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World
100…
Birkhofer
earns $50,000 for one
hour of work
Globe #2 holds of Bloomquist one
more time
ROSSBURG,
OH (Sept. 8) -- Brian
Birkhofer can get used to punching the clock at these rates.
The
Muscatine, Iowa driver
successfully held off Scott Bloomquist on three restarts during the
final nine
laps to capture Saturday’s 42nd annual World 100 and $50,000 at Eldora
Speedway. And he
got the job done in
58.31 seconds to make for a healthy hourly wage.
It
was Birkhofer’s second World 100
championship; having also captured the 2002 version of the most
celebrated
event annually for dirt Late Models..
Birkhofer
had inherited the lead on
lap 35 when race leader Don O’Neal suddenly darted into the pit area
with
mechanical issues. O’Neal’s
big for
glory was a short one, as he had just wrestled the lead from pole
sitter Chad
Simpson a lap earlier. After starting 8th on the grid, Birkhofer was on
a
mission and quickly established a nearly insurmountable lead. But
Bloomquist
gave it a shot, with some help via the yellow flags.
The
cautions erased Birkhofer’s
lead, which he had stretched to nearly half a lap with 24-laps
remaining.
Bloomquist started reeling the leader in and was making noticeable
gains with
15 circuits to go. Then the cautions came for multiple minor incidents.
Birkhofer held off the field with restarts with nine laps to go and a
pair of
back-to-back cautions with seven laps remaining.
“Side-by-side
restarts throw a
wrinkle in it,” Birkhofer said of having to hold off Bloomquist, a
three-time
World 100 winner. “Usually the leader kind of gets his spot. Here you
have to
kind of dictate … make one mistake and he’s beside you and takes the
lead. The
crowd is walking away hopefully thinking they saw an awesome race and
the place
will be packed again next year. That’s all that matters.”
The
win was reminiscent of
Birkhofer’s victory in 2002, when he passed Bloomquist in the final
turn for
the victory. For Bloomquist, it was his eighth runner-up finish in the
classic
event.
Unlike
many of the fans that
flocked into Eldora for one of the largest crowds in the history of the
World
100, Birkhofer nearly skipped this one. He felt that he needed to get a
little
better as a driver at Eldora before tackling another major race on the
famed
.500-mile clay oval.
“When
Earl (Baltes) had the track
it’d get slow to 18-19 seconds. It was kinda slow and real finesse,”
Birkhofer
said. “Now it’s get your elbows up (and get on the wheel). It’s just a
different style of racing. With me growing up in Iowa, I had to do a
lot of
finesse ‘cause the places got slick and they’re flat. I guess this will
bring
me back a couple more years.”
Bloomquist,
Brad Neat (from 23rd),
Darrell Lanigan and Jason Feger finished among the top five. Steve
Francis,
Brandon Sheppard (from 30th), Eddie Carrier Jr., Shannon Babb and
Michael
Chilton rounded out the top 10.
“Man,
I don’t know,” Neat said
about being able to catch either Birkhofer or Bloomquist. “Birkhofer
was pretty
dang good there at the end. Scott was good, too. It was a privilege to
be able
to run with those guys. I don’t know, I’m just glad to run where we
were … if
we’d had a shot, I don’t think so. Those guys are pretty good.” Neat had turned in one of
the most impressive
drives of the day that was made even longer following Friday’s washout. The Dunnville,
KY driver had to use a
qualifying feature to lock in a spot in the heat race.
His finishing position in that race
lined
him up in a B-Feature; with that race producing a spot in the coveted
World 100.
The
win -- Birkhofer’s sixth this
season – meant as much as that victory in 2002.
“I
almost had a tear in my eye when
I pulled up (to celebrate),” he said. “The race track is different than
it was
10 years ago. It’s definitely faster. I’ve had to kind of bring my
level up. …
How I used to approach this place, I would wait for 20 laps to go. Now
you
hustle the whole time. It’s all about racing hard.”
Simpson
and Tyler Reddick, the
youngest driver to qualify for the feature at 16-years-old, started on
the
front row as a pair of first-time participants. Reddick led the first
couple
laps before Simpson took the lead. Simpson eventually finished 17th and
Reddick
24th. There were seven first-time drivers qualifiers advancing through
the 123
entrants into the World 100; Simpson, Reddick, Chilton, J.R. Hotovy,
Billy
Moyer Jr., Ryan Unzicker and Andrew Reaume. Reaume was also the first
Canadian
to qualify.
