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Scott Wolfe
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (October 18) - The Dirt Track World Championship always brings some type of magic to it. Saturday's 28th annual DTWC by gottarace.com before most likely its largest K-C crowd was no exception. "Dominating!" That one word is an understatement, but the closest word Webster had to offer in describing Brian Birkhofer's most prestigious career win. What started as a firefight in Carl Short's premier event, quickly turned into a cakewalk as Muscatine, Iowa driver Brian Birkhofer pulled off the $50,000 victory in the late model portion of the DTWC program at Jim Nier's K-C Raceway near Chillicothe, Ohio.
It was indeed a magical performance and Birky was the house magician. The veteran driver turned much more than a hat-trick in taming the world's toughest dirt track stars before a packed house at K-C Raceway. Birkhofer's victory aboard his Mars/Birkhofer Chassis/Pro-Power Engines, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS equaled his biggest career payday. The Daufeldt Transport/J & J Steel/Simon Trucking entry outclassed the rest of the field in a huge fashion, lapping all but the top nine cars. Like an Olympian, Birkhofer paced to the lead on lap 37, then flexed his muscle to take the Gold, decimating the field to that of also-rans.
"I'm kind of teared up right now," said the winner in victory lane. "I appreciate what I've got. This race means a lot, I've finished second at the DTWC twice, and finally...finally, we got it...$50,000 and the DTWC trophy. I'd like to thank Carl Short and everyone who makes this race possible. Keeping this race going and bringing it to K-C has been a great thing for racing, and a great thing for me personally. "
"The car was awesome tonight," continued Birkhofer. "I could put it anywhere on the track. A lot of people have helped me --Jimmy Mars, Tim McCreadie-- my crew. We've worked hard at this and we feel we put together some pretty good race cars. If I'm turning right out there, I feel like I'm not going anywhere. Sometimes at some tracks it hurts me, but it (keeping the car straight) was fast here and usually is pretty good to me."
Shane Clanton, Locust Grove, GA hooked up first at the drop of the green over pole-sitter Tim McCreadie. Clanton quickly opened up a five-car-length lead. Three-wide, four-wide and scattered all across the fast 3/8 mile high banks, the field of dirt racing's elite were aggressively putting on a whale of a show. Clanton led the parade through traffic as McCreadie and Colonel Steve Francis, Ashland, KY marched back into contention. Lying in wait, Birkhofer-at this point-was mapping his strategy for the finale.
McCreadie bid for the lead against Clanton, nearly rubbing doors, but the Watertown, NY driver lost the handle on lap 17, then recovered to remain in the top ten. McCreadie's miscue came just as Birkhofer had made it a four-way race for number one. The front trio scattered as McCreadie shuffled to midpack with Clanton continuing his charge up front. Clanton shut the door hard on Birky on the 23rd circuit, unknowingly sticking his finger in the flood gate that was soon about to burst.
Clanton, Birkhofer and Francis sounded more like a law firm than a high-flying stock car trio, but the three indeed laid down the law as the race's top performers. The "Crown Jewell's" first caution came for a stalled Davey Johnson on the 24th circuit sending him pit-side for repairs.
Now Scott Bloomquist was poised for a run to the front. The race's big three, however, outdistanced the Tennessee stalwart and began the second long run of the race. Additionally, the Jim Dunn Memorial winner Eddie Carrier, Jr. continued to charge by competitors in his effort to make his DTWC/Arizona Sports Shirts decision a profitable one.
The next several laps saw Birkhofer stalk his prey. Straight and fast, Birkhofer watched Clanton's mount tail-off into the turns. Birky took the lead on lap 37 as Clanton went high and his foe dove evasively low to create a high speed sandwich around the soon-to-be lapped car of R.J. Conley.
Francis and Dan Schlieper made contact on the 41st go-round, sending Schlieper into a tail spin and to the tail. The laps clicked off quickly as Davey Johnson rejoined the field 17 laps down.
