October 29, 2008 - Click here to read the October 29 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
October 23, 2008 - Click here to read the October 23 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
October 1, 2008 - Click here to read the October 1 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
September 24 , 2008 - Click here to read the September 24 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
September 1 , 2008 - Click here to read the September 1 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
August 26 , 2008 - Click here to read the August 26 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
August 18 , 2008 - Click here to read the August 18 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
August 4 , 2008 - Click here to read the August 4 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
July 22, 2008 - Click here to read the July 22 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
July 14, 2008 - Click here to read the July 14 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
July 7, 2008 - Click here to read the July 7 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
June 30, 2008 - Click here to read the June 30 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
June 23, 2008 - Click here to read the June 23 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
June 14-15, 2008 - Click here to read the June 14-15 issue of the "Inside Scoop"
May 15, 2008 - Click here to read the May 15th issue of the "Inside Scoop"
Tight Points Battle for NCRA Late Model Finale This Sunday
BY David Smith Jr
October 19, 2008 - Park City, Kansas - After a season full of eighteen races, five rainouts, three different points leaders and several changes atop the point standings, it all comes down one more event on the 2008 O'Reilly/NCRA late model division presented by ICM/Ethanol schedule. The stage is now set for the season finale for the 25th Anniversary year for the NCRA late model series and it will all take place next Sunday afternoon, October 26, atop the three-eghths mile oval at Enid Speedway Park in Enid, Oklahoma during the running of the tracks 43rd Annual Enid Winter Nationals at the Garfield County Fairgrounds.
After retaking the top spot this past weekend in Mayhetta, Kansas, three-time and defending series champion Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colorado comes into the race with a slim five point lead over 2002 series champion Kyle Berck of Marquette, Nebraska. Both drivers have swapped the lead several times throughout the season and a champion will finally be decided and crowned in what is said to be the closest battle in NCRA late model history. When the series last visited Enid back on July 5th, Berck took home the victory, his first career at the famed Enid Fairgrounds oval.
But the battle for the points championship is not the only thing at stake as the season concludes. Veteran Wichita, Kansas late model driver and 2001 series champion Delbert "The Ice Man" Smith holds a slim 75 point lead over Corning, Iowa's Bryant Goldsmith for the third position in the point standings while John Anderson of Omaha, Nebraska, despite missing four events, currently sits fifth in points, just 140 points ahead of Aurora, Nebraska's Mike Wiarda.
Local Auto Racing: Edwards finishes 11th in I-80 race
BY NICK RUBEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
GREENWOOD, Neb. — Carl Edwards made no bones about his intentions Sunday night at I-80 Speedway.
"I came to win the feature," the NASCAR superstar said.
Kyle Berck had other plans.
Berck, a Marquette, Neb., native bested a 24-car field, including Edwards and younger brother Kenny, in the main event at Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway.
A night after a different Kyle — NASCAR's Kyle Busch — kept his hot streak going by winning in Chicago, Edwards watched Berck race to a pair of wins for the second time in as many nights.
"I'm not real fond of second place," Berck said afterward. "I race to win."
Berck was the best car by far in the Late Model race, starting in the top 5 and eventually sliding by for the lead into Turn 3 with seven laps remaining. After encountering heavy traffic with three laps left, Berck kept his cool and won easily.
"We had it right in the roughest part of the track," Berck said. "That's where we had to be. It was good, clean, solid racing."
Carl Edwards finished 11th after starting a row behind Berck. Kenny Edwards, after making a strong early charge, wound up 19th.
Before that, Berck won the IMCA Modified "A" feature, part of four wins in two nights. Berck swept a pair of races Saturday at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb.
But Sunday was about the Edwards family — the entire family.
Carl Edwards Sr. drove a car in the IMCA Crate Model class, finishing in the top 10 when the "A" feature was shortened because of cautions. The elder Edwards, who admitted he might have "hurt someone" if he were driving the faster, more powerful Late Model cars his sons were driving, said Sunday was "another thrill."
"It's really a neat thing," he said.
Even Nancy Sterling — Carl and Kenny's mom — got her chance to get into a car Sunday, riding shotgun with Carl in a two-seater for a few laps. She told a crowd estimated by track officials of 4,100 that it was the first time she had ever ridden along with her son, calling it "awesome."
"On the highway she screams at me not to drive fast," Carl Edwards said.
Kenny said he could tell Sunday was going to be special long before he got to the track.
"It was really weird," he said. "Normally I don't get nervous before racing. But driving up here today, seeing all the people with their Carl hats and stuff on, it threw me for a loop.
"This is great. It's one of those family deals. My mom's here. My dad's here. My brother's here. It's cool to have everyone in the pits."
A year after sporting a sticker on his spoiler that read "Carl Who?," Kenny said he wasn't going to do anything that could bring his brother bad luck.
