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ECKRICH TAKES THE FIFTH IN WEST LIBERTYWest Liberty Raceway Denny Eckrich padded his points lead by taking home his fifth NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model Feature win of the season at the West Liberty Raceway on Saturday July 28th. Brian Harris took the point from his pole position, setting a torrid pace over Tom Cannon and Matt Furman on the extremely tacky racetrack while Eckrich began working his way to the front from his twelfth place starting spot. Harris's incredible pace put him in lapped traffic by the seventh circuit, eventually lapping half the field by the time the first caution came out on lap nineteen. Extremely heavy lapped traffic allowed Furman to shoot past Cannon for second on the ninth lap and close in on the leader while an intense battle raged behind him between Eckrich, Gary Webb, Cannon, Jeff Aikey and Mike Klinkkammer. Furman eventually used lapped traffic to take the lead away from Harris on the eighteenth lap, just as Eckrich was able to nose past Cannon into the third position, a full straightaway behind the leaders. Disaster struck for Furman as the car circulated under the lap nineteen caution when his car dropped out of the lead with a broken fuel pump. Eckrich made the most of both pieces of luck to shoot past Harris into the lead on the restart, finishing the 25 lap event unchallenged while his brother Dave Eckrich used the cushion to rocket past Harris into second at the checkers, with Todd Davis advancing from 21st at the start into fourth by passing Webb on the final lap. Robbie Verbeck put his recent bad luck behind him Miller Time Modified action by dominating the twenty lap event after starting on the front row. The race was marred on the original start when a ten car pileup just past the flagstand sent Gus Hughes tumbling. Hughes was treated and released from a local hospital with only minor injuries. Verbeck checked out on the field when racing resumed, lapping slower cars by the twelfth pass under the flagstand and leading Bret Frieden, Scott Megonigle, Dan Chapman and Russ Olson underneath the checkers. Gary Beuter notched his first Pro Stock feature win of the year by surviving very heavy pressure from Matt Gilchrist throughout the event. Beuter took the lead from the second row, but had to deal with Gilchrist's challenge one lap later. Mirroring his every move, Gilchrist kept the pressure on for the remaining thirteen laps, diving underneath at least once to take the lead on lap five but coming up short when Beuter was able to keep his momentum up on the top of the track to retake the lead before the next corner. Norman Bean finished a distant third, leading Chris Simpson and John Maher across the stripe. Dave Wada was in complete control of the Hobby Stock feature until a quarter mile from the finish when his car slowed with a broken axle halfway through the final lap. Points leader Jeremy Thompson, Bub Erwin and CJ Ormsby caught Wada as he was entering the third corner, diving high and low around his car in a mad scramble to the checkers. Thompson emerged victorious on the top of the track, edging out Ormsby and Erwin in a blanket finish under the checkers. Drivers will again do battle this Saturday night, August 4th as the 2001 season enters it's final month of competition. Hot Laps are scheduled for 6:30 pm with racing to follow. For more information, please contact Simmons Promotions at 563-744-3620 or on the internet at www.SimmonsPromotionsInc.com. For raceday updates and instant results upon completion please call your local McLeod USA InTouch directory category #3740 or #3741. Late Models DNQ MILLER TIME MODIFIEDS PRO STOCKS DNS HOBBY STOCK |
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