Brian Tillema drives his 'Cow Pasture Special' to victory in Berlin Raceway's season opener

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 9:09 PM

By Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com MLive.com

Print MARNE - Race fans who attended Saturday night’s season opener at the Berlin Raceway will never guess where Brian Tillema found his latest hotrod.

“I found a ’70 Chevelle in a cow pasture in Wayland, and we made a race car out of it,” said Tillema, of Byron Center.

It sure didn’t look like or run like it had been rusting away in a pasture for the past 15 years, considering Tillema was able to park it in Victory Lane after the 25-lap Sportsman feature.

Saturday’s races marked the first under Berlin’s new management team, which is led by Don DeWitt of Zeeland. One change the track implemented was to take the Pro Stock division and make it the new Sportsman class by requiring drivers to slap older style metal bodies on them.

Tillema, who dominated Pro Stocks in recent years, appears to have the magic touch in Sportsman, too. Tillema led all 25 laps and beat out Tony Davis by 2.7 seconds to take top honors. Tillema, who won four consecutive Pro Stock championships before finishing runner-up a year ago, said Saturday’s victory wasn’t as easy as it looked.

“At the beginning, we were off quite a bit,” Tillema said. “In practice last week, the car wasn’t that great, and we came out and practiced again today on new tires, and it still didn’t come in as good as I thought it would. We didn’t qualify that great, and then in the heat race, it wasn’t that great, either.

“We made some changes on it before the feature, and when it was all said and done, it came alive. I am really surprised that it ran as well as it did, because the way things were going in the heat race, we couldn’t pass anybody. I’m really surprised how much the changes helped it.”

Defending Late Model track champion Terry Senneker Jr. of Wayland changed teams during the off-season, now that he is racing for Larry Zent of Fort Wayne, Ind. But Senneker enjoyed the same old results, winning the 100-lap Outlaw Late Model feature race.

Senneker set fast time, took the lead on lap 70 and drove away from Ross Meeuwsen on the final restart with six laps to go.

“We pretty much picked up where we left off last year,” Senneker said. “In dirty air, the car got a little bit slippery, and I heard through my earphone that Ross was gaining. I was confident if the car got any clear air it would balance right back out.”

Berlin also has implemented new bodies for its Super Stocks, and the rules change didn’t slow down Justin Ryan, either. Ryan, who won three races a year ago, edged out Nate Walton by 0.446 seconds in the 30-lapper.

Yellow fell with five laps to go, giving the 19-car field one last crack at Ryan, who started on the pole and led from start to finish. But Ryan drove away on the restart, then held off a late surge by Walton.

“You couldn’t have asked for anything more, except for maybe a little bit of sunshine and a little more warmer weather,” Ryan said. “I was kind of on the fence about (the late caution) because I was hoping the caution would help cool the tires down and maybe give me a little more of an advantage at the end. But it worked out for the best.”

Mike Speet of Holland failed to win a race in each of the past two years, but the 4 Cylinder veteran looks to be back on track. Speet set fast time, won a heat race and captured the 15-lap main.

“Everything came together for me tonight,” Speet said. “I have tried a lot of different things, I don’t stop trying. I came to practice (Friday night), and everything felt good. I made a few more changes, and I came out and surprised myself.”

SATURDAY NIGHT RESULTS

LATE MODELS – 1. Terry Senneker Jr., 2. Ross Meeuwsen, 3. Derrick Griffin, 4. Tom Thomas, 5. Terry VanHaitsma, 6. Chris Anthony, 7. Mike Root, 8. Harold Fair, 9. Ray Clay, 10. Dave Zagaiski, 11. Alan Marcott, 12. Brian Maxim, 13. Scott Thomas, 14. Barry Hartwell, 15. Kristopher Fewless, 16. Tim DeVos, 17. Steve Needles, 18. Adam Terry, 19. Dakota Carlson, 20. Dave Stehouwer, 21. Leroy Magoon, 22. Tim Yonker, 23. Monte Tolan

SUPER STOCKS – 1. Justin Ryan, 2. Nate Walton, 3. Will Olmsted, 4. Seth Moody, 5. Andrew Nylaan, 6. Bob Bliss, 7. Joel Baker, 8. Dave Lake, 9. Jeremy Munniksma, 10. Dave Hull, 11. Dennis Mann, 12. Josh Hobson, 13. Trever McCoy, 14. Brett DeKraker, 15. Weston Jewett, 16. Denny Anderson, 17. Kelsey Steele, 18. John Norder, 19. Cole Roelofs

