Andrew Nylaan edges Denny Anderson for Super Stocks victory at Berlin Raceway

Andrew Nylaan edges Denny Anderson for Super Stocks victory at Berlin Raceway

Steve Ungrey
The Grand Rapids Press

MARNE -- Andrew Nylaan’s grandparents rushed up to hug their grandson following Saturday’s Super Stocks feature.

Then they playfully admonished their grandson, complaining Nylaan gave them both heart attacks with the thrilling end of that race.

Medical personnel may have needed to revive hundreds in the stands as well. In a wild finale, Nylaan edged out Denny Anderson by six-hundredths of a second, taking over the lead from Anderson on the final lap.

“That wasn’t the way I wanted to cross the line but I’ll take it. I just went into the fourth turn and I stomped on the gas,” Nylaan said.

Nylaan, who entered the race 20 points behind Dave Lake in the standings, picked up his fourth win in the past six weeks with the narrow victory over Anderson. His four feature wins are the most he has ever picked up in any season, dating back to his rookie year in 2003.

The Zeeland driver, who works as a machine operator at Boyne Machine is vying for his first Super Stocks title. He finished second a year ago behind Ray VanAllsburg and picked up three wins and 11 top-five finishes in the process.

“I didn’t think we had a good car at all,” Nylaan said. “Denny hit some lap traffic at all with about four or five cars in front of him, and that really helped me out. I got into him a little bit on that final lap and I just stomped on it and ran past him.”

When Nylaan saw the checkered flag, he suspected he had victory. Nylaan had no idea how close it really was.

“Coming out of the fourth turn I decided to try for it,” Nylaan said.

“Denny’s usually pretty good on the high side but with those lap cars coming back I couldn’t take the chance. I knew we were getting low on laps and we got to the last lap and it was crazy.”

Although final standings won’t be determined until early in the week the fact it was a double-points race and Lake finished in fifth, four spots back from Nylaan, may have made the difference.

“We did what we had to do. We won a heat race Friday and a feature tonight,” Nylaan said. “I will race Dave any day of the week. He and I will bang sides and laugh about it after that. There’s no grudge between us at all.”

THE BUZZ
Winners: Brian Tillema (Pro Stocks), Brian Bergakker (Modified), Andrew Nylaan (Super Stocks), Tim DeVos (Late Model), Ryan Hamm (4-cylinder A) Mike Speet (4-cylinder B)

From second to first: After missing out on last week’s victory, Brian Tillema rose to the top this week when he captured the Pro Stock feature. Tillema won the race in convincing style, holding off Ken Smith Jr. by nearly 4.3 seconds.

Lather, rinse, repeat: With Billy Shotko hot on his tail in the final third of the 35-lap race, Brian Bergakker held off Shotko’s challenge and captured the second of the six feature races Saturday night. Bergakker entered the race 41 points ahead of runner-up Travis Eddy in the standings. It was the second week in a row Bergakker held off Shotko for the checkered flag.

Surprise moment: Justin Ryan’s No. 51 car spun out on the front stretch during the 40-lap Super Stock event; when Ryan was spinning, the No. 00 car of Dustin Mann T-boned Ryan’s vehicle, causing a mess of wreckage in the first turn and a delay of 10 minutes. Both drivers were fine.

Up next: Berlin’s 60th anniversary festivities will be held Saturday including 60-lap feature races in Late Models, Super Stocks and Modifieds and a return appearance by the Vintage Racing Organization of America.

Muskegon's Bill Bray wins Late Model Feature at Mt. Pleasant

Muskegon's Bill Bray wins Late Model Feature at Mt. Pleasant

:: Official Site Of Mt. Pleasant Speedway ::

Orleans Raceway Winners Circle July 23rd

7/23/2010 Heat & Feature WinnersShare. Today at 1:23am
Orleans Raceway Heat & Feature WINNERS 7/23/2010

Heat winners

4 cyl. Mini stock RWD
1st #56 Rod McCausey
2nd #37 Ed Kruger
3rd #38 Dean Klase
4th #53 Andrew Kleibusch
5th #610 Blaine Hendrick
6th #7w Craig Wiggins
7th #10 Tony Campbell
8th #37x Tom Burghdoff
9th #27 Richard Ward NS

4 cyl. Super Street FWD
1st #52m Shorty Marsh
2nd #82 Scott Rumsey
3rd # Austin Bean
4th #88(2) Brandon Bush
5th #88 Steve Wewiernia
6th #93M Nathaniel Marsh

