A Look at the Supermodified
Photos by:  Johnny

Internet Access for Berlin Races
Berlin Raceway's race broadcast and Tuesday night Trackside Show can  be streamed on the internet at www.107mus.com.  Race broadcasts begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday nights. Berlin's one-hour weekly racing roundup, The Trackside Show, airs from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights. Both programs air on WMUS 107 FM (106.9) in Muskegon.  Fans can access the live streamed broadcast directly from www.107mus.com or from www.berlinraceway.com.
 

Open Wheel Extravaganza offers rare ISMA / AVSS combo plus Midgets, Vintage Racers

A wild weekend is in the works at Berlin Raceway! On September 30, Berlin Raceway hosts the season finale Open Wheel Extravaganza presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper, a gathering of six different open-wheel style racing series competing in four features. The excitement level will be high with the super-quick, super-loud radical open-wheel cars tearing up the track.

Double-headlining the event are the International Supermodified Association (ISMA), returning to Berlin Raceway for the first time since 2002, and the Auto Value Super Sprints (AVSS), making their third visit to Berlin this season. These two series are the fastest short track cars in the country and will compete head-to-head for bragging rights as to which series is the fastest in the land. It's a rare opportunity for fans to see both the ISMA and AVSS series racing at the same track; the two series have never raced together at Berlin Raceway and have only competed together at two other tracks (Toledo and Cayuaga, Ontario). Auto Value Super Sprints star Cameron Dodson holds the current Berlin Raceway speed record, a blistering 12.946-second lap (121.798 mph) on September 3, 2005.

A special bonus for race fans is the entry of Johnny Benson Jr. in the ISMA series for a one-night engagement. It will be the first time ever that Benson, a former Berlin track champion in a Late Model stock car, will be racing the type of car that made his father, John Benson Sr., famous back in the 1960's. Benson Jr., who was born with racing in his blood thanks to his father, went on to win an ASA championship, a NASCAR Busch Series championship and NASCAR Winston Cup (NEXTEL Cup) Rookie of the Year honors and is currently in second place in the points standings in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Now he's branching out from stock car racing and following in his father's footsteps.

The Auto Value Super Sprints will crown their 2006 champion in their season finale at Berlin Raceway. Tommy Fedewa of Leslie, MI, is the current points leader.

Also racing in a rare triple-sanctioned Midget event are the United States Auto Club Regional Series (USAC, out of Indiana and Ohio); the United Midget Auto Racing Association (UMARA, out of Illinois and Wisconsin); and the Wolverine Outlaw Midgets (WOWMS) out of Michigan. The three midget series race in a triple-sanctioned feature five times in 2006 and Berlin Raceway is priviledged to host one of those five races. The Wolverine Outlaws will remove their wings in order to conform to the body styles of the other two series.

Berlin hosted the USAC Ford Focus Midgets earlier this season; the regional USAC series competing next week is a step up from the Ford Focus series, with more powerful engines and faster speeds. A name to watch in the Midget race is Stephanie Mockler, one of the top up-and-coming talents in USAC. She competed in last year's in USAC Ford Focus Midgets event at Berlin and has moved up to the Regional series for 2006.

Finally, the Vintage Racing Organization of America series (VROA) will return for the second time this season. The 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 fenders. This is VROA's 13th year of racing and fifth year at Berlin Raceway.

Mike Strevel, Berlin Raceway's Director of Race Operations, said he's been looking forward to this event all season long.

"When we had the opportunity to add the Auto Value Super Sprints to what was already an outstanding lineup, I knew this was going to be a great event," Strevel said. "I've been to Toledo when AVSS and ISMA have raced on the same night and it really blew me away. It's non-stop exciting race action for the fans. I'm also very happy to have the triple-sanctioned Midgets here; they don't race together very often so it's a special night that guarantees a great car count of quality midgets in the feature."

Gates open on September 30 for the Open Wheel Extravaganza at 12 p.m. and the first race gets under way at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, half price for kids 6 to 12 and free for 5 and under. Pit passes for those 16 and over are $25.

A special outside event at Berlin Raceway is scheduled for the following Saturday, October 7. "Bus Mania" is a compilation of five popular "fun" races, including the largest School Bus Races in track history, with 12 buses racing all at once! Also scheduled are Train Races, Spectator Drags, Powder Puff Races and Trash Can Bowling. Hot dogs and 12 oz. beers will be on special for $1 each. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the fun begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for kids 12 and under.

