Kyle Busch made it back to back Rowdy 251 wins at Berlin. The NASCAR star put on a great show battling Coopersville's Johnny VanDoorn for much of the evening. VanDoorn led the most laps but it was Busch who led the most important one.
VanDoorn's 2011 season can be summed up in one phrase "If it were not for bad luck, I would have no luck at all". VanDoorn's car picked up an engine miss with 70 laps to go while leading. VanDoorn still managed to battle in the top and runner-up spots right up until five to go. After staying out on a caution with five to go VanDoorn inherited the lead. On the restart Busch made quick work of VanDoorn to never lose the lead again. Unfortunately for VanDoorn a tire going down and contact from Johnny Benson ended Vandoorn's night up against the turn one wall. VanDoorn still would be credited with a tenth place finish in the 32 car field.
Other locals of interest included Brian Campbell and Chris Anthony. Campbell rode in the top five the entire time he was out on the track. Campbell reported to his crew he was just riding until the end when he would turn up the wick. Unfortunately Campbell never got the chance as he saw his evening ended at the hands of Tim Devos who put Campbell in the wall with some over aggressive driving.
Local Chris Anthony put on the show of the night until a cut tire took him out of contention. Anthony finished last in the "Last Chance Race" and only made the starting field when promoter Mike Blackmer enlarged the field to 32 from its original 26 on one of 6 promoter choice picks.
Anthony showed his earlier evening efforts were a fluke and he belonged. Starting in the 25th position Anthony charged his way to 6th place at the half way break while turning some heads along the way. By lap lap 216 he was in forth. On lap 218 his great effort came to and end with sparks flying underneath his car along the front stretch. Quick repairs by his crew still resulted in a 12th place finish for Anthony.
My driver of the night goes to Jordan Dahlke. Not only did Dahlke win the 50 lap USA Modified event earlier in the evening, Dahlke charged from his 29th starting position in the CRA Super Late Model Rowdy 251 all the way to a fourth place finish.
My hats also off go to Berlin Raceway owner Mike Blackmer. Blackmer continues to do the things that keep Berlin as one of the top short tracks in all of the country. Bringing in stars like Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson along with rising young stars like Chase Elliot, Ryan Blaney, and Hunter Robbins is a feat that many promoters would not even try. Blackmer continues to do it year after year. For local fans they can see how good their local drivers are by competing and beating some of the Hot Shoes on the national scene. We are fortunate we get to see great talent every Saturday night. In today's economy West Michigan Race fans are lucky to have a person with such a passion for the sport he loves. I heard Humpy Wheeler say "The way to become a millionaire race track owner is to make sure you start out with two."
Thank you Mike Blackmer!
UNOFFICIAL CRA ROWDY 251 Results:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Johnny Benson
3. Tim Devos
4. Jordan Dahlke
5. Chase Elliott
6. Brian Ickler
7. Terry VanHaitsma
8. Tom Thomas
9. Derrick Griffin
10. Johnny VanDoorn
11. Gabe Ensing
12. Chris Anthony
13. Tyler Roahrig
14. Cole Powell
15. Seth Moody
16. Peter Cozzolino
17. Tim Steele
18. Bubba Pollard
19. Brian Campbell
20. Alec Carll
21. Blake Brown
22. Chris Koslek
23. Nick Bonstell
24. Boris Jurkovic
25. Erik Jones
26. Hunter Robbins
27. Brandon Hermiller
28. Ryan Blaney
29. Caleb Biscay
30. Joey Miller
31. Allen Karnes
32. Justin Regnerus
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