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Rusty Daufeldt
ALBION, Neb. (July 12) - Round No. 8 on the 2009 schedule brought the stars and cars of the WORLD Dirt Racing League here Sunday to Boone County Raceway for their annual race. The first of a two-day WDRL swing kicked off the Boone County Fair. Warm temperatures and sunny skies made for hot action on and off the race track.
Twenty-five cars and drivers made the annual trek westward to Albion, Neb., for the 50-lap, $5,000-to-win main event.
Omaha, Nebraska's John Anderson set the fast time. Intense heat race action on the beautifully prepared race track set the field set for the Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash. The no. 33 of Al Purkey was able to pull off a win and capture the pole position for the night's feature event while a fierce battle behind him ensued among Chad Simpson, Anderson and Kyle Berck. Even with Simpson falling to fourth at one point, the WDRL point leader was able to charge back to finish second and capture a front-row start for the 50-lapper.
A quick reworking of the track gave all of the competitors a fantastic racing surface for headliner. At the drop of the green, Purkey set the pace with Anderson filing into second and Simpson third. As Purkey stretched out his lead, Simpson secured second with Anderson third and Berck fourth. Tim Isenberg, who was running a strong fifth, advanced past Berck for the fourth position while up front Simpson was reeling in Purkey. On a lap-16 caution, the field was bunched back once again. Simpson capitalized on the restart and was able to drive up to Purkey's rear bumper but just could not make a pass.
As the leaders settled into single file, Isenberg was closing in on Anderson for third. A second caution on lap 23 gave the leaders one last chance to make an attempt to overtake Purkey. Simpson, who had been the closest in lapped traffic, set his sights on the leader, utilizing both the high and low grooves on the speedway. But Purkey proved to be too strong as he once again stretched his lead to just over three car lengths. As the leaders entered lapped traffic, the no. 25 of Simpson got together with a lapped car down the back straightaway, forcing him to brush the wall, which damaged the right rear of his car. This incident allowed Anderson to get back by him and move into the second position.
No one had anything for Purkey as he was able to go flag to flag for the victory. In Victory Lane, an excited crew awaited for the tired winner from Kansas and, as he climbed from the car, he was greeted with smiles and hugs from all.
"This is the fifth night in a row for us," said Purkey, "and we're all getting on each other nerves just a little, and we've still got a couple more to go before we go home. This makes it a little easier."
Anderson finished a convincing second while Simpson held onto third.
Next up for the WORLD Dirt Racing League Late Models is Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa, for The Mobil 1-sponsored 40-lap main event set for tonight, Monday, July 13.
RACE REPORT
BOONE COUNTY RACEWAY
ALBION, NEB.
SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2009
Qualifying: 1. John Anderson (14.956), 2. Kyle Berck (15.203), 3. Mike Collins (15.272), 4. Travis Dickes (15.351), 5. Denny Eckrich (15.352), 6. Chad Mahder (15.380), 7. Mike Wiarta (15.389), 8.Chad Simpson (15.397) , 9. Dave Eckrich (15.402) , 10. Al Purkey (15.475), 11. Bill Koons (15.500), 12. Tim Isenberg (15.578), 13. Steve Kempt (15.583), 14. Rob Moss (15.623), 15. Al Humphrey (15.764), 16. Scott Daly (15.769), 17. Joe Kosiski (15.801), 18. Robert Osborne (15.894), 19. Tad Pospisel (15.991), 20. Junior Coover (16.104), 21. Jim Johnson (16.142) , 22. Chad Jensen (16.473), 23. Bob Milander (16.494), 24. Mike Kelly (18.941).
First Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Tim Isenberg (9T), 2. Dave Eckrich (58), 3. Mike Collins (3), 4. Scott Daly (U2), 5. Chad Jensen (73), 6. Tad Pospisel (04), 7 Chad Mahder (55c), 8. Steve Kempt (90), 9. Mark Lueken (12).
Second Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Chad Simpson (25), 2. Kyle Berck (14), 3. Denny Eckrich (50), 4. Bill Koons (29), 5. Joe Kosiski (53), 6. Rob Moss (1M), 7. Bob Milander (77), 8. Junior Coover (10C).
Third Qualifying Heat Race: 1.Al Purkey (33), 2. John Anderson (2), 3. Mike Wiarta (1W), 4. Travis Dickes (21T), 5. Robert Osborne (35), 6. Al Humphrey, (6) 7. Jim Johnson (36).
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Purkey, 2. Simpson, 3. Anderson, 4. Berck, 5. Isenberg, 6. Dave Eckrich, 7. Daly, 8. Collins.
50-lap Feature: 1. Purkey 2. Anderson , 3. Simpson, 4. Isenberg, 5. Dave Eckrich, 6. Kyle Berck, 7. Mike Wiarda, 8. Denny Eckrich, 9. Moss, 10. Joe Kosiski, 11. Mike Collins, 12. Robert Osborne, 13. Scott Daly, 14. Chad Jensen, 15. Tad Pospisel, 16. Bill Koons, 17. Jim Johnson, 18. Bob Mialander, 19. Mike Kelly, 20. Travis Dickes , 21. Chad Mahder, 22. Al Humphrey, 23. Junior Coover , 24. Steve Kempt.
INFORMATION OF INTEREST:
Entrants: 25
Lap Leaders: Purkey 1-50
Time of Race: n/a
Margin of Victory: n/a
Caution Flags: 3
Red Flags: none
Chase Decals Rookie-of-the-Race: Chad Mahder
Hard Luck Driver: Chad Mahder
Series Provisionals: n/a
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation: 1. Chad Simpson
QA1 Motorsports: n/a
The Brake Man: Chad Simpson
Champ Pans: Tim Isenberg
Performance Bodies: Dave Eckrich
Fast Shafts: Rob Moss
Hooker Harness: Bill Koons
BSB Manufacturing: Denny Eckrich
Randy's Racing Filters ninth-place finish: Chad Mahder
For more information on the WORLD Dirt Racing League or the latest WDRL Late Model Series schedule, check out the WORLD Dirt Racing League's Web site, www.worldraceleague.com.
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