Benson to race in Supermodified at Berlin
 Johnny Benson Jr., a Grand Rapids native who grew up watching his father win dozens of races driving a supermodified car at Berlin Raceway in the 1960's, is about to add another "first" to his long list of racing accomplishments. Benson, a former Berlin track champion in a Late Model stock car, went on to win an ASA championship, a NASCAR Busch Series championship and NASCAR Winston Cup (NEXTEL Cup) Rookie of the Year honors and is currently in second place in the points standings in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Now he's branching out from stock car racing and following in his father's footsteps. Benson has confirmed that he will race a supermodified car for the first time ever on Saturday, September 30, in an ISMA Supermodified race.                 

Supermodified cars, as the name implies, are the most radical-looking winged open-wheel cars in the country, one of the fastest types of cars to ever take the track at Berlin (see photo attached). The ISMA Supermodifieds are one of several open-wheel series that will invade Berlin on September 30 for the season finale Open Wheel Extravaganza presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper; joining the ISMAs will be the Auto Value Super Sprints, the Vintage Racing Organization of America and the triple-sanctioned USAC/UMARA/WOWMS Midgets.

Tickets for the extravaganza are $20 for adults and half price for kids 6 to 12. Pit passes are $25 for those 16 and over. Kids 5 and under are free. Gates open at 12:15 p.m. and the first race begins at 7 p.m.

Win a 1:24 #23 Toyota Diecast
Here’s your chance to win a 1:24 #23 Toyota Tundra Diecast sponsored by Toyota Certified Used Vehicles. All you need to do is watch Johnny race the Supermodified at Berlin Raceway on September 30th. You may register at the JBFC table on the Berlin concourse or mail your race ticket to the fan club address. The winner will be announced in the next newsletter.  You must be a fan club member to enter. 

Remembering September 11th
The JBFC would like to send our thought to the JB fans who were directly affected by September 11th.  Today is a day of reflection on what happened five years ago today.  We will never forget .... 

A Fan Remembers
By:  Eric Tucker
Just wanted to take a moment of reflection for the loss our country suffered 5 years ago today. One of my colleagues was on the plane that hit the Pentagon and I was in DC that morning and was actually able to look out my office window and see the smoke rising from across the Potomac.

It took over 3 hours to get home once they evacuated the downtown business district and I will always remember driving up I95 once I finally got out of the city and seeing some unknown person holding a US Flag on an overpass and waving to the cars below.

For some reason, I have also always thought that Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is particularly appropriate to remember the 9-11 victim as well, so I share it with you here.

The Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Congratulations
The JBFC would like to congratulate the 2006 Berlin Champions.  They include:  Tom Thomas, Nick Shotko, Dave Lake and Shawn Simon. 

Congratulations
To Kurt May of Michigan who had the winning bid for the 1:24 diecast sponsored by Toyota Certified Used Vehicles.  This auction benefits the Johnny Benson Foundation. Thank you for your support. 

Berlin Raceway 2006 Champions
to be crowned Saturday
Good Luck, Tom!

Berlin Raceway's 2006 points season comes to an end Saturday Night, September 9, on Championship Night presented by Westside Mortgage. Champions in all four local divisions will be crowned following the final points races of the year. Although none of the four divisions' leaders have officially clinched the championship, what we know for sure is that all four divisions will see first-time champions since none of the eight contenders have ever won a points championship.

It would take a major mishap for Grandville's Tom Thomas to lose his hold on the championship in the Coors Light Late Model division, one that has been just outside his grasp for the past decade. Thomas, with 2,574 points, holds a 72-point lead over Hudsonville's Terry Van Haitsma, last year's Late Model Rookie of the Year. Thomas is known as one of the most consistent drivers in the division, boasting four wins and 13 top five finishes without ever finishing below 10th place in 16 races this season. He has been knocking on the championship door for nine of his 10 years in the division, finishing between third and fifth place in the point standings in every year dating back to 1998. Van Haitsma, one of the youngest drivers in Berlin's top division at 26 years of age, has yet to win a feature but has earned 10 top five finishes and 12 top 10 finishes on the season. Also not mathematically eliminated from championship contention is 40-year veteran Randy Sweet, who sits 148 points behind Thomas. With a maximum of 210 points and a minimum of 91 points available to a driver who starts all events (qualifying, heat race and feature), Thomas, who will turn 33 on Sunday, just needs to start his events to eliminate Sweet; he would need to finish in the middle of the pack in all events to keep Van Haitsma from a shot at the championship.

