Berck, Leighton, Joldersma, Cook, and Kurtzer Pick Up I-80 Wins

From I-80 Speedway

I-80 Speedway kicked off its regular season in grand fashion Sunday evening
May 3, 2009, treating fans to 5 classes of stock car racing on a nearly
perfect dirt racing surface. The .4 mi high banked oval started off tacky,
graduating to a smooth as glass dry slick racing surface on what turned out
to be a cool, cloudy evening; weather that was very race engine friendly.

The touring SLMR Series headlined the 5 classes, with another stellar
performance by Marquette, NE's Kyle Berck, who wrestled the lead of the SLMR
25 lap A Feature from pole-sitter Mike Wiarda with 6 laps remaining. Wiarda
in his # 1w used the low side of the track to lead 19 laps, but Berck's
flying # 14 was able to grab the lead in turn 4 after Berck tried a higher
line. Most of the high-powered, high revving Super Late Models ran the low
side, with several good battles for position throughout the 24 car field.
Lightning Leon Zeitner came away 3rd, with son Justin Zeitner right behind,
finishing 4th. 5th was Travis Dickes in the 21t. Al Zeitner, brother of
Leon, Uncle of Justin brought his yellow # 76 home in 6th.

There is no question that the 2009 SLMR field is as tough as any Late Model
field anywhere. For those who may doubt this, there were 2 B Features, both
of which contained drivers who could be and have been A Feature winners.
Dave Livingston of Blair was on his way to a good run in the first SLMR B
Feature, at least a top 3 finish that would have advanced him to the A
Feature, but mechanical problems took the # 17 to the pits early. Brian
Kenkel of Elkhorn took the win, followed by Blair's Jay Stewart, and the 5x
of Mike Marushak.The top 3 finishers of the second SLMR B Feature were the #
6 of Giltner, NE's Al Humphrey, Massena IA's Chris Speiker, and Jason
Hobscheit piloting the 1j. In a most rare occurrence, the red # 53 of Joe
Kosiski ended up 4th, 1 spot shy of advancing to the A, thus Kosiski's night
was over. There were several other A Feature caliber cars/drivers that had
to load up after the SLMR B Features, including Scott Koskovich & Mel
Zeitner.

The SLMR series will appear at I-80 again Sunday May 24, as a part of the
Alphabet Soup race.

Bill Leighton Jr of Omaha piloting the missle-diguised-as NASCAR Late Model
# 28 blasted off from his outside front row starting position in the 24 car,
25 lap NASCAR Late Model A Feature, not only leading every lap, but
scorching the competition, lapping no less than 14 cars en route to the most
dominating win of the evening. Clint Benson's # 00 ran 2nd, followed by the
43 of Matt Buller. Mike Wallace, Andrew Kosiski, and Les Siebert rounded out
the top 6. Early in the race, it appeared veteran Ron Tilley's 56T was
headed for a good run, but Tilley pulled out early.

The 18 lap Pro Am A Feature displayed an excellent battle for the lead
between the #5 of Marty Steinbach and the #66 of Jeff Joldersma. Both used
the low side of the race track, but it was Joldersma who prevailed for the
win. Joldersma's 1973 Chevelle Malibu, in spite of its longer wheel base,
was smooth and impressive en route to victory. Joldersma took the lead from
Steinbach on lap 7, surviving a caution flag/single file restart with 6 laps
remaining. Stienbach challenged Joldersma the entire rest of the way,
finishing a strong second, followed by the 72 of Rick Negrete, Chad Sanders
in the 49x, and the #8 of Nick Steier.

Joldersma donated his winnings to Hannah, a young girl battling illness from
central Nebraska. He also gave his winning trophy to a delighted young fan
in the grandstands.

Look for the Pro Am field to be strong and competitive for the entire 2009
season.

The ever growing IMCA Sport Mod division at I-80 produced an exciting A
Feature finish. Dennis Cook of Missouri Valley, IA bested the 24 car field
in the 15 lap A Feature. Cook used the middle-to-upper groove of the race
track for the majority of the race, appearing to have a sure victory tucked
away until a caution flag with 4 laps remaining brought the field together
for a single file restart. An excellent 3 car battle ensued with the z00 of
Brad Tuttle, the #99 of Jesse Sobbing, and Cook dicing back and forth,
trading positions for the final laps. Cooks' #45 prevailed for the win.
Sobbing was second followed by Tuttle, who, rather than finishing third, was
found to have a carburetor that failed post race inspection, thus was
disqualified. Hence, Kyle Harpster wound up third followed by Jim Hendricks
and Mike Swarthout.

The 4 cylinder IMCA Sport Compact 22-car A Feature was led from start to
finish by the yellow #57 of Austin Kurtzer of Nebraska City. Kurtzer was
challenged by Pete Fink Jr. and brother Alex Fink; both driving black Dodge
Neons. Kurtzer's Chevy Beretta answered all challenges. Kenin Colestock
wound up fourth followed by Jamie Spanel, Ole Olson and Joe Baker, in the
blue 9x Acura.

For complete results, please go to

http://www.neracewaypark.com/I80Speedway/results.php

Be sure to honor Mom on her special day this coming Sunday, May 10. To cap
off her special day, bring her to I-80 Speedway for what is sure to be
another Sunday night of action packed stock car racing on the .4 mi high
banked dirt oval.

Divisions on tap will be NASCAR Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, NASCAR Pro Ams,
IMCA Sport Mods, and IMCA Sport Compacts, with the first heat at 5:55p.m.

Adult Admission: $10.00

Youths (6-15): $5
Kids (5 & Under): FREE