Harris holds off Eckrich for West Liberty win
by Mike McGuire
WEST LIBERTY, Ia. (August 8, 2020) – Mid-Summer Madness at West Liberty Raceway brought some high speed excitement to the big half-mile Saturday night.
No race was as exciting as the Late Model main. Though the car count was low the battle for the race lead went on for the entire twenty-five laps. Brian Harris and Andy Eckripolech dueled lap after lap. While Harris was leading, Eckrich made two serious attempts at the lead, one in the first six laps and another with five laps to go. The last side by side tussle between the leaders helped bring Tyler Bruening into the mix. Buening had started in the fifth row and had worked his way up to third.
Harris was up to every challenge and took the checkers just ahead of Eckrich, with Bruening another car length back. Dave Eckrich and Jonathn Brauns rounded out the top five.
In Modified action, Derrick Stewart took home the trophy. The early race lead went to Terry Rentfro, who started on the pole. A few laps later, Rentfro turned the lead over to Chris Zogg. Zogg’s lead would also be short-lived. Just before midway in the twenty lapper, Stewart stormed to the front. Stewart’s car seemed to get faster as the race went on. He needed to be, as Spencer Diercks was coming up fast. Diercks drove to within three lengths of lead, when his progress stalled out.
Stewart was the winner. Diercks settled for second, with Zogg third. Dakota Simmons finished fourth, ahead of Denny Eckrich. The modified feature went caution free.
The SportMod feature saw only one leader, as Tim Plummer led all fifteen laps. Brayton Carter and Logan Anderson started mid-pack and would finish second and third respectively. Matt Fulton and Wisconsin’s Jason Roth completed the first five. The red flag flew during the SportMod feature when Ryan Walker put his car on its lid in turn two. Ryan was able to walk away from the crash.
Johnny Spaw led all fifteen laps of the Street stock feature. Nick Hixson finished second with Jeff Struck Jr. holding off Rob Henry for third.
The Nostalgic Stock Car Racing Club rounded out the program. Ray Guss Jr. stormed his way to the lead and the checkered flag. Jeff Walker took second, followed by Ben Hamburg, Andrew Hamburg, and Kurt Zimmerman.
One more event remains on the 2020 schedule for the West Liberty Raceway. On August 22nd, the Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing – Haulin with Hoker East Series invades the half-mile oval. Details on this event can be found on the DRT TRAK Racing facebook page or at “drttrakracing.com” .
Results:
West Liberty Raceway
August 8, 2020 –
Late Models
Heat #1: 1. Andy Eckrich; 2. Ron Boyse; 3. Dave Eckrich; 4. Gary Webb; 5. Nick Marolf;
Heat #2: 1. Tyler Bruening; 2. Brian Harris; 3. Dave Wada; 4. Kyle Krampe; 5. Jonathan Brauns;
Feature: 1. Brian Harris; 2. Andy Eckrich; 3. Tyler Bruening; 4. Dave Eckrich; 5. Jonathan Brauns; 6. Gary Webb; 7. Nick Marolf; 8. Dave Wada; 9. Ron Boyse; 10. Kyle Krampe;
Modifieds
Heat #1: 1. Derrick Stewart; 2. Terry Rentfro; 3. Dakota Simmons; 4. Chris Zogg; 5. Jordan Walker;
Heat #2: 1. Denny Eckrich; 2. Spencer Diercks; 3. Dakota Hayden; 4. Kyle Montgomery; 5. Derek Walker;
Feature: 1. Derrick Stewart; 2. Spencer Diercks; 3. Chris Zogg; 4. Dakota Simmons; 5. Denny Eckrich; 6. Terry Rentfro; 7. Kyle Montgomery; 8. Jordan Walker; 9. Kurt Kile; 10. Derek Walker; 11. Dakota Hayden; 12. Bob Dominacki; 13. Danny Brau; (2-DNS)
Street Stocks
Heat #1: 1. Nick Hixson; 2. Johnny Spaw; 3. Jeff Struck Jr.; 4. Jake Lund; 5. Matt Gilchrist;
Feature: 1. Johnny Spaw; 2. Nick Hixson; 3. Jeff Struck Jr.; 4. Rob Henry; 5. Jake Lund; 6. Cameron Exline; 7. Matt Picray; (1-DNS)
SportMods
Heat #1: 1. Tim Plummer; 2. Jason Roth; 3. Trey Rock; 4. Ryan Walker; 5. Dustin Schram;
Heat #2: 1. Matt Fulton; 2. Brayton Carter; 3. Curtis VanDerWal; 4. Levi Heath; 5. Logan Anderson;
Feature: 1. Tim Plummer; 2. Brayton Carter; 3. Logan Anderson; 4. Matt Fulton; 5. Jason Roth; 6. Dustin Schram; 7. Trey Rock; 8. Scott Brau; 9. Perry Gellerstedt; 10. Levi Heath; 11. Joel Payne; 12. Shawn Slaughter; 13. Jared Jones; 14. Ryan Walker; 15. Kevin Radson; 16. Alex Hamer; 17. Justin Schroeder; 18. Barry Dugan;
Nostalgic Stock Car Racing Club
Heat #1: 1. Kyle Montgomery; 2. Tom Honts; 3. Doug Yates; 4. Mark Claeys; 5. DNS;
Heat #2: 1. Ray Guss Jr.; 2. Andrew Hamburg; 3. Ben Hamburg; 4. Jeff Walker; 5. Kurt Zimmerman;
Feature: 1. Ray Guss Jr.; 2. Jeff Walker; 3. Ben Hamburg; 4. Andrew Hamburg; 5. Kurt Zimmerman; 6. Mark Claeys; 7. Tom Honts; 8. Austin Honts; 9. Kyle Montgomery; 10. Doug Yates;
Category: Iowa