The Engine Pro Super Stock division is a tighter race with just 51 points separating leader Nick Shotko from red-hot Mike Bursley, who has won three straight features and four of his last five races to close in on Shotko's lead. Shotko finished third in the points race a year ago and second in 2004 and is looking to finish at the top this year. The 26-year-old from Allendale is in his fourth season in Berlin's second-highest division and has three wins, 10 top 5's and 12 top 10's in 16 races this year. Shotko has been the fastest qualifier in his division an amazing nine times. Bursley, a 23-year-old from Zeeland, is the hottest driver in the division with six wins, finishing outside the top four only twice; the last time he was outside the top four was an 11th place finish on June 24. Bursley's dismal 20th-place showing on opening night is all that may keep him from celebrating a championship Saturday night. Bursley still has a chance to overtake Shotko but would need some major help on the final night of points racing. Bob Bliss sits 176 points back and is virtually eliminated from points contention.

Howard City's Dave Lake holds the most comfortable lead of anyone in any division, a 191-point margin over Byron Center's Brian Tillema in the De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock division. Both drivers have posted seven victories, and 32-year-old Tillema has been an impressive model of consistency by not finishing outside the top six all season long. But 39-year-old Lake, who has been the points runner-up the last two seasons and hasn't finished outside the top 3 in points since the year 2000, has excelled on the strength of his qualifying speeds and bonus points, having set fastest qualifying time five times this season and earning an additional 30 points by winning six Hard Charger awards. Lake's 191-point lead means that all he has to do is earn qualifying points - even last place qualifying points - on Saturday to clinch the championship.

In the closest points battle at Berlin, 32-year-old Shawn Simon of Rockford holds a 39-point lead over 27-year-old Tim Greene of Belding in the Standale Lumber Sportsman division, a race in which Greene held a 20-point advantage just two races ago. Simon, who won Rookie of the Year honors and finished second in points a year ago, has two feature wins, 14 top fives and has only finished outside the top 8 once this year. He has also posted six fastest qualifying times. For his part, Greene, who is also in just his second full season of racing, has six feature wins, 10 top five finishes and 14 top 10's, but has five finishes outside the top 13 dragging him down. Greene's 11 fast qualifying times and seven Hard Charger bonuses have kept him neck-and-neck with Simon for the championship. Greene was the fastest qualifier in the first seven races of the season; Simon was fastest in the last four races. The only other driver to earn a fast qualifying time was Weston Jewett, Coopersville High School's starting quarterback, who has two fast times and three feature wins but sits out of contention in fourth place, 379 points back. Andy Stormzand is in third in the points chase but at 170 points behind will be eliminated when either Simon or Greene get their car on the track for qualifying on Saturday. The Sportsman division championship is still up for grabs this Saturday and will make for an exciting final points race.

Tickets for Championship Night are $12 for adults, $6 for children 6-12 and free for 5 and under. Pit passes are $25.Gates open at 12:15 p.m. and the first race begins at 7 p.m.

Berlin's racing season doesn't end, however, with the crowning of the champions; three special events finish out the month of September and the 2006 season. The Boyne Machine 200, a two-day event with a $70,000+ purse, will be held on Friday and Saturday, September 15 and 16 (with School Bus races on Friday!), then the Speedbidz.com Shootout is scheduled for September 23. The season finale is September 30, the Open Wheel Extravaganza which includes the return of the Auto Value Super Sprints as well as the ISMA Supermodifieds, USAC/UMARA/WOWMS Midgets in a triple-sanctioned race, and the Vintage Racing Association of America.

Michael McDowell Chicagoland Race Preview
Johnny Helps ESR driver in Chicago Test
Race Televised on SPEED on 09/09/06 at 2:00 pm

With Impressive Debut Behind Him, Michael McDowell Headed to Chicago; ARCA Rookie Wants an Even Better Follow-Up after Racing in Top-Five at Milwaukee.

It didn't take a whole lot of time for everyone in the ARCA RE/MAX Series garage area to realize the talent of Michael McDowell at The Milwaukee Mile on August 27th. The 21-year-old already had an impressive racing resume to his name, but after racing inside the top-five in his first-ever ARCA race at Milwaukee, McDowell appears to be well on his way to one of the next young stars to be developed in the series by car owner Eddie Sharp.

Sommerville Wins Irving 250
Johnny Finishes 7th

Lonnie Sommerville made his first pro stock start of the season in a new car a memorable one – he won the Irving Oil 250 in front of over 7,500 fans. Sommerville took the lead on lap 159 and led the rest of the way except for one lap. Boundary Creek’s Dave O’Blenis finished second and Presque Ile’s Kirk Thibeau rounded out the top three.

