WEST LIBERTY, Iowa – He’s been consistent throughout the 33rd annual Deery Brothers Summer Series.
On Saturday night, Andy Eckrich was dominant.
After showing off his speed in winning his IMCA Late Model tour heat race, Eckrich started fifth in the main event at West Liberty Raceway, reeled in early leader Kyle Hinrichs on the ninth circuit and stayed in front to the finish of the 35-lapper.
The $2,000 victory was the career ninth and first of the season for Eckrich, the current Deery point leader.
“It was really special,” said Eckrich, a three-time runner-up this year. “I had a lot of family and local fans who were here to see me win. It was nice to win in front of everybody.”
The caution flew four laps after Eckrich gained the point and while Hinrichs was able to gain ground in lapped traffic, he was never able to catch up.
Now the seventh different winner in eight tour events this year, Eckrich’s victory was his first since June of 2018 at Marshalltown; Hinrichs’ second-place showing matched his career best in 39 previous Deery main event starts.
Justin Kay started 14th and finished third, with Brian Harris and Joel Callahan completing the top five.
“The top five guys have had a ton of laps at West Liberty,” noted Eckrich. “I was able to use the bottom lane to my advantage. We tried to gear the motor to the bottom and that worked for us.”
The finish:
Andy Eckrich, Kyle Hinrichs, Justin Kay, Brian Harris, Joel Callahan, Jeremiah Hurst, Curt Martin, Chad Holladay, Tommy Elston, Curran Beckler, Nick Marolf, Joe Zrostlik, Jay Johnson, Matt Ryan, Ron Boyse, Derrick Stewart, Gary Webb, Jeff Aikey, Dave Wada, Darrel DeFrance, Mike Smith, Tim Simpson, David Webster, Andy Nezworski.