INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND SWING UP NEXT FOR WDRL
Echo Valley Speedway in West Union, Iowa, kicks off three nights of racing
By Tom Lathen
WORLD Dirt Racing League

GILMAN CITY, Mo. (June 26, 2006) - The cars and stars of the WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Late Model Series are poised for three exciting nights of series racing over the Independence Day holiday weekend.

The three nights of racing will begin on Saturday, July 1, on the half-mile at Echo Valley Speedway in West Union, Iowa, before series drivers make the first of their two 2006 appearances the following night on the D-shaped quarter-mile at Bureau County Speedway in Princeton, Ill. The final night of the three night swing will be on Monday, July 3, on the half-mile Davenport Speedway in Davenport, Iowa.

"Our drivers and fans are very excited about these three nights of racing," commented series founder and president Jim Wilson. "Echo Valley Speedway has always been an outstanding venue for our series, and last year's show at Bureau County Speedway proved to be very exciting for both our fans and drivers."

Added Wilson: "Finishing off the three nights of racing at Davenport Speedway on Monday will provide race fans with a great way to wrap up the holiday weekend."

Heading into the three-night holiday weekend swing, 26-year old Brian Harris of Davenport, Iowa, clings to a slim one-point advantage over defending series champion Denny Eckrich in the PolyDome Late Model Series point standings. Harris, in his first full year of series competition, had raced to five consecutive top-10 finishes before 17th and 13th place runs, respectively, at Superior Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin recently. The driver of the Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation/Reynolds Motor Co.-sponsored car number 21H finished a close second in the first annual Knoxville Late Model Classic at Knoxville, Iow, on May 12 and also scored a sixth-place finish at Menomonie, Wis., a few weeks ago.

Eckrich, the winner of four series events during his 2005 championship run, stumbled a bit during the recent Wisconsin swing after racing to top-10 finishes in each of the first four series events. Eckrich's best 2006 finish is a third-place run at West Liberty Raceway over Memorial Day weekend, but the best the veteran Tiffin, Iowa, chauffeur could muster in the Badger State in mid June was an 11th-place run at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie.

Eckrich's brother, Dave, who currently sits third in the PolyDome Late Model Series standings, will also be in the field all three nights, along with two-time series titlist Kyle Berck.

The elder Eckrich, who picked up his first-ever series win at West Union a year ago, was impressive in a strong third-place showing at Menomonie, Wis., on June 14 and also has top-10 runs to his credit at Greenwood, Neb.; West Liberty, Iowa; and Superior, Wis. Berck, of Marquette, Neb., raced to a fourth-place finish at Knoxville in early May and also scored a top-five finish at West Liberty later in the month.

Other series regulars expected in the field include Nebraska drivers John Anderson and Bill Koons, both of Omaha; and Al Humphrey of Giltner; and Iowa challengers Chad and Chris Simpson of Mount Vernon and Marion, respectively; Tommy Elston of Keokuk; Steve Boley of West Liberty; Chris Spieker of Massena; Rob Moss of Iowa City; Jason Utter of Columbus Junction; Matt Furman of Iowa City; Luke Merfeld of Dubuque; John VanDenBerg of Oskaloosa; and Gary Webb of Blue Grass. Missouri drivers Chris Smyser of Lancaster and Sonny Findling of Kirksville are also expected.

Series regular Eric Pember of Pittsville, Wis., heads up the contingent of Northern invaders expected in the field throughout the weekend. Pember finished fifth in the final WDRL point standings a year ago. Also expected is current WDRL Rookie-of-the-Year points leader Trent Follmer of Elk Grove, Minn., and 2004 WDRL champion Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.

A number of national and regional travelers are expected to make showings during the three nights of series action including popular Muscatine, Iowa, star Brian Birkhofer; Milledgeville, Ill., hot shoe Darren "The Thriller" Miller; and Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis.

The events at Echo Valley Speedway and Davenport Speedway are expected to lure a strong field of local Late Model pilots from the Hawkeye State, while the stop at Bureau County Speedway in Princeton, Ill., should entice some of the top local pilots from western Illinois.

Saturday's Echo Valley 50 at Echo Valley Speedway in West Union and Sunday's Firecracker 50 at Bureau County Speedway in Princeton will both get underway with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7, while Monday's action at Davenport Speedway begins with hot laps at 6 followed by racing at 6:30.

For more information on WDRL or the latest PolyDome Late Model Series schedule, check out the WORLD Dirt Racing League's Web site, www.worldraceleague.com.