Johnny in the #21
 

The race featured six leaders with several contenders eyeing the top spot throughout the night. Sommerville did not secure the win until the final lap as it looked like O’Blenis was baiting the hook for a late race charge right until the end. Although threatening as the laps wound down, O’Blenis could not close the gap sufficiently to pull beside the Saint John driver. In the end, Sommerville took the victory and led 91 laps in his #23 Oil Can Harry’s Monte Carlo walking away with a $19,550 payday.

O’Blenis, the 2002 race winner, had to settle with second on the podium for his #48 Burger King Fusion. Although the win wasn’t in the cards, he still walked away with a nice payday, taking home $6,700 in bonus lap money for leading a race high 134 laps, plus the $500 Riverview Halfway Challenge Award and the $500 Robin’s Inn Award for the highest finishing NBIS car. O’Blenis dominated the early portion of the car, accumulating all of his laps led before lap 140.

Thibeau, the winner of the inaugural Irving Oil 250 in 2001, ran a solid race in his #28 Grower’s Exchange Ford Fusion. He led the fewest laps of the podium finishers with two laps led, but he stayed out of trouble and ran a smart race in one of his few appearances of the season at the Geary oval.

The lead changed hands several times. In addition to the top three cars, John Flemming (4 laps), Scott Chubbuck (16), and Travis Benjamin (3) also led at different points in the night. Benjamin had another strong Irving Oil 250 showing with a fourth, while Flemming finished fifth after running with the leaders most of the night. PASS tour driver Johnny Clark finished sixth. Defending Irving Oil 250 champion Scott Chubbuck was in contention early on, but dropped back after spinning out. Shawn Tucker, another contender and the 2004 race champion, dropped out on lap 32 when his new ride suffered terminal mechanical difficulties. NASCAR’s Johnny Benson finished seventh, one lap down. 

Congratulations!

The JBFC would like to congratulate Tom Thomas on another win at Berlin Raceway.  Tom is currently leading the point standings in the late model division. 

Craftsman for a Cure Raises Money for Charities
When 'Craftsman For a Cure' was announced earlier this spring, event organizers from Craftsman Motorsports and Bobby Hamilton Racing had no idea what to expect from the first year event.  Today, after months of tallying donations and ticket and auction sales, the organizers of 'Craftsman For a Cure' announce that $66,711.83 was raised for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Photos of Johnny at NBIS
(From 2005)
 

JB Fan Sponsors Laps at NBIS
Special thanks to one of our online fans who is sponsoring 6 laps in the Irving 250 in honor of Johnny and johnnybenson.com.  The sponsored laps include lap 21, 21, 121, 123, 221 and 223.  Hopefully, Johnny will be leading one of those laps! 
 

NBIS Prepares for 5th Annual SPEEDWEEKEND
Irving 250 Highlights Weekend of Elite Racing

Geary may be but a small community on the New Brunswick map for most of the year, but for the past five years, it has become a hub of activity on Labor Day for one reason – Speedweekend. The region’s stock car fans descend on New Brunswick International Speedway from September 1st-4th to enjoy a weekend festival of stock car racing, highlighted by the Irving Oil 250. With less than a week to the big event, every indication is that the event will grow once again.

NBIS management will be working on the final preparations this week, but ready or not, Speedweekend kicks off with the free Bridges Farms Corn Boil on Friday night at 7pm (Sept 1). The racing starts at 7pm on Saturday, September 2nd with the O’Leary Pontiac Excitement Sportsman 150 and Atlantic Open Wheel (AOW) feature. Last year almost 40 sportsman attempted to qualify for 26 spots on the starting grid. “The sportsman race was originally a support class, but the Saturday show has evolved into a huge event of its own,” said co-owner Chris Johnston. “The car counts keep growing every year and we expect it will again this season.”

The big show is on Sunday, September 3rd with the Irving Oil Pro Stock 250 Presented by Coca Cola. A full card of racing is slated for the day with action starting at 2pm with pro stock qualifying another AOW feature, and a Street Stock 50 lapper. After a brief break in the action, the green flag for the 6th Annual Irving Oil 250 will drop at approximately 7pm. NBIS caps off the weekend with an Enduro 200 at 2pm on Monday, September 4th.

The Irving Oil 250 Presented by Coca Cola will showcase the NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stocks against the best pro stocks of the Eastern Canada and the New England including Busch East veteran Brad Leighton and NASCAR’s Johnny Benson. It is billed as the Largest Racing Event in Atlantic Canada with a purse OVER $60,000 with a possible winner’s cheque of $28,500. This includes a guaranteed $15,000 to the event winner. Initial estimates have the expected car in the area of 35-40 pro stocks from the Maritimes and Maine.  Visit www.nbisonline.com/250 for more info.