It was a cold weekend weatherwise, but that didn't stop the fans from coming and 116 race teams from racing Saturday Night at West Liberty.

Tiffin's Denny Eckrich started on the pole and had dropped back to 3rd before finding his groove and driving off to the IMCA Deery Brothers 40 lap late model feature win to start off the 2016 season. Eckrich passed Jeff Aikey for the lead following a lap 14 restart and checked out on the rest of the field from that point. The win paid $2,000 and was the fourth IMCA Deery career win for Eckrich. Aikey, two-time defending series champion Justin Kay, Richie Gustin and Matt Ryan completed the top five for the season opener.

In the IMCA Modified division, Matt "Bones" Bodeman made his return to racing after a 5 year layoff and took the checkers ahead of Ken Kostenbader. Cedar Rapids native Johnny Spaw came from the back of the pack to take the IMCA Stock car win ahead of David Brandies. Tyler Soppe came down to West Liberty from the Dubuque area and scored the IMCA Sportmod win ahead of Brett Lowrey. The IMCA Sport Compact win went to Steve Stuck who raced to the checkers ahead of Shane Evans.

The West Liberty Raceway will host the Modified Extravanganza on Saturday, April 16 with both Modified classes racing for extra money. All classes will race with the exception of the Late Models. The regular IMCA Weekly Racing season will get underway at West Liberty on April 23rd with all five classes in action. Hot laps will get underway at 6:30 pm with racing at 7 pm on Saturday nights.

Feature results – 1. Denny Eckrich, Tiffin; 2. Jeff Aikey, Cedar Falls; 3. Justin Kay, Wheatland; 4. Richie Gustin, Gilman; 5. Matt Ryan, Davenport; 6. Tyler Bruening, Decorah; 7. Ryan Dolan, Lisbon; 8. Kevin Kile, West Liberty; 9. John Emerson, Waterloo; 10. Jon Merfeld, Dubuque; 11. Jonathan Brauns, Muscatine; 12. Chad Holladay, Muscatine; 13. Ron Boyse, Kalona; 14. Jay Johnson, West Burlington; 15. Kyle Hinrichs, Swisher; 16. Andy Nezworski, Buffalo; 17. Nick Marolf, Wilton; 18. Andy Eckrich, Oxford; 19. Ray Guss Jr., Milan, Ill.; 20. Joe Zrostlik, Long Grove; 21. Brunson Behning, Davenport; 22. Rob Toland, Davenport; 23. Tyler Droste, Waterloo; 24. Scott Fitzpatrick, Wheatland.

1st heat (top three) – 1. Kay; 2. Aikey; 3. Behning; 4. Gustin; 5. Merfeld; 6. Hinrichs; 7. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown; 8. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque; 9. Ryan Claeys, Morrison, Ill.

2nd heat – 1. Denny Eckrich; 2. Ryan; 3. Droste; 4. Zrostlik; 5. Guss; 6. Corey Zeitner, Omaha, Neb.; 7. Jeremy Grady, Story City; 8. Gary Webb, Blue Grass; 9. Curt Schroeder, Newton.

3rd heat – 1. Marolf; 2. Dolan; 3. Kile; 4. Andy Eckrich; 5. Boyse; 6. Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa; 7. Holladay; 8. Joel Callahan, Dubuque; 9. Jon Poll, Delmar.

4th heat – 1. Johnson; 2. Toland; 3. Fitzpatrick; 4. Emerson; 5. Bruening; 6. Brauns; 7. Nezworski; 8. Eric Pollard, Peosta; 9. Kip Siems, Cedar Falls.

1st “B feature (top six) – 1. Gustin; 2. Boyse; 3. Andy Eckrich; 4. Merfeld; 5. Hinrichs; 6. Holladay; 7. Carter; 8. Callahan; 9. Hurst; 10. DeFrance; 11. Poll; 12. Claeys.

2nd “B” feature – 1. Bruening; 2. Guss; 3. Emerson; 4. Zrostlik; 5. Nezworski; 6. Brauns; 7. Zeitner; 8. Grady; 9. Webb; 10. Schroeder; 11. Pollard; 12. Siems.

Dash for cash – 1. Zeitner; 2. Carter; 3. Callahan; 4. Webb; 5. DeFrance; 6. Pollard; 7. Siems; 8. Schroeder; 9. Grady; 10. Hurst; 11. Poll; 12. Claeys.

Support Division Feature Results (top 5)

Performance Concepts IMCA Modifieds
1 Matt Bodeman-Muscatine
2 Ken Kostenbader-Freeport, IL
3 Mark Schulte-Delhi
4 Colt Mather-Webster
5 Chris Zogg-New Liberty

Kile Motorsports IMCA Stock Cars
1 Johnny Spaw-Cedar Rapids
2 David Brandies-Wilton
3 Adam Bell-Fryetown
4 Greg Gill-Muscatine
5 John Hemsted-Lone Tree

Weikert Iron & Metal IMCA Sportmods
1 Tyler Soppe-Sherril
2 Brett Lowrey-Montezuma
3 Dalton Simonsen-Fairfax
4 Carter VanDenburg-Oskaloosa
5 Cody Harris-Wilton

US 6 Bodyworks IMCA Sport Compacts
1 Steve Struck-Atalissa
2 Shane Evans-West Liberty
3 Jake Benishek-Durant
4 Levi Heath-Wilton
5 Jason Klerkderus-Wilton

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