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Kevin Kovac
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (January 21) - Rick Eckert's first competitive appearance of 2008 was over before he even had a chance to break a sweat.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series star's three-quarter Midget had its left-front wheel knocked off on the opening lap of the C-Main during Saturday night's 'Gambler's Classic' indoor race, leaving him a spectator for the remainder of the sixth annual event held inside the famed Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Eckert, 42, of York, Pa., entered the two-day small-car program at the seaside resort as part of a unique team effort with NASCAR veteran Kenny Schrader. Schrader drove the Alan Mollott No. 51 in Friday's preliminary action, and then Eckert jumped in the car where Schrader left off on Saturday night.
Schrader's wild rollover during the third 20-lap qualifying heat on Friday night left him with an 11th-place finish that put Eckert on the outside pole for Saturday night's first C-Main. Eckert proceeded to get out of shape entering turn one at the start of the event and was clipped by a passing car, ending his night before it really even could get started.
"That was quick," Eckert quipped good-naturedly in the garage area after failing to complete a lap. "The track (a one-eighth-mile oval on the Hall's concrete floor that was treated with Pepsi syrup to provide traction) was still dirty (for the C-Main) after everybody walked on it during that pre-race deal (FanFest), and I just lost grip when I went into the corner on the outside. I got a little squirrelly, and then somebody just hit my left-front and broke the wheel off."
Eckert's dirt Late Model chief mechanic, Chad Curran, helped the Mollott team bolt a new wheel on the TQ Midget, but Eckert was unable to get back to the track in time to restart.
A fifth-place finisher in the 2007 'Gambler's Classic' A-Main driving a 600cc Micro-Sprint (the TQs and Micros run together in the event) owned by his brother-in-law Joe Darrah, Eckert missed out on a time-trial provisional and thus watched Saturday's 40-lap headliner in street clothes.
Actually, it appeared on Friday night that Eckert might find himself locked into Saturday night's A-Main. But as Schrader was bidding for one of the four automatic transfer spots available in the third 20-lapper, he got squeezed into the outside wall and flipped. Schrader attempted to continue after the car was set back on its wheels, but its valve cover had been ripped off, forcing him to retire and relegating Eckert to the C-Main.
"I called Schrader last week and told him, 'Don't put me in a hole,'" Eckert said with a smile. "Well, then he goes and flips. He said for putting me in the C-Main, he'd buy me a beer next week in Brunswick (Ga., during the 10-day 'Super Bowl of Racing' at Golden Isles Speedway)."
Despite the disappointment, Eckert did relish a rare chance to see his teenage nephew, central Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car racer Cody Darrah, in action. Darrah ran a 600cc Micro-Sprint that remains in his father's stable, but mechanical trouble as he held second place late in Saturday night's B-Main ended his bid for a transfer spot.
Eckert headed home on Sunday to complete preparations for a busy month of dirt Late Model racing. He has 22 race nights scheduled from Jan. 23 to Feb. 16, highlighted by the season-opening World of Outlaws Late Model Series events on Feb. 14 and 16 during the 37th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.
With Curran riding shotgun, Eckert starts his southern excursion this week, on Wednesday night (Jan. 23) at Golden Isles. The 'Super Bowl of Racing' features 10 nights of $10,000-to-win events, including seven (Jan. 23, Jan. 24, Jan. 25, Jan. 26, Jan. 28, Jan. 29 and Feb. 2) sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing.
After competing in the Dirt Late Model Winternationals from Feb. 4-9 at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla., Eckert will be one of an estimated 100 drivers to take part in the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. The two WoO LMS events paying $10,000 to win are supplemented by four nights of UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model action, on Feb. 11, 12, 13 and 15.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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