Birkhofer Overtakes Lanigan To Pocket $41,419 Firecracker 100 Victory At Lernerville Speedway
By Kevin Kovac
Sarver, PA — Brian Birkhofer might hail from Iowa, but he had plenty of like-minded individuals to celebrate with after winning Tuesday night’s second annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com at Lernerville Speedway.
The four-tenths-mile oval in western Pennsylvania, after all, is always crawling with Pittsburgh Steelers fans – and no one loves the NFL team more than Birkhofer, whose black racing helmet sports the familiar Steelers logo.
“This is a big deal for me,” said Birkhofer, who pocketed $41,419 (including lap money) for his first-ever victory at a track that’s located a short drive from the Steel City. “I’ve won big races before, but this one has some extra special meaning because this place is so close to Pittsburgh. I usually come out here a couple times a year to see Steelers home games, so it’s cool to finally win a big race out in this area.
“The only thing that could’ve topped off tonight was if somehow Troy Polomalu (the Steelers’ star safety) was here to present me the trophy,” he added with a smile – not long after waving a Steelers ‘Terrible Towel’ in Victory Lane.
Birkhofer, 36, of Muscatine, Iowa, employed a patient approach to capture the postponed World of Outlaws Late Model Series event, which had its final night of action rained out on both June 28 and 29. He calmly filled the role of pursuer until turning up the wick halfway through the A-Main, passing defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., for second on lap 50 and points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., for the lead on lap 70.
Lanigan, who led laps 1-69 after starting from the outside pole, finished a distant 4.226 seconds behind Birkhofer in second place. Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., advanced from the 13th starting spot to place third, with Francis settling for fourth and three-time WoO LMS titlist Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., placing fifth after overtaking Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., on lap 97.
Four caution flags slowed the event, including a lap-19 incident that effectively ended the hopes of pre-race favorites Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.
Richards, who started from the pole position, made contact with Clanton in turn one as the pair battled for third place. The two cars hooked together and slid to a stop at the top of the track.
Clanton, who had just pulled a ‘slider’ on Richards in turn four to nose ahead for a moment, angrily climbed out of his car at the accident scene and leaned into Richards’s cockpit to offer his thoughts about the tangle. The two drivers exchanged words again after Richards exited his car.
“I wanted to bump him in the back and just let him know I didn’t appreciate (the ‘slider’),” admitted the 20-year-old Richards. “But my right-front wheel just caught his left-rear tire. It climbed up the side of his car and couldn’t come back down off it, and I ended up taking us both out.”
Richards continued to finish 12th, while Clanton raced on with left-side bodywork damage until retiring on lap 61 after he rode the homestretch wall.
Clanton, 32, refused to comment on the tangle or his discussion with Richards.
“Up until the accident I had a real good car,” said Clanton, who started fifth. “Then I hit the fence and took myself out. I was trying too hard.”
A huge crowd turned out for the completion of the Firecracker 100 weekend, which began on June 27 with a thrilling night of heat-race competition for 62 cars.
After contesting 13 events in eight states and one Canadian province over the past 20 days, the WoO LMS will be idle for more than two weeks. The tour’s next action is a Southeast doubleheader on Aug. 15 at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Aug. 16 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga.
<