Huge 100-lap, $20,000-To-Win Event Will Return Showplace Oval To Its Dirt-Track Roots

by Berlin Raceway Media PR
Berlin Raceway is going to get down and dirty in 2012.

Harkening back to the famed facility's beginnings as a dirt track six decades ago, the new management team of the Michigan speedway has announced plans to cover the 7/16th-mile oval's asphalt surface with a layer of clay for a spectacular season-ending program featuring the renowned World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

Keyser Manufacturing Co. of Coopersville, Mich., has signed on to sponsor the huge weekend scheduled for Sept. 21-22, providing fans from the Midwest and beyond the unique opportunity to witness dirt Late Model superstars sliding around one of the country's most storied and popular paved tracks.

A 100-lap WoO LMS A-Main paying $20,000 to win will serve as the highlight of the historic, as-yet-unnamed weekend. Berlin Raceway's management is setting up a fan contest to solicit ideas for the race's title, adding interactive flair to arguably the biggest dirt Late Model event ever contested in the state of Michigan.

"When we started making our plans for the 2012 season we threw around ideas that might create some excitement," said Berlin Raceway general manager Mike Bursley. "We thought putting dirt down for a big end-of-the-year show would be something that's not only different, but also great for the racetrack and great for the fans.

"We're going to bring Berlin Raceway back to where it started when Chet Mysliwiec and his family built it - and doing it with the World of Outlaws will be huge."

A staple of the Wolverine State's motorsports scene since 1950, Berlin Raceway will celebrate its 62nd year of competition in 2012 with the energetic duo of Bursley, 28, and Kurt Dietrich, 33, serving as co-promoters for DBD Ventures, the Don Dewitt-led investment group that purchased the track's lease during the off-season. The first dirt race since Berlin was paved in 1966 will conclude an ambitious '12 schedule that includes the track's traditional weekly action and major events.

by Kari Shear-Carlson
January 18, 2012 - The American Speed Association® Midwest Tour is excited to add Berlin Raceway in Berlin, MI to the 2012 schedule. This event will be on Saturday, June 2nd and will be sponsored by the Muskegon, MI based Port City Racecars.

“Our schedule has been forming up very nicely and we assumed we were all locked up until we received a phone call from the guys at Berlin Raceway. If there was one track that we would like to add to our schedule it would have been Berlin and it was really comforting to hear how excited they were to have the Touring Stars of the ASA Midwest Tour make an inaugural visit to the historic ARTGO track. We will always continue to keep this series Midwest based and when you can go into a new market, it benefits the notoriety of our drivers and greatly improves the footing for our corporate sponsors. A lot of history will be relived by adding I-44 and Berlin Raceway and we couldn't be any more proud of what we have to offer our fans in 2012,” said ASAMT VP, Steve Einhaus.

Berlin Raceway was built as a humble dirt track in 1950 when Chester Mysliwiec and family started a racing tradition. Today Berlin Raceway is a 7/16 paved oval with 13-degree banking in the turns and 9-degree banking on the straightaways.

The track has changed hands a few times over the years but in 2011 was purchased by DBD Ventures and will be promoted by Mike Bursley and Kurt Dietrich in 2012.

by Kyle Luetters
Many people told him it was too soon. His family and friends cautioned him against it. Joey Saldana, though, knew Wednesday night at Hartford Motor Speedway he was ready to return to World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.

With support from car owner Kasey Kahne, Saldana climbed back into #9 Red Bull Maxim for the first time in nine weeks, since suffering a shattered right forearm, a punctured lung and broken ribs in scary crash during the Kings Royal in July at Eldora Speedway. He never looked back. Saldana earned the pole position at the half-mile dirt oval and dominated the 25-lap feature for his fifth victory of the season and the most uplifting win of his career.

“This was way more than I expected tonight,” said Saldana, of Brownsburg, Ind. “My family thought it was too soon but I kept telling them I was ready. I was working out very hard at Pit Fit in Indianapolis to get myself ready to come back. I wanted to come back and be competitive and build something for next year. That’s why I came back for these races. I know and respect racing. Several drivers have been in accidents like mine and will never crawl back into a car. I’m very lucky and blessed to be here tonight and to come away with a win is huge.”

An eight in the dash inversion draw put Saldana on the outside row for the 6-lap sprint that determines the first 10 starting spots of the main event. Saldana wrestled the lead away from four-time champion Donny Schatz to earn the right to start on the pole for the 25-lap feature.

