"We're Back"
"We're back" Johnny VanDoorn stated emphatically from Victory Lane as he begins his defense of the 2009 CRA Super Series Championship with a win in the Anderson 125 presented by Great Deals Magazine, the opening race of the 2010 season. VanDoorn qualified second fastest with Terry Fisher, Jr. earning his first EDCO Welding Fast Qualifier Award. Fisher drew a three for the invert putting Matt Kocourek on the pole and VanDoorn on the outside of the front row. VanDoorn took a narrow lead on the first lap by a fender, and after a few laps of racing side by side always about a fender ahead pulled away from Kocourek and raced out front the rest of the race, with Kocourek staying close, but not able to get past. Rick Turner finished third, Fisher fourth and Former CRA Super Series Champion Jeff Lane finished fifth.
"My brother Butch and I changed the geometry of the front end this year and are happy to see what we tried worked." VanDoorn stated. "After we had so much success here last year, I just wanted to come out and do well. I have been sick the last few days, and the guys all picked me up, and worked twice as hard to make it work. I really have to thank them for this win."
Unofficial Results
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Winston Speedway Opening Night Winners
Cold temperatures did not keeep the racers or fans away from Winston Speedway. West Michigan racers, crews and fans were ready for some racing action.
Feature winners on the night were Dona Marcoullier in the Late Models, Troy Marciniak in the UMP Modifieds and Rob Sternberg in the Street Stocks.
In the Bomber feature it was former track champion Spyke Grega taking the win. Brandon Tramper won the Mini Stock event and Dan Reimersma took the Warrior main event.
Car Counts:
Late Models: 21
Mods: 21
Warriors: 22
Mini Stock: 9
Bombers: 13
Street Stocks: 15
Feature winners on the night were Dona Marcoullier in the Late Models, Troy Marciniak in the UMP Modifieds and Rob Sternberg in the Street Stocks.
In the Bomber feature it was former track champion Spyke Grega taking the win. Brandon Tramper won the Mini Stock event and Dan Reimersma took the Warrior main event.
Car Counts:
Late Models: 21
Mods: 21
Warriors: 22
Mini Stock: 9
Bombers: 13
Street Stocks: 15
Thunderbird Raceway: Cancels
Opening Night April 17th - CANCELLED
Due to windchills expected to dip down into the 20's we are forced to cancel for April 17th.
Due to windchills expected to dip down into the 20's we are forced to cancel for April 17th.
Mid- Michigan Raceway Park Opening Night Feature Winners
Mid-Michigan Raceway Park started their season with new management and new optimism. Considered a diamond in the rough by many MMRP looks to bring the excitement back to their facility in 2010.
Feature Winners:
Veteran and fan favorite Late Model #55 Roger Wing was the winner in the Late Model Division. Josh Borton won the feature in the IMCA Modifieds. Rob Brillhart took home honors in the Pro Stock Feature. Charles Peterson was the opening night winner in the Flinn Stocks.
Rob Nevereth made the crowd gasp during the Pro Stock feature when he rolled four times before coming to rest. Nevereth was uninjured.
Feature Winners:
Veteran and fan favorite Late Model #55 Roger Wing was the winner in the Late Model Division. Josh Borton won the feature in the IMCA Modifieds. Rob Brillhart took home honors in the Pro Stock Feature. Charles Peterson was the opening night winner in the Flinn Stocks.
Rob Nevereth made the crowd gasp during the Pro Stock feature when he rolled four times before coming to rest. Nevereth was uninjured.
Advertising Space Available for 2010
West Michigan Racing is always looking to partnership with people and businesses who support area racing. If you are interested in becoming a partner for the 2010 race season contact me at: westmichiganracing@comcast.net
Join:
Northwestern Auto Machine
SMRE Performance
Affordable Graphix & Signs
Join:
Northwestern Auto Machine
SMRE Performance
Affordable Graphix & Signs
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Did you know "West Michigan Racing" has an RSS Feed?
What are feeds? I see "RSS", "XML", and "Atom" out there, but I don't know how I might use these links when I find them?
Feeds are a way for websites large and small to distribute their content well beyond just visitors using browsers. Feeds permit subscription to regular updates, delivered automatically via a web portal, news reader, or in some cases good old email. Feeds also make it possible for site content to be packaged into "widgets," "gadgets," mobile devices, and other bite-sized technologies that make it possible to display blogs, podcasts, and major news/sports/weather/whatever headlines just about anywhere.
