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MARNE, Mich. – The first premier event of the 2023 season at Berlin Raceway took place on Wednesday night, as some of the best short track drivers around the country, including many local talents, took to the 7/16-mile track in the seventh annual Betten Baker Money in the Bank 150.
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JONESING FOR THE MONEY
Despite qualifying seventh, NASCAR Cup Series driver Erik Jones was able to take advantage of an invert, getting a chance to start on the front row. He jumped ahead of Grand Rapids native Lee VanDyk when the green flag dropped, but his lead was threatened a little over 20 laps later by Kyle Crump, and after a lengthy battler, Crump was able to get the better of the Byron native.
The driver of the No. 71 machine held the lead all the way through a competition caution at Lap 50. Then, on Lap 71, another yellow flag came out after former Muskegon resident, and ex-American Speed Association driver, Mike Garvey spun between Turns 3 and 4. Yet, Crump was able to get a good jump on the ensuing restart, holding off the likes of Jones and teenager Gio Ruggerio. The Brighton native held the lead through some bumpy moments in lapped traffic, with another caution coming out with just 30 laps to go after Ruggerio and Burda got together.
After everyone changed two tires, Crump elected to take the inside line, something he did not do on the previous restarts. That allowed Jones to skyrocket to the lead when action resumed. While there were some lapped cars that he had to keep an eye on, Jones was able to cruise to victory, winning the $10,000 prize, his fourth win at Berlin.
“This was special for a lot of reasons,” the Legacy Motor Club driver told FloRacing’s Zach Harig in victory lane. “It’s been a while since I’ve won a race here.”
The last time Jones was victorious in Marne was at the Battle at Berlin in 2016, which was an emotional win as it was the week after his father passed away. Wednesday marked seven years to the day that he lost his dad.
“It’s cool for a lot of reasons. This is my car, we struggled at North Wilkesboro, and I think we made up for it here. It feels pretty special, and it certainly ranks up there.”
Jones is also just the second driver to have won both of the track’s premier events, as he is a two-time winner of the Battle at Berlin, joining Brian Campbell in that exclusive list.
COMING CLOSE
Kyle Crump
The man that finished behind Jones knew he had a great car coming into the race, but many wondered about whether or not Crump’s machine could make it the whole race. He certainly proved them wrong, and coming up short to a driver in the Cup Series was not the worst thing.
“I kept waiting for [Jones] to make a mistake,” Crump told FloRacing pit road reporter Devin Serra. “He doesn’t mistakes, and I guess that’s why he races on Sundays. That was cool, racing with Erik Jones for the win, and if you’re gonna lose to a guy, I guess that ain’t a bad guy to lose to.”
Bubba Pollard
Always a favorite whenever he comes to Berlin, Pollard, who won the inaugural race in 2017, had to really battle to finish third in the MITB. The Senoia, Georgia native had to start 18th after a lackluster performance in qualifying. However, he felt like he got the most out of his No. 26 car.
“We weren’t good all day,” Pollard told Serra after the race. “We had good enough race car to make it up there and have a good finish. We learned a lot, got a good notebook for when we come back for the [Battle at Berlin] 251.”
Andrew Scheid
A driver that had one of his best runs where he did not win is Andrew Scheid. The Sparta native qualified second, and had a couple of battles with Pollard in different portions of the race. He was good enough to snag a fourth-place finish on Wednesday, his best finish in any of the track’s big events, and Scheid was sure to give a lot of credit to his team.
“This new team is kind of everything for me,” The 19-year-old to Harig after the night was done. “Great guys, dedicated, passionate and they know how to make a fast race car.”
With one win in regular competition this season, Scheid says his goal is to win at least three races this season.
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BIG NAMES FALL OUT
Brian Campbell
The two-time Money in the Bank champion was expected to be in the running to finish first on Wednesday night, especially after setting the fastest time in qualifying. However, a penalty to Campbell for coming onto pit road too early under caution on Lap 120 forced the Wyoming native to the back of the penalty. The driver of the No. 47 Senneker chassis said if he did not come in, he was going to run out of gas.
