By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, September 5, 2009) – Jerry Gille inched ever closer to his second consecutive Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model championship tonight at the Rockford Speedway, grabbing the lead in the early stages of the 30-lap headliner and fending off an advance from title contender Jon Reynolds Jr for his third victory of the season. In the process, Gille extended his points lead over seven-time track champion Ricky Bilderback to 13 markers, while Reynolds Jr. fell to 26 points off the pace with just one week remaining in the battle for the crown. On Speedway Auto Mall Team Racing Night which featured the top ten drivers in the point standings in all four NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions randomly teamed up, Gille aided his Team Sunoco as they combined for the lowest overall score in the four features and collected bragging rights and glory. Doug Bennett drove to victory in the Bargain Hunter Sportsman 25-lap feature and maintained a steady eight point lead

By: Ashley Iwanski
(West Salem, WI – September 5, 2009) The 2009 race season was one of J. Herbst’s best, with two feature wins and three top qualifying times. Saturday was icing on the cake when Herbst was declared the 2009 Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Model Champion.

Steve Carlson won the first of two Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Model 50 lap features. Tony Bagstad passed Rookie of the Year Cole Howland for the lead early in the race and the two battled back and forth for the lead. Meanwhile Carlson was quickly making his way towards the front. On lap 20 Carlson passed Bagstad for the lead and extended his lead by five car lengths. Two laps later a caution came out when Howland, Brent Kirchner, and Emily Sue Steck spun exiting turn four. On the restart Carlson opened the lead as Bagstad fell back into fifth. Carlson held onto the lead through two more cautions and held off Todd Korish to win the feature. Korish finished 2nd, Herbst 3rd, Kevin Nuttleman 4th and Matthew Henderson 5th.

By: Eric Huenefeld
Whether it be on the track or on paper, as the 2009 racing season has wound towards its conclusion, the action at the Rockford Speedway has picked up in intensity. On Bobcat of Rockford Kid's Night at the Speedway, the drama continued at the famed quarter mile. When the dust settled, the points battles remained tight and those who outlasted their foes in the evenings feature events were the ones who truly earned their spoils.

Coming into Saturday night, the points battle in the Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models was a historically close battle with only three weeks remaining in the season slate. Defending Track Champion Jerry Gille held a minuscule one-point lead over Seven-Time Track Champion Ricky Bilderback and 26 point lead over Jon Reynolds Jr. The trio would find each other frequently on the Speedway Saturday night, and produce one of the most exciting feature finishes in recent memory.

By: Ashley Iwanski
(West Salem, WI – August 29, 2009) The fans were on their feet as J. Herbst and Steve Carlson raced nose to tail for the last five laps of the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Model feature. When the pair exited turn four Carlson eased his car up next to Herbst’s. Herbst held his ground and crossed the finish line first; a foot ahead of Carlson.

Todd Oliver started on the pole and quickly pulled away from the rest of the pack. Meanwhile the cars 4th through 10th were pushing each other around trying to get as many positions as they could. By the half way point Todd Korish and Herbst had caught up to Oliver and was about to pass him when Emily Sue Steck spun on the front stretch. Tom Thill, Kevin Nuttleman and Tim Nelson also spun as a result. On the restart Korish took over the lead, which he didn’t hold onto for long. Within two laps both Herbst and Carlson had passed Korish. At that point it was a two car shootout. Herbst held off Carlson though another caution up until the last turn of the race. Herbst took the win followed by Carlson. Korish had finished third but was later disqualified. Mike Carlson finished in third.

By Jordan Kuehne
LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, August 22, 2009) – Ricky Bilderback knows a thing or two about points racing at the Rockford Speedway, evidenced by his record-tying seven Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model track championships. Tonight, Bilderback moved just a little closer to fulfilling his quest for a record-setting eighth title, grabbing the lead early in the 30-lap feature and holding off a furious late-race charge from points leader Jerry Gille for his fifth feature victory of the year. With only three weeks remaining on the season, Gille’s points lead was sliced to just a single point over Bilderback, while the third wheel of the points battle, Jon Reynolds Jr, edged out Gille for second by mere inches. George Sparkman cushioned his points lead in the Budweiser American Short Trackers with a victory over his brother, BJ. Dana Czach Jr, Tom Palma and Cory Cootware also collected feature victories on the evening.

