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Rusty Daufeldt
BRAINERD, Minn. (July 28) - It was a beautiful July night here Tuesday as North Central Speedway played host to Round 10 of the 2009 WORLD Dirt Racing League season. Twenty-nine Late Models made the trip to the racy, one-third mile track located amidst the towering pines of northern Minnesota.
Some big time names in the pit area for the first of the three-night WDRL Northern Swing included Matt Miller, Clint Smith, Bill Frye and Terry Casey. Each of those drivers took their shot at series regulars like point leader Chad Simpson of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and runner-up points contender Al Purkey, all the way from Coffeeville, Kan.
Group qualifying was an all-Eckrich show with Dave Eckrich taking fast time honors, beating out brother Denny by a mere .026 of a second. At the conclusion of qualifying, there was only a 0.50-second separation between first and 22nd place, which led to some competitive heat race action.
Four qualifying heat races helped set the field for the 50-lap, $5,000-to-win main event while also setting the stage for the Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash. Front-row starters Simpson and Purkey battled in the first turn with Simpson being able to sail to victory in the dash, setting his No. 25 Gator Volvo Mastersbilt car in the middle of the race track each lap to secure the pole position for the night's main event. Smith raced from his fourth-place starting position to finish second and started the night's headliner from the outside of the front row.
A freshly prepared race track made for door-to-door, nose-to-tail racing action throughout the field. Simpson took off with the lead for nearly half of the feature until caution flew on lap 23. Then second-place Smith, out of Senoia, Ga., slid backwards to fourth place. Up front Simpson continued to lead with Frye moving into second while the man on the move was the No. 7 of Miller.
Running the top side of the speedway, Miller made a pass for third then a lap later continued his march to the front, overtaking Frye for second. Each lap he was able to reel in Simpson a bit and, on lap 38, made the pass for the lead down the back straightaway. As Miller and Simpson encountered lapped traffic, Miller continued to dominate as he sliced inside and out, putting cars between himself and Simpson.
A late-race charge from Simpson to get within just a couple car lengths of Miller fell short and Miller was able to take home the checkers over Simpson. Frye, Smith, Casey and Chad Mahder rounded out the top five.
Up next for the WORLD Dirt Racing League stars and cars is a stop tonight, Wednesday, July 29, at Superior Speedway in Superior, Wis.
RACE REPORT
NORTH CENTRAL SPEEDWAY
BRAINERD, MINN.
TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2009
Group Qualifying: 1. Dave Eckrich (16.521), 2. Denny Eckrich (16.547), 3. Jake Redetzke (16.678), 4. Matt Miller (16.753), 5. Bill Frye (16.756), 6. Eric Pember (16.772), 7. Dewaine Hottinger (16.815), 8. Clint Smith (16.847), 9. Pat Doar (16.847), 10. Terry Casey (16.848), 11. Darrell Nelson (16.885), 12. Rob Moss (16.860), 13. Chad Simpson (16.898), 14. Al Purkey (16.899), 15. Tim Isenberg (16.927), 16. Zach Foster (16.994), 17. Bill Koons (17.001), 18. Pete Parker (17.014), 19. Jon Kirby (17.022), 20. Steve Laursen (17.035), 21. Adam Hensel (17.035), 22. John Kaanta (17.049) 23. Alan Mondus (17.273), 24. Greg Hill (17.304). 25, Mike Johnson (17.437), 26. Johnny Malcom (17.477) 27. Chad Mahder (17.589), 28. Mike Balcaen (17.719), 29. Joel Cryderman (17.953)
First Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Clint Smith (44), 2. Matt Miller (7), 3. Rob Moss (1m) 4. Bill Koons (29), 5. Adam Hensel (44), 6. Mike Johnson (2J), 7. Joel Cryderman (51), 8. Zach Foster (1F).
Second Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Tim Isenberg (9T), 2. Darrell Nelson (44N), 3. Jake Redetzke (27), 4. Pete Parker (10), 5. John Kaanta (85), 6. Dewaine Hottinger (65H), 7. Johnny Malcolm (3M).
Third Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Al Purkey (33), 2. Terry Casey (42), 3. Denny Eckrich (50), 4. Chad Mahder (55C), 5. Eric Pember (90X), 6. Jon Kirby (11X), 7. Alan Mondus (55M).
Fourth Qualifying Heat Race: 1. Chad Simpson (25), 2. Bill Frye (66), 3. Pat Doar (11), 4. Steve Laursen (19), 5. Dave Eckrich (58), 6. Mike Balcaen (10X) 7. Greg Hill (8)
Consolation Race: 1. Dave Eckrich, 2. Pember, 3. Mike Johnson, 4. Jon Kirby, 5. Hottinger, 6. Mondus, 7. Balcaen, 8. Cryderman, 9. Hill, 10. Malcolm, 11. Foster.
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Simpson, 2. Smith, 3. Frye, 4. Purkey, 5. Miller, 6. Isenberg, 7. Nelson, 8. Casey
50-Lap Feature: 1. Miller , 2. Simpson, 3. Frye, 4. Smith, 5. Casey, 6. Mahder, 7. Nelson, 8. Doar, 9. Purkey, 10. Redetzke , 11. Moss, 12. Denny Eckrich, 13. Laursen, 14. Kirby, 15. Kaanta, 16. Isenberg, 17. Pember, 18. Koons, 19. Mike Johnson, 20. Mondus, 21. Dave Eckrich, 22. Hensel, 23. Parker, 24. Hottinger .
INFORMATION OF INTEREST:
Entrants: 29
Lap Leaders: Simpson 1-27, Miller 28-40
Time of Race: n/a
Margin of Victory: n/a
Caution Flags: 1
Red Flags: none
Chase Decals Rookie-of-the-Race: Chad Mahder
Hard Luck Driver: Dave Eckrich
Series Provisionals: n/a
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation: 1. Chad Simpson
QA1 Motorsports: n/a
The Brake Man: Chad Mahder
Champ Pans: Al Purkey
Performance Bodies: Rob Moss
Fast Shafts: John Kaanta
Hooker Harness: Tim Isenberg
BSB Manufacturing: Denny Eckrich
Randy's Racing Filters 9th place finish: Eric Pember, 10th Place: Bill Koons
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