By Stan Kalwasinski
October 5, 2009
Rockford , Ill. —What was planned to be “One Great Racing Weekend” turned into “one huge day of racing – from dawn till dusk and beyond” as the Rockford Speedway hosted its ENTIRE 44th annual National Short Track Championships (NSTC) Sunday.
Inclement, rainy weather “washed out” an open practice session on Thursday, some preliminary racing on Friday and then a full day of action on Saturday, forcing track officials to take the three scheduled days of qualifying and racing and turn it into one big day of competition. Over the years, the high-banked, quarter-mile paved speedway has had its fair share of problems with Mother Nature when it comes to the NSTC but this past Sunday seems to be the all-time “topper.” Nearly 600 laps of feature competition in eight divisions was witnessed.
Track manager Gregg McKarns definitely has that “don’t give up” attitude as the pit area Sunday was packed to capacity with numerous competitors searching out any “nook and cranny” to pit their race cars. Practice got underway at 9:00 a.m., followed by several divisions taking their qualifying runs at 10:30. Seven-time late model track champion Bob Wilberg, who calls the Town of Beloit home, set a new track record during super late model qualifying, powering around the Rockford oval in 12.895 seconds to grab fast time honors for the Budweiser 200. “Racer X” Jon Reynolds, Jr. was the fastest qualifier during Big 8 Series time trials, which would help set the lineup for the series’ 108-lap contest, which was originally scheduled for Saturday evening.
The “race of the day” was the 200-lap super late model battle with a field of 26 cars taking the green flag with 34-year-old Josh Nelms of Lockport taking the checkered flag behind the wheel of the Tom and Lisa Kmak-owned, Lisa Thomas Salon-sponsored Ford Fusion #0.
Taking over the driving chores for the weekend for the Kmaks, Nelms turned in a “come from behind” performance, taking the lead from Wisconsin’s Jeff Kendall with 21 laps to go after being out of the “top 10” at the halfway mark break because of two pit stops during the first part of the contest.
“I wasn’t overly concerned. I knew we had a good car,” said Nelms about his early race pit stops. “The car wasn’t the same like it was in practice. We made the adjustments to the car that we needed to (during the pit stops.) Tom (Kmak) kept be really calm over the radio. We made some more adjustments at the half-way break and it worked out. The car really came to life and we went to the front.
“(Jeff) Kendall was pushing really bad in the corners. I got underneath him and we did a little body slam. Jeff knows it, as well as I do, that this is Rockford and there is always a little body rubbing.”
Despite giving up the lead in the late stages of the race, Kendall, the perennial late model champion at the Dells (Wis.) Motor Speedway, turned in his best-ever performance at Rockford .
“I didn’t know what the car was going to do all through the 200,” Kendall said. “We had a pretty strong car all day. I was trying to ease up on it (the pace) during the first part of it (the race). I think I worked it (the car) a little too hard. I got my tires a little greased up there at the end. I’m an aggressive driver and I probably used up a little too much here.”
Hoffman, who had been the Kmaks’ regular driver for a number of years, winning three NSTC titles for the TK Racing team, opted to drive Tony D’Ambrose’s “almost new” Impala SS #8 at Rockford . D’Ambrose “redid” an old Tech One Race Cars chassis that his dad, Joe, put together as a limited late model a few years ago. With Hoffman behind the wheel, the “refreshed” car got only a limited amount of practice laps at Rockford before its “maiden voyage.”
“Last year, it was the same thing – we went into the pits at the beginning and came back to second and this year to third,” Hoffman said. “It’s hard for most of these guys to be patient. We got bit by a guy trying to go in the first 50, 60 laps and got run over. It didn’t really hurt the car, but we had to go to the back and start over and so did Josh. He was ahead of us and stayed ahead of us. We were pretty even, but I couldn’t get trough traffic.”
With 42 entries on hand, competition among super late model competitors was fierce with a number of former NSTC winners unable to qualifying among the “top 16” and lock themselves into the show. Looking for spots in the starting lineup, last year’s 200 winner Josh Vadnais had to win the first 12-lap qualifier with two-time titlist Jeremy Lepak winning the second 12 lapper. With local driver Tom Gille capturing the 20-lap “last chance” race, other former winners Steve Rubeck and Al Schill turned in second and third place finishes respectively to earn starting spots.
A 75-lap feature race for the Mid American Stock Car Series saw Jeremy Spoonmore of Somonauk grab top honors, keeping his Monte Carlo #22 out front most of the way. It was Spoonmore’s second straight NSTC/Mid American win with his young son, Hayden, only six-months old, attending his first race and joining his dad in victory lane after an impressive victory. Earlier Spoonmore’s hopes to make the field for the 200-lap super late model chase were crushed as his car was damaged in a crash during the first qualifying race.
With a full Saturday program to be run after the 200, 16-year-old Ross Kenseth, son of NASCAR star Matt Kenseth, highlighted the night’s competition by winning the BRP Big 8 Series 108-lap chase. Coming into his own this season in late model action, Kenseth, who calls Spring Valley , Ill. home, led the entire way and nailed down his fourth Big 8 feature win of the season.
Perhaps the youngest winner in NSTC history, 14-year-old Mark Sontag, Jr. was the winner of 25-lap main event for hornets and bandits competitors. The young Shorewood resident was this year’s four-cylinder division champion at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris. Sontag’s uncle – Brett Sontag had a tough afternoon of racing after setting third quick time in super late model qualifying. Running fifth as the 200-lap battle approached the half-way mark, a right side lower control arm heim joint broke, sending Sontag’s Ford Fusion #5 into the concrete wall with the car suffering heavy damage.
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