By: Ashley Iwanski
(West Salem, WI – August 22, 2009) Matthew Henderson of Coon Valley took home a feature win in the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Model division Saturday night after narrowly avoiding multiple wrecks.

By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, August 15, 2009) – Jon Reynolds Jr. might have thought his shot at the championship was over just three short weeks ago, but after a wild night at the Rockford Speedway that featured “Driver X” finding victory lane in the 40-lap Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models feature for the second time in three weeks as well as seven-time track champion Ricky Bilderback finish 17th and lose his points lead, the race for the title is tighter than ever. Reynolds Jr. held off the new points leader and defending champion Jerry Gille for the victory tonight, picking his way through the field early and holding on late to close up to just 24 points behind Gille. Fred Nason made it a clean sweep on the evening to collect the hardware in the Bargain Hunter Sportsman while John Provenzano celebrated Old Timer’s Reunion Night at the historic quarter-mile by winning the Illinois Vintage Racing Association feature and Alex Papini collected the victory in the Mtn Dew RoadRunners
headliner.

By Jordan Kuehne
LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, August 8, 2009) – Seven-time Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model champion and current division points leader Ricky Bilderback would be the first person to admit that in order to win a championship in the premiere division at the Rockford Speedway, a driver needs a little luck during the course of the season. Tonight, luck was indeed on Bilderback’s side as he collected the trophy for the 30-lap late model feature after crossing the finish line in second, due to Tim Sargent’s post-race disqualification for an illegal motor. Nick Cina Jr, Ricky Nielsen, Jacob Van Wazer and Jamie Clos also collected feature victories on the evening.

The action was fast and furious at the beginning of the 30-lap Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model main event as Mark Hartline spun exiting turn two, as Nick Shutkas, who had nowhere to go with a gaggle of cars around him, got caught up in the mayhem. Unfortunately for both drivers, their nights were over prematurely.

By: Ashley Iwanski
(West Salem, WI – August 8, 2009) It may have been a hot and muggy night, but neither affected Emily Sue Steck as she jumped out of and then kissed her car after winning the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Model feature race Saturday night at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.

The race started with rookie Kyle Peters and Bill Niles racing side by side for five laps. On lap five the “big one” happened for the third week in a row. Tim Nelson spun out entering turn two. Behind him cars started to lose control. Kevin Nuttleman, Steve Carlson, Jimmy Summerfield, and Tony Bagstad were all involved. Once the race got restarted Shawn Pfaff got loose and spun out in turn four bringing out the yellow flag once again. On the following lap Todd Oliver spun down the front stretch for a third caution. Nine laps later, race leader Kyle Peters got loose in turn four as he was being overtaken by Steck. Peters came down the front stretch and slammed into the inside wall nearly flipping his car. This wreck brought the caution total to four and created a 16 car field.

By Jordan Kuehne
LOVES PARK, IL. (Saturday, August 1, 2009) – “Driver X” Jon Reynolds Jr. had the X-factor of luck on his side tonight, managing to be in the right place at the right time when a wild wreck collected four of the top five cars in the running order and holding on to collect his third feature victory of the season in front of an excited standing room only crowd on Kar Korner “World Famous” Figure 8 Trailer Race Night at the Rockford Speedway. The wreck caught up the top two drivers in points, current points leader Ricky Bilderback and defending champion Jerry Gille, as Reynolds Jr, sitting third in points, took advantage of his opportunity to close the gap. Matt Rumple made it a clean sweep in the Bargain Hunter Sportsman division while Steve Erickson Jr. and Robert Roush won features on the evening.