Posted by Rockford Speedway on 10/3/2005, 12:51 pm
Board Administrator

CARLSON GRABS NORTHERN "150" AT NSTC By: Kevin Ramsell Ryan Carlson gave himself three opportunities to grab an NSTC Championship this weekend. Tonight, he grabbed the Northern Series 150-lap event, the second of his three feature starts at the 2005 National Short Track Championships at the Rockford Speedway. Corey Jankowski and Jimmy Robinson also picked up feature wins. Mike Lloyd took the early lead in the 150-lap event. Carlson moved from his fifth starting spot to second by lap 40. On lap 47, Carlson got on the inside of Lloyd to challenge for the top spot. It took three laps for Carlson to get past Lloyd and take over the top spot. The first half saw many caution flags. The last one to come out before the break happened on lap 81 when Bobby Wilberg and Ricky Bilderback were battling for second when the two touch going down the backstretch. Wilberg hit the backstretch wall then the turn three outside wall. Wilberg was done for the evening while Bilderback was sent to the rear for his involvement. Carlson led the field to re-start after the 10-minute break with Jon Reynolds Jr. in second. Reynolds Jr. made a few attempts to get on the inside of Carlson for the top spot. With 10 laps to go, Reynolds Jr. made an attempt to get by Carlson on the inside and slipped coming out of turn four to give Carlson a healthy lead. Reynolds Jr. recovered to catch back up to Carlson with five laps to go. But, Carlson was able to hold Reynolds Jr. for the win. Mike Beyer came home third while Bilderback recovered for a fourth place finish. Bob Kahler had an impressive run to finish fifth. Corey Jankowski defended his 2004 NSTC Area Sportsman feature by winning it again in 2005. Craig Olver grabbed the early lead in the 40-lap event. Jankowski started third and challenged for the top spot on lap 3. It didn't take long for him to get the lead and pull away from the rest of the field. The worse wreck of the night came on lap 33 when Jason Thoma and Doug Bennett, battling for fifth, made contact on the backstretch. Thoma's car turned and went over Bennett's car causing him to flip over on the roof of his car. The car then slid on the roof into the turn three outside wall. Thoma was able to walk away. Jankowski cruised to an easy win. Chad Leahy came home second with James Kruschke in third. Jimmy Robinson had an easy Saturday night into Sunday morning drive in the Hobby Stock feature. Robinson grabbed the early lead in the 40-lap feature. Robinson had close to a half of a lap lead over Lincoln Keeser. On lap 23, Keeser spun coming out of turn four but no caution came out. The best battle was for second between Michael Meyers and Ken Au. The caution flew with six laps to go. This evaporated Robinson's huge lead over Meyer and Au. Robinson led the field all the way to the checkered flag for the win. Meyer held off Brad Luck for second with Au coming home in fourth. Mike Storkson rounded out the top five. The third day of NSTC started with a long rain delay. After the track was dried, the fans witnessed a new track record for the CRA Super Series as Brian Johnson, Jr. toured the quarter mile oval in 13.105 seconds (68.676 mph). The old track record was 13.115 seconds (68.624 mph) set by Nate Haseleu. Stephen Leicht set a fast time of 13.614 seconds (66.108 mph) for the ASA Late Model Series. Frank Kreyer took home the 25-lap Qualifying race for the CRA Super Series. John Nutley, Jeff Way, and Mike Strupp also earned their way into the 250-lap main event on Sunday. Leicht, Ryan Carlson, Tom Gille, and Ricky Bilderback took home the wins in the ASA Late Model "Smackdown" qualifying events. These four will be your first two rows for the 100-lap feature on Sunday. Jeremy Spoonmore and Elliott Marquardt won Mid-American Stock Car Series heats. Tony Holm took home the Mid-American Truck heat win. The 40th Annual National Short Track Championship presented by Chicago International Truck will conclude on Sunday with four feature races. The on-track autograph session will start at 10:30 a.m. with racing starting at 12:30 p.m. The Mid-American Trucks will have a 50-lap feature followed by a 75-lap feature for the Mid-American Series. The ASA Late Models will have a 100-lap main event. The final event will be a 250-lap feature for the CRA Super Series. CRA SUPER SERIES QUALIFYING 1.Brian Johnson, Jr., South Beloit, IL 13.105 seconds (68.676 mph NTR); 2. Eddie Van Meter, Indianapolis, IN 13.117 seconds; 3. Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton, IL 13.119 seconds; 4. Jeff Lane, Knightstown, IN 13.165 seconds; 5. Tom Hernly, Jr., Lansing, MI 13.180 seconds. ASA LATE MODEL QUALIFYING 1.Stephen Leicht, 13.614 seconds (66.108 mph); 2. Ryan Carlson, 13.635 seconds; 3. Tom Gille, 13.691 seconds; 4. Ricky Bilderback, 13.703 seconds; 5. Peter Cozzolino, 13.760 seconds. NORTHERN LATE MODELS QUALIFYING 1.Ricky Bilderback, 13.869 seconds (64.893 mph); 2. Bobby Wilberg, 13.899 seconds; 3. Jon Reynolds Jr., 13.962 seconds. MID-AMERICAN STOCK CAR QUALIFYING 1.Jeremy Miller, 14.222 seconds (63.282 mph); 2. Jerry Einhaus, 14.242 seconds; 3. Bill Prietzel, 14.307 seconds. MID-AMERICAN TRUCK QUALIFYING 1.Donnie Woller, 14.539 seconds (61.902 mph); 2. John Wood, 14.596 seconds; 3. Bill Prietzel, 14.639 seconds.