Eckert Posts Season First, Gets Dirt Capitol LM Speedweek Starting Spot With Shootout Triumph
HAGERSTOWN, MD. – Rick Eckert has one in the record books to get his season going in the Paul Crowl owned MastersBilt Late Model. The York Pa. veteran snatched the lead from Roy Deese Jr. on a fifth lap restart and never looked back in the Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic Late Model 25-lap feature. He later scored the $2,500 Hagerstown/Williams Grove Shootout triumph, an event postponed from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon because of the extreme cold temperatures forecasted. The win rewarded him with a guaranteed starting spot in the June 6th Appalachian Mountain Late Model Speedweek finale at Hagerstown/Dirt Capitol. He finished fifth in Friday’s Williams Grove Shootout event.
“The race track was a little different than normal and really off four on that outside,” Eckert said. ”Both lanes had rubber but on the outside you had your left rear in it and when Roy picked the inside line on that restart, I was pretty happy because it put his right rear in there and my left rear. That lets you drive a little straighter off the corner and I just got him beat off the corner. We were over there talking; he’s mad because he picked the wrong lane. It’s easy to do. When you start on the front, you don’t know where you need to be. I’ve been in his position before.”
Scott Palmer, second the previous week, came out on top in the Malloy Ford Late Model Sportsman with Craig Parrill posting a second win in only five visits to the track in the K.Lynn Management Pure Stocks. Marshall McMullen scored a career first in the Mason Dixon Auto Auction Hobby Stocks.
The top ten late models from the heats were lined up with youngsters drawing envelopes that had starting numbers inside. Barry Miller and Deese Jr. occupied the front row with Kyle Hardy and Eckert in the second.
Deese quickly took the lead over Miller and Eckert with Eckert taking second from Miller just prior to a fifth lap yellow.
Eckert quickly asserted himself on the restart and began to stretch the distance to more than two seconds while Deese and Hardy were followed by a fourth place battle between Miller, Andy Anderson and previous week’s winner Jamie Lathroum.
Eckert was in charge until a 17th lap yellow reset the field as he quickly retook the lead and drove the final eight circuits with no problems as Deese settled for the runner up spot 1.45 seconds behind. Anderson, who started 12th, had moved into third on the 18th lap with Hardy and 14th starting Lathroum ending next while 15th starting Jason Covert trailed them.
“My guys were telling me I had a pretty good lead,” Eckert said.” I was a little worried about tires so once I got the lead, I tried to pace myself. I didn’t slow down, but I was trying not to abuse my tires.”
Alan Sagi quickly took the late model sportsman lead from his fourth starting spot as Andrew Yoder took second over Palmer with Palmer advancing a spot on the fifth lap, leaving Yoder to battle with Bobby Beard.
Yoder came back to take second following a seventh lap yellow but Palmer retook the position on lap 15 and quickly closed on Sagi. Approaching rear traffic, Palmer went around Sagi who slowed behind one and on the following lap, Sagi went to dive between two slower cars and contact put him hard into the turn three fence.
Palmer drove on following the 18th lap restart to win by 1.54 seconds over Beard and Yoder with Justin Weaver and Paul Cursey completing the top five.
“Today was a tremendous amount of fun,” Palmer said. “With a day track I didn’t know if there would be a lot of passing. Things just opened up at the right time. The race kept coming my way. I felt pretty confident on that last restart but prior to that time, it was a handful trying to get there.”
Jamie Zentmyer grabbed the pure stock lead from the outside pole and led until the seventh lap when both Craig Parrill and Mike Franklin charged past. On a 13th lap restart, both Franklin and Zentmyer spun with Brian Walls and Mike Corbin advancing into their positions. Parrill drove on to take the win by five lengths over Walls, Corbin, Chris Ebersole and Ryan Smith.
Marshall McMullen quickly grabbed the hobby stock lead from third while the positions behind him changed with opening week’s winner Dylan Rutherford settling into the runner up spot on the sixth lap. McMullen, third the previous week, kept on the gas and stretched his lead every lap until finally taking the checkered five seconds to the good over Rutherford. Ralph Hansberger, Tom Caravello and Jamie Milles were next.
Follow the speedway on Twitter and Facebook at Dirt Capitol LLC and also check out Ernie D’s Turn 5 on Facebook with information about events, driver’s interviews, race status and more. The latest news, results, photos, schedule or rule changes will also be found on the speedway’s website: www.hagerstownspeedway.com. Also check the website for any changes in weather conditions that may delay or cancel the program or contact the speedway office at 301-582-0640.
Photo Courtesy of French Fry Nation
HAGERSTOWN SPEEDWAY/DIRT CAPITOL LLC RESULTS
Hagerstown/ Williams Grove Shootout, Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic Late Models: 25 Laps, 20 Entries, 1.Rick Eckert, 2.Roy Deese, 3.Andy Anderson, 4.Kyle Hardy, 5.Jamie Lathroum, 6.Jason Covert, 7.Barry Miller, 8.Jerry Bard, 9.Brian Tavenner, 10.Gene Knaub, 11.Andrew Mullins, 12.Dominic Defino, 13.Tyler Castle, 14.Trever Feathers, 15.Matt Parks, 16.Glenn Elliott, 17.Greg Roberson, 18.Coleby Frye, 19.Kyle Lear, 20.Marvin Winters
Malloy Ford Late Model Sportsman: 20 Laps, 23 Entries: 1.Scott Palmer, 2.Bobby Beard, 3.Andrew Yoder, 4.Justin Weaver, 5.Paul Cursey, 6.Jake Jones, 7.Kyle Lee, 8.Robbie Black, 9.Jonathan DeHaven, 10.Chad Myers, 11.Devin Frey, 12.Wes Alleman, 13.Elwood Sord, 14.Daulton Bigler, 15.Garrett Walls, 16.Alan Sagi, 17.Braydon Anderson, 18.Kyle Lear, 19.Jason Nace, 20.Josh Berrier, 21.Rodney Walls, 22.Chaz Walls, 23.Keith Walls
K.Lynn Management Pure Stocks: 15 Laps, 18 Entries: 1.Craig Parrill, 2.Brian Walls, 3.Mike Corbin, 4.Chris Ebersole. 5.Ryan Smith, 6.Brian Miller, 7.Michelle Walls, 8.Dickie Tharp, 9.Wayne Hawbaker, 10.Jamie Zentmyer, 11.Nick Dibella, 12.Walter Lemmon, 13.R.T. Troutman, 14.Jeremy Mills, 15.Mike Franklin, 16.Tony Catlett, 17.Sean Dawson, 18.Keith Koontz
Mason Dixon Auto Auction Hobby Stocks: 15 Laps, 12 Entries: 1.Marshall McMullen, 2.Dylan Rutherford, 3.Ralph Hansberger, 4.Tom Caravello, 5.Jamie Mills, 6.William Crook, 7.Kenny Thomas, 8.Bryan Neff, 9.Rodney Minor, 10.Gary Proctor, DNS – Dwayne Snyder, James Jones
