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KAANTA BEATS THE HEAT -- AND THE FIELD -- FOR THE WDRL BOONE COUNTY WIN Winner says he correctly anticipated track conditions By Bucky Doren WORLD Dirt Racing League ALBION, Neb. (July 21) - John Kaanta took the WORLD Dirt Racing League win here on a hot summer night at Boone County Raceway. Despite heavy lapped traffic during the Sunday night event and second- and third-place drivers closing in on him, Kaanta was first to the finish line. "We knew the track was going to get slick tonight," Kaanta said from Victory Lane. "The track (officials) did some work (to the track) just before the A-Main, so we set up for something in the middle. It worked out absolutely the way we thought." Kaanta built up more than a straightaway lead at one point, but lapped traffic slowed his progress and allowed Kyle Berck and Brian Birkhofer to close in. "There are some great drivers out there tonight," complimented Kaanta. "I've seen guys slip up toward the front and take the win away from someone. I just wanted to stay steady." Berck and Birkhofer ran second and third, respectively, through most of second half of the race. As Kaanta was dealing with slower cars, the duo started to close in on the leader. "With 15 or so to go, I had pretty much used up my right rear," admitted Berck. "I was just in a survival mode trying to protect my spot. I couldn't get on the gas when I needed to." "Once the track went away, there was no place to go," Birkhofer said. "I didn't want to get into Berck and tear us both up. That doesn't do anybody any good. It just buys a headache and night of work (on the car)." Andrew McKay and Dave Eckrich rounded out the top five. Next up for the WDRL Late Model Series is a trip to Superior Speedway in Superior, Wis., on Wednesday, July 30. The next night the touring series travels to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. The WORLD Dirt Racing League wishes to thank these series sponsors: Hoosier Racing Tires, Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation, CrashedToys.com, Chase Signs and Graphics, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Hooker Harness, Fast Shafts, Lincoln Electric, Performance Bodies, QA-1 Motorsports, The Brake Man and Wyman Ford. 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. RACE REPORT BOONE COUNTY RACEWAY ALBION, NEB. SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2008 CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 1: 1. Rob Moss, 2. Kyle Berck, 3. Andrew McKay, 4. Eric Pember, 5. John Hampel, 6. Mike Beierman, 7. Travis Roth, 8. Jim Johnson, 9. Travis Mahaney, 10. Molly Collins. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 2: 1. Brian Birkhofer, 2. Gary Webb, 3. Bryant Goldsmith, 4. Jeremy Grady, 5. Joe Kosiski, 6. Matt Furman, 7. Robert Osborne, 8. Mike Collins, 9. Junior Coover, 10. Justin Bertschinger. CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 3: 1. Dave Eckrich, 2. John Kaanta, 3. Chris Simpson, 4. Chad Simpson, 5. Rick Hanestad, 6. Frank Heckenast Jr., 7. Mark Lueken, 8. Mike Kelley, 9. Alonzo Grosse. IOWA-ILLINOS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: 1. John Kaanta, 2. Dave Eckrich, 3. Kyle Berck, 4. Gary Webb, 5. Andrew McKay, 6. Rob Moss, 7. Brian Birkhofer, 8. Bryant Goldsmith. B-MAIN: (Top 6 Transfer) 1. Mike Kelley, 2. Robert Osborne, 3. Mark Lueken, 4. Mike Collins, 5. Alonzo Grosse, 6. Jim Johnson, 7. Travis Mahaney, 8. Justin Bertschinger, 9. Molly Collins, 10. Junior Coover, 11. Doug Tomka. WDRL FEATURE EVENT: 50 Laps 1. John Kaanta, 2. Kyle Berck, 3. Brian Birkhofer, 4. Andrew McKay, 5. Dave Eckrich, 6. Gary Webb, 7. Chris Simpson, 8. Joe Kosiski, 9. Bryant Goldsmith, 10. Chad Simpson, 11. Eric Pember, 12. Rick Hanestad, 13. Matt Furman, 14. Jeremy Grady, 15. Mike Collins, 16. Robert Osborne, 17. Jim Johnson, 18. Frank Heckenast Jr., 19. Mike Kelley, 20. Mark Lueken, 21. Alonzo Grosse, 22. John Hampel, 23. Doug Tomka, 24. Mike Beierman, 25. Rob Moss. WDRL CONTINGENCY AWARDS: IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: John Kaanta, Dave Eckrich, Kyle Berck QA-1 MOTORSPORTS PASSING POINTS: Dave Eckrich CHASE HARD LUCK AWARD: Rob Moss DESIGN 500: Eric Pember BRAKE MAN: Andrew McKay CHAMP PANS: Dave Eckrich PERFORMANCE BODIES: Chris Simpson BSB MANUFACTURING: Rick Hanestad FAST SHAFTS: Matt Furman HOOKER HARNESS: Jeremy Grady WDRL PROVISIONALS: N/A CHASE SIGNS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Jeremy Grady, Frank Heckenast Jr. CHASSIS: Mastersbilt, Rocket |