SPORTSMAN – 1. Brian Tillema, 2. Tony Davis, 3. Scott Root, 4. Andrew MacIntosh, 5. Randy Veldman, 6. Mitch Meppelink, 7. Allen Davis, 8. Dave Cutler, 9. Tyler Nawrocki, 10. Jared Miller, 11. Gerry Shepard, 12. Tyler Sterken, 13. Mike Sherrington

4 CYLINDERS (15 LAPS) – 1. Mike Speet, 2. Zack Clark, 3. Jackson Walker, 4. Jason Essex, 5. Dave Duyst, 6. Todd Worden, 7. Kyle VanDrunen, 8. Rob Ream, 9. Seth VanHorssen, 10. Christian Wynbelt, 11. Steven Holtzlander, 12. Dan Schoenborn, 13. Jared Lyzenga, 14. Charlie DeJong, 15. Paul Ritchie, 16. Darrell Holtzlander, 17. Jake Loesch, 18. Dan Ream, 19. Rikki VanHorssen, 20. Jim Woltanski

HEAT WINNERS – Dave Hull, Andrew Nylaan, Bob Bliss (Super Stocks); Tony Davis, Scott Root (Sportsman); Mike Speet, Zack Clark, Jared Lyzenga (4 Cylinders)

FAST QUALIFIERS – Terry Senneker Jr. (Late Models) 104.286 mph, Seth Moody (Super Stocks) 92.060 mph, Tony Davis (Sportsman) 86.495 mph, Mike Speet (4 Cylinders) 77.944 mph

Billy Bray To Make A Run At The 2012 Michigan Dirt Cup Late Models Tour Championship

Spring Lake, Michigan (Friday, April 13th, 2012): With the formation of the Michigan Dirt Cup Modifieds Tour in 2011, many UMP Super Late Models teams watched with interest at how successful the first year series would be. With car counts averaging in the 50s in their inaugural season, Late Model teams were eagerly anticipating the 2012 season and were very encouraged when a few “Preview” races for Late Models were late additions to the 2011 schedule.

Now with 2012 on the horizon, the Michigan Dirt Cup group has formed the new MDC Late Models Tour and one of the first drivers to sign on for the upcoming season was Spring Lake, Michigan veteran, Billy Bray. “The bulk of our effort for 2012 is going to go into the Michigan Dirt Cup Late Models Tour and running for the inaugural championship.” Bray stated as he and his Billy Bray Racing Team continues preparations for the upcoming season.

Bray’s 2012 racing season will start this Friday, April 13th at Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Michigan on Friday, April 13th for the Prelude to the Player Hater / Opening Night at the 3/8s (0.375) mile semi-banked dirt oval. “We are looking to build off our success that we had leading up to the end of the 2011 season." The 43-year-old continued. We are very excited for the upcoming season and for things to get rolling. Hopefully mother nature will play nice and the season starts as planned this Friday.” He added.

In addition to following the nine-race schedule that makes up the Michigan Dirt Cup Late Models Tour, Bray will also chase after the UMP Super Late Models Track Championships at Winston on Friday nights as well as at the fast 3/8s (0.375) mile high-banked dirt oval of I-96 Speedway, located squarely between Lansing and Grand Rapids in Lake Odessa, Michigan on Saturday nights.

Bray started racing in 1988 as a 19-year-old and over the years has accumulated numerous track championships throughout the state of Michigan on both dirt and pavement. In 2011 behind the wheel of his UMP Super Late Model, Bray finished second in the season long points chase at Thunderbird Raceway in Muskegon, Michigan, fifth in points at Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Michigan and he scored a sixth place finish overall in the UMP DIRTcar Racing Series Michigan State points standings. He also collected a 47th place showing in the UMP DIRTcar Racing Series National point’s chase.

