Atomic Speedway
DTWC: Birkhofer whips K-C foes by half-track
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Birkhofer celebrates in victory lane. (pbase.com/cyberslash )
ALMA, Ohio (Oct. 18) — In this age of Dirt Late Model parity, the sport's crown jewel events are nail-biters more often than not, especially during a season when the Show-Me 100 in West Plains, Mo., Cedar Lake's USA Nationals in Wisconsin, the North-South 100 in Florence, Ky., and the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals all had thrilling late-race duels or even last-lap drama. | Index to DTWC coverage
But at the 28th annual Dirt Track World Championship, Brian Birkhofer wasn't interested in treating the K-C Raceway fans to a dramatic finish. The 36-year-old driver from Muscatine, Iowa, was out to stink up the 100-lap feature, and boy, did the driver nicknamed Birky put his stink all over it. Taking the lead from polesitter Shane Clanton on the 37th lap, Birkhofer never looked back in routing the 27-car field. He simply ran away and hid at the 3/8-mile oval in southcentral Ohio, taking the checkered flag more than a half-track ahead of Clanton to match his career-high with a $50,000 payday.
The hurt Birkhofer put on Dirt Late Model racing's best drivers was enough to make a grown man cry, and it was the second-generation Iowa driver who found himself choking back a few tears after notching his first career victory in the prestigious, unsanctioned DTWC.
"I thank (promoter) Carl Short and all the great people that put this race on. I've run second here twice in the Dirt Track, and this one, it's a big one, man," Birkhofer said. "I kind of teared up a little bit. And I really appreciate what I've got."
Birkhofer's competitors probably appreciated when the 100 laps — and Birkhofer's dominance — was finally over. Clanton, one of the nation's hottest drivers and winner of last month's World 100 at Eldora Speedway across the Buckeye State, and Tim McCreadie, a winner of three major events including Knoxville over the past few months, were among those crying uncle after the spanking.
Clanton initially thought Birkhofer was simply able to outmaneuver him in lapped traffic when he made the winning pass, but Clanton soon realized Birkhofer's No. 15B was simply handling better than any other car on the track. "He had a good car," said Clanton, who led the first 36 laps and survived separate lap-16 skirmishes with a lapped Davey Johnson as well as a second-running McCreadie. "(Birkhofer) could just turn left and go by anybody he wanted to, it looked like. I had a little trouble steering and I couldn't do it."
Third-place finisher Steve Francis followed Birkhofer past Clanton and briefly held the second spot, but he saw something special in the Mars Car that Birkhofer designed nearly a year ago along with the Wisconsin's Mars brothers, driver Jimmy (who finished seventh) and crew chief Chris.
"I probably was as good as Shane and T-Mac there, especially in traffic with those guys," said Francis, the Ashland, Ky., driver who was third at the DTWC for the second straight year. "But when Birky got up through there, I got to watching how he could maneuver around lapped cars, and I knew it was going to be a long race for any of us. ... His car was just good. Everybody gets one of those nights every once in a while."
McCreadie, who fell back eight positions after nearly spinning between turns three and four on lap 16, rallied back to finish fifth, but he was lucky to even glimpse Birkhofer's car following the second of two cautions on lap 41. "I don't think we would've had anything for Birky," McCreadie said, "but it would've been nice to run second."
Clanton picked up $15,000 for his runner-up finish with former DTWC winners Francis and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., finishing just behind him in third and fourth. McCreadie was fifth with Rick Eckert of York, Pa., sixth and Mars seventh in a race where Birkhofer was lapping even the heavy hitters.
Birkhofer set a blistering pace in the second half of the race as he built nearly a full-straightaway lead by the 60th lap and began stretching it until he has a half-track ahead of Clanton in the late stages. He wasn't about to slow down to find out who was chasing him. "You can't see (crew members) to signal or anything, so as far as I was concerned, Shane was right on my ass," Birkhofer said. "It was awesome, man. The car just felt so good. ... This thing just had a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, enough to where I could be in position to drag-race 'em a little bit."
While many drivers complaining of sliding across the slick track surface, Birkhofer was able to keep his car straight in rolling through the corners to maintain more momentum than anyone else could muster. "If I turn my wheels right, I don't feel like I'm ever going forward," Birkhofer said. "I mean, it hurts me at some tracks in some conditions, but obviously tonight, it's $50,000 worth."