Saldana raced away from the field at the drop of the green flag and held Schatz and the rest of the field at bay through three restarts. As he pulled away from the pack in the closing laps, the battle was on for second as two title contenders battled back and forth. Current points leader and defending series champion Jason Meyers bobbled on a restart, but was another yellow flag waved before the entire field had completed a lap to give him back his spot. Making the best of his second chance, Meyers got a good jump and used his momentum to get around Schatz.

I-96 Speedway Media PR Photoby Matt Prieur
The Premier division within the United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) DIRTcar Racing Series; The Tinney Automotive UMP Late Models decided their 2011 Track Champion and Rookie of the Year on Saturday, August 27th at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan during the 2011 Season Championships Part I.

Coming into the night, three drivers were still mathematically eligible and would decide the outcome of the 2011 Track Title. St. Johns, Michigan standout, Zack Olger held onto a 21-point advantage over Traverse City, Michigan driver, Brandon Thirlby while Muskegon, Michigan's Tom Sprague Jr., was only 15 markers behind Thirlby. Olger simply needed to finish fifth or better in the 2011 Season Championship Feature and he would win the 2011 Track Championship no matter where Thirlby or Sprague Jr., finished!

Unfortunately for Olger, he blew a motor the night before at Mt. Pleasant Speedway and couldn't get another engine in time or another car to borrow and was a no show, thus ending his chances at a first career Track Championship. This set up a showdown between Thirlby and Sprague Jr., and going into the 2011 Season Championship Feature, Thirlby carried a slim 15-point lead over Sprague Jr.

The Tinney Automotive UMP Late Models 2011 Season Championship 30-lap Feature would be the second main event of the evening to hit the 3/8s (0.375) mile high-banked dirt oval and leading the field to the green flag would be Thirlby, who also came into the night fourth in the UMP DIRTcar Racing Series National points standings, and Curtis Roberts leading the field to chief starter, Tim Beebe's green flag. Thirlby would grab the lead only to be immediately challenge by Sprague Jr., who started fourth and snuck by Roberts to take second spot.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 21 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)by Reid Spencer (Sporting News Wire Service)
Michigan finally unrolled the welcome mat for Kyle Busch, the first official member of the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Busch got his first Sprint Cup Series victory at Michigan International Speedway in his 14th start at the 2.0-mile track, holding off Jimmie Johnson in a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.

Busch beat Johnson to the finish line by .568 seconds to claim his series-best fourth victory of the season and the 23rd of his career. Busch kept Johnson winless at Michigan, one of five active tracks on the Cup circuit where the five-time champion hasn’t been to victory lane.

Brad Keselowski continued his recent surge with a third-place run, followed by Mark Martin and Ryan Newman. Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth completed the top 10.

Busch clinched his berth in the Chase by virtue of the fourth win, which guarantees him at least a wild-card berth in NASCAR’s 10-race playoff. He also claimed sole possession of the series lead, by 10 points over Johnson, after Carl Edwards finished 36th because of electrical problems and dropped from a share of first to fourth in the standings.

“It’s awesome,” Busch said. “That’s what we wanted. We wanted make sure that we could come out here and win races and have the opportunity to go for broke.”

Busch’s car wasn’t particularly good in practice on Saturday, but that changed dramatically when he and crew chief Dave Rogers put their heads together after the final session.

by Kevin Kovac
Brady Smith scrawled his name all over Saturday night’s first-ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Merritt Raceway.

The 34-year-old driver from Solon Springs, Wis., was perfect at the quarter-mile oval, sweeping the program in convincing fashion. He set fast time, won a heat race and dominated the Lane Automotive/All-Star Performance 50 from start-to-finish.

Smith was never seriously challenged en route to his first WoO LMS triumph since Feb. 13, 2010, at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. It was his fourth career triumph overall on the national tour.

“This was our first time here and it couldn’t have gone any better,” said Smith, who earned $10,050 for becoming the 11th different winner in 26 WoO LMS A-Mains this season. “We unloaded pretty fast, set fast time, won the heat, drew the pole and won the feature. That’s a great night.”

Smith pulled off just the second complete sweep of a WoO LMS show in 2011, joining his chassis builder Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., who accomplished the hat trick on June 24 in the second Firecracker 100 preliminary program at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

DIRTcar UMP standouts Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., and Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., chased Smith from the second and third positions, respectively, for the entire distance and finished in those spots. Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., started and finished fourth and two-time defending WoO LMS champion Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., advanced from the 12th starting spot to place fifth.

Richards, who reached fifth on a lap-39 restart when he slipped underneath Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., fell short of a series-record-tying fourth consecutive win but pulled within striking distance of points leader Rick Eckert of York, Pa. Eckert’s season-worst 16th-place finish allowed Richards to slice his deficit in the standings from 50 to 28 points with nine events remaining on the ’11 schedule.