By Steve Ungrey | The Grand Rapids Press MLive.com
MARNE — He wasn’t around at the start of the season, but Jordan Dahlke is making up for lost time.
The Middleville resident has gotten hot in recent weeks, and the hot streak continued Saturday night when he captured his second victory in four weeks at the 50-lap USA Modified feature at Berlin Raceway.
Dahlke, an 18-year-old who is the third in his family to race cars, hasn’t been concerned about his standing in the points race, even after capturing his second race of the year. He entered this week’s races in 11th.
“I’ve started to do pretty well within the last month,” Dahlke said. “I really haven’t been following the point standings because I haven’t been around all year. I didn’t run the car at the start of the season and, then, I decided to come back and start racing every week again.”
Dahlke won his first Modifieds race of the year on June 11,when he beat Billy Eppink by 1.7 seconds for the checkered flag. On Saturday, Dave Lake was behind him by a half-second, while Brian Bergakker and Eppink were less than 1.5 seconds behind.
Dahlke took fifth in last year’s point standings, while Bergakker
won the championship. When Dahlke didn’t start the season, car owner Mark Flairman began racing both his No. 44 car and Dahlke’s No. 99.
Larry Dahlke Sr., Jordan’s grandfather, started racing in 1954 and retired in 1982.
Jordan’s father, Larry Dahlke Jr., started with dirt bikes in 1977 before moving to stock cars in 1980.
Like his father, Jordan pursued dirt bikes to start. He began at 8 years old before moving over to stock cars when he was 14, as an accident at age 13 involving his dirt bike resulted in two broken arms and a full-time switch to racing cars.
“I really look up to the both of them,” Jordan said. “When I got hurt, my dad built me a car, and I started racing cars full time. I used to grow up watching him race and, then, he actually quit racing when I was 12 to start watching me race for a while. Ever since the dirtbike accident, I’ve been racing cars and I can’t complain.”
On just his third night in a car and during the 2005 season, Dahlke won a heat race at Kalamazoo Speedway. The next year, he finished third in the Pure Stocks point class and won a feature en route to Rookie of the Year status. Dahlke graduated to Outlaw Late Models in 2007 and finished 10th in the standings at Kalamazoo, but won that class’s Rookie of the Year designation.
When Dahlke moved to ASA Late Models in 2008, he picked up two top 10 finishes in seven races. He then raced a few times in 2009 before coming to Berlin for the modifieds.
Dahlke survived repeated caution flags in the second half of the race, eventually taking the lead on lap 38 when Billy Shotko stalled on the front stretch. Dahlke was the last of several leaders during the feature, as Brian Bergakker, Shotko and Ryan Hamm took turns leading during the first two-thirds of the event.
“You just have to learn to ride with the yellow flags and just try your hardest to do well,” Jordan said.
The buzz
Winners: Jackson Walker (4-cylinder B), Jason Scheid (4-cylinder A), Jordan Dahlke (USA Modifieds), Lou Caposey (VROA), Terry VanHaitsma (Late Model), Brian Tillema (Pro Stock)
First-time award: Terry VanHaitsma may be a veteran driver, but the Hudsonville resident hasn’t crossed the finish line in first place yet this season. That changed Saturday when VanHaitsma outlasted Steve Needles and Terry Senneker to take the 60-lap Late Model event.
Surprise, surprise: There were two green-white-checkered finishes during the six races. Jordan Dahlke held on to top a fast-charging Dave Lake during the USA Modified, while Lou Caposey came off the single-file restart and held on in the last two laps to beat Samantha Jansen in the Vintage Racing feature.
Next week: The ARCA racing series brings its popular event to Berlin, along with the Vintage Racing Organization of America and the Premier Boyne Machine Super Lates. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate.
Send e-mail to the author: sports@grpress.com
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