APRIL News

Congrats!
To Myra Kieller on winning the JBFC Annual Contest - where will Johnny finish 2nd?  This came at the Kansas Speedway last weekend.  Congratulations - Myra!  Runner-up finisher was Keith Wright.

Congrats! 

To L. Wohner for her winning bid!  She is getting a victory lane hat from Kentucky (July 19, 2008) personally autographed by Johnny. 

Four Races Identify Contenders
Media prognosticators recently tabbed Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Longhorn Chevrolet) to win a record fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in 2009.

A triple-digit deficit can be overcome. Five champions have come from 100 or more points off the lead four races into the season. Benson (2008) and Hornaday (2007) each left Martinsville Speedway 144 points in the hole. One hundred twenty-one points is the difference between first and fifth this year.       
 

Congratulations!

Al Unser Wins Race
Al Unser Jr. added another notch to his “King of the Beach” belt by winning the overall crown at today’s Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.

Unser started 30 seconds behind the celebrity field with the rest of the pro drivers and started working his way through the field almost from the green flag.  He took the lead on lap 8 and cruised to the checkered flag.

Behind him, Celebrity polesitter Danny Way held the early lead before giving way to Unser, then went too hot into Turn 1 and crashed into the tire barriers, virtually handing the Celebrity category win to Keane Reeves, who finished 4th overall.

Pro drivers Johnny Benson and Tom Rudnai finished behind Unser Jr. in the annual 10-lap race for charity.   For complete coverage / photos on the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race - click here

NASCAR Goes Pink
The NASCAR Foundation has announced that the annual NASCAR Day will “Go Pink” as it teams with Fox Sports Supports and Susan G. Komen for the Cure April 24-26 to fight breast cancer.

Celebrated on May 15, NASCAR Day is an opportunity for fans, corporations, schools and organizations to donate to The NASCAR Foundation to raise funds for children.

Through the partnership between The NASCAR Foundation, FOX Sports Supports and Komen for the Cure, a portion of the net proceeds will benefit Komen for the Cure, supporting the goal of raising money for the fight against breast cancer. The money will support the Susan G. Komen Scholarship Fund, which is designed for children whose mothers died of breast cancer.  More

Congrats! 

Berlin Raceway 2009 Racing Season Set to Start Saturday
Berlin Raceway's 59th consecutive season is set to begin Saturday Night.  The 2009 season is packed with racing action from not only Berlin's local divisions, but from visiting series as well.  Car counts are excellent heading in to 2009 as pit road has been filled up with reserved spots.
 
The first time the cars were able to hit the track, more than 80 cars came out to shake down their cars at last Saturday's Test & Tune.
 
Saturday's opening night program includes points races for four of Berlin's five weekly series: the Coors Light Late Models, Engine Pro Super Stocks, Kerkstra Services Pro Stocks and Young Guns.  The Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinders will have their first race on Saturday, April 25.  More

Congrats!

To Chuck Youcheff who had the winning bid for the 2008 Victory Lane Milwaukee hat personally signed by Johnny.. 
 

Happy Easter! 

The JBFC would like to wish you and your families a Happy Easter!


Test-n-Tune this Saturday!

The Berlin Raceway will officially swing the gates open for the first on-track practice session of the 2009 season, this coming Saturday afternoon April 11! Race teams from around the area are expected to shakedown their race cars for the first time, provided mother nature cooperates.

Gates open at noon, with cars on the track from 1-5:00 p.m.  Race fans are welcome to come get a glimpse of the new rides and new grandstands, with free General Admission seating. A second test session will be held on Wednesday night April 15, from 4-8:00 p.m., and CARSTAR Opening Night is April 18! Please call 616-662-2051 for more information.
 

Berlin Raceway will allow 4-Cylinder drivers to practice this Saturday and next Wednesday without the right front safety wheel. We understand that there have been delays from the manufacturer in getting the wheels, however they still will be mandatory for the first 4-Cylinder race on April 25.

Series Sponsor Update
Sources confirmed to SPEEDtv.com late Monday that Camping World intends to remain as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Published reports said NASCAR was shopping for a replacement Truck Series sponsor for Camping World, which is in the first year of a multi-year agreement with the sanctioning body. But a spokesperson for the retailer said the company is actually helping locate a replacement sponsor for the Camping World East and West Series. Camping World previously had announced that 2009 would be its last year as title sponsor for the East and West Series. “We have no intention at this point of trying to pull out of the Truck Series,” said Diana Ardelean of Camping World. “We’re very excited and fully in support of the Truck Series.” (Speedtv.com)


Contest Winner
Congratulations to Sandi Biedeman who won the Annual JBFC contest - when will Johnny finish 4th.  Sandi predicted that Martinsville Speedway would be the race.  Sandy Handley was the runner up.


Teams Gain Starting Spots
Nine teams not locked into NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events when the season started have gained guaranteed starting spots for the April 25 race at Kansas Speedway.

The Truck series, which locks in as many as 30 of the 36 starting spots based on owners points, begins using the current year’s owners points with its fifth race of the season. Teams must attempt to qualify for every series' race to be eligible for a locked-in position.

Only 28 teams have fielded cars in every race this year, so all of them will be locked in for the Kansas race. Of those 28, there were just 19 that were locked in for the first five races.

Those 28 teams will remain locked in as long as they continue to attempt races.

The teams that were previously not guaranteed a starting spot who are now are Randy Moss Motorsports’ No. 5 (Mike Skinner), HT Motorsports’ No. 25 (Terry Cook), Premier Racing’s No. 17 (Timothy Peters), Red Horse Racing’s No. 1 (Johnny Benson), Fast Track Racing’s No. 48 (Bryan Silas, Dennis Setzer, Hermie Sadler), GunBroker.com Racing’s No. 23 (Jason White), GunBroker.com Racing’s No. 21 (Dennis Setzer, Marc Mitchell, Johnny Chapman, Ryan Sieg), Fast Track Racing’s No. 47 (Brandon Knupp, Brett Butler) and Norm Benning Racing’s No. 57 (Norm Benning).