Berlin Raceway summary 2004-08-28

Bush, Wiersma extend points leads with wins; Lake wins fifth

MARNE, MI -- Joe Bush, Brian Wiersma and Dave Lake won their combined 16th, 17th and 18th feature wins of the 2004 season Saturday night at Berlin Raceway.

In the 30-lap Engine Pro Super Stock feature, #76 Warren Speet spun in turn 1 of the first lap; several cars piled on, with two cars, #53 Chris Modzeleski and #35 Kyle Anderson, suffering too much damage to continue. #30 Zach Dunson led, but points leader #1 Brian Wiersma was on the move, up to third from his sixth starting position by lap 10. #H7 John Smith Sr. made a move on leader Dunson in turn 2 but couldn't get around him. Caution came out on lap 17 as #12 Phil Greene spun coming out of turn 2. Dunson broke away from the pack with a great restart, but Wiersma picked away at the lead, passing Smith Sr. on lap 19 before catching and passing Dunson on lap 21to take the lead. The third and final caution of the race came out on lap 24 as #52 Jim Idema spun, and six laps later Wiersma, of Coopersville, claimed his seventh Clevite Trophy presented by The Dana Corp. sponsored by Engine Pro of the season and sixth in his last seven races by three quarters of a straightaway. Dunson finished second, followed by Smith Sr., #5 Ray VanAllsburg and Speet. #15 Greg Jewett won the Valvoline Hard Charger award by advancing 10 positions to finish 15th. Wiersma is running away with the points lead by 259 points over Bob Bliss with just three points races to go.

In the Coors Light Late Model feature, #12 Tim DeVos powered to the front from fifth starting position, taking the lead on lap 19. Three consecutive cautions through the middle of the race slowed the action, first for a lap 20 spin by #7 Alan Fricke, then #161 Alan Marcott on lap 27 and finally on lap 31 as #88 Tim Yonker, running in sixth position, slowed on the frontstretch with engine trouble, but was stuck on the high side and could'nt get down to the pits. On the lap 31 restart, DeVos jumped out to a big lead, and the race was for second place as #101 Joe Bush challenged Campbell for the position and took it on lap 35. #18 Lee Anderson also made it around Campbell for third position on lap 37. But points leader #101 Joe Bush was gaining on DeVos, running two tenths of a lap faster for several laps and catching him on lap 44, but on that same lap Marcott spun again in heavy traffic for the fourth caution of the race. On the restart, DeVos and Bush put on a great show as Bush tried to get around DeVos, first on the low side then finding success on the high side. Bush took the lead on lap 48, but DeVos managed to stay alongside him. On the next-to-last lap and a side-by-side chase for the lead, #32 Ross Meeuwsen spun on the backstretch to bring out the caution. That put Bush's car in the lead on the single-file restart, and Bush went on to win the Fel-Pro Trophy presented by The Federal Mogul Group sponsored by Engine Pro for the sixth time this season. DeVos finished second, followed by Anderson, Campbell and #37 Terry Senneker. #76 Brian Tillema won the Valvoline Hard Charger award by advancing 8 positions to finish 17th. Bush extended his points lead to 71 over teammate Lee Anderson with four races to go..

In the 25-lap Standale Lumber Sportsman feature, #55 Dave Lake started sixth and took the lead from #6 Terry Bockheim on lap 17, hanging on to claim his 5th Powerflex Trophy presented by Hastings Manufacturing Co. sponsored by Engine Pro of the season. #20 Dave Hull finished second, followed by #24 Lee VanDyk, Bockheim and #21 Terry Van Haitsma. #86 Ray Melinn won the Valvoline Hard Charger award by advancing 11 positions to finish 7th. Van Haitsma retained the points lead, but Lake is continuing to chip away at it by cutting into it by 12 points, now trailing 2941 to 2810 with four races remaining.

Berlin Raceway hosts the Monster Truck Challenge on Friday, September 3, then racing action resumes Saturday night, September 4, for a weekly points show, with the Coors Light Late Model, Engine Pro Super Stock and Standale Lumber Sportsman divisions competing. Tickets are $11 in advance and $12 at the gate for general admission and $25 for pit passes. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the first race begins at 7 p.m.

-www.berlinraceway.com.