Family Fun Night, 59th Anniversary Celebration, Faster Pastor/All Faith’s Night, VROA’s (Vintage Racing Organization of America), Coors Lite Late Models, Engine Pro Super Stocks, Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinders and Young Guns all waited on rain to pass and the track to dry, right up to the scheduled start of seven o’clock came, at Berlin Raceway Saturday night. Their patience paid off big as the pace from the beginning of Super Stock qualifying to fireworks at the end quickened every time a large cloud bank came into view ... then passed.
“Had problems with the car earlier ... have to thank Brad Perry for the part to fix it,” Samantha Jansen said of her No. 16 bright pink roadster that took the VROA feature from a mid pack start. She needed a couple of laps between heats to dial in the feel after the fix and before the race. Jansen moved through the pack from fourteenth to eight place before the first caution. While lead cars dropped off the pace due to slides and crashes, she positioned herself and drove hard and smart through wrecked and stopped cars. Her last challenge was to pass the leader, No. 47 Larry Mollohan, on lap ten. The cars were bunched for one last caution with a few laps to complete. The No. 86 of Bob Martin (finished second) tried to give chase but was to busy with Mollohan (third) to catch up as she drove away.
The Burnips Equipment 4-Cylinder leadership drama deepened with Dan Riemersma’s win from a thirty-fourth place start. “If you can get a car to turn here in the corners, that’s what it takes, that’s what I’ve said all along” was his comment from victory lane when questioned about last weeks impound and this weeks dominating win. As with all Berlin 4-cylinder races, thrills, spills, and back stretch drive-offs were in good supply. With the multiple rain-outs and the threat on the horizon features got packed with entrants, rather than running multiple races. Ryan Hamm, Pro Stock reigning champ and current leader Brian Tillema, and the No. 51 of Grady Gerken all took turns in the lead. Each caution and restart gave Riemersma another chance to get closer to the front, and he took full advantage of them all, gaining the lead with only four laps to go. Though the Berlin web site still gives him credit for the win, mylaps.com shows a DQ instead of first place.
With lap times approaching those of the Pro Stock Division, the Young Guns put on a great show in their feature. By lap four the No. 32 of Gabe Ensing had passed Kelsey Steele and was fighting Mitch Meppelink for the lead in hopes of regaining the points lead in the class. However, contact between the them in turn two slowed them enough allow Steele and Brandon Hermiller to sneak by. A couple of laps later Hermiller found the line to get around Steele and took home his second feature win of the season, but Steele still holds the points lead.
Coors Lite Late Models originally had two features on tap due to past rain outs, but with a schedule to maintain and rain an ever-present possibility, they were combined into one, one hundred lapper which was then shortened to seventy-five. Drama between teams over the changes, tire availability and probably end of the season jitters came to a head at a hastily called driver’s meeting where Berlin owner Mike Blackmer told all, “enough is enough, settle it on the track”. Ross Meeuwsen took the advice to heart, running the race of his life and gained back the class points lead with his second feature win of the season.
Former leader Terry VanHaitsma posted a DNF after a five car front stretch wreck that started with contact between Ross No. 32 and the No. 61 of Alec Carll while racing in the front. Meeuwsen got away and began chasing brothers Billy and Nick Shotco, who had started side by side on the front row and had battled for the lead alone until the No. 28 of Scott Thomas got on Billy’s bumper. Scott got a bit sideways out of turn four but recovered nicely to challenge Shotco again. This time Meeuwsen was positioned to force his way into the lead using lapped traffic to slow the leaders.
The final feature of the night gave Ray VanAllsburg his first feature win since August of 2004 in the Engine Pro Super Stock Division. He started in the front row next to Dewey Nylaan and raced clean in first while others fought each other for positions. Denny Anderson gave him his biggest scare when, with three laps to go, he came up along side. Ray knew his lines and stuck to them, while Anderson’s No. 18 came up in the corners then dropped back in the stretches. VanAllsburg has been in the top ten, and now five, throughout the year, which shows his team can compete, they just haven’t visited the Mountain Dew Winner’s Circle in a while. Class leaders Chris Muyskens and Brian Wiersma both had good showings placing eighth and sixth respectively which caused virtually no change at the top.
With only Miller Lite Night, the Port City Racing Classic and Championship night to go until points races are decided, the emotion and drama of life at the Berlin Raceway is coming to a head. Join us before the season ends and another winter slows things down.
