Campbell, Bursley, Tillema, Jewett claim Anniversary victories; Benson finishes third in Late Model feature
MARNE, MI – Berlin Raceway celebrated the 56th anniversary of this historic track Saturday night, and a packed house was witness to some great racing from Berlin's four local divisions and the visiting Vintage Racing Organization of America. Fans also got a bonus as NASCAR Craftsman Truck driver Johnny Benson took advantage of a weekend off to join the Coors Light Late Model field as a final tune-up for "The Chet" 100-lapper scheduled for August 16. Six laps were added to each of the four local division features in celebration of 56th Anniversary Night presented by Kerkstra Septic and Portable Toilets, and a total of 19 races packed the show before an anniversary fireworks show.

In the 31-lap De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock feature, the early battle on the track was for second as #55 Dave Lake and #76 Brian Tillema challenged second-place #77 Andrew Nylaan. Tillema won the battle, getting by Nylaan for second on lap 15. Tillema then moved to the high side of leader #52 Bruce Chase, but as he pulled alongside Chase to make a play for the lead, #99 Todd Root spun in turn 1 to bring out the first caution of the race. On the re-start, #3 Travis Nylaan checked up and got together with #61 Jack DeJong; both cars spun on the frontstretch. Back under green, Tillema was right on the bumper of leader Chase, trying the inside line unsuccessfully for the pass. On lap 25 Tillema switched it up and went for the high side, and this time it worked as he took the lead and coasted home the final six laps for his fourth victory of the season. Lake finished second, followed by Chase, Andrew Nylaan and #23 Chris Koslek.

In the 26-lap Standale Lumber Sportsman feature, caution on lap 2 as #21 Tim Greene hit the wall hard. #00 Dennis Mann and #9 Jeff Sterken were also involved. No one was hurt, but Greene's car needed two wreckers to carry it back to the pits. The #6 car of Terry Bockheim was on the move after having to race his way in to the 22-car feature via the last-chance race, up to 6th position by lap 9. #22 Ken Roelofs led the first 12 laps before #51 Weston Jewett took over the lead spot. Jewett opened up a comfortable 20 car-length lead over Roelofs, who was 10 car lengths ahead of the rest of the field. But from third on back, the pack was tight, as Stormzand held off #5 Jack Russell for third position. Jewett held his comfortable lead and crossed the stripe first to win his second straight and second career feature. Roelofs held on for second, followed by Stormzand, Russell and #5 Brian Van Zalen.

Next up was the Coors Light Late Model feature. #57 Alan Marcott shot out to a quick lead from the pole position with a great jump on the start, but one lap later his nice lead was erased when #12 Tim DeVos made a rare spin to bring out the caution. Marcott again got a good start, but #21 Terry Van Haitsma quickly reeled him in as Marcott slowed with engine problems. Van Haitsma and his teammate, #47 Fred Campbell jumped out to a big lead, racing together throughout the first 24 laps. But on lap 25, the two lead cars hit each other, bouncing Van Haitsma off the wall and causing Campbell to spin in turn 2. Both cars were sent to the back of the field for bringing out the caution. #X Ray Clay inherited the lead, with #10 Johnny Benson, who started 14th, charging up into fourth. #77 Brian Campbell took the lead on lap 34, then one lap later #82 Tom Thomas also got around Clay for second. The lead cars ran single file for the next three laps until #33 Monte Tolan slapped the frontstretch wall to bring out another caution. Back under green, Benson challenged Clay for third while the leaders drove away, finally taking the position on lap 46. A lap 50 spin by #18 Keith Herp gave Benson an opportunity to challenge the leaders, but Campbell and Thomas were too strong. Brian Campbell claimed the checkered flag in the 56-lap feature, followed by Thomas, Benson, #33 Dave Stehouwer and Van Haitsma, who climbed all the way back into fifth after being sent to the rear of the field.

The Engine Pro Super Stock feature started right off with a first-lap caution for a spin by #13 James Haney. #27 Bill Shotko led the first 10 laps before spinning in turn 2 and being sent to the rear. Seventeen-year-old rookie #12 Josh Slade inherited the lead, while rookie #15 Pete Ruttan followed in close pursuit. On lap 14 #23 Mike Bursley put away Slade to move into second. Bursley and Slade waged a battle for the lead on lap 24, and Slade proved that the lead position wasn't a lucky spot tonight when he spun on the backstretch trying to hold off Bursley. With Bursley inheriting the lead and the laps winding down, several cautions slowed the pace. A final caution on lap 33, in which #10 Bob Spencer hit the inside retaining wall hard, forced out the yellow-checker to finish the race under caution due to curfew limits. Bursley was declared the winner, followed by #19 Nick Shotko, Ruttan, #1 Brian Wiersma and #71 Dan Vander Molen.

