DAVE ECKRICH GRABS EXCITING WDRL WIN AT WEST LIBERTY RACEWAY
Cosgrove, Iowa driver picks up second consecutive series win on Muscatine County Fairgrounds half-mile
By Tom Lathen
WORLD Dirt Racing League

WEST LIBERTY, IA (April 21) -  Dave Eckrich powered around race leader Brian Harris eight laps from the checkers Saturday night and went on to grab an exciting win in the Island Auto Salvage 50, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Late Model Series event here at West Liberty Raceway.
Eckrich who led for the opening 15 circuits of the $5,000-to-win event, came off the banking out of turn four to retake the lead on lap 42 to win his second consecutive WDRL event on the Muscatine County Fairgrounds half-mile, after a last lap win over Harris in last October’s annual Liberty Fall Classic.
“Brian (Harris) had a tough car tonight, commented Eckrich in AMSOIL Victory Lane. “He was really good getting off the bottom in the corner and that was where I really lacked. I just couldn’t get off the corner as well as he could and the lapped traffic bottled me up and I just couldn’t get momentum early in the race.”
“This race track tonight was great,” he added. “If you couldn’t pass somebody tonight, you had better go home and work on your race car because this track was perfect.”

Coming from his inside front row starting position, Eckrich won the drag race up the front stretch to grab the early advantage at the drop of the green flag, with outside front-row starter Brian Harris wheeling into second, just ahead of Eric Pember, Justin Fegers, and Tommy Elston.

A caution flag on lap three slowed the field, but when racing resumed, Eckrich again placed his Precision Performance/Barry Wright/Grove Automotive Chevrolet at the front of the field, with Harris continuing to hold off Fegers for second, followed by Pember and Rob Moss, who was now running in fifth.

With the top three drivers running a sizeable distance ahead of the remainder of the field, Harris muscled to the inside of Eckrich heading out of turn four on lap 15 to nose into the lead as the pair raced wheel-to-wheel in front of the grandstands.

As the leaders battled slower traffic on lap 25, Eckrich dove to the inside in turn three in an attempt to regain the point, but Harris was able hold off the challenge as the pair raced out of turn through the corners and up the front straightaway. A handful of laps later, Eckrich lost a position to the hard-charging Fegers, before the second caution flag of the night was waved on lap 34 when fourth-place running Rob Moss collided with a retaining tire in turn two trying to battle through slower traffic.

On the ensuing restart, Eckrich drove around Fegers to regain second, with Iowa City driver Todd Davis electrifying the crowd by going to the topside of the wide, smooth and lightning fast race track to battle his way into contention. Coming off the banking out of turn four on lap 36, Davis wheeled around both Eckrich and Fegers to grab second, and over the next few circuits, ran door-to-door with the front-running Harris, before making contact with the turn three wall on lap 40.
“I got kind of lucky there, because Davis showed me the line up there and then he messed up and let me get back around him,” noted Eckrich.

Following Davis’ lead, Eckrich moved to the topside of the race track on the following circuit, and then, a lap later, the 38-year old race car builder from Cosgrove, Iowa surprised Harris out of turn four and stormed back into the lead just eight laps from the finish.

The race was slowed by back-to-back caution flags on lap 46, the first when two-time defending PolyDome Late Model Series champion Denny Eckrich slowed with electrical problems after racing from an outside ninth row starting position impressively into the top four, and the second when Davis made contact a second time with the turn three wall.

As the crowd voiced its approval, Eckrich won the race to the checkers, with Harris holding off Fegers to finish second.

As younger brother Denny did after his season-opening series victory at Farley Speedway the night before, the victorious Eckrich dedicated his win to the memory of an uncle, who passed away recently.

“I’d like to dedicated this win to my uncle Steve who passed away here a month ago,” he said. “A lot of racers knew him and a lot of people from around her knew him and if it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t be a lot of people out here racing, including me and (brothers) Denny and Andy.”

Mount Vernon, Iowa’s Chad Simpson finished just ahead of Wisconsin driver John Kaanta for fourth, with Chris Simpson finishing sixth, just ahead of Matt furman, Jay Johnson, and Waterville, Ohio’s Matt Miller.

