Saturday, April 13, 2013

VanDoorn Finishes 3rd in First NASCAR event!


Johnny VanDoorn showed his skills to the fans of the NASCAR East Pro K&N Series racing to a strong third place finish at Five Flags Speedway tonight.

More Details to come Sunday

NKNPSE NAPA Auto Parts 150 UNOFFICIAL Results:
Pos.Car No. Driver
196Ben Kennedy
220Gray Gaulding
31Johnny VanDoorn
411Brett Moffitt
534Kenzie Ruston
64Bryan Ortiz
798Dylan Kwasniewski
816Sergio Pena
92Ryan Gifford
1046Brandon Gdovic
1121Mackena Bell
1237John Hunter Nemechek
136Daniel Suarez
1439CJ Faison
1571Eddie MacDonald
1689Matt Tifft
1772Scott Heckert
1847Cale Conley
1931Jimmy Weller
2099Austin Dyne
2129Zak Hausler
2200Cole Custer
2349Harrison Rhodes
240Enrique Contreras, III
2548Duke Whiseant
2697Jesse Little

TV Showing: May 3rd 2:00 pm on Speed Channel

Vandoorn making First NASCAR start TONIGHT!

Catch Coopersville's Johnny VanDoorn on Speed51 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East  NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensocaola Florida. Starting time is 8 p.m.

Click here to LISTEN
Click here to watch RACE STATS

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Berlin Raceway rookie driver, car owner ready to turn heads this season


Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com

By Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com 
on April 11, 2013 at 8:05 AM, updated April 11, 2013 at 8:46 AM



rycenga2.jpg


Tyler Rycenga, No. 21, races Brent DeKracker during this past Saturday's test-and-tune session at Berlin Raceway.



 

HOLLAND, MI -- Tyler Rycenga is pretty confident that no one has a boss better than his.
Rycenga, a 2010 West Ottawa High School graduate, was 16 years old when he started working for Nick Markovic, who owns Euro Tech of Holland and European Autohaus.
So Markovic is well aware that Rycenga grew up racing go-karts before he started competing in Legend Cars six years ago, and he said he knew how much Rycenga wanted to continue to progress in the sport.
That’s why Markovic approached Rycenga with a plan last year.
“Nick came to me and asked if I would be interested in running a car. I was caught off guard,” Rycenga said. “I didn’t know he wanted to own his own car. But he asked me if I would be interested, and he said let’s find a car for Berlin (Raceway). I was very excited.”
tyler0406.JPGTyler Rycenga of Holland is a rookie in Berlin Raceway's Super Stock division this spring. 
Berlin will open its 2013 season April 20 after Saturday's opener has been postponed due to weather, and Rycenga will be one of the drivers to watch now that Markovic has purchased a Super Stock and hired Rycenga to drive it in Berlin's Engine Pro Super Stock division.
Rycenga was a successful go-kart racer, winning two championships at Ravenna Motor Park. The Legend Cars gave him experience racing on tracks across the Midwest, including Toledo Speedway and Illiana Motor Speedway in Indiana.
Markovic, 39, is originally from Croatia, and he first came to the United States as an exchange student. He graduated from Jenison High School and later Davenport, and he elected to stay in the United States after completing his education.
Markovic has never been to Berlin, the half-mile paved short-track located on the Berlin Fairgrounds in Marne. But he wanted to pursue racing for two reasons. It looks like a great business opportunity, he said, and he added that he wants to help a talented young driver chase his dreams.
“Tyler has been a loyal and great employee,” Markovic said. “He has been racing for so long, and he has done well, but it’s hard to move up. It’s not easy to get into. I thought this would be a neat way to help him out and do some advertising. It’s going to be a neat pastime for our employees and customers, and it’s a neat way to promote our business.”
Markovic purchased the Super Stock from veteran car owner Mike Blackmer this past October. The team also features crewman Ryan Day, and defending Super Stock champion Justin Ryan, who will be racing a template-body Late Model this season, is serving a consultant.
“Some of the challenges are going to be learning the car,” Rycenga said. “I got pretty familiar with the Legends cars after racing them for six years. I could take it apart and put it back together pretty much in my sleep. I knew everything like the back of my hand.
“The Super Stock has quite a bit more horsepower, and I’m not used to racing on a bigger track like Berlin. I’m used to running quarter-mile and three-eighths mile ovals. It’s a whole new ballgame for me, but I’m excited to learn.”

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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Popular Berlin Raceway announcer retiring after 18 years behind the microphone


Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com

By Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com 
on April 08, 2013 at 10:05 AM, updated April 08, 2013 at 10:07 AM
MARNE – The familiar sights and sounds of a new Berlin Raceway season will return to the Marne half-mile when the short track opens for its 63rd year Saturday at 7 p.m.
KYLE BUSCH -BERLI(3).JPGNorm Jelsma, right, interviews Kyle Busch, left, and Johnny Benson during a big race at Berlin Raceway in 2006. 