The Vintage Racing Organization of America also made a special visit to Berlin as part of the annual Anniversary Night festivities, and #00 Nate Bennett claimed the feature win in their 20-lap race earlier in the evening. The night was capped off with a post-race fireworks show.   Complete race results and point standings are available online at www.berlinraceway.com.

Racing resumes next Saturday, August 5, for a 4-in-1 show presented by Lane Automotive, with Lane Automotive/Holley Heat Race Challenge Night as well as Spectator Drags. Tickets are $12 for adults, half price for kids 6 to 12 and free for kids 5 and under. Pit passes for those 16 and over are $25.

Klash Photos:  
By:  Tom Devette

Johnny and Scott Bloomquist	Johnny's late model
Tom Thomas and Johnny	In victory lane

Johnny Wins the Klash! 
It's not often that race car drivers wash their own windshields, but that's just what Johnny Benson Jr. was doing during a 15-minute mandatory pit stop before dominating the second half of the Kalamazoo Klash and pocketing the $25,000 winner's check.

That's in addition to the $1,000 he won for being the leader at the midway point of the 200-lap race at the Kalamazoo Speedway, where almost 6,000 fans were on hand for the Wednesday night show.

``Having 71 cars show up for this race was awesome,'' said Benson, the Grand Rapids native who now lives in Cornelius, N.C. ``You don't get any better than that on a short track.  ``And good guys went home from this race, so that shows you how competitive it is. It was just a great race for us.''    Twenty-six cars made the field for the main event and 14 were still running at the end.

Tom Thomas, of Grand Rapids, was second, earning $8,000. Phil Massuch, of Eaton Rapids, was third, winning $5,000.   Thomas actually took the lead on lap 104, but Benson reclaimed it by lap 122.  ``I think (Benson) was playing old NASCAR mind tricks on me,'' Thomas said. ``He had a helluva car. He was playing with me. I could hear him getting on and off the gas at will.  ``I knew he had the much better car. At that point, I did all I could to hold onto second. I can't believe we did it.''

Benson admitted that he was toying with Thomas at first.  ``Maybe just at the beginning, but not at the end,'' Benson said. ``I wasn't wanting to set that fast a pace, so I was gonna let him go, and then I thought, naw, just keep letting him know I'm there, maybe he'll work a little harder than he needs to.

``I've known Tom for a long time. We could have went 100 laps like that and it would have been clean and it would have been great but, out front, nice and clean, and nothing in front of you is a lot better than racing with somebody side by side. So I just had to go.''   NASCAR driver Benson collects $25,000 prize at Kalamazoo Speedway.  (07-20-06)

Popular 56th Anniversary Night up next;
Benson expected to race
MARNE MI - After taking last week off for the Berlin Fair, racing action at Berlin Raceway resumes this Saturday, July 29, for the 56th Anniversary Night presented by Kerkstra Septic and Portable Toilets. The event, revered in the racing community as a celebration of the historic track's 56 years of racing, will include 19 races in five separate racing divisions. In addition to Berlin's weekly Coors Light Late Model, Engine Pro Super Stock, De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock and Standale Lumber Sportsman series, a special appearance by the traveling Vintage Racing Organization of America will round out the show.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver and Grand Rapids native Johnny Benson is expected to make an unscheduled visit to Berlin Saturday to race his Coors Light Late Model. Benson is taking advantage of a weekend off for the Truck Series, where he sits in third place in the points battle. It will be Benson's third visit to the track this season and will be a final tune-up for the upcoming "The Chet" presented by Comerica Bank, a 100-lap Coors Light Late Model race featuring Benson and NASCAR Nextel Cup star Kyle Bush, which is scheduled for Wednesday, August 16.

Saturday's race recognizes the 56th anniversary of the historic raceway, which opened in 1951 and has been one of the region's top short tracks for stock car racing ever since. In recognition of the anniversary, each of the four weekly division features will race an extra six laps. As part of the celebration of Berlin Raceway's history, both the Grand Rapids Antique Car Club and the Gilmore Car Museum will have cars on display at the track. Anniversary night is perennially one of the highest-attended nights on the Berlin schedule.

