June 16, 2007

Robbie Pyle wins the 1st annual Tradition 200

Stormzand continues dominance in Sportsman division

Marne, MI—Andy Stormzand continued his domination of the Instant Cash Advance Sportsman division, picking up his forth win of the season and ASA’s Robbie Pyle took the checked flag in the Tradition 200.

The Instant Cash Advance Sportsman division was back in action tonight and after qualifying and heat races, #20J George Munniksma and #88 Tony Davis were on the front row for the feature race.  Munniksma was out to an early lead and point leader #97 Andy Stormzand and #44 Brian VanZalen were on the move early, as was the #15 machine of Garison Jewett.  Leader Munniksma appeared to fighting a loose race car; he was passed by Stormzand early and fell back.  The #22 car of Ken Roelofs was also on the move early, making his way from 6th and battling Tony Davis for 2nd.  A chance for caution first presented itself when the #00 of Dennis Mann spun in turn 3, but no yellow came out as he recovered and rejoined the race.  The first caution of the night flew on lap 17 when #9 Jeff Sterken went off the backstretch, he drove out and was able to rejoin the field.  The caution flag tightened the field back up, but that didn't matter to Stormzand.  He took off after the restart and never looked back.  Stormzand went on to win his forth race of the year and the rest of the top ten were Roelofs, Jewett, Tony Davis, Munniksma, #57 Allan Troup, #59 John Evans, #33 Allen Davis, #40 Dave Cutler and #00 Dennis Mann. 

The ASA Late Model Series (ASALMS) returned to Berlin Raceway for the 1st annual Tradition 200 and four of Berlin’s local racers (Coors Light Late Model drivers #155 Chris Anthony, #77 Brian Campbell, #47 Fred Campbell and #21 Terry VanHaitsma) were part of the action.  Fred Campbell showed strength during Friday’s practice and Brian Campbell found himself at the top of the leader board at the end of Saturday’s first practice.  By the time qualifying rolled around, the car #121 of Robbie Pyle showed that he would be the one to beat, putting up the fastest time of 16.286.

The Tradition 200 saw #35 Keeton Hanks and #21 Terry VanHaitsma on the front row after Pyle drew for inversion and once the green flag fell on the field, Hanks was off and running.  By lap 5, the entire field was single file, feeling out their cars and saving their equipment for the remainder of the race.  The first challenge for position was between F. Campbell and Pyle, they were battling for 4th and Pyle got around him on lap 13.  Meanwhile, #155 was steadily moving up though the field and VanHaitsma was closing in on Hanks for the lead with B. Campbell and Pyle in tow.

The first caution of the night waved on lap 27 for a crash in turns 3 and 4 involving #13 Charlie Menard, #45 Michael Simko and #01 Alec Carll; this allowed the rest of the field to catch up to Hanks. The restart came on lap 34; B. Campbell made a charge for 2nd on VanHaitsma and Pyle and F. Campbell joined the action.  By lap 41 Hanks still had a large lead and VanHaitsma was trying to hold off his teammates, B. Campbell and F. Campbell.  VanHaitsma was unable to keep his car on the bottom of the track and he fell from 2nd to 5th in 1 lap. 

Lap 80 saw the first challenge for the lead; Pyle, who started in 6th, worked his way though the field and drove past Hanks on lap 82.  By the end of the 1st segment of 100 laps 6 cars had been lapped and the top five were Pyle, B. Campbell, F. Campbell, Anthony and #12 Michael Annett.

Segment 2 began after a ten minute break to give teams a chance to work on their cars and the restart on lap 100 was clean and single-file, but not for long.  Caution was out on lap 102, #116 Bob Varney spun on the front stretch just as ASALMS point leader #89 Travis Dassow was challenging VanHaitsma for 7th.  The restart came on lap 105 and B. Campbell had a big run on Pyle, but Pyle steadily pulled away, leaving B. Campbell and F. Campbell to battle for 2nd.  Another caution fell around lap 125 for the spinning cars of #11 Peter Cozzolino and #01 Alec Carll in turn 2.  The field was restarted on lap 130 and F. Campbell kept Pyle in striking distance, running the high side.  It paid off for F. Campbell; he took the lead on lap 136. Pyle was fighting back, looking to the inside of F. Campbell by lap 141, was almost taken out by the spinning #15 car of Kris Stump, and retaking the top spot on lap 150. 

The leader was Pyle and 2nd placed varied between B. Campbell and F. Campbell throughout the second segment.  With 10 laps to go, the leaders were in heavy traffic and that played right in to F. Campbell’s hands.  He was working the high side, trying to get around Pyle, but Pyle had slammed the door on a great run and F. Campbell began to fall back. 

The final caution of the night came out on lap 196; last year’s race winner B. Campbell hit the wall in turn 3 and he wasn’t happy with Anthony, showing his emotions when the pace car brought the field past him.  Anthony was sent to the back of the field.  The caution was great for F. Campbell, though, it gave him one more chance to pass Pyle. 

With four laps to go, the field was restarted; Pyle and F. Campbell were nose to tail, then F. Campbell went to the high side to try and gain some momentum, but he ran out of time.  Robbie Pyle won the 1st annual Tradition 200 and the rest of the top ten were F. Campbell, #12 Michael Annett, #8 Eddie Hoffman, VanHaitsma, #13 Charlie Menard, #35 Keeton Hanks, #89 Travis Dassow, #015 Colt James and Anthony.

Up next at Berlin Raceway is the visiting Short Track Trucks along with the Coors Light Late Models, Engine Pro Super Stocks and Instant Cash Advance Sportsman divisions racing presented by Kerkstra Septic. It's also Kids Night; kids 12 and under are free and there will be kids activities! The Short Track Trucks and Instant Cash Advance Sportsman divisions will have an on-track autograph session as well. Tickets are $12 for adults, 12 and under are free. 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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