8/2/2021
Eric Blumer
Eberle trounces NASCAR's Moffitt and Wisconsin's Blumer at Vinton, IA INEX Go
Dave Eberle continues to terrorize Iowa's INEX Legend fields as he scored his seventh win of the season and claimed the $500 top prize, Sunday night at Vinton, Iowa's, Benton County Speedway Bullring. Eighteen cars, with drivers from five states took the green for the feature in the Racing for Autism event.
From his front row starting spot, Eberle took off at the drop of the green and amassed a half a straightaway lead in short order. Behind him, seven cars vied for the runner-up spot. A couple of cautions bunched the field during the 15-lap event, but the battling behind continued, while Eberle still went unchallenged.
Brett Moffitt (a former NASCAR Truck Series champion and current NASCAR Xfinity pilot) who started tenth, marched through the field and into second, after the cautions had flown and by then, Eberle had checked out.
Eric Blumer, who started sixth, tried everything to advance his position on Iowa's unfamiliar black clay. It was the 21 year old Sun Prairie, Wisconsin native's first race outside the land of cheese. Mostly any groove above the bottom proved fruitless, so he stayed low after passing one or two early running the rim. He was several lengths back from the runner up at the end.
The big payday for Eberle (and the minimum of $100 to start for the rest of the field) was supported by Legends Direct, an authorized Cedar Rapids, IA based INEX dealer. With sub-dealers in Iowa and Wisconsin, whether an INEX driver runs pavement or dirt in that region, there's usually a well-stocked Legends Direct trailer to fill their order and offer support.
Eberle and Moffitt took both heats and Moffitt was the "hard charger," advancing eight places in the main. After the races, Moffitt commented on how hard Legend cars are to get a handle on, indicating that the driver who had the least ill-handling machine would do the best.
The Iron Man award goes to Oshkosh, Wisconsin's Tim Franz who ran four nights in a row. He first run was in Maqouketa, Iowa on Thursday; running Gravity Park in Chilton, WI on Friday; Beaver Dam Raceway in WI Saturday and Benton Co. on Sunday. A quick calculation puts that at over 1000 miles and 16 hours on the road.
Photos: Dave Eberle runs on the inside while Iowa's Michael Weber in the #27 is on the outside waiting for the green flag in heat action.
Eric Blumer and Brett Moffitt (#64) go side by side in the first turn.
The Iron Man, Tim Franz in the #51 is ahead of NASCAR driver, Brett Moffitt, if only briefly.
Submitted By: William Blumer
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