Brian Birkhofer made the one pass that he needed just before intermission to launch him to a dominating victory in Tuesday night's Coors Light Open Late Model Shootout at the West Liberty Raceway. The victory was worth a healthy $10,000 to the driver from nearby Muscatine, Iowa, on one of the tracks that he started his career on as a teenager. The track's weekly IMCA Late Model division was also on the card with Davenport's Brian Harris making a late race move to score the $1,000 top prize.
A passing point system was utilized to qualify the 22-car Open Late Model field and after Birkhofer won the second heat race from the pole position he found himself lined up third in the eight-car Fast Dash that would set the first four rows of the 50-lap main event. Just as he did in the first heat race, Chris Simpson would run away with the win in the Dash while Birkhofer was able to slip past Late Model legend Billy Moyer for second in the final two laps to land him on the outside of the front row for the big money.
The race for the lead was essentially over at the drop of the green as Brian Birkhofer was just flat out fast riding the high line around his home track, so the large crowd instead focused on the battles for position behind the leader as he raced off in the distance. Even a series of early cautions could not keep Birkhofer close as the Simpson brothers, Chad and Chris, swapped the second position back and forth on the score sheet for the first ten laps of the race. Moyer had settled into the fourth position and was being pressured by the track's weekly Late Model point leader Andy Eckrich on lap eleven when Eckrich was able to put his nose under Moyer entering turn three. But when Moyer also went to the low line, Eckrich had to get on the binders to keep from hitting the inside berm and that caused him to spin up the track in front of the field. Fortunately everybody missed him and Andy was able to restart from the rear.
Once again Birkhofer left the field in his wake as the Simpsons, Moyer and Pennsylvania native Gregg Satterlee chased and after the mid-race point Jason Feger made his presence known in the top five. A caution for a slowing Nick Marolf brought the field back together on lap thirty-six and on the restart Feger split up the Simpsons to take over third. The caution waved again three laps later when defending race winner Jason Utter tagged the wall in turn one and for a split second I wondered if Feger might be able to keep pace with Birkhofer. Not even close!
With the final restart "Birky" again rocketed away from his challengers and I swear that on the white flag lap he didn't even lift as he hammered the cushion in turn one and ran a lap that you would expect to see in qualifying rather than by a flag-to-flag leader of a fifty-lap race. In victory lane Birkhofer was gracious as always noting that he had a tear in his eye as he saw the checkered flag wave at the track where he got his start and, with Chris Simpson running second and Jason Feger taking third, Brian noted that it was a podium sweep for drivers sponsored by Cheap Cars. Chad Simpson, who was driving the black and red #25 tonight that he wheels for the Diercks racing stable, finished in the fourth position while Dave Eckrich completed the top five.
Billy Moyer pulled off of the race track during the lap thirty-nine caution so the rest of the top ten was scored like this; sixth was Satterlee, seventh was Rich Bell, Jonathan Brauns finished eight, Moyer was ninth and Utter was credited with tenth.
J.C. Wyman from the southwest Iowa town of Griswold was a surprise entrant in the Open Late Model division, but his night ended early when he smacked the wall in turn one during the third heat race.
Justin Mitchell of Cedar Rapids made his season debut tonight in the #28x.
Nineteen IMCA Late Models were in attendance and with track points on the line the traditional point average invert in both the heats and the feature was used to line up the field. Kevin Kile would race to the early lead with Kyle Hinrichs giving chase, but it was Joel Callahan who was making the early move coming from ninth up to third. Hinrichs would take the lead away from Kile on lap seven and, following a restart on lap nine, Callahan moved to second but he could only watch from there as Hinrichs gradually built a lead in this thirty-lap affair.
The young driver from Swisher appeared to have this race pretty well in hand when with just four laps remaining it was Callahan who went for a spin in turn three after clipping the inside berm. With the Delaware double file restart lineup, Brian Harris was lined up on the inside of the first double row behind the leader and when he timed the drop of the green perfectly Harris kept his foot buried into the throttle as he drove under Hinrichs into turn one. Harris then managed to pitch the Steffes Group #15R sideways and maintain control to shut off the former leader's preferred line in turn two to secure the top spot that he then held for the final four laps to secure the victory. So close, but yet so far, Hinrichs would have to settle for second on this night,Tyler Bruening came from the sixth row to finish in third, fourth went to Kevin Kile while fifth was the other sixth row starter Luke Merfeld.
Andy Eckrich's track point lead took a hit when the popular driver slowed and pulled to the pits on the final restart after racing in the top three.
Despite rain overnight and the forecasted threat of it building up again around race time, there was a huge crowd on hand and the stands were rocking as the fans cheered for some of their favorites that they don't get to see race locally very often. And it was a typically well run mid-week show by the Simmons Promotions crew with the final checkers waving at about ten minutes before ten. Something that I was very thankful for as it looks like I will have some late nights ahead of me if Mother Nature plays havoc with the schedule at the Knoxville Nationals!
For some great photos of the racing action at West Liberty Tuesday night make sure that you visit Kyle Ealy's Auto Racing Independent page.
I got my Late Model fix so now it is back to Knoxville for the 54th Annual FVP Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's General Stores. Thanks for visiting the Back Stretch!
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