Pro Stock
1st #88 Todd Bush
2nd #11 Dave Parker
3rd#44 Blake Hollenbeck
4th #30 LM Kim Watt
5th #0 Chris Simmons NS

Hobby Stock

Heat #1
1st #99 Doug Hesiel
2nd #3 Gerald Marsh
3rd #2 Chris Ogden
4th #63 Terry Ogden
5th #5 Joe Fields

Heat #2
1st#54 Randy Acker
2nd #32 Bob Town
3rd #5s Frank White
4th #5 David Pelerito
5th #96 Dustin Stang NS

Feature Winners

4 cyl. Mini stock RWD
1st #56 Rod McCausey
2nd #53 Andrew Kleibusch
3rd #38 Dean Klase
4th #610 Blaine Hendrick
5th #10 Tony Campbell
6th #37 Ed Kruger
7th #7w Craig Wiggins NS
8th #37x Tom Burghdoff NS
9th #27 Richard Ward NS

4 cyl. Super Street FWD
1st #82 Scott Rumsey
2nd #52m Shorty Marsh
3rd #88(2) Brandon Bush
4th #88 Steve Wewiernia
5th #93M Nathaniel Marsh
6th # Austin Bean NS

Pro Stock
1st #88 Todd Bush
2nd #44 Blake Hollenbeck
3rd #11 Dave Parker
4th #30 LM Kim Watt NS
5th #0 Chris Simmons NS

Hobby Stock
1st #99 Doug Hesiel
2nd #54 Randy Acker
3rd #2 Chris Ogden
4th #32 Bob Town
5th #63 Terry Ogden
6th #5s Frank White
7th #3 Gerald Marsh
8th #5 David Pelerito
9th #5 Joe Fields NS
10th #96 Dustin Stang NS

Winston Speedway Winners Circle: July 23rd

Outlaw Late Models: #0 Kevin Nelson Jr.
Street Stock: #5 Josh Freye
Warriors: #55 Harley Farkle
Bombers: #1 Mike Epplett
Mini Stocks: #21 Brandon Tramper
Young Guns: #41 Bethany May

64 Total cars

'$1.00 BEER & HOT DOGS TONIGHT & TOMORROW PLUS BOMSHEL!'

'$1.00 BEER & HOT DOGS TONIGHT & TOMORROW PLUS BOMSHEL!'

'BERLIN FAIR ACTIVITIES EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK!'

'BERLIN FAIR ACTIVITIES EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK!'

'Get FREE Berlin Tickets from Southland Auto Wash!'

'Get FREE Berlin Tickets from Southland Auto Wash!'

Checkered Flag Feature

Spring Lake's Bill Bray races to his first victory of season at I-96 Speedway

Steve Kaminski
The Grand Rapids Press

Here are five more drivers who are lighting up tracks across Michigan.

Don't forget to email me at stevekracer@aol.com with your nominations. These are compiled Monday morning, so if your driver has a big weekend, please let me know about it.

Mickey Adams, Ypsilanti
Adams won Sunday's No Box race at Milan Dragway, posting a winning pass of 130.49 mph in his 1967 Camaro in the finals against Terrance Cairns. Adams also won the July 10 Ultimate Outlaw Series.

Bill Bray, Spring Lake
Bray grabbed his first Late Model feature race win of the season Saturday night at I-96 Speedway. Bray, who started fourth, outran Belding's Mike Nugent to the checkered flag.

Steve Irwin, Howell
The defending Michigan Traditional Sprints champion led from start to finish to win last weekend's 25-lap feature race at Butler Speedway. Irwin also won June 26 at Thunderbird Raceway.

Chaney Newland, Granger, Ind.
Newland remains the hottest driver at Crystal Motor Speedway. He captured his fourth consecutive Pro Stock feature win of the season Saturday.

Johnny VanDoorn, Coopersville
VanDoorn won Saturday's North Vs. South Shootout 100 Late Model race at Owosso Speedway. He started third in the 20-car field and held off Mike Root of Grand Rapids.

Berlin Fair Events

Monday, July 19:
Hark Up! Christian Concert presented by JQ 99
featuring Geoff Moore - Tickets $5.00 for Adults

Tuesday, July 20:
International Demolition Derby presented by Budweiser
Sign up today! Call 616-662-2051 - Tickets $10.00 for Adults
Also School Bus Races!

