Denny Eckrich qualified well, redrew the front row, then dominated all 35 laps to take the win in the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models appearance at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Wednesday night.
Following his win in the final heat race qualifier, Eckrich held the #2 card on the redraw, which put him outside two-time defending series champ Ray Guss Jr. on the front row for the main event. He quickly shot past Guss to take command when the green flag waved.
The lead pair broke away from third-running Andy Eckrich as Guss tried to keep Denny Eckrich in his sights. By the time the leader encountered lapped traffic at the 10 lap mark, Denny was half of a straightaway ahead of Guss, the same margin Guss held over Andy Eckrich.
Guss closed to within a few car-lengths as the leader made his way through the slower traffic, however Eckrich again started pulling away before the race's only caution on lap 20. By that time, Todd Cooney made his way past Andy Eckrich for third.
On the restart, Eckrich wasted little time rebuilding his lead with Guss and Cooney in tow. Neither driver was able to mount a charge as Eckrich drove to his second career series victory, his first since his win at Marshalltown Speedway last month. Guss ran second ahead of Cooney.
Jeff Aikey made his way around Andy Eckrich following the lap 20 restart to take fourth. Series points leader Mike Murphy Jr. closed late, but settled for sixth ahead of Kurt Kile, Jay Johnson, Spencer Diercks and Darrel DeFrance.
The next Deery Series event is Monday, July 2, at Independence Motor Speedway where we'll pay the winner $2,525 in recognition of the series 25th visit to the speedway. IMCA sanctioned SportMods and Hobby Stocks will also be competing. More info on that event can be found at www.independencemotorspeedway.com.
In addition to the Late Models, Mid-Season Championship racing was held in four of the five weekly divisions at Osky. All of the track's regular divisions, except the IMCA Modifieds, were part of Wednesday's show in a normal qualify/invert program.
In the first of those features, Merv Chandler won an entertaining battle with his son, Brad, to score the victory in the IMCA Sport Compacts. Merv traded paint with the younger Chandler as those two drivers went three-wide with Bill Whalen Jr. at the completion of lap three.
Merv snuck between his competitors, then pinched Brad up high, leaving little racing room between Merv and the wall. Merv took charge at that point, then held off the return favor from Brad a few moments later to take the win. Whalen ran third.
Alan VanGorp held the early lead in the 16-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Matt Greiner and Damon Murty chased the leader to the front of the pack as that trio of drivers broke away from the pack in just a few laps.
Murty ran the low side beneath Greiner and then VanGorp in turns one and two on the eighth circuit, but started to lose ground when his left front tire began losing air. Greiner, meanwhile, worked the low side of the leader on the back stretch one lap later to take command.
Greiner went on to lead the remainder of the event to take the mid-season crown. VanGorp finished second, a straightaway ahead of a hard-charging Zack VanderBeek, who came from the back after being involved in a first lap caution. Murty held on for fourth ahead of points leader Nathan Wood.
Jamie Songer led the entire 15-lap distance to take the win in the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Bobby Greene chased Songer to the front, but Songer checked out to take the win by half of a strraightaway. Points leader Shannon Anderson crossed the line in third ahead of Danny Thrasher and Mike Hughes.
The caution flag made rare, frequent appearances on the Osky half-mile in the 15-lap IMCA SportMod main event. Despite the stoppages, Bryan Weyer led "weyer-to-weyer" to earn the victory ahead of track and national points leader Jesse Sobbing. Curtis VanDerWal ran third ahead of Carter VanDenBerg and Jason Hall.
Thanks to Mike Van Genderen and his crew for their hospitality. They did a great job beating the impending rain showers as the final checkers waved right at the 10 o'clock hour.
It felt like a family reunion of sorts as a number of Positively Racing bloggers were in attendance Wednesday night. In addition to Osky regulars Barry Johnson, Jeff Broeg and Dick and Joyce Eisele, Kevin Trittien was also in Osky. It was a lot of fun to watch the races with the crew and I hope we cross paths more often this season! They will have recaps on their blogs, as well, so be sure to check them out. Kevin is still in the process of exorcising his computer demons so, even though he won't have a write-up from last night, hopefully he will be able to dust off the keyboard in the near future!
Tonight, it's back to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for a special Thursday show. The Sprint Invaders will be on-hand tonight for Budweiser Night at the track. In addition to the 360 Sprints, IMCA Stock Cars and IMCA SportMods will be competing for state, regional and national points in a draw/redraw show. Remember, if you were in Donnellson last Friday when rain cut the program short, you will be able to use those tickets toward tonight's prices and only pay the difference to get in the stands. The Budweiser party tent will be up all night, as well. There will be beer specials and a party in the pits after the races. It promises to be a great night! Hope to see you there!
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