Posted by Rockford Speedway on 5/23/2005, 12:45 am
Board Administrator

WILBERG, ELDRIDGE, SPARKMAN, LOUNSBURY FLY AT ROCKFORD By: Kevin Ramsell Saturday, May 21, 2005 (Loves Park, IL) ? A great crowd was on hand for Your Local Dodge Dealer Kids Night at the Rockford Speedway. Not only did the fans see great racing, and the kids had the chance to meet their favorite superhero, Spider-Man. The season long battle between Bobby Wilberg and Ricky Bilderback continued on Saturday night. Bilderback already had two feature wins this season and Wilberg was looking to even the score. Wilberg started on the outside of the front row and quickly took the lead. The first caution came on lap 8 when Mike Beyer spun in turn four. During the caution, the field had to choose a lane for the re-start. Ricky Bilderback was the first to choose the inside lane. When the green flag threw, Bilderback was in second place. Wilberg was able to pull away from Bilderback and get a comfortable lead. The final caution flew with three laps to go when Kyle Melvin spun on the backstretch. On the re-start, Bilderback had nothing for Wilberg. Wilberg went on to take his second feature win of the season. Ryan Carlson came home third. Travis Eldridge held off a strong Doug Behnke to take home his first Grand National feature win of the season. Doug Bennett had the early lead at the start of the event. On lap 3, Bennett fell off the pace with mechanical problems and was done for the night. Behnke took over the top spot. Eldridge started in the third position and worked his way to the front. He got passed Behnke on lap 8 to take the top spot. On the final lap, Behnke made one last attempt to get by Eldridge, but the attempt failed and Eldridge held on to the checkers. Chad Lounsbury took home his first ever feature win in the Coca Cola RoadRunner 20-lap feature event. Lounsbury started on the outside of the front row and took the early lead for the first lap. Pat Smith worked his way past Lounsbury and took over the top spot. That didn?t last long as two laps later Lounsbury took over the top spot for good. Dan Carlson made an attempt to get by Lounsbury with a lap to go. Carlson got on the inside of Lounsbury coming off of turn four. Lounsbury got loose and Carlson headed towards the infield. He was able to gather up his car and hold on to a second place finish. At the end of the racing program, Lounsbury did not past post-race inspection and was disqualified for the evening. This handed the win to Carlson. BJ Sparkman worked his way to the front in the 25-lap Budweiser American Short Trackers division. Don Russell took the early lead in the event. Sparkman started seventh and made his way to the front. By lap 8, he was up to third place. 4 laps later, he was in second and was tracking down Russell. With 10 laps to go, Sparkman got on the inside of Russell and took over the top spot. It was his second feature win of the season. Russell held on to second over George Sparkman. Grant Greenfield took home the top honors in the FIRA Formula Indy 15-lap feature event. Vernon Brown had the lead with five laps to go when Neal Gillentine got into the back of Brown causing him to spin. Both were sent to the rear, allowing Greenfield to take the lead and take home the win. Next weekend is a busy weekend at the Rockford Speedway. On Friday night, the weekend will start with Friday Night Fright - Featuring the Big Dawg Monster Truck, Burning Steel Wall Crash, Voo Doo Street Xtreme Motorcycles, School bus Race, Roll Over Contest, Figure 8 Train Race, Hornets, Figure 8's, Spectacular Drags. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Show begins at 7:07 p.m. On Saturday night, its Armed Forces Night presented by 3M with the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series - NASCAR Late Models, Grand Nationals, American Short Trackers, and RoadRunners. All active/retired Military admitted FREE. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Racing at 7:07 p.m. On Monday its, Monday Funday - Fastor Pastor Race, RoadRunners, Figure 8, Winged Women on Wheels, Hornets, Legends, Bandoleros, Super Cup, FIRA and Spectacular Drags. Gates open at 10:30 a.m. Racing at 12:30 p.m. For more information, please visit our website at www.rockfordspeedway.com or call the track office at (815) 633-1500.