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Birky Defends “Liberty 100” Title; Vest, Andy Eckrich & Thompson Score Championship Wins
The 2002 racing season came to a very successful ending on Saturday night at the West Liberty Raceway. The championships of the 6th annual “Liberty” 100 were run in front of a packed house.
The Bud Shootout “Liberty 100” saw 29 very fast Late Model drivers take to the smooth track and the feature provided the crowd with lots of exciting action. When the checkered flag flew it was the odds on favorite taking the win. Brian Birkhofer started the race in the 9th position and steadily worked his way to the front taking the lead from Denny Eckrich on lap 34. Despite having the field bunched up for a few minor cautions “Birky “ was able to dominate the remainder of the race. Steve Boley has had a season that he would just as soon forget, but this weekend will help erase many of those memories as he ran up front all race long and finished a very strong second to Birkhofer. Sonny Findling was also a strong contender throughout the 100 laps bringing the #8 under the checkers in third. Denny Eckrich led the first 34 laps before tagging the wall in turn two and dropping back several positions. Eckrich was able to recover and advance back to a fourth place finish. Ray Guss Jr. was very steady in rounding out the top five. Denny Eckrich had won the Hollywood Fast Dash earlier in the evening earning the right to start on the pole position of the 100 lap feature.
The 25 lap Miller Time Modified feature was run very quickly with only one minor caution slowing the race. Jim Vest took the lead from pole sitter Terry Walker very early and led the race the majority of the way. Vest was very smooth in running a high line to the championship win. Jim Sandusky pressured Vest late in the race but was not able to overtake the leader and finished a very close second. Walker took third at the checkers ahead of Darrell Brick and Ryan Dolan.
Andy Eckrich completed his Pro Stock career at the West Liberty Raceway with a championship win in the “Liberty 100”. The 2002 season highlights for the youngest of the three Eckrich brothers included the West Liberty Raceway Pro Stock point championship and the “Yankee” championship. The Liberty 100 title earned Eckrich the Pro Stock triple crown. Eckrich chased down early leader Matt Gilchrist and took over the lead near the midway point of the 20 lap race and went on to score the win. Jeff Tharp, John Maher and Matt Bodman rounded out the top five. Andy Eckrich will be making the move into the Late Model division for the 2003 season.
Jeremie Thompson took the lead from Jeff Wellington early in the Hobby Stock championship feature and went on to score the championship win. The Hobby Stocks ran in a pack early in the race before Thompson was able to establish himself as the man to beat. Wellington crossed the stripe in second ahead of Matt Fulton, Rod Staats and Ron Schreurs.
The 2003 racing season will get underway at the West Raceway on the first Saturday in April with the running of the annual Spring Championships.
Race Results West Liberty Raceway 6th annual “Liberty 100”
Budweiser Open Late Model Shootout Iowa Illinois Taylor Insulation Late Models
Heat 1 1. 26 Steve Boley-West Liberty 2. 50 Denny Eckrich-Tiffin 3. 58 Dave Eckrich-Oxford
Heat 2 1. 8 Sonny Findling-Kirksville, MO 2. 74 Ron Boyse-Kalona 3. 12 Ray Guss Jr.-Milan, IL
Heat 3 1. 15 Brian Birkhofer-Muscatine 2. 32D Darren Miller-Chadwick, IL 3. 88 Kevin Kile-West Liberty
Heat 4 1. 28 Jeff Bair-Solon 2. 45 Michael Klinkhammer-West Branch 3. 3 Josh McGowan-Vinton
Heat 5 1. 37 Mike Smith-Jewell 2. 39 Rob Toland-Hillsdale, IL 3. M32 Marty Beckler-Hills
Consolation 1 1. 3T Todd Davis-Iowa City 2. 5 Jay Johnson-W. Burlington