Overall in 2011, he collected 12 top five finishes along-with an impressive 24 top 10 showings in 31 feature starts. Despite going winless for the first time in several seasons, he did manage runner-up showings on two occasions with one each coming at Thunderbird and Winston. In 2010, Bray collected three Feature triumphs with two of those coming at I-96 and one at Mt. Pleasant Speedway in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

For the 2012 racing season, Bray’s familiar #94 UMP Super Late Model will carry sponsorship decals on the side of the car from; FK Rod Ends as well as My Auto Imports, Sport Clips, Mobile One, Michigan Dirt Cup, Klotz Lubricants, M.P.H. Promotions, and Billy Bray Racing. To learn more about Billy Bray Racing, go to the teams Facebook Fan Page located at: www.facebook.com and search “Billy Bray Racing”

Cherry Raceway Opens 2012 Season on Friday, May 18th with a Full 6 In 1 Show

Cherry Raceway Opens 2012 Season on Friday, May 18th with a Full 6 In 1 Show

Fife Lake, Michigan (Tuesday, April 10th, 2012): Cherry Raceway, the fast 3/8s (0.375) mile high-banked dirt oval located southeast of Traverse City in Fife Lake, Michigan is preparing for a very exciting 2012 racing season under the direction of Owners / Promoters, Roger & Michelle Steig. The Great White North’s Fastest Dirt Track is gearing up for one of the most aggressive and highly anticipated schedules in its 32-year history.

It all starts on Saturday, April 21st as Cherry Raceway, along-with Joe Rokos Racing, and the Michigan Dirt Cup Late Models & Modifieds Tours will all be a part of the “Cans for Race Fans” Food Drive at Tom’s Food Market, located at 1201 South Division Street in Traverse City, Michigan from 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m. 2011 Cherry Raceway UMP Modifieds Track Champion, Joe Rokos will serve as the host for this event with support from his home track and the second year series.

Race fans are encouraged to bring a canned food item to donate in support of the “Cans for Race Fans” organization and check out the racecars that will be in display. NASCAR Steve from Traverse City area radio stations; Real Rock 105fm and 95.5fm Classic Rock, The Bear 98.1fm, and Big Country 102.9fm, will be broadcasting LIVE from the food drive and the “Real Rock” show car will be on display as well. In addition, there will be raffles for various items throughout the morning and afternoon giving fans a chance to win prizes and memorabilia.

Then on the track action takes place beginning with Two Pre-Season Test & Tunes that will help kick off the year on Thursday, May 10th and Thursday, May 17th as these two opportunities will be the only two chances for any and all teams and drivers to shake their machines down in anticipation of the 2012 season opener. Weekly competitors as well as traveling series visitors and even teams that don’t have a car that will be racing at Cherry this season are all invited to attend. On these two Thursdays, the Pit Gates will open at 5:00p.m., and Practice will be from 6:00-9:00p.m., both days.

Opening Night 2012 is set for Friday, May 18th featuring a Huge 6 in 1 show highlighted by the UMP Super Late Models who'll be joined by the UMP Modifieds, Street Stocks, Cruiser Bombers, Four-Cylinder Warriors, and Four-Cylinder Compacts. In addition it'll also be the Best Looking Car Contest, which will be held throughout the evening for all six weekly divisions.

Coming into the 2012 racing season, Ben Hidy will pull into the track as the Defending UMP Super Late Models Track Champion in the tracks’ premier division and he will have plenty of stiff competition with hopes of dethroning the reigning champion while Joe Rokos will lead a talented field of UMP Modifieds into battle as the Defending Track Champion in the tracks open-wheeled division.

In the Street Stocks, Brook Brasington is the reigning Track Champion, but will move up to UMP Super Late Models in 2012 leaving the Street Stocks field wide open as to who will claim this year’s crown. Emery Smith leads the charge for the Cruiser Bombers division while Willard VanHaitsma in the Four-Cylinder Warriors and Autumn Beeman in the Four-Cylinder Compacts come into the 2012 racing season as the Defending Track Champions in each of their respective divisions.

Ticket Prices for the 2012 season opener are: Adults (13-59): $12.00 – Seniors (60 and Over): $9.00 – Children (6-12) $6.00 – Kids (5 and Under): FREE – Pit Passes: $25.00. On Friday nights throughout the 2012 racing season, the Pit Gates Open at 4:00p.m. Grandstand Gates Open at 5:30p.m. Practice Starts at 6:00p.m., and then after Pre-Race Ceremonies / Invocation / National Anthem, Racing Begins at 7:15p.m.

Cherry Raceway is located at: 8649 East M-113 in Fife Lake, Michigan. For more information, please call: 1 (231) 468-1477. Don’t forget to check out the track website at: www.cherryraceway.com You can also follow us on Facebook by going to: www.facebook.com/cherryraceway and clicking on the “Like” button as well as on Twitter by going to: www.twitter.com/cherryraceway