If you want join the West Michigan Racing feed click on the above Photo or Title to take you there. It is free of charge!
Thunderbird Raceway Test and Tune Tonight LIVE!
Test & Tune Date - IS A GO! Will be Broadcasted LIVE!
Test and Tune will be held on THURSDAY April 15th from 5PM until dusk.
Testing will be $10 per car.
Practice will also be broadcasted live. All you have to do is scroll to the bottom of their home page to the video player and watch!
Broadcast will start around 4:30 with practice scheduled for 5PM until dark
Test and Tune will be held on THURSDAY April 15th from 5PM until dusk.
Testing will be $10 per car.
Practice will also be broadcasted live. All you have to do is scroll to the bottom of their home page to the video player and watch!
Broadcast will start around 4:30 with practice scheduled for 5PM until dark
Mid-Michigan Raceway Park
Opening night this Friday 4-16-10 with a full show featuring Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Pro-Stock/Pro-Trucks, Street Stocks & FWD 4 Cylinders. Gates open at 5pm Racing Starts at 8pm.... Come on out for some Family Friendly excitment.
Crystal Motor Speedway Opening Night
After a very successful "Test and Tune," we are just days away from the season opener, Saturday, April 17th. Gates open at 4:30 PM and racing starts at 7:30 PM. Pit passes are $25 and grandstand admission is $10 and kids 5-11 are $4.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
51 Radio Lineup Includes VanDoorn
51 Radio Lineup Includes Santos, Fultz, Pole, VanDoorn & Roderick
51 Radio / RTR - 4/13/10
Bobby Santos, Jeff Fultz, Casey Roderick, Johnny VanDoorn and Joey Pole have all been confirmed as guests for Tuesday night's Speed 51 Radio show. The show will also feature New England and Midwest Short Track update segments with Speed51.com's Mike Twist and Bob Dillner. The show will take place live from Buffalo Wild Wings in Concord, North Carolina from 6-8pm ET and can also be heard live on Race Talk Radio.
51 Radio / RTR - 4/13/10
Bobby Santos, Jeff Fultz, Casey Roderick, Johnny VanDoorn and Joey Pole have all been confirmed as guests for Tuesday night's Speed 51 Radio show. The show will also feature New England and Midwest Short Track update segments with Speed51.com's Mike Twist and Bob Dillner. The show will take place live from Buffalo Wild Wings in Concord, North Carolina from 6-8pm ET and can also be heard live on Race Talk Radio.
I-96 Test and Tune
We are excited for this weekend's Test and Tune! I spent some time tuning in the race track this week and I can't wait to see you guys get on it! After seeing you guys last week I realized it wasn't "Perfect" yet. Therefore, we did quite a bit of work in turns 1 & 2. It sort of HAD an egg shape before, but we recut the track out a bit and added more clay for banking, along with making the back side of the racetrack less steep in case of a car spinning off of the track. We also HAD a few whoops on the back stretch, so we disked those out and regraded the track multiple times. We added more clay in the entry of turn 3 and between turns 3 & 4 to increase banking. We are so excited to see the finished result this weekend once we get some cars on it. We want to thank everyone that came out last weekend and we hope to see everyone of you every weekend this summer. We look forward to working with all of our drivers this season. Hope to see you out there!
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks,
Mike
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Benson returns to Berlin with no Hesitation
Johnny Benson Jr. returns to Berlin Raceway with 'no hesitation' after summer crash
By Steve Kaminski | The Grand Rapids Press
April 10, 2010, 5:40PM
Johnny Benson Jr. had no reservations about climbing back into his Late Model stock car and tearing around Berlin Raceway when the track hosted its first preseason test-and-tune Saturday afternoon.
However, the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck champion was a little curious.
Benson, of Grand Rapids, hadn’t been back to his home track since June 13, when he was in a fiery crash in Turn 4 during an International Supermodified Association feature. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he spent three days.
“I was looking over there for the burn mark on the track, but I don’t see it,” Benson said. “I was laughing about it today. I’m like, yes, this is the first time back for me. It’s no big deal.