“History says 75-110 laps the yellow flag comes,” the two-time track champion mentioned to Serra. “We bet wrong this time.”
Campbell was also penalized in last year’s event for a pit road incident, but still sits atop the track’s Super Late Model standings.
Carson Hocevar
Just a few days removed from his Cup Series debut, it was a series of unfortunate events for Carson Hocevar. The Portage native was unable to get comfortable with his VRD racing machine, and ended up pulling it in with just 41 laps to go, citing a problem with his left rear tire.
“Thought we would be able to get an approved tire change,” The 20-year-old told Harig on pit road. “But [race officials] did not let us change it. It just started vibrating really bad, and didn’t want to create a yellow or create any issues for anyone else.”
Evan Shotko
The reigning Battle at Berlin winner, and 2022 SLM track champion had high hopes this week, but had to shut it down with 88 laps to go. Shotko said after the race they were unsure of the problem.
“[The car] was terribly inconsistent. One lap it would do one thing, the next lap it would do another, so we just decided to park it. We know it’s a good car, but it was just something breaking, something going bad.”
A DIFFERENT HOLTZLANDER IN VICTORY LANE
Also in action on Wednesday was the Betten Baker Sportsman series for an extended 40-lap feature.
A tense start to the race saw Tanner Tallarico take an early lead, but was quickly passed by Korey Ensing. He was able to hang onto first for over 10 laps, but a slight slip-up coming out of Turn 2 on Lap 15 allowed Dennis Holtzlander III to jump out in front. Everything was clean and green until Lap 20, when a competition caution came out.
A couple laps after the restart, Jack Russell was forced to check up on the backstretch, which led to Scott Baker getting into the back of him, bringing out another yellow flag. However, Holtzlander, who is the brother of former track champions Ryan Holtzlander (Sportsman, 4-Cylinder) and Corey Holtzlander (4-Cylinder), was able to hold off Kevin Ford to pull out his first feature win since moving up to the Sportsman series.
COMING UP
The 500 Sprint Car Tour returns to Berlin on Saturday for the first of two stops this season. Fans will be treated to Non-Wing Sprints and Midgets, along with a couple of local series, as the Model Coverall Limited Late Models and Auto Value 4-Cylinders are in action.
Racing begins at 6:30 p.m. ET, and can be viewed online on FloRacing.
- Get tickets to Berlin Raceway on Ticketmaster, StubHub and VividSeats
FINAL RESULTS FOR JUNE 7
Money In The Bank 150
1. Erik Jones
2. Kyle Crump
3. Bubba Pollard
4. Andrew Scheid
5. Gio Ruggerio
6. Blake Rowe
7. Sean Hingorani
8. Scott Thomas
9. Trevor Sanborn
10. Austin Hull
11. Dylan Stovall
12. Ken Wobma
13. Brian Campbell
14. Boris Jurkovic
15. Derek Kneeland
16. Nate Walton
17. Derek Griffith
18. Chase Burda
19. Brian Tillema
20. Tony Elrod
21. Andrew Gresel
22. Trevor McCoy
23. Carson Hocevar (DNF)
24. Mike Garvey (DNF)
25. Evan Shotko (DNF)
26. Tyler Roarhig (DNF)
27. Lee VanDyk (DNF)
- Get tickets to Berlin Raceway on Ticketmaster, StubHub and VividSeats
Sportsman Feature (40 laps)
1. Dennis Holtzlander III (1)
2. Kevin Ford
3. Ryan Holtzlander
4. Josh Frye
5. Brian Thome
6. Scott Baker
7. Korey Ensing
8. Phil O’Connell
9. Tanner Tallarico
10. Corey Holtzlander
11. Joe Jones
12. Jackson Walker
13. Jack Russell (DNF)
14. Brayden Cook (DNF)
15. Maurice Davis (DNF)
16. Derek Vath (DNF)
- Get tickets to Berlin Raceway on Ticketmaster, StubHub and VividSeats
Check out the full Berlin Raceway schedule of events here
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