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CHAD SIMPSON TAKES DOUBLE WDRL WINS AT FREEPORT RACEWAY PARK Iowa driver follows 25-lap win with a victory in the Swiss Colony 75 By Bucky Doren WORLD Dirt Racing League FREEPORT, Ill. (Sept. 7) - Chad Simpson took his GATR Volvo/Five Star No. 25 to the WORLD Dirt Racing League Victory Lane twice at Freeport Race Park during The Rebel. The Rebel is a two-day race that was to feature a 25-lap sprint on Friday night and the Swiss Colony 75-lap main event on Saturday night. But, due to track conditions from the heavy rains of Thursday and into Thursday night, the Friday night feature was moved to Saturday night. Although he tried and tried Randy Gill just couldn’t get the track to come in on Friday. We tried to run it in, but it was so rough after the Crashedtoys.com qualifying heat race that we made the decision to move the rest of the show to Saturday night. "Once I got out front, I knew I had a great car," Simpson, of Mount Vernon, Iowa, said in Victory Lane after the first win. "I was able to hold a great line. I'm looking forward to the 75-lap feature." Denny Eckrich, Dan Shilliam, Dave Eckrich and Matt Furman rounded out the top five in the 25-lap Feature. The 75 Lap Rebel was an exciting race all the way and it looked like Jeff Aikey was going to come home with the win, but late in the race Simpson passed to grab the second feature event of The Rebel 100 weekend. Aikey, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, started on the pole of the second feature and led the field for the first 65 laps. Then he encountered heavy lapping traffic, and that allowed Simpson to close in and pass him. "I tried to save my tires for the end," Simpson said when it was over. "I thought Aikey was driving into the corners too hard, so I thought I'd better save mine. "Lapped traffic -- sometimes you love it and sometimes you hate," added Simpson. "Tonight I love it. The GATR Volvo/Five Star No. 25 felt great all night." Rounding out the top five behind the winner were Aikey, Jason Utter, Denny Eckrich and Furman. Next up for the WDRL Late Model Series is a trip to Kansas City, Kan., during the community's NASCAR weekend. The WDRL Late Models will race there on Friday, Sept. 26, and Saturday, Sept. 27, at Lakeside 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, QA1 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 THE REBEL, NIGHT ONE FREEPORT RACEWAY PARK FREEPORT, ILL. FRIDAY, SEPT. 5, 2008 CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 1: 1. Denny Eckrich, 2. Dan Shilliam, 3. Gordy Segert CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 2: 1. Chris Simpson, 2. Matt Furman, 3. Dave Eckrich CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 3: 1. Chad Simpson, 2. Curt Martin, 3. Steve Morgan IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: 1. Chad Simpson, 2. Dan Shilliam, 3. Chris Simpson, 4. Denny Eckrich, 5. Matt Furman, 6. Dave Eckrich, 7. Curt Martin, 8. Steve Morgan WDRL FEATURE: 25 Laps 1. Chad Simpson, 2. Denny Eckrich, 3. Dan Shilliam, 4. Dave Eckrich, 5. Jeremy Grady, 6. Gordy Segert, 7. Eric Pember, 8. Jeff Larson, 9. Matt Furman, 10. John Kaanta, 11. Frank Heckenast Jr., 12. Jeff Aikey, 13. Bob Bollan, 14. Gary Webb, 15. Andrew McKay, 16. Lyle Zanker, 17. Greg Wagner, 18. Ed Williams, 19. Jason Utter, 20. Curt Martin, 21. Mike Fryer, 22. Steve Morgan, 23. Chris Simpson, 24. Ron Klein RACE REPORT THE REBEL, NIGHT TWO FREEPORT RACEWAY PARK FREEPORT, ILL. SATURDAY, SEPT. 6, 2008 IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION GROUP QUALIFYING: (Top 10) 1. Dave Eckrich 20.938; 2. Denny Eckrich 21.014; 3. Dan Shilliam 21.160; 4. John Kaanta 21.239; 5. Bob Bollan 21.267; 6. Jeremy Grady 21.419; 7. Matt Furman 21.461; 8. Jason Utter 21.597; 9. Jeff Aikey 21.646; 10. Lyle Zanker 21.674. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 1: 1. Jeff Aikey, 2. Frank Heckenast Jr., 3. Dan Shilliam CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 2: 1. Mike Fryer, 2. Jason Utter, 3. Chad Simpson CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 3: 1. Matt Furman 2. Denny Eckrich, 3. Lyle Zanker IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: 1. Jeff Aikey, 2. Frank Heckenast Jr., 3. Mike Fryer, 4. Chad Simpson, 5. Matt Furman, 6. Jason Utter, 7. Dan Shilliam, 8. Denny Eckrich WDRL FEATURE: Swiss Colony 75 1. Chad Simpson, 2. Jeff Aikey, 3. Jason Utter, 4. Denny Eckrich, 5. Matt Furman 6. Mike Fryer, 7. Curt Martin, 8. Dan Shilliam, 9. Jeff Larson, 10. Chris Simpson, 11. Gordy Segert, 12. Eric Pember, 13. Gary Webb, 14. Dan Woodworth, 15. Bret Dierks, 16. John Kaanta, 17. Frank Heckenast Jr., 18. Ed Williams, 19. Lyle Zanker, 20. Steve Morgan, 21. Jeremy Grady, 22. Ron Klein, 23. Bob Bollan, 24. Dave Eckrich, 25. Greg Wagner. |