July 21 , 2007

Ruttan breaks through for first-ever Super Stock victory
Root, A. Davis and T. Thomas also reach winners circle

Marne, MI— The Engine Pro Super Stock division had a first-time winner in Pete Ruttan and the De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock class saw Scott Root pick up his first win of the season. Allen Davis of the Instant Cash Advance Sportsman division and Tom Thomas from the Coors Light Late Models both added to their wins totals in an exciting night of racing at Berlin Raceway.

The De-Jay Slick Truck Pro Stock division took the track first; #76 Ryan Gruppen and #7 Kevin DeGood lead the field to the green flag. Gruppen had the lead and DeGood rode behind him while the rest of the field was racing side-by-side. The first caution of the evening came out on lap 3 for the #61 car of Jack DeJong spinning out of turn 3. After the restart, #15 Scott Root’s car was on the move; he passed DeGood for 2nd after a 4-lap side-by-side battle. Root then set his sights on Gruppen, catching and passing him for the lead in 4 laps. With 5 laps to go, Root had pulled away from Gruppen and went on to win his first race of the season by 2.249 seconds. Gruppen, #76 Brian Tillema, #24 Lee VanDyk, #52 Bruce Chase, #50 Justin Regnerus, DeGood, #3 Travis Nylaan, #51 Weston Jewett and #86 Ray Melinn rounded out the top ten.

Caution flags seemed to be the theme of the night for the Engine Pro Super Stocks. The drama began on lap 3 when #6 Bob Bliss and #1 Brian Wiersma made contact on the backstretch. Bliss spun and the rest of the field was able to avoid the incident. A single file restart followed the caution and there were great battles shaping up throughout the field, but on lap 8 the caution was out again. The #4 car of Joel Baker spun on the frontstretch. The 3rd caution of the night came out just after the restart; the #15 machine of Pete Ruttan and #12 Josh Slade made contact during hard racing and that resulted in an “accordion effect.” The cars of #27 Bill Shotko, #22 Adam Hudson, #76 Warren Speet and #23 Mike Bursley were all involved. A caution on lap 18 for #66 Nate Walton, #8 Billy Eppink, #10 Bob Spencer and #F1 Randy Veldman resulted in a seven-minute red flag. After a clean restart, trouble was brewing again. Battling for 2nd, Ruttan bumped Slade, sending Slade in to the turn 1 wall. With 9 laps to go, VanAllsburg, Ruttan and Koslek were racing for the lead. Ruttan overtook VanAllsburg on the outside on lap 28 and won his first race of the season. The rest of the top ten were Koslek, #55 Dave Lake, Bursley, Wiersma, VanAllsburg, #X Ray Clay, #77 Andrew Nylaan, Walton and #15 Mat McClarren.

The Coors Light Late Model race was much like the Super Stocks; loaded with cautions. The front row of #30 Bryan Clay and #222 Caleb Bisacky had problems on the initial start, but once the cars got restarted, Bisacky took off with the lead. #82 Tom Thomas had no problems moving up, passing Clay on lap 4 and after 9 laps, he caught and passed Bisacky. Cautions bunched the field back up numerous times between laps 13 and 25 for single-car incidents, but Thomas was able to hold of Bisacky and pull away from the field on every restart. Thomas showed a dominating performance and won his third race of the season by almost 4 seconds. Bisacky, #77 Terry VanHaistma, #47 Fred Campbell, #55 Chris Anthony, #12 Tim DeVos, #27 Billy Shotko, #28 Scott Thomas, # 8 Dakota Carlson and #11 Leroy Magoon finished in the top ten.

The night’s finale was put on by the Instant Cash Advance Sportsman division; #33 Allen Davis and #11 Tim Stuart started on the front row. Davis took off with the lead and his brother #88 Tony Davis was right behind him. Caution was out early for a spin on frontstretch by Stuart. On the restart, T. Davis was right on A. Davis’ bumper, but A. Davis was able to pull away as #22 Ken Roelofs challenged T. Davis for second. Roelofs passed T. Davis on the outside on lap 10 and it appeared that A. Davis was going to drive away with the win. A caution with 6 laps to go erased A. Davis’ lead, but he was able to get a good restart and win his second race of the season. The rest of the top ten were Roelofs, T. Davis, #59 John Evans, #40 Dave Cutler, #97 Andy Stormzand, #57 Allan Troup, #81 Marc Coleman, #44 Brian VanZalen and #15 Garison Jewett.

Racing action at Berlin Raceway resumes this Saturday, July 28, for the 57th Anniversary Night. The night will feature a 4-in-1 show plus the Vintage Racing Organization of America, a Post-Race Party with Black McKenzie and Fireworks. Tickets for Anniversary Night are $12 for adults, $6 for kids 6-12 and free for kids 5 and under. Pit passes are $25 (16 and older). Gates open Saturday at 12:15 p.m. and the first race begins at 7 p.m.

###