The Clanton-McCreadie front row was formidable and they ran one-two early while Birkhofer quickly grabbed the fourth spot. Clanton reached the tail of the field after a dozen or so laps, and when he briefly got tied up with Davey Johnson's car on the backstretch of the 16th lap, the leader lost momentum to set up the decisive tangle with McCreadie.
McCreadie tried to beat Clanton into turn three in the low groove, but the side-by-side cars touched and McCreadie lost control, nearly spinning to a stop before gingerly slipping between the turn-four tire barriers and inside guardrail to continue racing in ninth position.
"I didn't know he was there," Clanton said. "I guess he thought he was all the way beside me. We hit wheel to wheel, but he just drove in there all at one time."
Said a disappointed McCreadie: "It was just some bad luck, that's all. I don't know what happened. It was probably just a racing deal. We were going for the same spot at the same time, but it was awful early in the race for it, that's all."
The tangle shuffled Birkhofer into the second spot and, after a lap-24 caution for a slowing Johnson, Birkhofer was soon all over the leader. When Clanton had a little trouble with the slower car of R.J. Conley, Birkhofer was proving his car's maneuverability and slipped underneath the leader on lap 37. The lap-41 caution for Dan Schlieper's spin after contact from Francis gave Clanton a chance to deal with Birkhofer without traffic, but Birkhofer never gave him that opportunity.
The Iowa driver eased away to hold command at the halfway mark and, by lap 60, the outcome appeared all but certain.
Race notes: Birkhofer's Mars Car has a Pro Power engine and sponsorship from Daufeldt Transport, J&J Steel, Simon Trucking and ASI Racewear. ... The victory was Birkhofer's sixth of the year overall and second in a row. His richest previous victory this season was a $40,000 triumph on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. ... The $50,000 DTWC victory matches his richest payday in the 2007 USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. ... The only two first-time DTWC starters were Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., and Ben Adkins of West Portsmouth, Ohio.
28th annual Dirt Track World Championship
1. Brian Birkhofer (15B), Muscatine, Iowa, Mars Car, $50,000
2. Shane Clanton (25), Locust Grove, Ga., Rocket, $15,000
3. Steve Francis (19), Ashland, Ky., Rocket, $10,000
4. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Bloomquist, $7,000
5. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Rocket, $5,000
6. Rick Eckert (24), York, Pa., GRT, $3,500
7. Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., Mars Car, $3,200
8. Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky., Rocket, $3,000
9. Darren Miller (32D), Milledgeville, Ill., Victory Circle, $2,800
10. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., Bloomquist, $2,500
11. Earl Pearson Jr. (44), Jacksonville, Fla., MasterSbilt, $2,450
12. Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., Rocket, $2,400
13. Chub Frank (1*), Bear Lake, Pa., Rocket, $2,350
14. Mike Marlar (78), Winfield, Tenn., Rocket, $2,300
15. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Rayburn, $2,250
16. Josh McGuire (41), Grayson, Ky., Rayburn, $2,200
17. Brady Smith (2), Solon Springs, Wis., Bloomquist, $2,150
18. Ben Adkins (B7), West Portsmouth, Ohio, MasterSbilt, $2,100
19. Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt Rock, W.Va., Rocket, $2,075
20. John Blankenship (23), Williamson, W.Va., Bloomquist, $2,060
21. Dan Schlieper (9), Sullivan, Wis., Wild, $2,050
22. Jordan Bland (12), Campbellsville, Ky., MasterSbilt, $2,040
23. Steve Casebolt (c9), Richmond, Ind., Rocket, $2,030
24. R.J. Conley (71c), Wheelersburg, Ohio, Rocket, $2,020
25. Davey Johnson (17), Latrobe, Pa., Rocket, $2,010
26. Keith Berner (96f), Millersburg, Ohio, MasterSbilt, $2,000
27. Mark Banal (T8), St. Clairsville, Ohio, Rayburn, $2,000
Fast qualifier (among 106 cars): Frank, 14.674 seconds
Heat race winners: McCreadie, Clanton, Francis, Eckert, Birkhofer, Mars
Consolation winners: Marlar, Berner, R.J. Conley
Non-qualifiers' race winner: Carrier
Provisional starters: D. Johnson, Banal
