BIRKHOFER SCORES ANOTHER WDRL WIN AT DAVENPORT SPEEDWAY
Muscatine, Iowa driver scores seventh career series victory on Mississippi County Fairgrounds half-mile
By Tom Lathen

DAVENPORT, IA (June 6) - Brian Birkhofer survived a half dozen caution flags Wednesday night to win the H & H Car Care 40, a WORLD Dirt Racing League PolyDome Late Model Series sanctioned event here at Davenport Speedway.

Birkhofer, of Muscatine, Iowa, led for the final 38-laps of the 40-lap affair, securing his seventh victory in 10 WDRL events held on the Mississippi County Fairgrounds half-mile.

“This felt like a long 40-laps with all of those caution flags,” said Birkhofer, who dedicated the win to his aging grandparents who have supported him throughout his 16-year racing career.

“My grandpa and grandma haven’t been able to get to a whole lot of races this year,” he said. “I’m just glad I got to Victory Lane for them.”

Prior to the first of what would be six caution flags, on lap 6, it appeared as though fans would be treated to a lap-after-lap dual between Birkhofer and Omaha, Nebraska driver John Anderson.

After the pole-setting Anderson jumped to the advantage at the drop of the green flag, Birkhofer raced to the bottom and powered into the lead as the field raced out of turn two and down the back straightaway on the opening circuit.

As the front-runners wheeled through the corners on the following lap however, Anderson returned the favor, streaking off the banking out of turn four to regain the point, but Birkhofer’s car number 15B again raced off the bottom out of turn two to retake the point on lap three.

After racing side-by-side in front of the grandstands on lap six, Anderson’s Shop Quik Racing/MasterSbilt/Jay Dickens Racing Engines Pontiac GTO regained the top spot as the leaders streaked down the back straightaway, but before the lap was scored as complete, debris on the race track in turn one brought out the caution flag, placing Birkhofer at the front of the field on the ensuing restart.

Following the restart, the popular Muscatine, Iowa hot-shoe went to the top of the well-prepared half-mile race track and began to pull away from the remainder of the field before a second caution flag appeared on lap 10 when two-time defending PolyDome Late Model Series champion Denny Eckrich slowed out of turn four and coasted to a halt with mechanical problems down the back straightaway.

On the restart after a third race stoppage on lap 16, Hazel Green, Wisconsin driver Ace Ihm surprised Anderson and wheeled into second, with 23-year old Chris Simpson glued to his rear push bar, dropping the Cornhusker state driver to fourth, with Birkhofer again racing to a comfortable advantage, running the top-side.

“I ran the bottom those first few laps,” noted Birkhofer. “But then I decided I needed to see how good that top was.”

“As it turned out, that was probably the better groove,” he added. “I thought about moving to the bottom through (turns) three and four because it was taking so long to get through the corner on the top, but I never saw anybody beside me getting into (turn) three, so I thought I would stay on top and ride it out.”

Caution flags on laps 23, 33, and 37, the final one when Ihm came into contact with the outside wall in turn four, kept the field close, but on each restart, Birkhofer’s Daufeldt Transport/Rocket/Pro Power Chevrolet Monte Carlo was able to maintain the advantage.

At the stripe, Birkhofer held a nearly half straightaway advantage over runner-up Brian Harris, who had started 18th in the 24-car field.

“This was old-school Davenport,” said Birkhofer. “You could run the bottom if you wanted to, or you could get up on top and run that cushion.”

“Towards the end there, I was about hitting the wall in (turn) four every time. The cushion was up there so close in (turn) three that I drove it in there and scared myself about three or four times, I was so close.”

“That was fun, though,” he added. “Its been a while since we’ve been able to run up against the wall here at Davenport.”

Chris Simpson held off Anderson and Dave Eckrich for third, with Elk Mound, Wisconsin series rookie John Kaanta finishing sixth. The remainder of the top-ten finishers included Nick Marolf, Jason Utter, Jeff Larson, and Rob Moss.



RACE REPORT:

First PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Eric Pember; Pittsville, WI (64.28), 2. John Anderson; Omaha, NE (62.04), 3. Matt Furman; Iowa City, IA (59.8), 4. Nick Marolf; Moscow, IA (48.76), 5. John Kaanta; Elk Mound, WI (50.04), 6. Ray Guss, Jr.; Milan, IL (40.76), 7. Brian Harris; Davenport, IA (40.28), 8. Jill George; Cedar Falls, IA (31.0), 9. Rob Toland; Bettendorf, IA (27.0), 10. Andrew McKay; Edina, MN (23.0).

Second PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Chris Simpson; Oxford, IA (59.0), 2. Denny Eckrich; Tiffin, IA (58.52), 3. Jeff Larson; Freeport, IL (51.0), 4. Ace Ihm; Haxel Green, WI (54.04), 5. Dale Stolte; Springville, IA (46.52), 6. Wayne Brau; Anawan, IL (39.0), 7. Bill Koons; Omaha, NE (35.0), 8. Tim Isenberg; Marshfield, WI (31.0), 9. Todd Hormel; West Liberty, IA (27.0).

Third PolyDome Qualifier: 1. Brian Birkhofer; Muscatine, IA (62.52), 2. Dave Eckrich; Cosgrove, IA (55.0), 3. Jason Utter; Columbus Junction, IA (56.28), 4. Chad Simpson; Mount Vernon, IA (52.28), 5. Rob Moss; Iowa City, IA (43.0), 6. Justin Fegers; Mound, MN (44.28), 7. Darin Duffy; Hazelton, IA (35.0), 8. Steve Morgan; Orangeville, IL (31.0), 9. Bryan Kammer; Davenport, IA (27.0).

KSE Racing Products Consolation: 1. Isenberg, 2. Duffy, 3. Morgan, 4. Kammer, 5. Brau, 6. Koons, 7. Hormel, 8. George, 9. Toland, 10. McKay.

Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation Pole Dash: 1. Anderson, 2. Furman, 3. Birkhofer, 4. Chris Simpson, 5. Utter, 6. Denny Eckrich, 7. Pember, 8. Dave Eckrich.

H & H Car Care 40: 1. Birkhofer, 2. Harris, 3. Chris Simpson, 4. Anderson, 5. Dave Eckrich, 6. Kaanta, 7. Marolf, 8. Utter, 9. Larson, 10. Moss, 11. Fegers, 12. Isenberg, 13. Pember, 14. Duffy, 15. Stolte, 16. Koons, 17. Ihm, 18. Chad Simpson, 19. Morgan, 20. Furman, 21. Guss, Jr., 22. Kammer, 23. McKay, 24. Denny Eckrich.

INFORMATION OF INTEREST:

Entrants: 28
Lap Leaders: Birkhofer (1), Anderson (2), Birkhofer (3-40)
Time of Race: 41:18.982
Margin of Victory: 2.333
Caution Flags: 6 (Laps 6, 10, 16, 23, 33, 37)
Red Flags: none
Rookie-of-the-Race: Kaanta
Hard Luck Driver: Denny Eckrich
Series Provisionals: McKay, Koons

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation: Anderson, Furman, Birkhofer
QA1 Motorsports: Pember
AMSOIL: Birkhofer
KSE Racing Products: Isenberg
The Brake Man: Harris
Champ Pans: Chris Simpson
Performance Bodies: Anderson
V-Performance Batteries: Dave Eckrich
Fast Shafts: Kaanta
Hooker Harness: Utter
Weld Wheels: Moss
Chase Race Decals: Denny Eckrich