Diercks does it at West Liberty Hoker race
by Mike McGuire
WEST LIBERTY, Ia. (August 20, 2021) – The high-speed half-mile West Liberty Raceway was back in action Friday night with the Hoker Trucking SLMR East Series highlighting the show.
Chad Holladay threw down the gauntlet early on in the event. Holladay set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 19.221 seconds and then won the first late model heat race. But it would be Davenport’s Spencer Diercks that would steal the show.
Diercks started on the pole and led the first twenty-two lap of the 35-lap main. After a restart, Nick Marolf would take the lead. His lead would be short lived as five laps later Marolf would pull to a stop ending his shot at victory. Diercks led the remaining laps to the win with Dave Eckrich close behind in second. The win was Diercks’ first feature win in SLMR competition.
Holladay would take third, followed by Jason Hahne and Charlie McKenna. Brian Harris and Justin Kay were also late model heat race winners.
Derrick Stewart led every lap of the Modified feature. But it was not as easy as it sounds. Stewart had to fend off Dakota Simmons and Denny Eckrich early in the race. After the race’s second restart, Kurt Kile moved up to the second spot and pressured Stewart the remaining laps. Stewart took the win, with Kile settling for second. Simmons finished third, followed by Jarret Brown and Brandon Banks.
Curtis VanDerWal captured the SportMod feature despite leading only one lap. Scott Brau led the first three laps before yielding to Tim Plummer. Plummer would lead the next eleven laps. Most of those were with VanDerWal right on his rear bumper. It was close between the two leaders at the white flag, but VanDerWal would pull away on the final lap for the win. Plummer was a close second, with Trey Rock, Charlie Weber, and Ryan Walker rounding out the top five.
Alex Hayes took the win in a depleted 4-Stock field. Dylan Welsch finished second and Cody VanDusen was third.
RJ Lank and his Edsel bodied racecar posted the win in the American Iron Racing Series. Lank had to work his around Steve Johnson to score the win. Johnson held on to finish second. Scott Van Buskirk took third, ahead of Robin Atkins and Dennis Etten;
Midwest Jalopies rounded out the program. Matt Fulton drove through the pack to take the win. Terry Doud finished second and Mark Merfeld third.
Next up for DRT TRAK Racing Inc., is the Brit Montgomery Memorial Saturday, August 21st, at the Maquoketa Speedway. The event includes the Hoker Trucking SLMR East Series, Modifieds, SportMods, 4-Stocks, and A.I.R.S..
Results:
West Liberty Raceway
August 20, 2021 –
Hoker Trucking SLMR East Series
Qualifying: Chad Holladay (19.221 seconds)
Heat #1: 1. Chad Holladay; 2. Dave Eckrich; 3. Chad Simpson; 4. Jeff Aikey; 5. Jeff Tharp;
Heat #2: 1. Brian Harris; 2. Luke Goedert; 3. Nick Marolf; 4. Charlie McKenna; 5. Darrel DeFrance;
Heat #3: 1. Justin Kay; 2. Chris Simpson; 3. Joel Callahan; 4. Spencer Diercks; 5. JC Wyman;
Feature: 1. Spencer Diercks; 2. Dave Eckrich; 3. Chad Holladay; 4. Jason Hahne; 5. Charlie McKenna; 6. Chad Simpson; 7. Justin Kay; 8. Jeff Tharp; 9. Darrel DeFrance; 10. JC Wyman; 11. Brian Harris; 12. Jeff Aikey; 13. Curt Schroeder; 14. Todd Cooney; 15. Kirby Schultz; 16. Nick Marolf; 17. Chris Simpson; 18. Ron Boyse; 19. Joel Callahan; 20. Richie Gustin; 21. Luke Goedert; 22. Michael Guldenpfennig; 23. Jimmy Cruise; 24. Andy Eckrich;
Modifieds
Heat #1: 1. Jeff Aikey; 2. Dakota Simmons; 3. Jarret Brown; 4. Denny Eckrich; 5. Jonathan Huston;
Heat #2: 1. Kurt Kile; 2. Derrick Stewart; 3. Kyle Montgomery; 4. Josh Starr; 5. Derek Walker;
Feature: 1. Derrick Stewart; 2. Kurt Kile; 3. Dakota Simmons; 4. Jarret Brown; 5. Brandon Banks; 6. Kyle Montgomery; 7. Jonathan Huston; 8. Derek Walker; 9. Jordan Walker; 10. Josh Starr; 11. Denny Eckrich; 12. Jeff Aikey; (2-DNS)
SportMods
Heat #1: 1. Curtis VanderWal; 2. Andrew Schroeder; 3. Colton Livezey; 4. Levi Heath; 5. Nick Aupperle;
Heat #2: 1. Charlie Weber; 2. Scott Brau; 3. Brendon Schultheis; 4. Kevin Rasdon; 5. Nick Mosier;
Heat #3: 1. Tim Plummer; 2. Shaun Slaughter; 3. Trey Rock; 4. Todd Hansen; 5. Perry Gellerstedt;
Feature: 1. Curtis VanderWal; 2. Tim Plummer; 3. Trey Rock; 4. Charlie Weber; 5.
Ryan Walker; 6. Scott Brau; 7. Perry Gellerstedt; 8. Colton Livezey; 9. Levi Heath; 10. Todd Hansen; 11. Kevin Radson; 12. Nick Mosier; 13. Shaun Slaughter; 14. Nick Aupperle; 15. Joel Payne; 16. Jason Bear; 17. Shane Wright; 18. Brendon Schultheis; (2-DNS)
4-Stocks
Heat #1: 1. Alex Hayes; 2. Dylan Welsch; 3. Cody VanDusen; 4. Cody Montgomery;
Feature: 1. Alex Hayes; 2. Dylan Welsch; 3. Cody VanDusen; 4. Cody Montgomery;
A.I.R.S.
Heat #1: 1. Scott VanBuskirk; 2. RJ Lank; 3. Robin Atkins; 4. Bruce Yoerger; 5. Scott Fridley;
Heat #2: 1. Steve Johnson; 2. Brian Gade; 3. Dennis Etten; 4. Travis Heier; 5. Josh Woods;
Feature: 1. RJ Lank; 2. Steve Johnson; 3. Scott Van Buskirk; 4. Robin Atkins; 5. Dennis Etten; 6. Bruce Yoerger; 7. Travis Heier; 8. Josh Woods; 9. Brian Gade; 10. Bart Montgomery; 11. Scott Fridley; 12. Doak Allen Jr.; 13. Jimmy Rogers; 14. Wayne Webert; (2-DNS)
Midwest Jalopies
Heat #1: 1. Mark Merfeld; 2. Dennis Blunt; 3. Tanner Gerard; 4. Pat Bailey; 5. Jeff Blunt;
Heat #2: 1. Matt Fulton; 2. Austin Honts; 3. Terry Doud; 4. Kurt Zimmerman; 5. Tom Honts;
Feature: 1. Matt Fulton; 2. Terry Doud; 3. Mark Merfeld; 4. Austin Honts; 5. Dennis Blunt; 6. Jim Thurston; 7. Tanner Gerard; 8. Kurt Zimmerman; 9. Jeff Blunt; 10. Tom Honts; 11. Pat Bailey; 12. Larry Driscoll; 13. Jerry Cayler;
Category: Iowa
