Sunday, July 4, 2010

Berlin Raceway Storyline: July 3rd

Trio of young drivers earning experience in Berlin Raceway's Pro Stocks division

Steve Ungrey |
The Grand Rapids Press

MARNE -- Much like the minor leagues help baseball players prepare for life in the majors, the different racing classes at Berlin Raceway are like stepping stones for younger drivers.

For Brandon Hermiller, Lauren Bush and Mitch Meppelink, it’s almost like a small club.

The trio has experience in Arena Racing, and all three spent time last year on the Young Guns circuit before moving up to the Pro Stocks division.

Meppelink, who will be a sophomore at Zeeland West this fall, actually is one year too young to race in Pro Stocks, but Berlin officials “grandfathered” him in when Young Guns was discontinued following the 2009 season.

Bush and Hermiller had planned to move up to Pro Stocks anyway.

“I had done Arena Racing for two years and I’m in high school right now. You can miss out on a lot of stuff when you’re working on race cars,” Meppelink said. “I was a little intimidated when I stepped into Pro Stock. I’m thinking I don’t want to wreck any of these other drivers’ cars. Then you realize they drive just like you do.”

Meppelink began racing when he did go-karts as a younger child, but last year was his first in a big-size vehicle.

“I learned how to drive with a clutch in a church parking lot, and the week before the race I figured it out,” Meppelink said. “We’re doing better this season than we did last year.”

Meppelink finished fifth among the Young Guns drivers a year ago, with Hermiller in fourth and Bush in sixth. Hermiller won four races while Bush and Meppelink did not see a victory checkered flag.

Hermiller, Meppelink and Bush were ranked fourth, fifth and eighth in the points standings, respectively, entering Saturday’s competition. All three have yet to win a Pro Stock event this year.

For Bush, a Hastings driver who raced in the first year on the Arena circuit before dropping out to focus on her Pro Stock car, finishing high in the standings has helped offset the nerves.

“It was very nervewracking because there are a lot of experienced drivers who are competitive and have raced for many years”, Bush said. “It can be intimidating but it is also a lot more fun. The older drivers are very nice and want us to do well in racing. I’m pretty confident I can at least finish in the top 10. We’re having a good start.”

Hermiller, who will be a senior and may transfer from West Catholic to Coopersville, has also performed well in his first year on the Pro Stock circuit. Like Meppelink, he also has two years of Arena experience and one in the Young Guns class.

“It’s not bad. We’re keeping up with the other drivers and that’s good,” Hermiller said. “It was good to have Young Guns and that taught me how to drive and prepare for this year. The Young Guns got me used to the bigger cars. You always had to be prepared racing in Arena cars. Our goal was to come out and do the best we could, and it does surprise me how well we’ve done."

THE BUZZ
Race winners: Larry Mollohan (Vintage Racing Organization), Weston Jewett (Pro Stock), Mike Bursley (USA Modified), Kyle Hamm (4-cylinder A), Tyler Nawrocki (4-cylinder B)

Key moment: Mike Bursley found his way into victory lane once again, overcoming accidents that took out nearly half the field and winning for the third time this season in Modifieds. Combined with a win last month by NASCAR’s A.J. Allmendinger, Bursley’s 97 car has found the winner’s lane four times.

On track: Late models will be spotlighted next weekend, as a 100-lap feature highlights a Saturday summer spectacular program featuring Pro Stock, Young Guns and 4-cylinder action.

Surprise, surprise: On a holiday-weekend night when people traditionally are away, the lure of $5 tickets and a strong program brought in the highest crowd in two years of Mike Blackmer’s ownership. Over 8,000 attended Saturday night.

Standouts: Vicksburg resident Larry Mollohan gave his granddaughter Cassandra a 12th birthday present when he captured the Vintage Racing Organization of America’s mid-season championship race.

Say what? “For a while it was survive, stay out of wrecks and keep the car clean. Once we settled down and got single-file, everything smoothed out.” -- Mike Bursley

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