May 12 , 2007

VanDoorn gets first win, Stormzand claims 3 out of 4

Sweeney and Hull also take checkers

Marne, MI-- Andy Stormzand picked up his third victory in the Instant Cash Advance Sportsman division while the Coors Light Late Model division, Engine Pro Super Stock division and De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock division all had new faces in Victory Lane with Johnny VanDoorn, Tim Sweeney and Dave Hull. 

The evening started out by honoring Mothers for Mothers Day.  Amy Chase (wife of De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock driver #52 Bruce Chase), Lori Nylaan (mother of De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock driver#3 Travis Nylaan and, Engine Pro Super Stock driver #77 Andrew Nylaan) and Karen VanZalen (mother of Instant Cash Advance Sportsman driver #44 Brian VanZalen) were slated to race each other in “Grocery Getters.”  VanZalen’s car didn’t make it on to the track, so that set up a 3-lap shootout between Chase and Nylaan.  Nylaan took the checkered flag over Chase in a close battle.

The first feature race of the night was the De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stocks.  Car #15 of Scott Root and #20 Dave Hull lead the field to the green flag and Hull was off to a great start.  A long green flag run let Hull jump out to a commanding lead, leaving the rest of the field to fight for second place. The #24 car of Lee VanDyk was on the move early, slowly working his was to the front after starting in 7th.  Around lap 10, VanDyk and #7 Kevin DeGood were starting to catch Hull, but due to a caution on lap 18 brought out by #18 Nick Bonstell spinning in turn two, Hull’s lead was diminished.  After the restart, Hull jumped out again to a large lead, leaving DeGood and VanDyk to battle for second.  There was just no stopping Hull; he went on to win after leading all of the laps in the race; the rest of the top ten were VanDyk, DeGood, #76 Brian Tillema, #52 Bruce Chase, #3 Travis Nylaan, #15 Scott Root, #50 Justin Regnerus, #97.9 Ryan Schanbel and #76 Ryan Gruppen. 

Up next was the Coors Light Late Model feature with #8 Dakota Carlson and #18 Lee Anderson on the front row.  Carlson took an early lead and defending track champion #82 Tom Thomas was on the move from the drop of the green flag, moving up two positions by lap 3.  The first caution of the night waved on lap 5 when #101 Joe Bush spun on the front stretch.  This tightened the field back up.  Anderson got a great restart, pressuring Carlson for the lead.  Thomas continued his march to the front passing the #32 machine of Ross Meeuwsen on lap 10.  The #71 of John VanDoorn came to life on that restart as well, battling with Anderson for 2nd; the two had a 9-lap side-by-side battle until VanDoorn passed Anderson on lap 21 and began to pursue the leader, Carlson.  On lap 23, Carlson was passed by VanDoorn and Anderson, he then fell in to the clutches of 10-time track champion #47 Fred Campbell.  Campbell was also on a mission to get to the front, passing Carlson for 3rd on lap 25 then passing Anderson for 2nd on lap 30.  Leader VanDoorn started to put cars a lap down on lap 27 and after he cleared the lapped cars, he ran away from the field.  Vandoorn’s lead was quickly erased on lap 31 when caution waved a second time for an incident involving Meeuwsen.  As soon as the race got restarted, the caution flag was back out for an incident with the #57 car of Alan Marcott on the restart.  Following the restart, caution was out again for a spin in turn 4 involving Meeuwsen and #9 Mike Root.  Caution waved yet again just after the field took the green flag, Marcott and Root had trouble on the restart.  The race finally got a clean restart and VanDoorn, with Campbell in 2nd, checked out from the field.  The sixth and final caution waved with just 8 laps to go when #33 Dave Stehouwer spun by himself in turn 2.  No one had anything for VanDoorn in the final 8 laps; he cruised to his first victory in the Coors Light Late Model division and celebrated with a “Polish Victory Lap” and a burnout on the frontstretch.  Campbell settled for 2nd and the rest of the top ten were Anderson, Thomas, #21 Terry VanHaitsma, Calrson, #27 Billy Shotko, #55 Chris Anthony, # 1 Randy Sweet and #222 Caleb Bisacky.

The Engine Pro Super Stocks took the track next, #88 Tim Sweeney and #6 Bob Bliss lead the field to the green flag.  Sweeney had a great start, but it was #22 Adam Hudson on the move early, passing Bliss for 2nd on lap 2.  Also moving up fast were the cars of #1 Brian Wiersma and #23 Mike Bursley.  They were working together early in the race trying to get around the #5 of Ray VanAllsburg.  That battle ended in the first caution of the night; Wiersma and VanAllsburg made contact in turn 2 and Bursley also got a piece of that accident.  The caution didn’t appear to have hurt Wiersma.  After the restart, Wiersma was pursuing 2nd place Hudson with Bursley in tow, the damage on Bursley car was not slowing him down either.  Caution waved with two laps to go, #15 Pete Ruttan and #12 Josh Slade got together in turn 2 in a battle for 5th.  That set up a 3-lap shootout; Sweeney got a great restart while Hudson was under attack from Bursley and Wiersma.  Sweeney took the victory and second place was claimed Hudson, .158 seconds in front of Bursley.  Wiersma, #X Ray Clay, #12 Josh Slade, #55 Dave Lake, #33 Jerry Groeneveld, #F1 Randy Veldman and #8 Billy Eppink rounded out the top ten.

The last race of the night featured the Instant Cash Advance Sportsman division; #15 Garison Jewett and #44 Brian VanZalen were on the front row.  Jewett and VanZalen put on a great show, battling side by side for the first four laps; the side-by-side battles were constant throughout the field.  The #97 car of Andy Stormzand was moving through the field quickly; he started 6th and passed VanZalen for the lead on lap 5.  By the time the race reached the halfway point, the racing calmed down a bit and Stormzand was checking out.  The #22 car of Ken Roelofs was reeling in the leader and caught him in two laps.  At the end of the race, Roelofs ran out of laps, coming up .124 seconds short.  Stormzand took his third victory in four tries and the rest of the top ten were Roelofs, #81 Marc Coleman, #40 Dave Cutler, #15 Garison Jewett, #67 Mike Welch, #59 John Evans, #88 Tony Davis, #33 Allen Davis and #57 Allen Troup.

Berlin Raceway is back in action next Saturday, May 19, for a 4-in-1 weekly show plus 4-Cylinder Race; Girl Scout Night; Cadet Night; Electric Car Race and Train Races.  Tickets are $12 for adult general admission, $6 for kids 6 to 12 and free for kids 5 and under. Pit passes for those 16 and over are $25. Gates open at 12:15 p.m. and the first race begins at 7 p.m.

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