Eckert Conquers Cedar Lake Speedway with Daring Late Race Pass
Rick Echert — Photo by Jim Denhamer
By Jordan Morris
SOMERSET, Wis. – June 13, 2014 – Rick Eckert claimed his first victory of the 2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals tour, and his first at Cedar Lake Speedway since 2002, after completing a daring pass with two laps to go on 17-year-old Bobby Pierce to claim the $5,000 checkered flag.
Defending Summer Nationals champ Brandon Sheppard started the race from the pole and jumped out to an early lead over Rodney Sanders and Billy Moyer. Sheppard controlled the lead for the first half of the race before surrendering it to Bobby Pierce, who managed to make his way to the front after starting fifth. The two young stars dominated much of the race, with 48-year-old Rick Eckert giving chase. Eckert made his way to Pierce’s back bumper with less than 10 laps remaining, but Pierce’s high-line kept Eckert from completing the pass. Finally with two laps to go, Eckert slung his car into the corner, sliding up in front of Pierce to secure the lead en route to claiming his first win since jumping into the Rocket Chassis house car nearly two months ago.
“Racing them two kids, they’re going to win a lot of races, no doubt about it,” said Eckert, of York, Pa. “So it’s nice to steal one from them now while I still can.”
(Click here for news and information on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.)
Rodney Sanders, Brian Birkhofer and Billy Moyer rounded out the top five.
Heat race winners included Brandon Sheppard, Billy Moyer, Rick Eckert and Rodney Sanders.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Saturday night at Cedar Lake Speedway in Somerset, Wis.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Cedar Lake Speedway; Somerset, Wis.; June 13, 2014
A-Main (40-laps): 1. 1-Rick Eckert ($5,000), 2. 32-Bobby Pierce, 3. 20-Rodney Sanders, 4. 15B-Brian Birkhofer, 5. 21-Billy Moyer, 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 7. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 8. 2S-Brady Smith, 9. 77X-Tim McCreadie, 10. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 11. 22-Gregg Satterllee, 12. 96-Tanner English, 13. 7K-Jason Krohn, 14. 18-Shannon Babb, 15. 33X-Adam Hensel, 16. 98-Jason Rauen, 17. 10S-Scott Schmitt, 18. 90-Lance Matthees, 19. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 20. 81-Brian Shirley, 21. 58-AJ Diemel, 22. 11-Pat Doar.
2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
| Date | Day | Track | Location | Win |
| June 11 | Wed | Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, Ind. | RAIN |
| June 12 | Thur | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Kankakee, Ill. | Billy Moyer |
| June 13 | Fri | Cedar Lake Speedway | Somerset, Wis. | Rick Eckert |
| June 14 | Sat | Cedar Lake Speedway | Somerset, Wis. | $10,000 |
| June 15 | Sun | Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, Wis. | $5,000 |
| June 16 | Mon | Off | ||
| June 17 | Tue | Farley Speedway | Farley, Iowa | $10,000 |
| June 18 | Wed | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, Ill. | $5,000 |
| June 19 | Thur | Quincy Raceways | Quincy, Ill. | $5,000 |
| June 20 | Fri | Tri-City Speedway | Pontoon Beach, Ill. | $10,000 |
| June 21 | Sat | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, Ill. | $10,000 |
| June 22 | Sun | I-96 Speedway | Ionia, Mich. | $5,000 |
| June 23 | Mon | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, Ill. | $5,000 |
| June 24 | Tue | Off | ||
| June 25 | Wed | Clarksville Speedway | Clarksville, Tenn. | $5,000 |
| June 26 | Thur | Clayhill Motorsports | Atwood, Tenn. | $5,000 |
| June 27 | Fri | Paducah Int. Raceway | Paducah, Ky. | $10,000 |
| June 28 | Sat | Federated Auto Parts Raceway | Pevely, Mo. | $10,000 |
| June 29 | Sun | Lincoln Speedway | Lincoln, Ill. | $5,000 |
| June 30 | Mon | Off | ||
| July 1 | Tue | Belle Clair Speedway | Belleville, Ill. | $5,000 |
| July 2 | Wed | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, Ill. | $5,000 |
| July 3 | Thur | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, Ill. | $5,000 |
| July 4 | Fri | Fayette Co. Speedway | Brownstown, Ill. | $7,500 |
| July 5 | Sat | Highland Speedway | Highland, Ill. | $10,000 |
| July 6 | Sun | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, Ind. | $5,000 |
| July 7 | Mon | Off | ||
| July 8 | Tue | Florence Speedway | Union, Ky. | $5,000 |
| July 9 | Wed | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, Ind. | $5,000 |
| July 10 | Thur | Macon Speedway | Macon, Ill. | $5,000 |
| July 11 | Fri | Farmer City Raceway | Farmer City, Ill. | $10,000 |
| July 12 | Sat | 34 Raceway | Burlington, Iowa | $10,000 |
| July 13 | Sun | Vermilion Co. Speedway | Danville, Ill. | $5,000 |
| July 14 | Mon | Off | ||
| July 15 | Tue | TBA | ||
| July 16 | Wed | Atomic Speedway | Chillicothe, Ohio | $5,000 |
| July 17 | Thur | Brushcreek Motorsports Complex | Peebles, Ohio | $5,000 |
| July 18 | Fri | Attica Raceway Park | Attica, Ohio | $5,000 |
| July 19 | Sat | Oakshade Raceway | Wauseon, Ohio | $10,000 |
