MARNE – A former track champion at the Berlin Raceway found himself on the road to victory, albeit in a different car.
Coopersville’s Kevin Ford is one of the top drivers in the Baker Auto Group Sportsman Series, winning the championship in 2022. In addition to driving his No. 4 car on a weekly basis, however, Ford has also jumped behind the wheel of the No. 5 car in the Model Coverall Limited Late Model series.
- Tickets for the Berlin Raceway are available at VividSeats
Ford shared the spot with Nick DeLongpre, a former Super Late Model and Superstock driver. In his first races on May 18, Ford finished second in a doubleheader. In Saturday night’s 50-lap main event, Ford beat some of the series’ best drivers to take the checkered flag for the first time.
“It’s just fun to drive this thing,” Ford said in victory lane. “It rolls really well… that thing was good. I can’t believe we won one of these damn things.”
He started the race sixth, gaining time as the race was clean and green for most of the way. However, after a competition caution at the halfway point, Tim Greene and Denny Anderson collided on the restart, with Greene’s No. 21 car sustaining significant damage after hitting the back straight wall and then slamming into the concrete barrier at Turn 3 after suffering a tire blowout. Greene was able to walk away from the accident unscathed, but his car was out of action for the evening.
That put Ford alongside Anderson, and when the green flag dropped, Ford had a big lead. Although veteran Billy Eppink began to close the gap in the final laps, Ford was able to hold on and take his first win in the division.
Ford thanks DeLongpre and car owner Tim Sweeney for their help in tuning the fast car.
“We had problems in practice, I didn’t qualify very well… In the prelims, things went really bad. I knew what was going to happen and I didn’t like it. Nick DeLongpre and Tim Sweeney came in and made a change. My goodness, they were wrong.”
A broken contract
It was a rough and tumble night for the National Compact Touring Series, which made its second of three appearances on Saturday night. After a few exciting heats that saw Kyle Ramsey, Matt Elsey Sr. and Logan Charron emerge victorious, fans were treated to an entertaining 25-lap main race.
Raymond Powell took an early lead before Chris Elwell took the lead. Despite a caution period after two laps, Powell was able to retake the lead when racing resumed. The Milford driver built a sizeable lead. However, lapped traffic caused Powell problems, allowing fast qualifier Matthew Elsey Jr. to catch up. The Ostego native took the lead with just 10 laps to go after Powell lost power.
Elsey didn’t let up and lapped all but two cars in the field, gaining a lead of almost 16 seconds.
- Tickets for the Berlin Raceway are available at VividSeats
ROBERTS BEATS HIS OWN CARS
The Ohio Wheelman Super Stocks made their only stop in Berlin this season.
In the 35-lap main race, Josh Caranci and Austin Wrestko battled for the lead early on, but Caranci was forced off the track when his car developed a noticeable leak. This left Wrestko battling with Tyler Hufford and Joe Coursen for the lead. On lap 5, Hufford got loose and pushed Wrestko into the wall. Hufford’s No. 5 car was sandwiched between Wrestko and series points leader Josh Poore, prompting the red flag.
All three drivers were fine, and although Poore came out and did a few laps after racing resumed, none of the trio finished the race.
For the final 35 laps, three cars battled for the lead. Joe and Alex Coursen and Billy Roberts were close together for most of the race. Both Coursen cars belong to Roberts, and none of the three wanted to wreck the other. Although Joe led for 32 laps, Roberts found an opportunity to pass him with three laps to go and eventually took the win.
PROFITS FOR SALE
Earlier this week, many people spotted longtime racer Alan Marcott’s Engine Pro Vintage Modified for sale. Although he admitted he was driving the car as a publicity stunt, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t compete for another checkered flag.
After winning the first race of the VROA season on May 4 in Berlin, Marcott had a really fast car again on Saturday and secured first place after just two laps of the 20-lap main race. Despite a yellow phase with eleven laps to go, the driver from Wayland managed to pull away from the field and win again in Berlin.
- Tickets for the Berlin Raceway are available at VividSeats
LOOKING AHEAD
Berlin is taking a week off to allow the track to cool down, but returns with an exciting night on Saturday, June 29, when the ARCA Menards Series returns to West Michigan. The long-running series has hosted events at the track since the 1960s and has featured future NASCAR stars such as Chase Elliott, William Byron and Byron native Erik Jones.
Additionally, the TEKTON Super Late Models will compete for the first time since Money in the Bank. The action begins at 6:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on FloRacing.
- RELATED: Late overtaking maneuver helps driver from Georgia to Money in the Bank at Berlin Raceway
FINAL RESULTS FOR 15 JUNE
Limited Late Model Feature (50 laps)
1. Kevin Ford (1)
2. Billy Eppink
3. Josh Frye
4. Denny Anderson
5. Allen Davis
6. Tim DeVos
7. Tom Boorsma
8. Matt Postma
9. Biniam Van Wynen
10. Scott Thomas
11. Tim Greene (failure)
12. Adam Casari (DNF)
Ohio Wheelman Super Stocks Feature (35 laps)
1. Billy Roberts
2. Joe Cursen
3. Alex Coursen
4. John Bennett
5. Josh Caranci
6. Josh Poore (Failure to perform)
7. Austin Wrestko (DNF)
8. Tyler Hufford (non-completion)
Main race of the National Compact Touring Series (25 laps)
1. Matthew Elsey Jr.
2. Dave Simpson
3. Keegan Leep
4. George Sparkman
5. Matthew Elsey Sr.
6. Cole Roelofs
7. Sheldon Lindlag
8. Kevin Powell
9. Robert Green
10. Paul Ritchie
11. Kyle Ramsey
12. Raymond Powell
13. Jackson Walker (failure)
14. Richard Succaw (DNF)
15. Chris Elwell (DNF)
16. Logan Charron (Failure to perform)
VROA Modified Feature (20 laps)
1. Alan Marcott (2)
2. Dave Sensiba
3. Trinton Bronkema
4. Randy Pierson
5. Dave Cutler
6. John Montgomery
7. Ken Quimby
8. Jim Bond
9. Mike Ouendag (DNF)
10. Genes first (DNF)
11. Brady Musser (DNF)
12. Duane Debonte (DNF)
- Tickets for the Berlin Raceway are available at VividSeats
Check out the entire Berlin Raceway Event calendar here