Nine shy of the halfway mark, Francis bagged Clanton for second. Drivers jockeyed for position deep into the pack, using every inch of the fast K-C turf. High against the wall, Jimmy Mars sent a trail of sparks, while some driver's hugged the bottom and everywhere in between to find the needed speed. As Birkhofer widened his lead to half a straight, Clanton and Francis battled door-to-door as if they were bolted together as one.
The Muscatine, IA ace was back in traffic at the mid-point with a padded lead over Clanton and Francis. Some of the best names in the business became casualties of the high-flying Birkhofer. More were to come.
Turns three and four laid down heavy rubber, while turns one and two held a little more moisture, making the track a different kind of fast on both ends. Birkhofer's hybrid mount and half MARS-car seemed to have the best handle on the high banks, stretching his lead to a full straight by lap 68.
McCreadie picked up a few of the positions he had lost early in the race, while Bloomquist, Rick Eckert, and Jimmy Mars battled for fourth. Francis regained the second spot on lap 73, but Clanton did not go down without a fight, retaking the runner-up slot two laps later. If passing points counted in the outcome, that duo would have topped the field in a battle that K-C voice Bruce Hines called a pack of sharks looking for blood. The intense fighting, however, all the more took its toll as Birkhofer stretched it out to a full half-lap.
McCreadie worked his way by Eckert in a great run back to the top five just as Birkhofer lapped the twelfth place car of Josh Richards on lap 85. Absolute domination in a landslide run, Birkhofer blitzed the field, lapping tenth place Jimmy Owens with six laps to go. The distance of victory translated into a seven second lead at the finish.
Clanton brought home second after claiming a personal victory over fellow combatant Francis with Bloomquist and McCreadie rounding out the top five.
With only two cautions, the race was run in only 37 minutes with the checkered flag waving at 10:38, sending a well-satisfied crowd back to the camp sites for post race festivities. Birkhofer was joined by family and friends in a wild victory lane celebration, where he received the towering DTWC by gottarace.com championship trophy and "Crown Jewell" championship ring.
Rounding out the top ten behind Birkhofer were Shane Clanton, Steve Francis, Scott Bloomquist, Tim McCreadie, Rick Eckert, Jimmy Mars, Darrell Lanigan, Darren Miller, and Jimmy Owens.
Bear Lake, PA driver Chub Frank, the defending DTWC champ, claimed the Dirtondirt.com $1,000 fast time award with a 14:674 clocking in the field of 106 cars.
Mike Marlar transferred after winning the first B-main and earlier posting a dismal 66th fast time.