Wednesday, July 21:
Boost Mobile Freestyle MX .com Worldwide Tour presented by
Monster Energy Drink - Tickets $15.00 for Adults

Thursday, July 22:
2nd Annual Monster Truck Madness presented by Budweiser
Featuring Lil' Miss Dangerous and more! Tickets $12.00 for Adults

Friday, July 23:
ALL of the local weekly racing divisions will compete presented by
Enterprise Iron and Metal! Heat Race Night with a pig roast, beer
tent and post-race concert with Bomshel! Tickets $8.00 - kids Free

Saturday, July 24:
ALL of the local weekly racing divisions will complete their features!
One of the best nights of racing all season! Tickets $10.00

Randy Ellen Photo Weekend

Winston 7-16:

http://www.randyellenphotography.com/Winston-Speedway-2010/7-16-2010/Media-7-16-2010/12986090_VWubk#939506152_8m5ja

Ionia Sand Drags 7-17:

http://www.randyellenphotography.com/I-96-Speedway-2010-1/7-17-2010-Sand-Drags/Media-7-17-2010/12986058_U2QVd#939501911_CgAgZ

I-96 Speedway 7-17:

http://www.randyellenphotography.com/I-96-Speedway-2010-1/7-17-2010/Media-7-17-2010/12986040_sVNEP#939499367_MTFfk

Kalamazoo Speedway 7-17:

http://randyellen.smugmug.com/Kalamazoo-2010/7-17-2010-GL-and-Extreme/Media-7-17-2010/12986173_hVC8g

Photos can be ordered through his website. Please suppor his efforts.

Steve Irwin is on a hot streak in MTS

Steve Irwin is on a hot streak.
For the second-straight event with the Lane Automotive MTS Sprint Series, the defending champion led every lap on the way to victory. Irwin led all 25 laps on Saturday at Butler (Mi.) Speedway in the second half of the third-annual Ohio vs. Michigan Challenge. He also led every lap of the feature at Thunderbird (Mi.) Raceway.

Justin Martin started on the pole for Butler's only sprint car race of 2010 without wings. Irwin sat outside of the front row and quickly assumed the lead. Martin held second until sliding high in turn 2, giving the spot to former Butler champ Chuck Wilson, who spent the rest of the race trailing Irwin.
Wilson did manage to pull alongside Irwin on a couple of occasions, but never was able to find a way around. Mike Galajda, the 2008 MTS champ, was third at the checker, with Mark Irwin fourth and Mike Jonas fifth. The rest of the top 10 were Keith Love, Ernie Kuehnemann, Jr., Tim Evilsizer, Chad Wilson, and Mike Baker. Heat races were won by Irwin, Martin, and Jonas.


MTS Ohio vs Michigan final point standings
1. Steve Irwin 377
2. Mike Galajda 343
3. Chuck Wilson 338
4. Steve Ott 330
5. John Watson 314

RIP: Ed VanDuinen

Racing in Michigan has lost one of its legends. Former Merritt Speedway Promoter Ed VanDuinen passed away this afternoon. Ed's passing comes after suffering a heart attack on Thursday. Ed represented how a track should be run. His ability to balance the egos of drivers, car owners, employees and fans is what made him one of best. If you had something bad to say about Ed you might want to look in the mirror first. He set the bar high for many area dirt tracks in Michigan and the Midwest.

God Speed Ed and thanks for all that you did for so many. You will be missed

Orleans Raceway Winners Circle July 16th

Orleans Raceway Heat & Feature WINNERS 7/16/2010

Heat winners

4 cyl. Mini stock RWD
1st #7w Craig Wiggins
2nd #56 Rod McCausey
3rd #610 Blaine Hendrick
4th #69 Dean Ogden
5th #53 Bob Kleibusch
6th #38 Dean Klase
7th #10 Tony Campbell
8th #39 Bob White

4 cyl. Super Street FWD
1st #14 Richard Peck
2nd #73 Austin Wiley
3rd #88(2) Brandon Bush
4th #FP Tyann Ogden
5th #93M Nathaniel Marsh

Pro Stock
1st #3 Rod Heikkila
2nd #88 Todd Bush
3rd#11 Dave Parker
4th #44 Blake Hollenbeck
5th #0 Chris Simmons

Hobby Stock
1st #63 Terry Ogden
2nd #32 Bob Town
3rd #3 Gerald Marsh
4th #68 Ron Harper
5th #5 Joe Fields
6th #29 Tim Smith
7th #2 Chris Ogden
8th #54 Randy Acker
9th#5s Frank White