"His record here is three laps," Kenny joked. "He doesn't need anything else going against him."
Carl Edwards admitted he was aiming to be a bit more careful after both of his prior appearances at I-80 ended in the first few laps.
Last year the wreck that ended his night also earned him an ambulance ride to Omaha with a dislocated thumb. He said Sunday that he purposely scheduled his annual trip to Nebraska for this weekend because of the two-week break the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is on.
"Nobody was real happy with what I did here last year with my thumb," he joked. "So as long as I leave here with all my digits intact, I think I'm good.
"In all seriousness, it's really an honor to race here. My dream was just to make a living racing. I thought that if I could race at tracks like these, make a few hundred bucks a week, I would have been happy. This is pretty special."
Other winners Sunday included Denny Berghahn Jr. in the Sport Mods "A" feature and Dan Rhiley in the Sport Compact "A" feature — both races that were cut short during last week's Alphabet Soup night. Curt Drake took the IMCA Crate Model "A" feature, Greg Tichy won the scheduled Sport Mods "A" feature, while Pete Fink Jr. picked up his fourth win of the season in the Sport Compact "A" feature.
Late model nationals arrive at Mid-Nebraska Speedway
Trackside with Brad Fossberg
Brad Fossberg
The Grand Island Independent
Here's hoping my next super late model experience is better than the first three.
Let's just say the trio of late model events that dotted my calendar this year have been memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Rains have caused the most grief in two Memorial Day shows and a make-up event earlier this month. Next weekend should make up for all of that. It is, after all, the super late model weekend of the year in Nebraska. Fans have had the third weekend in July red-lettered since the race schedules were released in the spring.
The Pump and Pantry Late Model Nationals return to Mid-Nebraska Speedway for a seventh consecutive year. Last year, Kyle Berck of Marquette became the first two-time winner of the nationals since Kent Tucker won back-to-back years in the original series in the 1970s. Berck is the current points leader among NCRA super late model drivers. He is coming off consecutive wins at Belleville, Kansas and Enid, Oklahoma. Not bad for a guy who has split his seat time between a late model and a modified.
The nationals rarely lack drama. From Berck running out of gas leading to a Terry Phillips win in 2003 to Kelly Boen dominating last year's event before a mid-race caution gave the momentum and the win to Berck. The storyline awaits.
The Mid-Nebraska Speedway appearance July 18-19 marks the halfway point of the NCRA schedule with five of the first six shows canceled by rain. The Pump and Pantry Late Model Nationals Friday night races begin at 7:30. The Saturday main event begins at 8 p.m.
The weekend continues July 20 and 21 at the Boone County Raceway. World Dirt Racing League pilots invade the Albion track for the second year in a row to kick-off the Boone County Fair on Sunday. John Kaanta is the current WDRL points leader.
World of Outlaws late models put their skills to the test Monday night. Fans have been wondering who will come. Will we see Bloomquist, Moyer, Francis and Eckert? Drivers that have tamed famous places like Eldora, Lernerville and Knoxville. Winners of big-time races like the World 100, The Dream and the Knoxville Nationals. Many making their first trip to the black dirt oval and historic grandstands of the Boone County Raceway. The July 21 appearance will be the only stop in Nebraska for outlaw late models this year. Josh Richards leads the way with four World of Outlaws wins this year. But, "The Kid Rocket" is second in the points chase behind Darrell Lanigan.
The ideal situation for fans would be for drivers from different sanctions to cross over next weekend. WDRL hot-shoes arriving early for the Pump and Pantry Late Model Nationals and NCRA competitors sticking around Central Nebraska for the Sunday and Monday shows in Albion. With fuel prices the way they are, having four shows within an 80-mile radius is pretty enticing for race teams.
The Boone County Raceway schedule has the WDRL show beginning at 5:30 Sunday while the WoO races start at 6:30 Monday night.
Berck Repeats With NCRA Late Model Victory at Enid
ENID, Okla. (July 5, 2008) – Current Series points leader Kyle Berck of Marquette, Nebraska took the lead at the races midway point and never looked back to become the first repeat feature winner of the year as the O'Reilly NCRA late models presented by ICM/Ethanol made their first appearance of the season Saturday night at Enid Speedway Park.
After a complete restart which saw the caution wave for series rookie contender Todd Doty who spun in turn one on the start, Jeff Taylor of Cave City, Arkansas started on the pole for the twenty-five lap feature with Sutton, Nebraska's Jason Friesen alongside with Friesen jumping out into the early lead as the green flag fell.
Berck and defending series champion Kelly Boen earned the most passing points during the heat races and would have started on the front row, but a redraw saw both start third and sixth respectively. Both wasted little time getting to the front as they fell in behind the lead duo before the caution fell on lap two for a Ronnie Warman spin in turns one and two.
