Ross Meeuwsen grabs his first Late Model win of the season at Berlin Raceway
Steve Ungrey
The Grand Rapids Press
MARNE -- Ross Meeuwsen has a message for those ahead of him in Berlin Raceway's Late Model points standings.
It might be only two people, but the message is clear: He isn’t going anywhere.
“We weren’t getting it done at the beginning of the year, so hopefully, we’re back right now,” Meeuwsen said. “The car didn’t seem like it had enough power at the beginning of the year and it does now. We put a different motor in it and things have been different.”
Meeuwsen took over the lead from Tim DeVos on lap 70 after leader Nick Szotko and Billy Shotko tangled up on the front stretch midway through the race.
His lead grew to 7 seconds before two caution flags in the final seven laps brought him back to the pack.
RACING AT BERLIN
Winners: Jim Rhodes (4-Cylinder B), Cole Roelofs (4-Cylinder A), Weston Jewett (Pro Stock), Ross Meeuwsen (Late Model)
Key moment: Passing his competition in the 4-Cylinder B 20-lapper, Rhodes grabbed the lead and held it for the 19 remaining laps en route to his second feature win in three years of racing.
On track: Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital night is next Saturday, with a 50-lap Super Stock race highlighting a program that includes 40 laps of Modifieds, 30 laps of Pro Stocks and 15 of Young Guns. School bus races also are on the schedule.
Still, Meeuwsen finished nearly 3.8 seconds ahead of runner-up Barry Hartwell and 4.2 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Terry Senneker.
“I kept looking at the scoreboard and saw Senneker coming at me, and on the last caution Terry’s car sort of gave all she had,” Meeuwsen said.
Meeuwsen is in his seventh season in the Late Model division. He has had the most success the past two years.
After finishing 10th in points and winning Late Model Rookie of the Year in 2004, he advanced to eighth in 2005 before falling back to 11th in 2006 and 16th in 2007.
In 2008 and 2009, Meeuwsen finished in the top five 22 times and won five races on the way to two Late Model titles.
After Saturday, a third title might be on the horizon.
“It’s going to be tough, but we won’t give up,” Meeuwsen said.
He finished third May 15 in the first Late Model race of the year, followed by another third-place finish May 29. Two other Late Model races were rained out.
His biggest rivals this year have been Terry VanHaitsma and DeVos. VanHaitsma held a 73-point lead on DeVos and a 77-point lead on Meeuwsen going into Saturday’s events. Final point standings aren’t verified until early in the week, but Meeuwsen might have enough to pull into second.
“We’re going to stay with the basics, try to do some different things," Meeuwsen said. "We’ve got last year’s motor in there now and it runs smoother. It has a bit more power off the corners. We were getting beaten on restarts and now we’ve got traction.”
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