"Rowdy's Revenge" Winners Circle

Kyle Busch during Driver Introductions at Berlin (Tom DeVette Photo)

Kyle "Rowdy" Busch showed why he is considerd one the top drivers in all of a racing. Busch held off Bill Elliot's son Chase Elliot and Matt Kenseth's son Ross Kenseth down the stretch. The 14 year old Elliot put a bumper on Busch with two laps to go but all that did was make Busch turn up the wick and pull away for the win.Kenseth took tires late in the event and went from eleventh to third before runing out of time. Look for both of these youngsters to be the future of NASCAR.

Locals Chris Anthony had a great run to finish in the fifth spot while Johhny VanDoorn charged to a to a sixth place finish after being involved in an accident with less than 20 laps to go.

1)#51 Kyle Busch
2)#9 Chase Elliot
3)#25 Ross Kenseth
4)#53 Boris Jurkovic
5)#155 Cris Anthony
6)#61 Johnny VanDoorn
7)#10 Ryan Blaney
8)#121 Robbie Pyle
9) #115 Joey Miller
10)#161 Ross Meeuwsen

West Michigan Racing Honor Roll

Checkered Flags: John McCaul has three wins in a row at Thunderbird Raceway
Steve Kaminski |
The Grand Rapids Press

Jason Blonde
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was making plenty of noise at Michigan International Speedway last weekend, but there was plenty of great racing at the local tracks as well.

Share Jason Blonde, Litchfield
Blonde won Friday night’s Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Super Sprints Series main at Toledo Speedway. Blonde grabbed the lead with six laps to go and went on to win the 30-lapper.

Trever Fedewa, Mount Pleasant
Fedewa won a pair of feature races last weekend at Mt. Pleasant Speedway. Fedewa captured top honors in the scheduled Stock Minis feature, and he won the main from the May 28 main as well.

Scott Hoernlein, Saginaw
Hoernlein won Sunday’s Pro class at the Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, ripping off a pass of 127.78 mph in 10.05 seconds. Hoernlein also was runner-up in the May 15program.

John McCaul, Montague
McCaul won last weekend’s UMP Modified Paul Bouwman Memorial feature race at Thunderbird Raceway. The red-hot McCaul has won three consecutive Modified features at the Muskegon-based track.

Brian Tillema, Byron Center
Berlin Raceway’s two-time defending Pro Stock champion is heating up. Tillema won his second consecutive feature race this past Saturday night. He has two wins, a third and a fourth in four starts this season.

Kyle Busch Looking Forward to Berlin Raceway

NASCAR star Kyle Busch looks forward to shot at short track drivers at Berlin Raceway

Steve Kaminski |
The Grand Rapids Press

MARNE -- NASCAR Sprint Cup spent this past weekend tearing around Michigan International Speedway, but drivers Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger and Bill Elliott appear to be in no hurry to leave the state.

All three have stuck around for Tuesday’s 7 p.m. program at the Berlin Raceway.

Busch, who is second in the Sprint Cup point standings, will be competing in the night’s main event, the Rowdy’s Revenge 251. The winner could earn up to $25,000, based on car count.

Allmendinger is entered in the 50-lap Modified feature. It will be Allmendinger’s first race in a Modified.

Elliott will be signing autographs and working with his son, Chase Elliott, 14. Chase is scheduled to compete in the Rowdy’s Revenge, which is a template body Late Model race.

The three arrived Monday after completing Sunday’s race at MIS and met with area media. Busch trails Kevin Harvick by 22 points in the Cup standings, but he said he will worry about the likes of Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon when he gets to Sonoma, Calif., later this week for Sunday’s Cup race.

For now, his only focus is winning Tuesday's race.

ROWDY'S REVENGE 251
When, where: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Berlin Raceway in Marne

Who to watch: Kyle Busch will be competing in the Late Model race, while A.J. Allmendinger will be racing in the Modified main. Bill Elliott will be signing autographs.

Tickets: Adults $20, seniors 60-and-up $18, children 6-12 $5 and 5-and-under free
“When you come out here and race, you are racing against the best of the best in the Late Model ranks, guys who might not get a shot to move up to the big leagues, but these guys are really good,” Busch said. “It gives them a chance to race against me, but I get a chance to race against some of the best short track racers.”