The Summary: K-C Raceway 28th Annual Dirt Track World Championship 10/16-18/2008
28th Annual Dirt Track World Championship Finish
1. Brian Birkhofer
2. Shane Clanton
3. Steve Francis
4. Scott Bloomquist
5. Tim McCreadie
6. Rick Eckert
7. Jimmy Mars
8. Darrell Lanigan
9. Darren Miller
10. Jimmy Owens
11. Earl Pearson, Jr.
12. Josh Richards
13. Chub Frank
14. Mike Marlar
15. Dennis Erb, Jr.
16. Josh McGuire
17. Brady Smith
18. Ben Adkins
19. Eddie Carrier, Jr.
20. John Blankenship
21. Dan Schlieper
22. Jordan Bland
23. Steve Casebolt, Jr.
24. Keith Berner
25. Mark Banal
26. R.J. Conley
27. Davey Johnson
The Summary: K-C Raceway Dirt Track World Championship
Late Models
Heat One-Steve Francis, Earl Pearson, Jr., Chub Frank, Mike Marler, Mark Banal, Rod Conley, Jackie Boggs, Chris Hackett, Michael Howard, Vic Hill, Brandon Fouts, Paul Wilmoth, Jr., Delmas Conley, Nick Corbitt, Davey Johnson, Brian Ruhlman, Jamie Ferguson, Russ Fronapfel
Heat Two- Brian Birkhofer, Scott Bloomquist, Dan Schleipper, Bart Hartman, Jordan Bland, Rick Aukland, Jeep VanWormer, Terry Casey, Eric Jacobsen, Andy Bond, Jeff Houser, Richard Neiser, Kevin Wagner, Kenny Riddle, Justin NMcNeill, Joe Loudon, Dale McDowell,Scott James
Heat Three-Tim McCreadie, Dennis Erb, Jr., John Blankenship,Tim Dohm, Greg Johnson, Dustin Linville, Eric Wells, Patrick Doar, John Mason, Jason Montgomery, Chris Garnes, Curt Spaulding, Jeremy Canada, Anthony Adams, D.J.Wells, Greg Mitchell, Shon Flannery, Mike Ratcliff
Heat Four-Rick Eckert, Brady Smith, Darrell Lanigan, Keith Berner, Ben Adkins, Matt Miller, Wayne Chinn, Jared Miley, Corey Conley, Freddy Smith, Shannon Thornsberry, Steve Shaver, Scott Edmiston, Ralph Withem, Brian Day, Steve Wilmoth, John Melvin, Chad Todd
Heat Five-Jimmy Mars, Josh McGuire, Darren Miller, R.J. Conley, David Powers, Michael England, Terry Hicks, Matt Lux, Doug Drown, Josh Bocook, Chris Combs, Randall Chupp, Bub Crum, Chad Stapleton, George Scheiffer, Greg Buckland, Dean Boyd, George Scheffer
Heat Six-Shane Clanton, Josh Richards, Jimmy Owens, Steve Casebolt, Clint Smith, Shannon Babb, Eddie Carrier, Justin Ratliff, Nick Bocook, Donnie Moran, Brad Neat, Chris Wilson, Kenny Christy, Jerry Bowersock, Jared Hawkins, Wayne Maffett,Jr., Mike Wilson
C-Main: Davey Johnson, Brian Ruhlman, Mike Wilson,Shon Flannery, Russ Fronaphel,Wayne Maffett, Jr., Jamie Ferguson, Justin McNeill, Dean Boyd, Greg Buckland, Mike Ratliff, Joe Loudin, Ralph Withem, Greg Mitchell, Jared Hawkins, D.J. Wells, John Melvin, George Scheffer, Chad Stapleton DNS, Steve Wilmoth DNS, Chad Todd DNS, Scott James DNS, Dale McDowell DNS
B-Main One: Mike Marler, Jordan Bland, Chris Hackett, Jeep Van Wormer, Rod Conley, Bart Hartman, Eric Jacobsen, Vic Hill, Delmas Conley, Michael Howard, Andy Bond, Jeff Houser, Brandon Fouts, Richard Neiser, Paul Wilmoth, Jr., Kenny Riddle, Nick Corbitt, Jackie Boggs, Kevin Wagner, Rick Auckland, Shon Flannery, Mark Banal, Davey Johnson
B-Main Two: Keith Berner, Ben Adkins, Matt Miller, Tim Dohm, Eric Wells, Dustin Linville, Patrick Doar, Greg Johnson, Curt Spaulding, Corey Conley, Jared Miley, Jason Montgomery, Brian Ruhlman, Shannon Thornsberry, Chris Garnes, Jeremy Canada, Anthony Adams, Scott Edmiston, Brian Day, Russ Fronapfel, Freddie Smith, Steve Shaver DNS
B-Main Three: R.J. Conley, Steve Casebolt, Jr., Eddie Carrier, Jr., Michael England, Clint Smith, Shannon Babb, Matt Lux, Terry Hicks, Doug Drown, Donnie Moran, Brad Neat, Josh Bocook, Chris Combs, Nick Bocook, Kenny Christy, Chris Wilson, Jerry Bowersock, Chad Stapleton, Mike Wilson, Dean Boyd, Wayne Maffett, Jr., David Powers, Justin Ratliff, Bub Crum
Jim Dunn Memorial-Eddie Carrier, Matt Miller, Donnie Moran, Jeep VanWormer, Jared Miley, Corey Conley, Eric Jacobson, Tim Dohm, Jerry Bowersock, Chris Hackett, Patrick Doar, Chad Stapleton, Terry Hicks, Clint Smith, Justin McNeil, Kevin Wagner, Anthony Adams, Anthony Davis, Joe Loudin, Bub Crum, Brian Day, Freddy Smith, Nick Bocook (Hard Charger Keith Berner
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