Once racing resumed, Friezen jumped out front and opened a ten car length lead while behind him, Berck and his Dorothy Lynch Homestyle Dressings/Strobel Construction sponsored Lazer chassis drove underneath Taylor exiting turn two to take over the runner up position. Friezen stayed out front but Berck slowly reeled him in as the leaders began approaching lapped traffic on lap five. Three laps later the caution would wave again on lap eight when David Brack spun in turns one and two.
The restart would see Berck close in on the leader and after several attempts of getting underneath the Nebraska veteran, the 2002 series champion would make the bottom of turn four finally work as he out ran the leader down the front stretch to take over the top spot.
At the races midway point it was Berck followed by Friezen, Boen, Taylor and Bryant Goldsmith giving chase but despite a couple of cautions a couple of laps later there was no stopping Berck as he went on to post the ten car length victory over Friezen. Three-time champion Boen settled for third while Taylor, his first night ever aboard local area car owner Bud Longpine's late model, came home fourth while eighth starting Goldsmith rounded out the top five.
"The track rubbered up and we knew it would do that coming in but it really wasn't that hard on the tires." said Berck in victory lane, his second in as many nights. "My sister helped work on the tires and setup and it just drove perfect all night."
Shawn Harker of Nebraska City, Nebraska came into the night leading the rookie chase and was the highest finishing rookie in the twenty-six car feature, finishing ninth.
Berck, Boen and Friezen topped the eight lap heat race action for the twenty-seven cars on hand while Delbert "The Ice Man" Smith took home "B" feature honors.
The O'Reilly NCRA late model series will take one week off before hitting the road again, this time for a two night stop at Mid-Nebraska Speedway in Doniphan, Nebraska on Friday and Saturday night, July 18-19.
The O'Reilly/NCRA presented by ICM/Ethanol would like to thank the following contingency sponsors in the late model division for the 2008 race season: ICM/Ethanol, Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Racing Tires, Arizona Sport Shirts, Weld Racing Wheels, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Holley Performance Products, INCE Race Cars, GRT Race Cars, Winters Performance Products, Taylor Vertex, Schoenfeld Headers, Auto Meter, Taylor Cable Products, BSB Race Parts, Hatfield Racing Engines, QA1 Motorsports, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Ultra-Shield Race Products, AFCO Racing Shocks, Pro Shocks, Racing Optics and Design 500.
Berck Nurses Ailing Engine to Victory at Belleville
By David Smith, Jr.
BELLEVILLE, Kan. (July 4, 2008) - Despite nursing a souring motor with a little over one lap remaining, Kyle Berck of Marquette, Nebraska held off John Anderson and Kelly Boen to become the fifth different winner in as many races as the O'Reilly NCRA late model division presented by ICM/Ethanol hit the Belleville Highbanks in Belleville, Kansas Friday night.
By virtue of the redraw from the top eight in heat race passing points, Berck started on the pole for the twenty lap feature and got the jump on fellow front row starter Mike Wiarda to take the lead as the green flag fell. Anderson and seventh starting Boen gave chase as Berck quickly opened up a fifteen car length advantage by lap two. But behind him gave a preview for the fans on things to come as the battle for the runner up position began as Boen tried a couple of slidejobs in the turns to take over the position, only see Anderson out race him down the straight-aways.
The race was slowed on lap four when John Kuchar went for a spin exiting turn two to bring out the caution.
It was all nonstop from there as Berck again jumped out front to a sizable advantage as Anderson and Boen once again battled for second with defending series champion Boen diving underneath Anderson in turns one and two, only to see the driver of the Shop Quik Convenience Stores regain the position.
By lap five, lapped traffic became a focal point of the race as the leaders would dice their way in and out of the lapped cars the rest of the way. With Berck and his Dorothy Lynch Homestyle Dressing sponsored car in heavy lapped traffic on lap fourteen, Anderson and Boen closed to within six car lengths, but the 2002 series champion would thread his way through the traffic and again open a comfortable advantage with three laps to go.
With a little over one lap remaining, Bercks engine began to sputter but despite the mechanical gremlins he would hold on to win his seventeenth career NCRA victory.
"Take that Kelly Boen!" exclaimed a jubilant Berck after jumping off the roof of his brand new Masterbuilt Chassis. "I could feel the motor start to blow about a lap and a half from the end and I thought 'Oh no, they're going to get by me.' But we held on. We had a great car the whole night."
Anderson and his Jay Dickens powered Masterbuilt chassis held on for the runner up position as three-time and defending series champion Boen, who had dominated previous Highbanks events settled for third. Delbert "The Ice Man" Smith finished a strong fourth while Wiarda rounded out the top five.
Earl Kinderknecht, Jimmy Seagraves and Wiarda topped heat race action for the thirty late models on hand while series rookie of the year contender Shawn Harker took "B" feature honors.
CLICK HERE FOR 2007 ARCHIVED NEWSROOM ITEMS
