BUSY WEEKEND ON TAP FOR WORLD DIRT RACING LEAGUE AS NEW QUALIFYING SYSTEM IS UNVEILVED
Event at Adams County Speedway to precede three nights of racing in Nebraska
By Tom Lathen
WORLD Dirt Racing League

GILMAN CITY, MO. (July 16, 2006) - The WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Late Model Series will be back in action this coming weekend with four consecutive nights of racing on tap in southwest Iowa and central Nebraska.
 
The series will also unveil its new qualifying system during this weekend's events in Iowa and Nebraska. The Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Qualifying System utilizes hot lap qualifying to place drivers into qualifying races and then will use a newly structured passing points system to qualify the competitors into the 50-lap feature races.

"The new system will make the racing at the PolyDome Late Model Series races even more exciting, and we're very excited about it," said Jim Wilson, founder and president of WDRL. "The drivers are very excited about it, too.

"My wife Nancy and I have been really busy getting things ready to use the new system. We had a new program written, have networked our computers and are ready to put the new qualifying system in place. We believe the Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Qualifying System will make the qualifying heat races even more exciting than before."

The four nights of racing will get underway on Thursday night at Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa, before series drivers participate in the two-day Pump and Pantry Late Model Nationals at Mid-Nebraska Speedway in Doniphan, Neb., on Friday and Saturday. WDRL drivers will close out the swing with their first-ever appearance at Boone County Speedway in Albion, Neb., on Sunday night.
 
"We're really looking forward to this weekend's races in Iowa and Nebraska," commented Wilson. "We have always had exciting racing at Adams County Speedway, and the Pump and Pantry Nationals out in Doniphan just keep growing and growing and have become a very successful two-day event."
 
Added Wilson: "Our show at Boone County Speedway is our first race there, but we have heard nothing but positive comments about how well the race track is prepared and the quality of racing there."
 
Series appearances at Adams County Speedway over the past few years have provided race fans with plenty of exciting, wheel-to-wheel racing, including last year's stop at the successful southwest Iowa half-mile fairgrounds oval. Four-time track champion Chris Spieker of Massena, Iowa, survived constant pressure from eventual WDRL Rookie-of-the-Year Justin Fegers of Mound, Minn., to pick up the $5,000 winner's paycheck a year ago. The winners of WDRL races in 2004 at Adams County Speedway were John Hampel and Kyle Berck.
 
After national traveler Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, won the Friday night preliminary feature, last year's prestigious Pump and Pantry Late Model Nationals championship event was won by Berck, who began his Late Model career on the south central Nebraska three-eighths mile oval 24 years ago.

Other winners since the revival of the former Nebraska Late Model Nationals in 2002 include Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., and Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colo.

Heading into the four nights of racing this weekend, Davenport, Iowa's Brian Harris continues to hold a slim advantage over defending PolyDome Late Model Series champion Denny Eckrich in the current series point standings. A mere six markers separate Harris, in his first full year of competition with the WDRL, and Eckrich, who is still looking for his first series win of the year after scoring four series victories in 2005 on the way to his first-ever touring series title.

Other series drivers expected to be in the field this weekend include two-time series champion Berck, of Marquette, Neb.; Dave Eckrich of Cosgrove, Iowa; central Nebraska veteran Al Humphrey of Giltner; eastern Iowa brothers Chris and Chad Simpson of Marion and Mount Vernon, respectively; and Omaha, Neb., hot shoe John Anderson.
 
Pittsville, Wis., series driver Eric Pember is also expected to be in the field, along with Trent Follmer of Elk River, Minn., who currently leads the series rookie point standings. Iowa competitors Tommy Elston of Keokuk; Jason Utter of Columbus Junction; Rob Moss and Matt Furman. both of Iowa City; Gary Webb of Blue Grass; and Steve Boley of West Liberty are also expected in the field along with Union, Nebraska's John Hampel, Spencer, Wisconsin's Kerry Hansen, last year's WDRL Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Bill Koons of Omaha, Neb., and Papillion, Nebraska's Mark Wyman.

A strong group of local and regional competitors will dot the field throughout the four nights of racing including former NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national champions Joe and Ed Kosiski of Omaha and Ralston, Neb., respectively, and seven-time NASCAR All-Star Series champion Steve Kosiski of Papillion, Neb. Other drivers expected to make appearances throughout the weekend include Birkhofer; Fegers; Chris Smyser of Lancaster, Mo.; Johnny Bone Jr. of Pea Ridge, Ark.; and Boen.
 
Nebraska drivers Craig Preble of Yutan, Davey Nall of Phillips, Billy Murphy of Lincoln, Corey Zeitner of Bellevue, Steve Kempt of Shelton and Scott Daly of Elkhorn are also expected to participate, along with western Iowa drivers Paul Glendenning of Mount Ayr, Alonzo Grosse of Council Bluffs and Bryant Goldsmith of Corning.
 
Thursday night's Dodge Dealers 50 at Adams County Speedway will get underway with hot lap qualifying at 7 p.m. and heat races at 7:30. The opening night of the Pump and Pantry Late Model Nationals at Mid-Nebraska Speedway will get underway with hot lap qualifying at 7 followed by racing action at 7:30, with Saturday night's activities starting with qualifying at 7:30 and qualifying races at 8. Sunday's Boone County Ag Society 50 in Albion, Neb., is scheduled for a 6:30 start after hot lap qualifying, which is slated for 6. 

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 .