Well, not all the sounds will be back, now that veteran track announcer Norm Jelsma said that he is retiring. Jelsma, who has served as track announcer for the past 18 years and has worked there for 30 seasons in all, made the announcement last week.
Jelsma, of Grand Rapids, is co-owner with Jeff Striegle on the Racingawareness.com Foundation race team, and he said his huge commitment as a car owner has resulted in him hanging up his microphone.
“Racingawareness.com has raised over $100,000 in three years, and you can’t imagine the time and effort that goes into the team,” Jelsma said. “It has become a business, and it really has become a full-time job beside the full-time job that I have.”
Matt McKenzie and Chris Danielson will serve as track announcers. McKenzie has worked with Jelsma in the past at Berlin, while Danielson previously co-hosted the Chris & Emilee Show on WJQK-FM in Holland.
Jelsma, who works for Magnum Coffee in Nunica, got his start at Berlin working for track founder Chester Mysliwiec in the early 1980s. Jelsma was instrumental in bringing the Berlin’s safety crew to the track, and he worked on the crew each Saturday night before replacing John Shipman as announcer.
‘If you’re not excited right now, then you’re not hooked up right,’ developed into Jelsma’s popular catch phrase he shouts over the roaring engines prior to the start of the evening’s biggest races.
“I certainly have mixed emotions because I have worked with a lot of great people and have made a lot of friends, and I’ve learned from a lot of good people,” Jelsma said. “I always enjoyed working with Tony Stewart when he came back. He was a lot of fun.
“One of my favorite drivers was Freddie Campbell. I always enjoyed watching the 47 racing around there.”
Jelsma will still be spotted in the Berlin pits this season. Racingawareness.com raises funds and awareness for the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation, and it returns with two cars this season. Dave Lake is back to drive the No. 55L Super Late Model, while Kevin DeGood has returned to race the No. 97L Modified.
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Berlin Raceway track operators looking to build on last year's momentum


Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.comBy Steve Kaminski | Skaminsk@mlive.com 
on April 09, 2013 at 8:20 AM, updated April 09, 2013 at 8:28 AM







MARNE – Mike Bursley is only 29 years old, but when it comes to auto racing, he has already worn a number of hats, and he will even put on a race helmet sometimes, too.
briantillema.jpgLong-time Berlin Raceway Sportsman division contender Brian Tillema debuted his new Super Stock during this past Saturday's test-and-tune session. 

Bursley has been a fan, successful car builder and team owner, and he won a Berlin Raceway Super Stock track championship in 2007, so he can wheel around a car as well.
mikebursley.JPGMike Bursley 

But arguably his most challenging role came last year when first-year Berlin operator Don DeWitt and his investors hired Bursley to serve as track general manager. Bursley, who already knew plenty about racing, learned a whole lot more about the promotion side of the sport.
johnnybenson.jpgJohnny Benson (No. 10), and Lee VanDyk turn laps in their Late Models during last Saturday's test-and-tune. 

“The most important thing I learned is that we are an entertainment business,” Bursley said. “If it isn’t for our fans who come out and support you, you don’t have a facility. The main thing is that we have to keep these fans happy.”
Berlin hosted a four-hour test-and-tune session this past Saturday, giving drivers an opportunity to shake down their cars in preparation for Saturday’s 7 p.m. season opener.
DeWitt and his group are the fourth operators to run the track in its 63-year history and the third in the past decade. Bursley called the first year a success despite the learning curve. He added that the goal for 2013 is to build on last year’s momentum, and the best way to do that is to continue to improve the fan experience.
Infrastructure improvements are a good place start.
“We are continuing to put a little bit of a facelift on the place,” Bursley said. “We are renovating a couple of sections of the bleachers in turn one and turn four. We put aluminum bleachers in, and we purchased some bleachers that will be going up. The whole frontstretch will be replaced in 2014. They will be fully enclosed and go up another 14 feet, and we are looking at putting suites on top of those. It will be very nice, but that is not scheduled until 2014.”
Exciting racing also is key, and Bursley said they are confident they have assembled a winning schedule. Berlin made a bold last year when officials covered the half-mile with dirt and hosted the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. The program went so well that officials plan to host three weekends of dirt racing in September once the season championship races are completed on Aug. 31.
But first things first.
Berlin will be opening its season with next Saturday’s 2nd annual Icebreaker. Berlin’s Outlaw Late Model division will highlight the program, and it will mark the first of a seven-race series that will award a $7,000 bonus to the season champion.
“Our Outlaw Late Model fund payout is $40,000, the largest Outlaw Late Model payout in the country, and we should have a very good car count as well,” Bursley said. “There also will be lap money. A driver will get $10 for every lap he leads.”
Other key dates include the June 15 Rowdy 251, Aug. 10 ARCA race and the Aug. 30 2nd annual Chet Championship Weekend.
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