Veteran driver looking to put past disappointments behind him with first Berlin Raceway track championship

Veteran driver looking to put past disappointments behind him with first Berlin Raceway track championship

MARNE – Billy Shotko can now laugh about what happened on the last lap of the final race in 2001 when the West Olive stock car driver was running in Berlin Raceway’s Sportsman division.
It still hurts just a little bit, though.

“In 2001, I led (the point standings) from the season-opening race to the final lap of the last race,” Shotko said. “I was leading the race when I was taken out coming out of turn four. I stopped about 10 to 15 feet short of the start-finish line, and there I sat while everybody went by. Cort Corwin ended up winning the championship by a couple of points.

“You do (get over it), but you don’t. You get past it, but it never leaves the back of your head.”
Berlin is hosting The Chet Championship Weekend, a three-day program that opens with Thursday’s practice, continues with Friday’s qualifying and heat races and wraps up with Saturday’s feature races.

Shotko, who now races in Berlin's Modified class, once again finds himself on the verge of a track championship, which would be the first in his nearly two-decade long racing career. Shotko is 67 points up on second-place Adam Chase, while Kevin DeGood is third overall, 71 markers back.
It appears that Shotko is in ideal position to wrap up the title, but don’t look for any celebrations on his part until the checkered flag drops on Saturday’s program, which begins at 7 p.m.

“We have been trying a long time to get back into the position that we are right now,” Shotko said. “We just work hard every week, trying to finish the best we can in every race.
“This will mean a lot. We have finished second in Late Models, and we have been second in Modifieds the last two years. It has been a long time coming. I have been racing out here for 18 years.”

What a day Saturday could be for Shotko and his family. His son, Evan Shotko, 9, races go-karts at the Ravenna Motor Park, and Evan is one point out of the lead in his class entering Ravenna’s season finale Saturday. “It’s possible that it could happen,” Shotko said. “Even if he finishes second, though, I will be so proud of him. He does an awesome job.”

Shotko said that a track title would be bittersweet because his father-in-law, Brian Slade, died this past July 1. Slade owned Duratech Racing Engines of Coopersville, which supplies a number of area drivers with engines. Slade, 59, died of a burst aorta.

“The hardest thing about winning the championship is going to be that my father-in-law, who passed away, won’t be able to see it,” Shotko said. “Before every race, I say a little prayer, asking to make this motor last one more race. Just one more race is all we need.”
Practice will run 4-8 p.m. Thursday. Action begins at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Friday also is $1 beer and $1 hotdog night.

Here's how the points races are shaping up in each division heading into this weekend’s action.
Super Late ModelsTerry VanHaitsma leads Chris Anthony by 11 points, with Tom Thomas third, 26 outs.

Outlaw Late ModelsThe field will be chasing Ross Meeuwsen, who leads Terry Senneker by 32 points.

Super StocksJustin Ryan is leading the way by 57 points over Will Olmsted.

SportsmanTony Davis and Brian Tillema are engaged in the track’s tightest battle. Davis enters the finale seven points up on Tillema.

4 CylindersHolland’s Mike Speet can take Saturday off. Speet, who leads Charlie DeJong by 198 points, has already locked up the title.

VROAThe traveling Vintage Racing Organization of America will decide its title this weekend as well, and Terry Byrne has a 15-point lead over Don Deyman.