RACE REPORT:

Group Qualifying: 1. Chad Simpson; Mount Vernon, IA (20.114), 2. Dave Eckrich; Cosgrove, IA (20.418), 3. Terry Casey; New London, WI (20.452), 4. Adam Hensel; Barron, WI (20.545), 5. Matt Furman; Iowa City, IA (20.574), 6. Matt Miller; Waterville, OH (20.575), 7. Jason Rauen; Farley, IA (20.618), 8. Andy Eckrich; Iowa City, IA (20.673), 9. Denny Eckrich; Tiffin, IA (20.778), 10. Brian Harris; Davenport, IA (20.801), 11. Nick Marolf; Moscow, IA (20.806), 12. Todd Davis; Iowa City, IA (20.903), 13. Ace Ihm; Hazel Green, WI (20.908), 14. Mike Klinkkhammer; West Branch, IA (20.926), 15. Jay Johnson; West Burlington, IA (20.926), 16. Eric Pember; Pittsville, WI (20.951), 17. Justin Fegers; Mound, MN (20.952), 18. Chris Simpson; Marion, IA (21.002), 19. Kurt Kile; Nichols, IA (21.117), 20. John Kaanta; Elk Mound, WI (21.118), 21. Jeff Tharp; Sherrill, IA (21.151), 22. Tommy Elston; Keokuk, IA (21.189), 23. Rick Hanestad; Boyceville, WI (21.218), 24. Kevin Kile; West Liberty, IA (21.303), 25. Darren Miller; Chadwick, IL (21.321), 26. Jason Utter; Columbus Junction, IA (21.344), 27. Jeff Provinzino; Hibbing, MN (21.359), 28. Ray Guss, Jr.; Milan, IL (21.386), 29. Matt Gilchrist; Muscatine, IA (21.514), 30. Larry McCall; Mechanicsville, IA (21.750), 31. Billy Koons; Omaha, NE (21.978), 32. Tim Isenberg; Marshfield, WI (22.031), 33. Jody Metzger; Muscatine, IA (22.245), Rob Moss (no time)

First PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Pember, 2. Kaanta, 3. Davis, 4. Andy Eckrich, 5. Gilchrist, 6. Tharp, 7. Darren Miller, 8. Hensel, 9. Metzger.

Second PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Johnson, 2. Elston, 3. Kurt Kile, 4. Marolf, 5. Moss, 6. McCall, 7. Rauen, 8. Utter, 9. Casey.

Third PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Harris, 2. Eckrich, 3. Chris Simpson, 4. Matt Miller, 5. Provinzino, 6. Klinkkhammer, 7. Hanestad, 8. Koons.

Fourth PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Fegers, 2. Furman, 3. Ihm, 4. Chad Simpson, 5. Denny Eckrich, 6. Guss, Jr., 7. Kevin Kile, 8. Isenberg.

KSE Racing Products Consolation: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. Marolf, 3. Hanestad, 4. Darren Miller, 5. Klinkkhammer, 6. Guss, Jr., 7. Utter, 8. Kevin Kile, 9. Isenberg, 10. Koons, 11. Metzger, 12. McCall, 13. Hensel.

Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Dave Eckrich, 2. Harris, 3. Pember, 4. Elston, 5. Fegers, 6. Johnson, 7. Furman, 8. Kaanta.

Island Auto Salvage 50: 1. Dave Eckrich, 2. Harris, 3. Fegers, 4. Chad Simpson, 5. Kaanta, 6. Chris Simpson, 7. Furman, 8. Johnson, 9. Matt Miller, 10. Andy Eckrich, 11. Elston, 12. Pember, 13. Utter, 14. Marolf, 15. Klinkkhammer, 16. Koons, 17. Davis, 18. Denny Eckrich, 19. Hanestad, 20. Provinzino, 21. Moss, 22. Darren Miller, 23. Kurt Kile, 24. Ihm.

INFORMATION OF INTEREST:

Entrants: 34
Lap Leaders: Dave Eckrich (1-15), Harris (16-41), Dave Eckrich (42-50)
Caution Flags: 4 (Laps 3, 34, 46, 46)
Red Flags: none
Rookie-of-the-Race: Kaanta
Hard Luck Driver: Moss
Series Provisionals: Utter, Koons

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation: Dave Eckrich, Harris, Pember
QA1 Motorsports: Elston
AMSOIL: Dave Eckrich
KSE Racing Products: Denny Eckrich
The Brake Man: Harris
Champ Pans: Fegers
Performance Bodies: Chad Simpson
Design 500 Racewear: Kaanta
V-Performance Batteries: Chris Simpson
Fast Shafts: Furman
Hooker Harness: Davis
Joie of Seating: Utter
Weld Wheels: Koons
BSB Manufacturing: Chad Simpson