Popular Michigan racer looking for $20,000 payday in this weekend's Down & Dirty 100

Popular Michigan racer looking for $20,000 payday in this weekend's Down & Dirty 100 By Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com MARNE – Jeep Van Wormer didn’t call this weekend’s opportunity to race Berlin Raceway a Bucket List item, although this is one thing Van Wormer never dreamed would happen. Photo courtesy of DE Photos Jeep Van Wormer will be making his Berlin Raceway debut in this weekend's Down & Dirty 100. Van Wormer, of Pinconning, is one of Michigan’s most successful and popular dirt Late Model racers, and he has competed and won at some of the nation’s legendary dirt tracks. He lives only about three hours from Berlin, so he has heard all about the half-mile in Marne. But Berlin is an asphalt track, and Van Wormer has spent the past 16 years building his career on dirt. Three hundred truckloads of dirt and a $20,000 first-place cash prize are luring Van Wormer to Berlin this weekend, though. He will make his first Berlin appearance when he participates in the Keyser Manufacturing Down & Dirty 100 presented by NAPA. “We have never been to Berlin, not even to check it out,” Van Wormer said. “But we have heard that it is a top-notched facility, and we are excited to have the chance to race there.” Berlin is hosting an open practice from 4-8 p.m. today, followed by racing on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. both days. Van Wormer will be racing in the featured division, the traveling World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Saturday’s main event winner will earn $20,000. Van Wormer, 37, has raced at approximately 100 tracks throughout the United States. Career highlights include winning the UMP Fall Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, in 2003. He also has won 15 career races on the UMP Summer Nationals tour. In addition, Van Wormer is the only Michigan driver to win a WoO Late Model race. He took top honors in the 2007 race at LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle, Ill. The World of Outlaws Late Models races from February through November, and it competes at tracks from South Dakota to North Carolina, as well as Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and across the Midwest. Van Wormer made two series starts in August when it visited Winston Speedway in Rothbury and Merritt Raceway in Lake City. Mechanical problems took him out of action in both races. “We are looking forward to racing against the best this weekend,” Van Wormer said. “You always want to see how you can stack up, and hopefully, we will run well.”