Birkhofer Rockets to Second Win of 2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Season at LaSalle Speedway
By Jordan Morris
LaSALLE, Ill. — July 3, 2014 — Brian Birkhofer marched from his fourth starting position to overtake Wednesday night winner Jason Feger on lap 11 en route to his second victory of the season, claiming the $5,000 checkered flag Thursday night at LaSalle Speedway.
Feger, who started from the pole, slipped around Ryan Unzicker for the lead on the opening lap with Birkhofer, who started in the row right behind the leaders, falling back to fifth. Birkhofer managed to find grip on the inside line, which changed his race drastically as he rocketed back to the front of the field a few laps later.
Feger lead the opening 10 laps of the 40-lap feature, but he was no match for Birkhofer. Birkhofer quickly made his way to the front, and shot around the leader on lap 11. The leader quickly extended his advantage on the field as Feger faded back to fourth.
Birkhofer dominated the remaining 29 laps, only being challenged once on a late race restart by Unzicker, but he eventually pulled away from second place and secured his second DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory of the season at LaSalle Speedway.
“Right now I got a good feel for the car and I’m just confident in what it does,” said Birkhofer referring to his Rocket Chassis race car. “Any driver will tell you that they can do a lot with the car when they get that confidence level, and I kind of have that right now. It is racing, though, and it can turn in a heartbeat, so we’ll just keep taking it while it’s coming this way.”
Bobby Pierce, Jason Feger, and Curtis Roberts rounded out the top five.
Heat race winners included Frank Heckenast Jr., Birkhofer, Feger and Unzicker.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Thursday night as they join the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Ill.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; LaSalle Speedway; LaSalle, Ill.; July 3, 2014;
A-Main (40-laps): 1. 15B-Brian Birkhofer ($5,000), 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 3. 32-Bobby Pierce, 4. 25-Jason Feger, 5. 9R-Curtis Roberts, 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 7. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 8. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 9. 10S-Scott Schmitt, 10. 0-Randy Korte, 11. 18-Shannon Babb, 12. 83-Scott Bull, 13. 96-Tanner English, 14. 81-Brian Shirley, 15. 81JR-Jason Riggs, 16. 32J-Jason Jaggers, 17. 1M-Jim Moon, 18. 782-Mark Larson, 19. 7T-Steve Thorsten, 20. 12B-Kevin Weaver, 21. 21B-Rich Bell, 22. 32S-Chris Simpson, 23. 89-Mike Spatola.
2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
|
Date |
Day |
Track |
Location |
Win |
|
June 11 |
Wed |
Brownstown Speedway |
Brownstown, Ind. |
RAIN |
|
June 12 |
Thur |
Kankakee Co. Speedway |
Kankakee, Ill. |
Billy Moyer |
|
June 13 |
Fri |
Cedar Lake Speedway |
Somerset, Wis. |
Rick Eckert |
|
June 14 |
Sat |
Cedar Lake Speedway |
Somerset, Wis. |
RAIN |
|
June 15 |
Sun |
Wilmot Raceway |
Wilmot, Wis. |
Rick Eckert(2) |
|
June 16 |
Mon |
Off |
||
|
June 17 |
Tue |
Farley Speedway |
Farley, Iowa |
Shannon Babb |
|
June 18 |
Wed |
Spoon River Speedway |
Canton, Ill. |
Jason Feger |
|
June 19 |
Thur |
Quincy Raceways |
Quincy, Ill. |
RAIN |
|
June 20 |
Fri |
Tri-City Speedway |
Pontoon Beach, Ill. |
Billy Moyer(2) |
|
June 21 |
Sat |
Fairbury Speedway |
Fairbury, Ill. |
RAIN |
|
June 22 |
Sun |
I-96 Speedway |
Ionia, Mich. |
Brian Shirley |
|
June 23 |
Mon |
Peoria Speedway |
Peoria, Ill. |
Brandon Sheppard |
|
June 24 |
Tue |
Off |
||
|
June 25 |
Wed |
Clarksville Speedway |
Clarksville, Tenn. |
Shannon Babb(2) |
|
June 26 |
Thur |
Clayhill Motorsports |
Atwood, Tenn. |
Brian Shirley(2) |
|
June 27 |
Fri |
Paducah Int. Raceway |
Paducah, Ky. |
RAIN |
|
June 28 |
Sat |
Federated Auto Parts Raceway |
Pevely, Mo. |
Brian Birkhofer |
|
June 29 |
Sun |
Lincoln Speedway |
Lincoln, Ill. |
Brady Smith |
|
June 30 |
Mon |
Off |
||
|
July 1 |
Tue |
Belle Clair Speedway |
Belleville, Ill. |
Bobby Pierce |
|
July 2 |
Wed |
Jacksonville Speedway |
Jacksonville, Ill. |
Jason Feger(2) |
|
July 3 |
Thur |
LaSalle Speedway |
LaSalle, Ill. |
Brian Birkhofer(2) |
|
July 4 |
Fri |
Fayette Co. Speedway |
Brownstown, Ill. |
$7,500 |
|
July 5 |
Sat |
Highland Speedway |
Highland, Ill. |
$10,000 |
|
July 6 |
Sun |
Tri-State Speedway |
Haubstadt, Ind. |
$5,000 |
|
July 7 |
Mon |
Off |
||
|
July 8 |
Tue |
Florence Speedway |
Union, Ky. |
$5,000 |
|
July 9 |
Wed |
Terre Haute Action Track |
Terre Haute, Ind. |
$5,000 |
|
July 10 |
Thur |
Macon Speedway |
Macon, Ill. |
$5,000 |
|
July 11 |
Fri |
Farmer City Raceway |
Farmer City, Ill. |
$10,000 |
|
July 12 |
Sat |
34 Raceway |
Burlington, Iowa |
$10,000 |
|
July 13 |
Sun |
Vermilion Co. Speedway |
Danville, Ill. |
$5,000 |
|
July 14 |
Mon |
Off |
||
|
July 15 |
Tue |
TBA |
||
|
July 16 |
Wed |
Atomic Speedway |
Chillicothe, Ohio |
$5,000 |
|
July 17 |
Thur |
Brushcreek Motorsports Complex |
Peebles, Ohio |
$5,000 |
|
July 18 |
Fri |
Attica Raceway Park |
Attica, Ohio |
$5,000 |
|
July 19 |
Sat |
Oakshade Raceway |
Wauseon, Ohio |
$10,000 |
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” is brought to fans across the country by many important partners including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Racing Electronics (Official Communication), Velocita (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Partners: Beyea Headers, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, Summit Racing Equipment and Wrisco Aluminum; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal, Intercomp and Petroff Towing.