Eldora
Speedway returns to action
with the 31st Four Crown Nationals on Sept. 21-22. The World of
OutlawsSprints
and UMP Modifieds run Friday night with USAC taking center stage
Saturday with
their Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown divisions. Tickets for the Four
Crown,
the UMP DIRTcar National Championships for Late Models and Modifieds
(Oct. 5
& 6) and other remaining events are available through the
speedway box
office (937) 338-3815 or online 24 hours a day at
www.EldoraSpeedway.com. Fans
can also like Eldora Speedway at Facebook.com/EldoraSpeedway and follow
on
Twitter: @EldoraSpeedway.
Fast
Qualifier (out of 123 cars):
Dale McDowell – 15.797 seconds
First
qualifying feature finish:
Scott Creel, Justin Coulter, Kyle Logue, Steve Lance Jr., Ken Hahn,
Gary Major,
Don Gordon.
Second
qualifying feature finish:
Matt Miller, Jonathan Davenport, Kevin Mack, Nick Latham, Terry
Wolfenbarger,
Shane Allen, Jim Gingery, Jared Landers, Shawn Martin.
Third
qualifying feature finish:
Brad Neat, Larry Greer, Jarred Breeding John Mayes Jr., Danny Hatcher.
First
heat finish: Michael Chilton,
Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer Jr., Frank Heckenast Jr., Andrew Reaume, Tim
Rivers,
Shannon Thornsberry, Greg Johnson, Scott Schmitt, Rich Neiser, Dale
McDowell,
Brian Rickman, John Mason, Chub Frank, Kyle Logue, Scott Creel, Ken
Hahn, Gary
Major, Anthony Adams. Scratched: James Rice.
Second
heat finish: Don O’Neal,
Brian Birkhofer, Steve Francis, Matt Miller, Duane Chamberlain, Dan
Schlieper,
Dillon Wood, Dustin Linville, Shane Cottle, Jacob Hawkins, Dustin Neat,
Dusty
Moore, Kevin Mack, Steve Casebolt, Chad Smith, Terry Wolfenbarger,
Shane Allen,
Chris Ross. Scratched: Jared Landers, Bill Lewis.
Third
heat finish: Billy Moyer,
J.R. Hotovy, Jeep Van Wormer, R.J. Conley, Jay Johnson, Brian Ruhlman,
Shane
Clanton, Rick Rickman, Brad Neat, Terry Casey, Mike Spatola, Vic Hill,
Michael
Asberry, Danny Hatcher, Jarrod Breeding, Tom Ramey, D.J. Wells, Jeff
Babcock,
Shannon Babb. Scratched: Jeff Watson.
Fourth
heat finish: Scott
Bloomquist, Eddie Carrier Jr., Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, Jerry
Bowersock,
Jimmy Owens, Jason Montgomery, Morgan Bagley, Jon Hodgkiss, Justin
Coulter,
Steve Lance Jr., Justin Chance, Jackie Boggs, Don Gordon, Earl Pearson
Jr.,
Stephen Breeding, Ryan VanderVeen, Adam Hutson. Scratched: Brandon
Perkins,
Scott Clifford.
Fifth
heat finish: Tyler Reddick,
Darrell Lanigan, Chris Madden, Brandon Sheppard, Jon Henry, Dennis Erb
Jr.,
Chad Ruhlman, Wayne Chinn, Jonathan Davenport, Jacob Grizzle, Robby
Hensley,
Josh McGuire, Clint Smith, Austin Hubbard, Klint Byars, Nick Latham,
Tommy
Carlton, Jim Gingery, Shawn Martin, Brandon Fouts.
Sixth
heat finish: Chad Simpson,
Jimmy Mars, Rick Eckert, Bub McCool, Scott James, Terry Phillips,
Curtis
Roberts, Ray Cook, John Blankenship, Donnie Moran, Jerry Rice, Riley
Hickman,
Kent Robinson, Tim Lance, Larry Greer, Russ Frohnapfel, John Mayes Jr.
Scratched: Mike Marlar, Casey Noonan, Ky Harper.
