Fourth PolyDome Qualifier: 1. John VanDenBerg (Oskaloosa, IA), 2. Ace Ihm (Hazel Green, WI), 3. Bryan Kammer (Davenport, IA), 4. Brady Johanneck (Spicer, MN), 5. Bill Koons (Omaha, NE).
Fifth PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Jimmy Mars (Menomonie, WI), 2. Brian Birkhofer (Muscatine, IA), 3. Mike Stadel (Rapid City, SD), 4. Brian Harris (Davenport, IA), 5. Rob Moss (Iowa City, IA).
First KSE Racing Products Consolation: 1. Casey, 2. Jeff Larson (Freeport, IL), 3. Luke Merfeld (Dubuque, IA), 4. Isenburg, 5. Jeff Tharp (Sherril, IA).
Second KSE Racing Products Consolation: 1. Al Humphrey (Giltner, NE), 2. Harris, 3. Chris Simpson (Marion, IA), 4. Andy Eckrich, 5. Dan Shelliam (Hazel Green, WI).
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Hansen, 2. Birkhofer, 3. Schlieper, 4. Dave Eckrich, 5. VanDenBerg, 6. Ihm, 7. Chad Simpson, 8. Kammer.
Mississippi Valley 40: 1. Birkhofer, 2. Miller, 3. Mars, 4. Follmer, 5. Schlieper, 6. Denny Eckrich (Tiffin, IA), 7. Hansen, 8. Guss, 9. Harris, 10. Spieker, 11. Casey, 12. Merfeld, 13. Larson, 14. Anderson, 15. Humphrey, 16. Chad Simpson, 17. Berck, 18. VanDenBerg, 19. Ihm, 20. Stadel, 21. Eric Pember (Pittsville, WI), 22. Dave Eckrich, 23. Chris Simpson, 24. Elston, 25. Kammer, 26. Jacobs.

ITEMS OF INTEREST:

Number of Entrants: 54
Passing Points: VanDenBerg (71.32)
Series Provisionals: Denny Eckrich, Pember
Lap Leaders: Birkhofer (1-6), Hansen (7), Birkhofer (8-40)
Margin of Victory: 1.995 seconds
Time of Race: 27-minutes 54-seconds
Fastest Lap: Miller (21.197)
Rookie-of-the-Race: Follmer
Hard Luck Driver: Dave Eckrich

CONTINGENCY AWARDS:

Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation: Hansen, Birkhofer, Schlieper
QA1 Motorsports: VanDenBerg
The Brake Man: Birkhofer
Champ Pans: Miller
Hooker Harness: Mars
Performance Bodies: Follmer
Design 500 Racewear: Denny Eckrich
V-Performance Batteries: Hansen
Fast Shafts: Guss
Weld Wheels: Harris
Joie of Seating: Spieker
Scott Performance Wire: Casey
Chase Race Decals: Dave Eckrich
Design 500 Racewear (non-qualifier): Isenburg
KSE Racing Products: Casey, Humphrey