On the track, points battles in the four local divisions are heating up as just eight races remain in the points season. In the Coors Light Late Model division, just 154 points separate first through fifth position, and the five drivers have a combined 116 years of racing and 17 Late Model championships between them. Tom Thomas of Grandville (13 years experience, looking for his first championship) leads the way with 1,620 points, while Randy Sweet (34 points back, 42 years experience and five championships), Terry Van Haitsma (47 points back and just 3 years of experience), Fred Campbell (140 points back, 30 years experience, a record 10 championships) and Tim DeVos (154 points back, 28 years experience and two championships) are in the hunt.

The chase is even tighter in the Engine Pro Super Stock division, as points leader Nick Shotko of Allendale looks for his first championship in his seven years at Berlin. Shotko will have to hold off 33-year veteran Bob Bliss as he also chases his first championship and is just 21 points behind Shotko. Mike Bursley and Brian Wiersma are 86 and 109 points back, respectively. The De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock division is led by Dave Lake of Howard City. Lake's six feature wins have propelled him to a comfortable 161-point lead over Brian Tillema and 298 points over Chris Koslek, but with a maximum of 210 points to be had in one night of racing, anything can happen. Finally, in the Standale Lumber Sportsman division, Tim Greene of Belding and Shawn Simon of Rockford are in a virtual dead heat, with 2,239 and 2,223 points respectively. Brian VanZalen is in third, 221 points behind the leader.

The Vintage Racing Organization of America series (VROA) is based in West Michigan and Northern Indiana and features cars built with pre-1949 steel bodies made in North America. The cars are open-wheel race cars with no fender. This is VROA's 13th year of racing and fifth year at Berlin Raceway.  The night will be capped off with a fireworks display following the final race.

Tickets for Anniversary Night are $12 for adults, $6 for kids 6-12 and free for kids 5 and under. Pit passes are $25 (16 and older; available day of race only). Advance tickets can be purchased at the Berlin Raceway administrative office (2060 Berlin Fair Drive, Marne, MI) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets are also available by phone to Berlin Raceway at (616) 677-5000 or online at www.berlinraceway.com. Gates open Saturday at 12:15 p.m. and the first race begins at 7 p.m. 

ARCA Returns to Berlin Raceway
Second-generation ARCA RE/MAX Series racer Brian Keselowski, in the no. 29 Holloway Motorsports-Dusty's Collision Dodge, held off late-races charges from veteran Frank Kimmel and rookie Blake Bjorklund to earn his career-first victory in the Sara Lee-GFS Marketplace 200 Saturday night at Berlin Raceway.  Complete Story


Rookie Bjorklund Earns Pork Pole at Berlin
Rookie-of-the-Year contender Blake Bjorklund, in the No. 32 Country Joe Racing Dodge, earned his career first Pork Pole Award Saturday evening at Berlin Raceway, circling the .4-mile short-track in 17.714 seconds (89.014 mph). 

“We thought we had a better long run car than a pole car,” said Bjorklund. “But we ended up running a pretty fast lap. This Pork Pole award means a lot to me, in terms of adding to my racing resume. But really, a victory tonight would mean so much more.”  

Bjorklund’s fast lap puts him on the pole for tonight’s Sara Lee/GFS Marketplace 200. Dallas, Texas’ Ken Weaver starts on the outside front row in his No. 20 Phoneco/1-800-4-A-Phone Dodge, posting a 17.766 second lap (88.754 mph). 

Challenging Night in Memphis
It was not a good points night for Johnny and the #23 Bill Davis Racing Team in the Memphis heat.  Johnny finished 32nd and moved into third place in the point standings.  PR to follow. 

Johnny Featured in the Grand Rapids Press
Be sure to check Sunday's Grand Rapids Press paper this weekend (07/16).  Johnny is scheduled to be featured on the front page in the "Your Life" section.  (07-14-06)

Fourth in Kentucky
Johnny and the #23 Bill Davis Team overcame adversity with damage to the front nose on an early restart to record another top 5 finish.  Johnny now moves into 2nd place in the championship point standings.  PR to follow.   (07-09-06)

Cherry Festival
The #23 Toyota Tundra show truck sponsored by Toyota Certified Used Vehicles is scheduled to be on display at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City from July 1 - 8.   (07-02-06)

Johnny Finishes 9th in Kansas
It was another top ten finish for Johnny and the #23 Bill Davis Racing team.  PR to follow. 

Momentum Tours 
Ticket / Bus Packages from Grand Rapids, MI are now available for the Nextel Cup Race at MIS on Sunday, August 20th ($145 / $175) and for Richmond International Speedway during the weekend of September 7th - 10th ($695).  Contact Ken Knoll at Momentum Sports for complete information at 616-249-8687 or www.msportstours.com    (07-02-06)