Kyle Busch Looking Forward to Berlin Raceway

NASCAR star Kyle Busch looks forward to shot at short track drivers at Berlin Raceway

Steve Kaminski |
The Grand Rapids Press

MARNE -- NASCAR Sprint Cup spent this past weekend tearing around Michigan International Speedway, but drivers Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger and Bill Elliott appear to be in no hurry to leave the state.

All three have stuck around for Tuesday’s 7 p.m. program at the Berlin Raceway.

Busch, who is second in the Sprint Cup point standings, will be competing in the night’s main event, the Rowdy’s Revenge 251. The winner could earn up to $25,000, based on car count.

Allmendinger is entered in the 50-lap Modified feature. It will be Allmendinger’s first race in a Modified.

Elliott will be signing autographs and working with his son, Chase Elliott, 14. Chase is scheduled to compete in the Rowdy’s Revenge, which is a template body Late Model race.

The three arrived Monday after completing Sunday’s race at MIS and met with area media. Busch trails Kevin Harvick by 22 points in the Cup standings, but he said he will worry about the likes of Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon when he gets to Sonoma, Calif., later this week for Sunday’s Cup race.

For now, his only focus is winning Tuesday's race.

ROWDY'S REVENGE 251
When, where: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Berlin Raceway in Marne

Who to watch: Kyle Busch will be competing in the Late Model race, while A.J. Allmendinger will be racing in the Modified main. Bill Elliott will be signing autographs.

Tickets: Adults $20, seniors 60-and-up $18, children 6-12 $5 and 5-and-under free
“When you come out here and race, you are racing against the best of the best in the Late Model ranks, guys who might not get a shot to move up to the big leagues, but these guys are really good,” Busch said. “It gives them a chance to race against me, but I get a chance to race against some of the best short track racers.”

Allmendinger will be racing the Modified that area car owners Jeff Striegle, Norm Jelsema and Mike Bursley built this offseason, with proceeds raised from the car’s efforts this season being donated to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Allemdinger drives the No. 43 Ford Fusion for car owner Richard Petty in Sprint Cup, and Striegle, of Byron Center, is a reporter for the Motorsports Racing Network. Striegle invited Allmendinger to come to Berlin earlier this season.

“I like new challenges,” said Allmendinger, who is 22nd in the Cup point standings. “To be able to come to a place that is very unique in its own right is going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it.

“When Jeff Striegle came over to me this year in Fontana and asked me to come out and try this and come to Berlin for this race and to be able to do something new and for a great cause, the Helen DeVos Children’s Foundation, it was something for me that I wasn’t going to say no."