Allmendinger will be racing the Modified that area car owners Jeff Striegle, Norm Jelsema and Mike Bursley built this offseason, with proceeds raised from the car’s efforts this season being donated to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Allemdinger drives the No. 43 Ford Fusion for car owner Richard Petty in Sprint Cup, and Striegle, of Byron Center, is a reporter for the Motorsports Racing Network. Striegle invited Allmendinger to come to Berlin earlier this season.

“I like new challenges,” said Allmendinger, who is 22nd in the Cup point standings. “To be able to come to a place that is very unique in its own right is going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it.

“When Jeff Striegle came over to me this year in Fontana and asked me to come out and try this and come to Berlin for this race and to be able to do something new and for a great cause, the Helen DeVos Children’s Foundation, it was something for me that I wasn’t going to say no."

Terry Senneker and Jack Varney Stage Late Race Battle at East Vs. West O...

Berlin Raceway: Tillema Pro Stock News and Weekend Winners

Defending champion Brian Tillema continues Pro Stocks success at Berlin Raceway
Cris Greer
The Grand Rapids Press

Defending Pro Stocks champion Brian Tillema is making his move at Berlin Raceway.
Tillema, who won Saturday's 30-lap race, currently is in second place in the points standings with 572. Weston Jewett leads the way with 612.

After a restart on lap 14, Tillema slowly moved up through the pack and grabbed the lead on lap 19 from Scott Root.

“Success has kind of come and gone depending on the class we’ve been in, but in this class with this car, we seem to have done really well,” said Tillema, who’s been racing for 15 years. “It’s a good car, but it’s a good class, too.

"It’s a good fit for me. I like the treaded tires; the car slides around. It’s a lot more fun than the Super Stock or Late Model cars.”

Tillema, of Byron Center, has won the Pro Stock championship the past three years.

Last year, he had two wins, 14 top-five finishes and 15 top-10 finishes.

Here's a wrapup of the weekend winners from around the state:

BERLIN RACEWAY

•USAC Sprints: Brian Clauson
•USAC Midgets: Daniel Bedford
•Pro Stocks: Brian Tillema

CRYSTAL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

•Late Models: Scott Baker
•Street Stocks: Mike Vandermark Jr.
•Cory Burch: Flinn Stocks
•Scott Neiman: Pro Trucks

U.S. 131 MOTORSPORTS PARK
•Pro Extreme: Josh Hernandez
•Pro Nitrous: Lee Adkins
•Extreme 10.5: Gary White
•Pro Extreme Motorcycle: Ashley Owens
•Extreme Pro Stock: John Montecalvo
•Pro Junior Dragster: Tayler Weatherford

THUNDERBIRD RACEWAY
•Late Models 1: Alan Vochaska
•Late Models 2: Alan Vochaska
•Modifieds: John McCaul
•Street Stocks: Dan Dykman
•Bombers: Spike Grega
•Thunder Stocks: Mel Whitten
•UMP Warriors: Ryan Hamm

AROUND THE STATE

DIXIE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
•Super Late Models: Terry Senneker Jr.
•Pro Stocks; Jon Giffel
•Street Stocks: Robby Johnston
•Bombers: Cam Hiltz
•Figure 8s: Tony Williams

HARTFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY
•SOD Sprints: Dustin Daggett
•Modifieds: Jacob Poel
•Stock Car: Tom Disterheft

MT. PLEASANT SPEEDWAY
•Late Models: Rich Neiser
•Modifieds: Rich Robinson Jr.
•Stock Cars: Gary Vandermark
•Mini Stocks: Trever Fedewa
•Stock Minis: Patrick McNamara
May 28 makeup features
•Stock Cars: Gary Vandermark
•Mini Stocks; Trever Fedewa
•Stock Minis: Steve Keeler Jr.

OWOSSO SPEEDWAY
•Pro Late Models: Mark Welch
•Michigan Legends Series: Loren Short
•Pure Stocks: Gary Pelky
•Sport Stocks: Matt Vainner

SPARTAN SPEEDWAY
•Sprints: Tommy Fedewa
•Modifieds: Larry Wallace
•Pure Stocks: Ben Hidy