Davenport Speedway
Burgtorf tops Neal on big night at Davenport
Mark Burgtorf waves to the Davenport crowd. (mikerueferphotos.photoreflect.com)
DAVENPORT, Iowa (April 17) – Mark Burgtorf of Quincy, Ill., went home with the big bucks following a record-setting Deery Brothers Summer Series show at Davenport Speedway. The three-time IMCA Late Model tour champion tracked down Terry Neal on the 24th of 40 laps Friday, then sped through lapped traffic for a $2,000 check and his career 20th series victory. Neal hung on for second, while Jeff Aikey, Tom Darbyshire and Jason Frankel rounded out the top five. | Slideshow
Sixty-one Late Models were in the pits for the second date on the 2009 schedule. That’s the most for any of the 15 series events held at Davenport since 1987 and follows on the heels of the 66 cars on hand for the April 11 opener at 34 Raceway in West Burlington.
Neal drew the pole start and remained in control following back to back cautions on laps four and five. The contest stayed green from that point, as Neal began catching up with backrunners by the 13th circuit and was into heavy lapped traffic by midway.
That congestion gave the eighth starting Burgtorf the opportunity to make up ground and he pulled even with Neal before the frontrunners split a lapped car on lap 24. Burgtorf emerged from that maneuver with the lead, which he never relinquished. Four lapped cars separated Burgtorf and Neal at the checkers.
The previous top car count for a Deery event at Davenport was 56, set on May 18 of 1999. Night two of a weekend tripleheader takes the series to Jackson County Speedway in Maquoketa on Saturday. The tour travels to Quincy, Ill., on Sunday.
Deery Brothers @ Davenport: (1) Mark Burgtorf, (2) Terry Neal, (3) Jeff Aikey, (4) Tom Darbyshire, (5) Jason Frankel, (6) Dan Shelliam, (7) Ray Guss Jr., (8) Tommy Elston, (9) Boone McLaughlin, (10) Terry Schlipman, (11) Matt Ryan, (12) Rob Toland, (13) Jay Johnson, (14) Keith Pratt, (15) Robby Warner, (16) Nate Beuseling, (17) Luke Merfeld, (18) Bryan Klein, (19) Colby Springsteen, (20) Justin Kay, (21) T.J. Criss, (22) Justin Reed, (23) Adam Oppendike, (24) Andy Nezworski. Heat race winners (among 60 cars): Shelliam, Frankel, Burgtorf, Guss, Neal, Darbyshire. Consolation winners: Elston, Ryan, Oppendike.
