Berlin Results June 30th

Caleb Bisacky and Charlie DeJong get first wins of the season
Tony Davis, Kevin DeGood and Justin Ryan also victorious

Marne, MI – It was another beautiful night of racing at Berlin Raceway and the competition was fierce. Caleb Bisacky took home the trophy in the Coors Light Super Late division and also visiting Victory Lane were Charlie DeJong (Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder), Tony Davis (Kerkstra Services Sportsman), Kevin DeGood (Model Coverall Modified) and Justin Ryan (Engine Pro Super Stock).

Starting things off was the Model Coverall Modified division for 30-laps with #68 Randy DeBoer and #67 Ben Welch on the front row. After an aggressive heat race, the feature promised to be just as exciting and by lap 2, they were already going three-wide on the backstretch. DeBoer had the lead and was on the inside with Welch still on the outside when #66 Adam Chase came charging up with a good run on the inside of both of them. Chase then took the lead on lap 3. The next time by, Welch was all shades of sideways coming to the start finish line and this was in front of most of the field. He was able to save it and the cars behind him were able to avoid. The cars then settled in to single-file, green flag racing and with ten laps to go, second position #97 Kevin DeGood was closing in quickly on Chase. With two to go, DeGood took the lead and went on to get the win. Completing the top eight were Chase, #22 Billy Shotko, #8 Billy Eppink, Welch, DeBoer, #7 Ryan Hamm and #29 Rob Shoemaker.

Up next was the 30-lap Engine Pro Super Stock feature; #11 Nick Bonstell and #48 Seth Moody shared the front row. Moody took the lead, but caution was quickly out for the spinning car of #024 Cole Roelofs. Moody went back to the lead after the restart and the battle was on for second between #66 Nate Walton and #78 Will Olmsted; Olmsted got it done and began chasing down Moody. It was just past halfway when Olmsted was drawing even with Moody and while trying to pass for the lead, Olmsted spun, bringing out the second caution on lap 18. With ten to go, the top four were racing extremely close and it was the #51 of Justin Ryan who took the lead on lap 23. With five to go, #77 Andrew Nylaan made the pass for second, but there wasn’t a lot of time left to chase down the leader. Ryan went on to take the win and the rest of the top ten were Nylaan, Walton, Moody, Olmsted, #18 Denny Anderson, #20 Dave Hull, #6 Bob Bliss, #20J Jeremy Munniskma and #00 Dennis Mann.

The Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder 15-lap feature was up next, #9 Zach Clark and #17 Seth VanHorssen led the field to the green flag. Clark took off with the lead and enjoyed a large cushion of space between himself and #10 Dave Duyst. It only took five laps for #76 Mike Speet to catch up to leader Clark; after starting seventh, Speet was taking the lead on lap 6. As always, when Speet take the lead, he completely drives away from the field. Speet took the checked flag 8.89 seconds ahead of #62 Charlie DeJong; the rest of the top ten were #18 Jason Essex, VanHorssen, #20 Jackson Walker, #68 Jerry Smith, #36 Kyle VanDrunen, Clark and #72 Steven Holtzlander. After technical inspections, Speet was disqualified and DeJong was award the win.

It was #1 Randy Veldman and #88 Kirk Meissner on the front row of the Kerkstra Services Sportsman 25-lap feature and Veldman and Meissner were trading the lead back and forth for the first few laps before Veldman cleared him and put some distance between himself and the field. Meanwhile the #15 of Scott Root was up to second and be challenged by both #88 Tony Davis and #76 Brian Tillema. The first caution of the race was on lap 11 when #X Matt VanHorssen spun in turn 1. After the restart, the top four were side by side and Root had a slight advantage. On lap 12, Davis took it three-wide with Veldman and Root for second as Veldman retook the lead. Davis was able to wrangle second from Root and was then stalking Veldman for the lead with ten to go. Lap 17, Davis took the lead and then Veldman was under attack from Tillema. With both Veldman and Tillema occupied, Davis was able to grab win number five and the rest of the top ten were Veldman, Tillema, #40 Dave Cutler, Root, Meissner, #18 Mitch Meppelink, #33 Allen Davis, #26 Brian Thome and #52 Nick Sherrington.

The Coors Light Super Late Models were the final feature of the night; #19 Nick Szotko and #32 Gabe Ensing started on the front row of the 100-lap feature. Szotko maintained the first position and after some jockeying it was the #222 of Caleb Bisacky up to second. It didn’t take long before the yellow flag came out – on lap 4 the #32 of Gabe Ensing spun in turn 2. It was #61 John VanDoorn to the lead on lap 7 after swinging around Szotko and the #12 of Tim DeVos followed through to challenge VanDoorn for the lead. The race was only nine laps in and the top 12 were all side by side. Szotko was battling back and rocketed back to the lead, but VanDoorn took it back on the outside the next time by. On lap 17, Szotko got shuffled back, DeVos was back up to second and was followed by Bisacky. Bisacky made the pass for second and started to reel in VanDoorn. Thirty laps in, the top ten were still running as close as they were from the start of the race and by lap 32, DeVos maneuvered past VanDoorn, but just a few laps later, Szotko was back up there challenging for the lead. DeVos was finally able to get some breathing room and the race was on for second between Bisacky, VanDoorn, Szotko and #21 Terry VanHaitsma. By half-way, Bisacky caught up to DeVos and took the lead on lap 55 and just two laps later, the second caution came out when #21 Tim Greene spun on the frontstretch. DeVos had the lead after the restart, but Bisacky kept just to his inside, trying to gain some ground and he did just that, leading the field by lap 67. DeVos was going all he could to hang on to second as VanDoorn and VanHaitsma were all over him. VanHaitsma cleared him first and then the caution was out; Szotko spun coming out of turn 4 after contact with #99 Jordan Dahlke and the #101 of Lauren Bush was collected in that. Bisacky took off with the lead after the restart and VanHaitsma moved up to second, cutting in to Bisacky’s lead lap by lap. Lap 82 saw another caution when Greene spun in turn three. After a quick clean up, the race was restarted and Bisacky got a great restart, pulling away from the field as the raced single-file. With ten laps to go, Bisacky had almost a one-second lead and while VanHaitsma was able to shave a little bit off, there just wasn’t enough time to catch up. Bisacky got his first win of the season and the rest of the top ten were VanHaitsma, #55 Chris Anthony, VanDoorn, DeVos, #99 Ross Meeuwsen, #48 Seth Moody, #32 Gabe Ensing and #50 Justin Regnerus.

Next Saturday, July 7 is Stars & Stripes Military Night! It is also the Lee Anderson Memorial 118 featuring the Port City Racecars / GL Helicopter Outlaw Late Model, Engine Pro Super Stock, Kerkstra Services Sportsman, Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder and the Vintage Racing Organization of America; also post-race fireworks! Tickets are just $7 for adults and kids 11 and under are free; racing starts at 7:00 p.m.


More information can be found at www.berlinraceway.com or by calling the track office during the normal business hours 9am - 5pm Tuesday - Friday at 616-677-5000.