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KAANTA BEATS MARS AND MILLER FOR A WDRL WIN AT CEDAR LAKE Wisconsin driver survives late-race pressure from fellow competitors By Bucky Doren WORLD Dirt Racing League NEW RICHMOND, WIS (July 31) - John Kaanta survived a late-race charge from others to win the WORLD Dirt Racing League Late Model Series event last night here at Cedar Lake Speedway. Jimmy Mars and Darren Miller both pressured Kaanta late, but could not pass him. Kaanta, of Elk Mound, Wis., chased early race leader Adam Hensel, Barron, Wis., until the two squared off for a side-by-side battle for the lead. The duo fought it out for several laps until Kaanta was able to take over the top spot. Kaanta had begun cutting through lapped traffic at the midway point of the 50-lapper when a yellow flag was thrown. "I was worried every time the yellow (flag) came out," Kaanta said in Victory Lane. "I saw the scoreboard, and I knew there were some good cars behind me." Despite those caution periods, Kaanta was able to keep some hard chargers at bay, racing to the win and adding to his series point lead. "I really can't believe this," Kaanta said of his win. "The car was great. Things are going this well. I don't really watch the points. We just try to take it one race at a time. There are still lot of races left, and there are some tough competitors racing with the WDRL." Jimmy Mars of Elk Mound, Wis., started 11th in the feature but moved quickly toward the front. Mars waged several door-to-door battles as he worked his way through the top five. A caution with nine laps remaining put him on the back bumper of Kaanta, but Mars was not able to find away to get around him and was forced to settle for second. Darren "The Thriller" Miller of Chadwick, Ill., was one of Mars' fiercest competitors. The two battled for several laps trying to decide who would control second. Mars slipped by Miller in the closing laps, leaving Miller with a third-place finish. Ashley Anderson, another Elk Mound, Wis., driver, raced into the top five late in the event, and Jack Sullivan, Greenbrier, Ark., was in the top five for the entire race. Anderson and Sullivan duked it out for fourth as the laps wound down. Anderson would edge out Sullivan as the checkered flag fell. Sullivan rounded out the top five. Next up for the WDRL Late Model Series is the makeup "Masters" 50-lap feature at Cedar Lake Speedway that was postponed because of rain on Father's Day weekend. Then the series will beat the heat of the summer with a few weeks off as drivers prepare for a Labor Day weekend double-header. On Saturday, Aug. 30, the cars and stars of the WDRL Late Model Series visit Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn. The next night, Sunday, Aug. 31, the tour hits the Quad City Speedway in East Moline, Ill. NASCAR fans heading to Kansas Speedway at the end of September should make plans to join WDRL on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26 and 27, at Lakeside Speedway, Kansas City, Kan. It's just a short 10-minute trip from Kansas Speedway. The WORLD Dirt Racing League wishes to thank these series sponsors: Hoosier Racing Tires, Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation, CrashedToys.com, Chase Signs and Graphics, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Hooker Harness, Fast Shafts, Lincoln Electric, Performance Bodies, QA-1 Motorsports, The Brake Man and Wyman Ford. For more information on the WORLD Dirt Racing League or the latest WDRL Late Model Series schedule, check out the WORLD Dirt Racing League's Web site, www.worldraceleague.com. RACE REPORT CEDAR LAKE SPEEDWAY NEW RICHMOND, WIS. THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2008 IOWA-ILLINOIS GROUP QUALIFYING: Top 10 1. Scott Gilberts 13.975; 2. Eric Pember 14.044; 3. Chris Simpson 14.072; 4. Justin Fegers 14.080; 5. Adam Hensel 14.082; 6. Rick Hanestad 14.133; 7. Brian Birkhofer 14.228; 8. Ashley Anderson 14.238; 9. Frank Heckenast Jr. 14.286; 10. Jeremy Grady 14.317. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 1: 10 Laps 1. Adam Hensel, 2. John Kaanta, 3. Jeremy Grady, 4. Will Vaught, 5. Matt Miller, 6. Mike Nutzmann, 7. Tim Isenberg, 8. Pete Parker, 9. Tom Nesbitt, 10. Scott Bloomquist. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 2: 1. Brady Smith, 2. Curt Martin, 3. Darren Miller, 4. Frank Heckenast Jr. 5. Justin Fegers, 6. Bryan Wennen, 7. Matt Furman, 8. Chad Simpson, 9. Andrew McKay, 10. Steve Hucovski. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 3: 1. Ashley Anderson, 2. Keith Foss, 3. Jeff Provinzino, 4. Kevin Weaver, 5. Chris Simpson, 6. Rob Moss, 7. Jason Utter, 8. Billy Moyer, 9. Darin Duffy, 10. Nick Avelink. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 4: 1. Jake Redetzke, 2. Joey Jensen, 3. Jimmy Mars, 4. Brian Birkhofer, 5. Lance Mathees, 6. Wendell Wallace, 7. Eric Pember, 8. Ron Schreiner, 9. Dave Eckrich, 10. Dustin Hapka. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 5: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. James Ward, 3. Scott Gilberts, 4. Jack Sullivan, 5. Chris Wall, 6. Rick Hanestad, 7. Kerry Hansen, 8. Pat Doar, 9. Greg Hill, DNS- Tim McCreadie. QA-1 MOTOR SPORTS PASSING POINTS: Top 18 / Feature Qualifiers 1. Denny Eckrich 72.50; 2. John Kaanta 66.75; 3. Adam Hansel 66.75; 4. Ashley Anderson 63.50; 5. Curt Martin 62.25; 6. Keith Foss 62.25; 7. Jack Sullivan 62.00; 8. Jake Redetzke 61.25, 9. Brady Smith 61.25; 10. Darren Miller 58.75; 11. Jimmy Mars 56.50; 12. James Ward 55.50; 13. Joey Jensen 55.50; 14. Scott Gilberts 54.25; 15. Lance Matthees 54.00; 16. Kevin Weaver 53.00; 17. Jeremy Grady 52.00; Jeff Provinizino 52.00. IOWA-ILLINOS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: 6 Laps 1. Adam Hensel, 2. Denny Eckrich, 3. John Kaanta, 4. Jack Sullivan, 5. Curt Martin, 6. Keith Foss, 7. Jake Redetzke, 8. Ashley Anderson. B-MAIN 1: 12 Laps / Top 3 Transfer 1. Justin Fegers, 2. Frank Heckenast, 3. Chris Wall, 4. Rick Hanestad, 5. Rob Moss, 6. Billy Moyer, 7. Scott Bloomquist, 8. Chad Simpson, 9. Dave Eckrich, 10. Tim Nesbitt, 11. Tim Isenberg, 12. Greg Hill, 13. Kerry Hansen, 14. Matt Furman, 15. Bryan Wennen, DNS- Dustin Hapka. B-MAIN 2: 12 Laps / Top 3 Transfer 1. Brian Birkhofer, 2. Will Vaught, 3. Chris Simpson, 4. Matt Miller, 5. Wendell Wallace, 6. Eric Pember, 7. Pat Doar, 8. Jason Utter, 9. Mike Nutzman, 10. Nick Avelink, 11. Pete Parker, 12. Darin Duffy, 13. Ron Schreiner, 14. Andrew McKay, DNS- Steve Hucovski, DNS- Tim McCreadie. WDRL FEATURE EVENT: 50 Laps 1. John Kaanta, 2. Jimmy Mars, 3. Darren Miller, 4. Ashley Anderson, 5. Jack Sullivan, 6. Denny Eckrich, 7. Brian Birkhofer, 8. Keith Foss, 9. Adam Hensel, 10. Jake Redetzke, 11. Joey Jensen, 12. Lance Matthees, 13. Will Vaught, 14. Eric Pember, 15. Curt Martin, 16. Scott Gilberts, 17. Frank Heckenast Jr., 18. Chad Simpson, 19. James Ward, 20. Chris Wall, 21. Chris Simpson, 22. Justin Fegers, 23. Jeremy Grady, 24. Kevin Weaver, 25. Brady Smith, 26. Jeff Provinzino. WDRL CONTINGENCY AWARDS: IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: Adam Hansel, Denny Eckrich, John Kaanta QA-1 MOTORSPORTS PASSING POINTS: Denny Eckrich CHASE HARD LUCK AWARD: Rick Hanestad DESIGN 500: Rob Moss, Eric Pember BRAKE MAN: Jimmy Mars CHAMP PANS: Darren Miller PERFORMANCE BODIES: Denny Eckrich BSB MANUFACTURING: Curt Martin FAST SHAFTS: Frank Heckenast Jr. HOOKER HARNESS: Chad Simpson WDRL PROVISIONALS: Chad Simpson, Eric Pember CHASE SIGNS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Frank Heckenast Jr., Jeremy Grady CHASSIS: MasterSbilt, Rocket |