Consolation 2 1. 33 Nick Marolf-Moscow 2. 2h John Hampel-Nodaway
25 lap Race of Champions 1. 15 Birkhofer 2.. 58 Eckrich 3. 77 Jeff Aikey-Cedar Falls 4. 50 Eckrich 5. 39 Toland 6. 12 GussJr. 7. 88 Kile 8. 8 Findling 9. 74 Ron Boyse 10. 26 Boley
Last Chance Race 1 1. 4 Bobby Sexton-West Branch 2. 2 Monte Ohrt-West Branch
Last Chance Race 2 1. Mark Ward-Muscatine 2. 32 Tom Cannon-Iowa City
Hollywood Graphics Fast Dash 1. 50 Eckrich 2. 88 Kile 3. 26 Boley
Liberty 100 1. 15 Birkhofer 2. 26 Boley 3. 8 Findling 4. 50 Eckrich 5. 12 Guss Jr. 6. 45M Curt Martin-Independence 7. 58 Eckrich 8. 3T Davis 9. 45 Klinkkammer 10. 74 Boyse 11. 5 Johnson 12. 8M Ward 13. 3 McGowan 14. 4 Sexton 15. 2H Hampel 16. 77 Kurt Kile-West Liberty 17. 37 Smith 18. 21h Brian Harris-Davenport 19. 32D Miller 20. 88 Kevin Kile 21. 33 Marolf 22. 2 Ohrt 23. 77A Jeff Aikey-Cedar Falls 24. 39 Toland 25. 41j Jeremiah Hurst-Dubuque 26. M32 Marty Beckler-Hills 27. 90 Dan Galant-Clinton 28. 32 Cannon 29. 28 Bair
Miller Time Modifieds Heat 1 1. 2 Jim Vest-Wellman 2. 22 Darrell Brick-West Branch 3. 96 Larry Herring-Lone Tree
Heat 2 1. 37 Todd Stoolman-West Branch 2. M50 Jim Sandusky-Moline, IL 3. 7 Mike Thomas- West Branch
Heat 3 1. 12 Terry Walker-Riverside 2. 19Terry Lawson-New Liberty 3. 42 John Brumley-Riverside
Consolation 1. 36 Leroy Brenner-Aledo, IL 2. 23 Marty Leik-Iowa City 3. 45 Steve Kohli-Iowa City 4. 44 Wade Lee-Muscatine
Fast Dash 1. 12 Walker 2. 2 Vest 3. M50 Sandusky
25 Lap Feature 1. 2 Vest 2. M50 Sandusky 3. 12 Walker 4. 22 Brick 5. 16 Ryan Dolan-Lisbon 6. 96 Herring 7. 7 Thomas 8. 37 Stoolman 9. 19 Lawson 10. 45 Kohli 11. 17 Steve Stewart-Washington 12. 42 Brumley 13. 44 Wade Lee- Muscatine 14. 55 Scott Stecher-Muscatine 15. 38 Rob Hilyer-Nichols 16. 01m Mitch Way-davenport 17. 51 Harry Wethington-Tipton 18. 36 Brenner 19. 71Z Ramon Partida-West Liberty 20. 34 Dave Hemsted-Lone Tree 21. 92Z Tim Zeman-Fruitland 22. 2h Rick Hixson-Orion, IL 23. 54 Doug Picray-Monticello 24. 23 Leik 25. 5 Denny Poulson-West Liberty 26. D56 Mike Dains-Mechanicsville
DADCO Corp./Parker Stores Pro Stocks Heat 1 1. 29 Jason Gingerich-West Liberty 2. 12 Jeff Tharp-Dubuque 3. 69 John Maher-West Branch
Heat 2 1. 56 Andy Eckrich-Cosgrove 2. 25 Chad Simpson-Marion 3. 1 Matt Gichrist-Grandview
Heat 3 1. 32 Chris Simpson-Marion 2. 26 Paul Hallett-Muscatine 3. 36 Justin Gingerich-West Liberty
Fast Dash 1. 1 Gilchrist 2. 32 Chris Simpson 3. 56 Eckrich
20 Lap Feature
1. 56 Eckrich 2. 1 Gilchrist 3. 12 Tharp 4. 69 Maher 5. 0 Matt Bodman- Muscatine 6. 17 Gary Beuter-Tipton 7. 32 Chris Simpson 8. 25 Chad Simpson 9. 33 Randy Franzen-Maquoketa 10. 3 Dan Lange-Rochester 11. 7 Dale Franklin-Marion 12. 21 Brian VanDusen-Atalissa 13. 9z Dan Werner-Muscatine 14. 75 Mike Welsh-Davenport 15. 2R Rusty Daufeldt-Blue Grass 16. 36 Justin Gingerich-West Liberty 17. 21b Barry Dugan-Muscatine 18. 80 Jerry Dedrick-Vinton 19. 60 Matt Brockert-Muscatine 20. 5M Larry McCall-Mechanicsville 21. 29 Jason Gingerich-West Liberty 22. 26 Paul Hallett-Muscatine 23. 24 Monte Hayden-Wilton
NASCAR Hobby Stocks Heat 1 1. 57 Jeff Wellington-Columbus Junction 2. 57J JeremieThompson-Ainsworth 3. 59 Mike Hughes-Galena, IL
Heat 3 1. S9 Ron Schreurs-Fruitland 2. 20 Dan Albright-Hiawatha 3. 15 Jared Collins-West Liberty
Fast Dash
12 Lap Feature 1. 57J Thompson 2. 57 Wellington 3. D1 Fulton 4. 08 Staats 5. S9 Schruers 6. 15 Collins 7. 0x Harold O’Brien-Muscatine 8. 9 Davey Elliott-Moscow 9. 2W Roger Whitcomb-Letts 10. 59 Hughes 11. 0 Stan O’Brien-Muscatine 12. 100 Dave Schrier-Muscatine 13. 25 Jim Schrier-Washington 14. 29 Matt Greiner-Washington 15. 32 Deon Harris-Muscatine 16. 72 Doug Yates-Monticello 17. 99 Jason Speers-Oxford 18. 20 Albright 19. 42V Derrin Voss-Wilton
West Liberty Raceway 9-21-02 By: Jerry Mackey |
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