Feature Winners

4 cyl. Mini stock RWD
1st #610 Blaine Hendrick
2nd #38 Dean Klase
3rd #53 Bob Kleibusch
4th #69 Dean Ogden
5th #7w Craig Wiggins
6th #56 Rod McCausey
7th #10 Tony Campbell
8th #39 Bob White

4 cyl. Super Street FWD
1st #14 Richard Peck
2nd #73 Austin Wiley
3rd #93M Nathaniel Marsh
4th #88(2) Brandon Bush
5th #FP Tyann Ogden

Pro Stock
1st #88 Todd Bush
2nd #3 Rod Heikkila
3rd#44 Blake Hollenbeck
4th #11 Dave Parker

Hobby Stock
1st #32 Bob Town
2nd #3 Gerald Marsh
3rd #63 Terry Ogden
4th #5 Joe Fields
5th #5s Frank White
6th #29 Tim Smith
7th #54 Randy Acker
8th #68 Ron Harper
9th#2 Chris Ogden

Jewett Wins in Dramatic Fashion at Berlin Raceway

Weston Jewett wins in dramatic fashion at Berlin Raceway, extends lead in Pro Stock standings

Steve Kaminski
The Grand Rapids Press

MARNE -- Berlin Raceway Pro Stock points leader Weston Jewett of Grand Rapids talked about how badly he wants to win a track championship after capturing Saturday night’s 30-lap feature race.

Jewett, who entered the program leading two-time defending champion Brian Tillema by 64 points, said he always has an eye on Tillema.

“Every Saturday, I’m looking to see where he is finishing in heat races and where I’m finishing in heat races, where he’s qualifying and where I’m qualifying,” Jewett said.

A funny thing happened during the final five laps Saturday, however. Jewett said points were the last thing on his mind.

Jewett held off Tillema by 0.067 of a second to win one of the season’s most dramatic races. Tillema took the lead from Ryan Gruppen on lap 15 and continued to lead until Jewett nipped him at the stripe.

Jewett pulled even with Tillema on lap 25, and the two continued to race around the Marne half-mile door to door during the final five laps. Tillema was able to hold a slight edge until Jewett launched a run on him coming out of the final turn.

“That car will not take any more than what I’m giving it,” Jewett said. “If it can then I’m not doing something right. I was pushing it 110 percent the last five laps of that race.


RACING AT BERLIN
Saturday’s winners: Brian Wiersma (Super Stocks), Weston Jewett (Pro Stocks), Brian Bergakker (Modifieds)

Did you hear that? You’re killing me. You’re killing me. He is going to give me a heart attack," Greg Jewett to son Weston in Victory Lane after the younger Jewett edged Brian Tillema in the 30-lap Pro Stock main.

Did you see that? Clio’s Trevor Berry, 17, qualified third and finished third in Modified action in his Berlin debut. Berry is racing the first Modified built by Port City Racing of Muskegon.

Berlin headache award: Bob Bliss of Dorr blew a tire on the opening lap of the Super Stock feature and crashed hard. He climbed out of his car to a huge ovation.

Up next: Berlin is hosting a two-day program in conjunction with the 155th Berlin Fair. Qualifying and heat races are Friday, and racing is Saturday.
“I was just thinking about winning. All I cared about was winning and not hitting him.”

It was Jewett’s fifth victory of the season. He started seventh in the 22-car field and worked his way into second with 10 laps to go when the race was briefly red flagged. Jewett stuck with Tillema when the race went green.

“I knew with the restart, when there was 10 to go, I had to get him as soon as I could. Otherwise, I knew he was going to take off,” Jewett said. “He got a really good start. Luckily, my tires were good for the first couple of laps, and then I got back underneath him. I was trying the high side and I wasn’t getting good enough runs. So I went underneath him.

“Brian is the best guy in the world to race against. We race each other as hard as we can, but we are still friends off the track.”

Saturday’s 50-lap Super Stock feature proved equally dramatic as five-time Berlin track champion Brian Wiersma held off Chris Koslek by 0.220 of a second, giving Wiersma his first win of the season.

Wiersma led from the start, but Koslek dogged him over the final 20 laps, with Wiersma running the high groove and Koslek challenging low.

Brian Bergakker of Lowell won the 40-lap Modified feature. Bergakker, who leads the points standings, beat Billy Shotko by 1.3 seconds.