Brandon Hermiller grabs first Pro Stock win; Tim DeVos suspended
Marne, MI- The crowds were out in droves this past Saturday night in support of the All Faith’s Night presented by JQ 99 at Berlin Raceway. The night also honored the March of Dimes foundation and Berlin’s very own 4-Cylinder divisions.
The first feature of the night was the Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder B division. Starting on front row were #20 Jackson Walker and #84 Steve Thompson. After the first lap was completed a red flag came out as numerous cars were involved in the caution. The most severe being the #62 Richard Church and #77 of Jared Lyzenga who hit the wall coming out of turn 1, both drivers would be ok. Other cars who spun out to avoid the halted traffic were the #20 of Tyler Nawrocki and the #44 Nicole Randolph. A second caution would come out on lap 4 for #63 Paul Ritchie going off the backstretch. Out of the restart a three car wide pass with #07 Clayton Brown, #7 Tim Stuart and Walker would see Brown take the lead. Another car would go off the back stretch on lap 5, #110 Dan Dells was the caution car. When the race resumed, Stuart and Brown were battling for position. Brown fought hard, but didn’t have enough to pass the leader. Stuart would take the checkered flag followed by Brown, #T11 Jim Rhodes, #20 Jackson Walker, and #26 Cal Phillips.
The Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder A division was up next, #354 Chris McKinley and #51 Brad Hastings started on front row. Another thrilling three car wide pass occurred on the first lap as Hastings, #77 Gerry Shephard, and #7 Ryan Hamm were all fighting for position. Shephard would emerge as the leader until lap 3 when R. Hamm passed both Shephard and Hastings on the frontstretch; R.Hamm would begin to pull away from the pack. Lap 7 would see the #100 car of Jason Scheid and #024 Cole Roelofs battling for the second spot. A caution would deter the racing action, the yellow was thrown as #17 Kyle Hamm and #01 of Rob Shoemaker spun on lap 15. R. Hamm continued to lead out of the restart, but Scheid was close on his heels. R. Hamm used lap traffic to separate himself from Scheid, and an interesting battle for second would go down to the wire. As R. Hamm had a comfortable lead, eyes were on Scheid and Roelofs who were neck and neck with 1 to go. R. Hamm got the win as Roelofs took second over Scheid by inches. Darrell Holtzlander in the #2 car and Shephard rounded out the top 5.
The Engine Pro Super Stock 30 lap feature was up next. A complete restart was necessary when the #16 Kelsey Steele started to lose control, #5 Ray VanAllsburg clipped her causing him to go off the backstretch; Travis Nylaan in the #3 car would also get clipped by Steele. All three cars would pit and not return. Out of the restart #77 Andrew Nylaan and #18 Denny Anderson would be the new leaders. Anderson was off to a hot start as A. Nylaan and #55 Dave Lake were fighting for second. Lake moved into second on lap 3, but had his eyes on the leader. Lake passed Anderson underneath on the frontstretch on lap 8 and emerged as the new leader. Lake, Anderson, and A. Nylaan were all bumper to bumper on lap 13. A. Nylaan tried a pass on the outside lane going into turn 3 on lap 15, but was denied by Anderson. A. Nylaan would finally pass Anderson on the inside, but the position was short lived. Lake, A. Nylaan, and Anderson were all neck and neck; the three car wide pass would see Anderson reclaim the top spot. Anderson finished as the leader, followed by Lake, A. Nylaan, #1 Brian Wiersma, and #78 Will Olmsted.
A 75 lap Coors Late Model feature was next. An unexpected controversy took place before the race even started. Two time Late Model Champion Tim DeVos was caught using a traction control device on his car. DeVos was suspended for the remaining season and would leave the premises. When the Late Models took the track, Nick Szotko in the #19 car and #21 Terry VanHaitsma started on the start/finish line. While VanHaitsma had a cushioned lead from the start, Szotko and #55 Chris Anthony were in a battle for the second position. After a failed pass attempt on lap 20 by Anthony, an identical move on lap 21 would give Anthony the second spot. Just as he was passing Szotko in turn 3, it appeared that Szotko got loose and he brought out the yellow flag. Out of the restart VanHaitsma , #222 Caleb Bisacky and Anthony were the three leaders. Once again VanHaitsma had a nice lead ahead of the pack, but Bisacky was inching closer. On lap 32 going into turn 3, Bisacky passed VanHaitsma on the outside lane for the lead. Bisacky was off, leaving the rest of the field in the rear. With 25 laps remaining, Bisacky had a 5.279 lead over Anthony. Mechanical problems would be the only thing that stopped Bisacky. Anthony would take advantage of Bisacky’s misfortunes and passed him on lap 61 for the top spot. Anthony would take the checkered flag, followed by #14 Steve Needles, #6 Dave Zagaiski, #4 Joe Bush, and #32 Ross Meeuwsen.
The final feature of the night was a 25 lap Kerkstra Services Pro Stock race. Starting on front row for the feature were #1 Brett DeKraker and #36 Ken Smith Jr. A complete restart was necessary, a 10 car pile up on the frontstretch brought out the caution. Among those involved were #101 Lauren Bush, #F1 Randy Veldman, #81 Marc Coleman, #89 Kirk Meissner, #71 Trevor McCoy, #17 Mike Reavis, #22 Darin Niemi, #52 Nick Sherrington, #X Matt VanHorssen, and #33 Allen Davis; thankfully no one was seriously injured. When the race officially began, Smith came out as the leader. Brandon Hermiller in the #6 car and #20 Dave Hull were fighting each other off on lap 4 for the second sport; Hermiller moved into second on lap 8. On lap 12 #40 Cutler spun out causing the yellow flag to come out. Hermiller took the lead out of the restart and would take the checker flag for the first time this season. Smith, #76 Brian Tillema, Hull, and #51 Weston Jewett were among the top 5 finishers.
Up next for Berlin Raceway is the Model Coverall Modified Mania Night presented by Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation. Modifieds, Super Stocks, Pro Stocks, and 4-Cylinder will all be in action with special guest Mike Skinner in the Helen DeVos Modified car. Tickets for adults are $12, seniors 60+ are $10, children ages 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under are FREE. $1.00 per ticket goes to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation. For more information please visit www.berlinraceway.com
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Marisela Rodriguez
616.662.2051
Marisela@berlinraceway.com
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