Eckert Leads Nine-Driver World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingent In Saturday’s Knoxville Late Model Nationals Finale
by: Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director

KNOXVILLE, IA (Sept. 30, 2006) – Maybe Rick Eckert’s trip to the famed Knoxville Raceway will shake him out of an extended slump on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

Eckert, 40, of York, Pa., led the nine-driver WoO LMS contingent that participated in Saturday night’s 100-lap Knoxville Late Model Nationals finale, recording a relatively satisfying fourth-place finish in Raye Vest’s Rocket No. 24.

“We needed some good finishes to get back on track,” said Eckert, who has been winless on the WoO LMS since registering his tour-season-high eighth victory on July 8 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. “There’s still a lot of big races coming up (including the final two WoO LMS events of 2006), so hopefully we’ve gotten rid of our bad luck.”

Eckert was followed across the finish line by fellow WoO LMS regulars Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (fifth place) and Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. (sixth). Other WoO travelers in the 31-car A-Main were Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (11th), Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. (12th), Eric Jacobsen of Santa Cruz, Calif. (13th), Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (17th), Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. (20th) and Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va. (30th).

Brian Shirley, a 25-year-old from Chatham, Ill., who was the 2002 UMP Late Model Rookie of the Year, recovered from an early-race spin that put him to the rear of the 31-car field to score a dramatic, upset triumph in the Nationals A-Main. The up-and-coming driver pocketed $35,000 for the biggest win of his five-year dirt Late Model career.

Two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion Tony Stewart came from 17th to finish second in a Rocket car fielded by WoO LMS regular Josh Richards’s father Mark, and Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio, placed third.

Eckert started third and ran among the top five throughout the rough-and-tumble event, which was slowed by 13 caution flags and a lap-33 red flag for teams to refuel. But the racer known as ‘Scrub’ couldn’t summon the speed to seriously challenge early leaders Darren Miller of Chadwick, Ill., and Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, nor hold off the late-race charge of Shirley.

“Our car was just so tight,” said Eckert, who also led the WoO LMS clan with a fourth-place finish in Friday night’s 25-lap preliminary feature. “After a restart I could turn for about two laps and pass a car or two, but then I’d get so tight that I couldn’t make any time.”

Eckert also fought a tight condition during Friday’s action, but he wasn’t able to make the proper adjustments on Saturday to eliminate the handling problem.

“Our motor laid down all weekend and we spent a lot of time working on it,” he said. “We didn’t do enough to the car. We thought we made it a little ‘freer’ (on Saturday), but it still wasn’t free enough.”

While this year’s Nationals wasn’t Eckert’s first appearance at Knoxville, he’s still trying to figure out the tough half-mile oval.

“The track is pretty much a circle, so you’ve gotta be able to rotate (the car) a long time,” described Eckert, who earned $7,500. “That’s not common at most tracks, which have shorter corners.

“It’s also pretty much flat, so there’s no banking to help you turn. You have to make the right changes to your car to make it turn.”

Eckert considered himself fortunate to finish fourth.

“I really don’t think we had a fourth-place car,” he said. “If a couple guys didn’t have trouble and drop out, we probably wouldn’t even have been in the top five.

“But I guess after all the bad luck we’ve been having, we were due for some good luck.”

Lanigan, 36, started directly behind Eckert, in fifth, and got his Rocket No. 29 as high as second place, on a lap-two restart. But he ran a similar race to Eckert, staying in the hunt but not showing quite enough quickness to bid for the win.

Eckert slipped ahead of Lanigan for good shortly after a lap-63 restart. Lanigan then fell back as far as sixth before securing a $5,000 fifth-place finish.

Defending WoO LMS champion Moyer, 48, had a quiet night. He started fourth in his Rayburn No. 21 but slipped nearly out of the top 10 before settling for sixth place, worth $4,500.

Perhaps the WoO LMS drivers with the fastest cars were Francis and Richards, who made impressive charges to the front.

Francis, driving his Mopar Rocket No. 15, advanced steadily forward from the 13th starting spot. He appeared to be a serious contender after passing Lanigan for third place on lap 48, but shortly thereafter he began to fade with apparent power-steering trouble, ultimately falling out of the top 10.

The 18-year-old Richards, meanwhile, came from the 11th starting spot to sit third when a caution flag flew on lap 59. But on lap 63 he jumped the cushion and clipped the wall, crunching the rear deck of his Rocket house car and forcing him to pit during a lap-63 caution period.

Richards returned to the fray, but he was never a factor again en route to a 17th-place finish. He was upstaged by Stewart, his famous teammate for the night.

Frank rallied to record an 11th-place finish in his Lester Buildings Rocket No. 1* after qualifying through Saturday night’s B-Main. He started 27th and made a pit stop on lap 59.

WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Jacobsen was running at the finish and placed 13th, while tour points leader McCreadie retired on lap 52 and Carrier dropped out with terminal mechanical woes just 18 laps into the A-Main.

McCreadie’s early departure ended his nightmarish Nationals.

A hard crash during Thursday’s heat action and a blown motor in his backup car during Friday’s B-Main forced McCreadie’s Sweeteners Plus crew to pull the motor out of the wrecked machine and bolt it in their backup Rocket for Saturday duty. More misfortune struck McCreadie on Saturday, however, when a flat tire knocked him out of a transfer spot midway through the B-Main and he fell two positions short of qualifying after a frantic rally.

McCreadie was able to start the A-Main thanks to a provisional spot he possessed. He advanced from the 31st starting spot to the top 15 before pitting to change a right-rear tire on lap 33, then retired after the halfway point when he noticed his engine beginning to run hot.

John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., was the only WoO LMS regular on hand who failed to qualify for the Nationals A-Main. He experienced problems and retired early from Saturday’s B-Main.

The WoO LMS stars return to points-chasing on the tour on Sun., Oct. 8, with the running of the postponed Pittsburgher 100 at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, Pa. The season finale is the Gator 100 on Oct. 13-14 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

Knoxville Late Model Nationals A Feature Finish (100 laps): 1. Brian Shirley, Chatham IL; 2. Tony Stewart, Rushville IN; 3. Donnie Moran, Dresden, OH; 4. RICK ECKERT, York, PA; 5. DARRELL LANIGAN, Union, KY; 6. BILLY MOYER, Batesville, AR; 7. Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL; 8. Dan Schlieper, Sullivan, WI; 9. Brian Birkhofer, Muscatine, IA; 10. Brady Smith, Solon Springs, WI; 11. CHUB FRANK, Bear Lake, PA; 12. STEVE FRANCIS, Ashland, KY; 13. ERIC JACOBSEN, Santa Cruz, CA; 14. Steve Kosiski, Papillion, NE; 15. Darren Miller, Chadwick, IL; 16. Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI; 17. JOSH RICHARDS, Shinnston, WV; 18. Scott James, Lawrenceburg, IN; 19. Jeep VanWormer, Pinconning, MI; 20. TIM McCREADIE, Watertown, NY; 21. Chris Madden, Gaffney, SC; 22. Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN; 23. Matt Furman, Iowa City, IA; 24. Chris Smyser, Lancaster, MO; 25. Billy Drake, Bloomington, IL; 26. Todd Shute, Des Moines, IA; 27. Curt Martin, Independence, IA; 28. Justin Fegers, Mound, MN; 29. Steve Shaver, Vienna, WV; 30. EDDIE CARRIER JR., Salt Rock, WV; 31. Bart Hartman, Zanesville, OH.

Lap Leaders: Miller 1-22; Birkhofer 23; Miller 24-48; Birkhofer 49; Miller 50; Birkhofer 51-53; Miller 54-57; Birkhofer 58; Miller 59-85; Shirley 86-100.

B Feature Finish (20 laps – Top 6 Transfer): 1. Justin Fegers, Mound MN; 2. EDDIE CARRIER JR., Salt Rock, WV; 3. CHUB FRANK, Bear Lake, PA; 4. Todd Shute, Des Moines, IA; 5. Curt Martin, Independence, IA; 6. Chris Smyser, Lancaster, MO; 7. Jeff Aikey, Cedar Falls, IA; 8. TIM McCREADIE, Watertown, NY; 9. Andy Eckrich, Iowa City, IA; 10. Denny Woodworth, Mendon, IL; 11. Johnny Spaw, Cedar Rapids, IA; 12. Jackie Boggs, Grayson, KY; 13. Mitch Johnson, Hickson, ND; 14. Matt Aukland, Fargo, ND; 15. John Seitz, Bemidji, MN; 16. Alonzo Grosse, Council Bluffs, IA; 17. Nick Marolf, Moscow, IA; 18. Kerry Hansen, Spencer, WI; 19. Mike Balcaen, Winnipeg, MB, Can.; 20. Curt Schroeder, Des Moines, IA; 21. Johnny Johnson, West Burlington, IA; 22. JOHN BLANKENSHIP, Williamson, WV; 23. Andrew McKay, Edina, MN.

C Feature Finish (15 laps): 1. Jay Johnson, West Burlington, IA; 2. Johnny Johnson, West Burlington, IA; 3. Mitch Johnson, Hickson, ND; 4. Matt Aukland, Fargo, ND; 5. Andrew McKay, Edina, MN; 6. Alonzo Grosse, Council Bluffs, IA; 7. Curt Schroeder, Des Moines, IA; 8. John Seitz, Bemidji, MN; 9. Jason Conoyer, Ursa, IL.