Birkhofer Holds Off Sheppard for Cedar Lake Speedway Victory

Courtesy of DirtonDirt.com

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — June 14, 2013 — Brian Birkhofer led 31 laps after starting from the third position and held off a mid-race challenge from Brandon Sheppard to secure his first win of the 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour on Friday's opening night of the Masters at Cedar Lake Speedway.

Birkhofer, of Muscatine, Iowa, inherited the lead on lap 9 after second-place starter and leader Kevin Weaver broke a driveshaft. Birkhofer would never look back, going on to capture the $5,000 checkered flag.

“I knew I was a little loose, but I had to run the top, so I had to kind of back-pedal a little bit on the throttle and gave [Sheppard] the opportunity,” said Birkhofer in victory lane. “He was racing hard, and I thought it was great. It was great racing.”

Brian Shirley, Jason Krohn, and Bobby Pierce rounded out the top five.

Heat race winners included Kevin Weaver, Brian Birkhofer, and Brian Shirley.

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour continues on Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway.

DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Cedar Lake Speedway; New Richmond, Wis.; June 14, 2013

A-Main (40-laps): 1. Brian Birkhofer ($5,000), 2. Brandon Sheppard, 3. Brian Shirley, 4. Jason Krohn, 5. Bobby Pierce, 6. Shannon Babb, 7. Randy Korte, 8. Tim Isenberg, 9. Chris Simpson, 10. Dustin Griffin, 11. Jason McBride, 12. Jimmy Mars, 13. Ryan Unzicker, 14. Jake Redetzke, 15. Steve Isenberg, 16. Chad Simpson, 17. Jeff Provinzino, 18. Mark Dotson, 19. Charlie McKenna, 20. Brady Smith, 21. Pat Doar, 22. Kevin Weaver.