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AL PURKEY GOES FLAG TO FLAG IN WORLD DIRT RACING LEAGUE WIN
IN ALBION, NEB.
Kansas driver takes series' round no. 8 at Boone County Raceway
By Rusty Daufeldt
WORLD Dirt Racing League
ALBION, Neb. (July 12) - Round No. 8 on the 2009 schedule brought the stars
and cars of the WORLD Dirt Racing League here Sunday to Boone County Raceway
for their annual race. The first of a two-day WDRL swing kicked off the
Boone County Fair. Warm temperatures and sunny skies made for hot action on
and off the race track.
Twenty-five cars and drivers made the annual trek westward to Albion, Neb.,
for the 50-lap, $5,000-to-win main event.
Omaha, Nebraska's John Anderson set the fast time. Intense heat race action
on the beautifully prepared race track set the field set for the
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash. The no. 33 of Al Purkey was able
to pull off a win and capture the pole position for the night's feature
event while a fierce battle behind him ensued among Chad Simpson, Anderson
and Kyle Berck. Even with Simpson falling to fourth at one point, the WDRL
point leader was able to charge back to finish second and capture a
front-row start for the 50-lapper.
A quick reworking of the track gave all of the competitors a fantastic
racing surface for headliner. At the drop of the green, Purkey set the pace
with Anderson filing into second and Simpson third. As Purkey stretched out
his lead, Simpson secured second with Anderson third and Berck fourth. Tim
Isenberg, who was running a strong fifth, advanced past Berck for the fourth
position while up front Simpson was reeling in Purkey. On a lap-16 caution,
the field was bunched back once again. Simpson capitalized on the restart
and was able to drive up to Purkey's rear bumper but just could not make a
pass.
As the leaders settled into single file, Isenberg was closing in on Anderson
for third. A second caution on lap 23 gave the leaders one last chance to
make an attempt to overtake Purkey. Simpson, who had been the closest in
lapped traffic, set his sights on the leader, utilizing both the high and
low grooves on the speedway. But Purkey proved to be too strong as he once
again stretched his lead to just over three car lengths. As the leaders
entered lapped traffic, the no. 25 of Simpson got together with a lapped car
down the back straightaway, forcing him to brush the wall, which damaged the
right rear of his car. This incident allowed Anderson to get back by him and
move into the second position.
No one had anything for Purkey as he was able to go flag to flag for the
victory. In Victory Lane, an excited crew awaited for the tired winner from
Kansas and, as he climbed from the car, he was greeted with smiles and hugs
from all.
"This is the fifth night in a row for us," said Purkey, "and we're all
getting on each other nerves just a little, and we've still got a couple
more to go before we go home. This makes it a little easier."
Anderson finished a convincing second while Simpson held onto third.
Next up for the WORLD Dirt Racing League Late Models is Mineral City
Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa, for The Mobil 1-sponsored 40-lap main event
set for tonight, Monday, July 13.
RACE REPORT
BOONE COUNTY RACEWAY
ALBION, NEB.
SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2009
Qualifying: 1. John Anderson (14.956), 2. Kyle Berck (15.203), 3. Mike
Collins (15.272), 4. Travis Dickes (15.351), 5. Denny Eckrich (15.352), 6.
Chad Mahder (15.380), 7. Mike Wiarta (15.389), 8.Chad Simpson (15.397) , 9.
Dave Eckrich (15.402) , 10. Al Purkey (15.475), 11. Bill Koons (15.500), 12.
Tim Isenberg (15.578), 13. Steve Kempt (15.583), 14. Rob Moss (15.623), 15.
Al Humphrey (15.764), 16. Scott Daly (15.769), 17. Joe Kosiski (15.801), 18.
Robert Osborne (15.894), 19. Tad Pospisel (15.991), 20. Junior Coover
(16.104), 21. Jim Johnson (16.142) , 22. Chad Jensen (16.473), 23. Bob
Milander (16.494), 24. Mike Kelly (18.941).
First Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Tim Isenberg (9T), 2. Dave Eckrich (58), 3.
Mike Collins (3), 4. Scott Daly (U2), 5. Chad Jensen (73), 6. Tad Pospisel
(04), 7 Chad Mahder (55c), 8. Steve Kempt (90), 9. Mark Lueken (12).
Second Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Chad Simpson (25), 2. Kyle Berck (14), 3.
Denny Eckrich (50), 4. Bill Koons (29), 5. Joe Kosiski (53), 6. Rob Moss
(1M), 7. Bob Milander (77), 8. Junior Coover (10C).
Third Qualifying Heat Race: 1.Al Purkey (33), 2. John Anderson (2), 3. Mike
Wiarta (1W), 4. Travis Dickes (21T), 5. Robert Osborne (35), 6. Al Humphrey,
(6) 7. Jim Johnson (36).
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Purkey, 2. Simpson, 3.
Anderson, 4. Berck, 5. Isenberg, 6. Dave Eckrich, 7. Daly, 8. Collins.
50-lap Feature: 1. Purkey 2. Anderson , 3. Simpson, 4. Isenberg, 5. Dave
Eckrich, 6. Kyle Berck, 7. Mike Wiarda, 8. Denny Eckrich, 9. Moss, 10. Joe
Kosiski, 11. Mike Collins, 12. Robert Osborne, 13. Scott Daly, 14. Chad
Jensen, 15. Tad Pospisel, 16. Bill Koons, 17. Jim Johnson, 18. Bob Mialander,
19. Mike Kelly, 20. Travis Dickes , 21. Chad Mahder, 22. Al Humphrey, 23.
Junior Coover , 24. Steve Kempt.
INFORMATION OF INTEREST:
Entrants: 25
Lap Leaders: Purkey 1-50
Time of Race: n/a
Margin of Victory: n/a
Caution Flags: 3
Red Flags: none
Chase Decals Rookie-of-the-Race: Chad Mahder
Hard Luck Driver: Chad Mahder
Series Provisionals: n/a
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation: 1. Chad Simpson
QA1 Motorsports: n/a
The Brake Man: Chad Simpson
Champ Pans: Tim Isenberg
Performance Bodies: Dave Eckrich
Fast Shafts: Rob Moss
Hooker Harness: Bill Koons
BSB Manufacturing: Denny Eckrich
Randy’s Racing Filters ninth-place finish: Chad Mahder
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