B-Feature
#1 finish: Shane Clanton,
Brad Neat, Andrew Reaume, Greg Johnson, Dan Schlieper, Jacob Hawkins,
Dustin
Linville, Dillon Wood, Brian Ruhlman, Shannon Thornsberry, Dusty Moore,
Tim
Rivers, Mike Spatola, Brian Rickman, Rich Neiser, Rick Rickman, R.J.
Conley,
Scott Schmitt, Duane Chamberlain, Frank Heckenast Jr., Shane Cottle.
Scratched:
Jay Johnson, Dustin Neat, Terry Casey.
B-Feature
#1 scramble finish: Jacob
Hawkins, Brian Ruhlman, Dillon Wood, Dusty Moore, Mike Spatola, Tim
Rivers,
Rick Rickman, Brian Rickman, Rich Neiser, Dustin Linville, Shannon
Thornsberry.
B-Feature
#2 finish: Ryan Unzicker,
Brandon Sheppard, Bub McCool, Jerry Bowersock, Wayne Chinn, Ray Cook,
Dennis
Erb Jr., Morgan Bagley, Chad Ruhlman, Jimmy Owens, Jacob Grizzle, Jason
Montgomery, Donnie Moran, Curtis Roberts, Steve Lance Jr., Jon
Hodgkiss, Justin
Coulter, Robby Hensley, Jerry Rice, Scott James, Jon Henry, Terry
Phillips,
Jonathan Davenport.
B-Feature
#2 scramble: Dennis Erb
Jr., Chad Ruhlman, Jimmy Owens, Morgan Bagley, John Blankenship, Jason
Montgomery, Donnie Moran, Steve Lance Jr., Curtis Roberts, Jon
Hodgkiss, Justin
Coulter, Robby Hensley, Ray Cook.
42nd
annual World 100
Pos.,
driver (car no.), hometown,
chassis, earnings
1.
Brian Birkhofer (15B),
Muscatine, Iowa, MB Customs, $50,000
2.
Scott Bloomquist (0),
Mooresburg, Tenn., Bloomquist, $15,000
3.
Brad Neat (41), Dunnville, Ky.,
MasterSbilt, $10,000
4.
Darrell Lanigan (29), Union,
Ky., Rocket, $7,500
5.
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington,
Ill., Pierce, $6,000
6.
Steve Francis (15), Ashland,
Ky., Barry Wright, $5,000
7.
Brandon Sheppard (1), New
Berlin, Ill., Rocket, $4,000
8.
Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt
Rock, W.Va., Rocket, $3,500
9.
Shannon Babb, (18) Moweaqua,
Ill., Victory Circle, $3,000
10.
Michael Chilton (97), Salvisa,
Ky., Revelution, $2,500
11.
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham,
Ill., Pierce, $2,250
12.
J.R. Hotovy (13), Covert,
Mich., Bloomquist, $2,000
13.
Jerry Bowersock (20j),
Wapakoneta, Ohio, $1,900
14.
Chris Madden (44), Gray Court,
S.C., Bloomquist, $1,800
15.
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie,
Wis., MB Customs, $1,750
16.
Andrew Reaume (88), Chatham,
Ontario, Rocket, $1,725
17.
Chad Simpson (25), Mount
Vernon, Iowa, MasterSbilt, $1,700
18.
Greg Johnson (24H), Bedford,
Ind., MasterSbilt, $1,675
19.
Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr),
Batesville, Ark., Victory Circle, $1,650
20.
Wayne Chinn (1), Bradford,
Ohio, MasterSbilt, $1,645
21.
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso,
Ill., MasterSbilt, $1,640
22.
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark.,
Victory Circle, $1,635
23.
Dale McDowell (17m),
Chickamauga, Ga., Warrior, $1,630
24.
Tyler Reddick (11), Corning,
Calif., Bloomquist, $1,625
25.
Jeep Van Wormer, Pinconning,
Mich., Rocket, $1,620
26.
Rick Eckert (24), York, Pa.,
Bloomquist, $1,615
27.
Don O’Neal (71), Martinsville,
Ind., MasterSbilt, $1,610
28.
Dan Schlieper (23), Oak Creek,
Wis., Rocket, $1,605
29.
Bub McCool (57j), Vicksburg,
Miss., Barry Wright, $1,600
30.
Shane Clanton (25),
Fayetteville, Ga., Capital, $1,600
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