“There is no hesitation whatsoever. You just hammer down and go. It was no different than when I got back in the truck when I went to do some testing. You get the brakes warm and you go.
“There is no working your way up to it. Some people will take the work-your-way-up-to-it approach. But I just go.”
The four-hour test session attracted almost 80 cars. Drivers will have one more crack at shaking down their cars at another Berlin test-and-tune 1 to 5 p.m. April 17
Octavian Cantilli | The Grand Rapids Press
Ryan Gruppen takes a practice lap in the No. 76 car at Berlin Raceway's test-and-tune Saturday. Berlin’s 60th season will open April 24, with action getting under way at 7 p.m.
Benson does not have a full-time truck ride this season, although he has been able to find part-time work and posted a top-10 finish at Daytona and Martinsville. He said he expects to run a handful of times this season at Berlin.
“I don’t have a set schedule because I’m still trying to find something to do with the Truck Series,” Benson said. “I’m going to try to run four or five races out here for sure. But I don’t have the dates yet. I was trying to come up here for opening night, but I might be running Kansas. I don’t know yet. I don’t know my schedule yet, to be perfectly honest.”
“We are trying some stuff, like everybody does,” Benson said about his homemade Late Model. “We are trying some off-the-wall stuff, and then I will make some adjustments and see if I can come back.”
Saturday’s test also marked the debut of Berlin’s Modified division. This will be the first season since 1968 that Berlin has offered a weekly open wheel class, and Ben Kleis of Hamilton predicted it will be a hit with drivers and fans.
Kleis, who raced 4-Cylinders last year, will drive a Modified this season.
“We ended up fourth in points last year, and we figured we would try something different,” Kleis said. “It is something new out here, and we wanted to get involved at the ground floor. We have a lot of guys starting out.
“It’s a lot different than the 4-Cylinder, but it’s fun.”
By Steve Kaminski | The Grand Rapids Press
April 10, 2010, 5:40PM
Johnny Benson Jr. had no reservations about climbing back into his Late Model stock car and tearing around Berlin Raceway when the track hosted its first preseason test-and-tune Saturday afternoon.
However, the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck champion was a little curious.
Benson, of Grand Rapids, hadn’t been back to his home track since June 13, when he was in a fiery crash in Turn 4 during an International Supermodified Association feature. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he spent three days.
“I was looking over there for the burn mark on the track, but I don’t see it,” Benson said. “I was laughing about it today. I’m like, yes, this is the first time back for me. It’s no big deal.
“There is no hesitation whatsoever. You just hammer down and go. It was no different than when I got back in the truck when I went to do some testing. You get the brakes warm and you go.
“There is no working your way up to it. Some people will take the work-your-way-up-to-it approach. But I just go.”
The four-hour test session attracted almost 80 cars. Drivers will have one more crack at shaking down their cars at another Berlin test-and-tune 1 to 5 p.m. April 17
Octavian Cantilli | The Grand Rapids Press
Ryan Gruppen takes a practice lap in the No. 76 car at Berlin Raceway's test-and-tune Saturday. Berlin’s 60th season will open April 24, with action getting under way at 7 p.m.
Benson does not have a full-time truck ride this season, although he has been able to find part-time work and posted a top-10 finish at Daytona and Martinsville. He said he expects to run a handful of times this season at Berlin.
“I don’t have a set schedule because I’m still trying to find something to do with the Truck Series,” Benson said. “I’m going to try to run four or five races out here for sure. But I don’t have the dates yet. I was trying to come up here for opening night, but I might be running Kansas. I don’t know yet. I don’t know my schedule yet, to be perfectly honest.”
“We are trying some stuff, like everybody does,” Benson said about his homemade Late Model. “We are trying some off-the-wall stuff, and then I will make some adjustments and see if I can come back.”
Saturday’s test also marked the debut of Berlin’s Modified division. This will be the first season since 1968 that Berlin has offered a weekly open wheel class, and Ben Kleis of Hamilton predicted it will be a hit with drivers and fans.
Kleis, who raced 4-Cylinders last year, will drive a Modified this season.
“We ended up fourth in points last year, and we figured we would try something different,” Kleis said. “It is something new out here, and we wanted to get involved at the ground floor. We have a lot of guys starting out.
“It’s a lot different than the 4-Cylinder, but it’s fun.”
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