Local Headlines

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, May 21st, 2011) – Tim Sargent bucked the trend; he’s been doing that a lot lately. The defending Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models champion surged to the front of the 30-lap main event with a daring maneuver on young Michael Bilderback, taking over the top spot with 15 laps remaining and surviving heavy lapped traffic to grab his second straight win. On a night when leaders faltered in every feature event, Sargent stood strong out front en route to the victory in the first round of the Gilley’s Cool 5 Series, a cash-laden competition that pits every driver in each division against each other five times -- once a month -- before determining a champion at the 46th annual National Short Track Championships.

BJ Sparkman continued the remarkable start to his 2011 Budweiser American Short Trackers campaign with his third feature win in as many nights while Matt Lundberg took advantage of Doug Bennett’s misfortune to earn a trip to victory lane in the Bargain Hunter Sportsman. Another driver off to a strong start, Alex Papini, pushed through a 25 car Mtn Dew RoadRunners field and into the winner’s circle for the second time this season as contenders continued to emerge on the high banks.

Matt Berger emerged out front at the beginning of the opening round of the Gilley’s Cool 5 Series as the Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models went door-to-door at the start of their 30-lap main event.

Kyle Shear immediately challenged for the top spot as two-time champion Jerry Gille gave chase in third. Berger and Shear made contact in front of the 20 car field, sending Shear spinning through turn two and bunching up the field behind him. Jon Reynolds Jr. had nowhere to go, smashing into the rear end of Shear’s hot rod as Steve McBride got the worst of a five-car pileup in the back half of the field.

Shear, Reynolds Jr, McBride, and Jake Gille all visited the pits with only McBride not managing to make it back in time when the race restarted with 25 laps to go. After Brandon Eash and Brad Becker ran into each other in turn one, the field got a second chance at the restart.

Jerry Gille grabbed the top spot when the race got back underway as Ryan Carlson and Michael Bilderback dueled for second. Bilderback took the position as fast qualifier Tim Sargent pushed past Carlson for third.

With 19 laps remaining, Jerry Gille’s machine went south costing him the lead and a chance at the win as Bilderback and Sargent's battle suddenly became a whole lot more significant out front. Sargent made a daring move on the exit of turn four before edging up the track and securing the lead at the halfway mark.

Bilderback soon felt the heat from Ryan Carlson as ‘RC’ eyed the bridesmaid’s position via the bottom groove. While the top three navigated through heavy lapped traffic, James Swan was able to tighten the gap between himself and Carlson to make it a three-car battle for second.

As Sargent hit his marks for the win, Bilderback eked out a runner-up finish by a half a car length over Carlson. With his second victory of the short season, Sargent’s quest to defend his 2010 crown continues to go according to plan as the Rockton native padded his points lead and ended a stellar evening with an opening round win in the Gilley’s Cool 5 Series. With three fast times and a rocket ship for a race car, Sargent’s signified that he’s a serious contender to repeat.

"We've had a few people up in heaven the last few weeks that have been looking out for us and making it easier on us," a smiling Sargent acknowledged in victory lane. "It was fun (racing Michael) like that out there, and it was clean like it's supposed to be. I think if we can put together four more nights like this (for the Gilley's Cool 5 Series), we can really give it a run."

Swan’s visit to the historic facility garnered him a fourth place finish while Wayne Freimund continued his consistency with a top five effort.

In the Bargain Hunter Sportsman, Doug Bennett didn’t wait long to return to the lead at the Rockford Speedway grabbing the top spot on the opening lap of the 25-lap feature. Matt Lundberg quickly jumped to second while Wisconsin invader Kurt Kleven settled into third.

Ahead of the pack, Bennett slipped away to a comfortable three car length advantage with ten laps in the books while Kleven felt the heat from young gun Austin Nason for a podium spot. With 14 laps to go, Bennett’s car suddenly broke loose exiting turn two sending the former division champion into the infield grass and out of the running for a win.

The lucky beneficiary was Matt Lundberg and his ‘grocery-grabbin’ station wagon’ as the veteran inherited the top spot and assumed the same three car length advantage Bennett had held. Behind the leader, Kleven continued to fend off Nason’s advances for second as the laps ticked off quickly.

Matt Lundberg held on over the final five circuits and cruised to his first feature win of the season in a caution-free race that opened up the Gilley’s Cool 5 Series for the Bargain Hunter Sportsman.

Kleven returned to Wisconsin with a strong runner-up finish while Nason settled for a podium finish in third. Defending champion Matt Berger finished fourth while ‘Captain’ Chris Gantz completed the top five with a solid season debut in fifth.

The 25-lap Budweiser American Short Trackers headliner got off to a swift start as the 19 car field wasted no time beating and banging for positions on the high banked oval. Rachel Sparkman eased away to a solid lead as the grizzled veteran, Brett McCoy, pushed his way up to second. Scott Hoeft burst into the top three on lap two and immediately applied pressure to the back bumper of McCoy.

Out front, Sparkman’s machine began to smoke profusely before finally giving way with 14 laps remaining. After Sparkman pulled off to the infield, her father George suffered some issues of his own, spinning around on the infield to bring out a caution with 12 circuits left.

Brett McCoy maneuvered into the lead on the restart as Hoeft jumped into second. It wasn’t long before another caution flew after Steve Drehs knocked down the frontstretch wall and ricocheted into Jack Atchison’s machine, sending parts flying all over the straightaway and inducing a yellow with 11 to go.

A wild restart saw Zach Rodriguez, Nick Letsinger, and Nick Cina Jr. converge in turn two and make contact to send Rodriguez spinning into the grass and ending his night early. Meanwhile, the action up front was heated as BJ Sparkman emerged from the shadows and seemingly came from nowhere to steal the lead from McCoy with eight laps to go, shooting past a long time rival for the top spot with some help from his teammate.

Hoeft wasn’t far behind, following BJ Sparkman’s path into second while Joe LaMarca worked his way up to third. A caution with just three laps remaining for an incident involving Kyle Lapier and Nick Cina Jr. stacked the field up once again.

However, in what’s quickly becoming a prevailing theme in 2011, BJ Sparkman had no equal en route to a third consecutive victory. Sparkman extended his points lead and snagged the first round of the Gilley’s Cool 5 Series as teammate Scott Hoeft made it a 1-2 finish.

LaMarca took third while McCoy held on for a solid fourth place effort. Chris Jones charged through the field to collect a top five.

While a rough beginning slowed the start of the Mtn Dew RoadRunners feature, Patrick Featherstone had no problems finagling his way to the front of the 20-lap event. Featherstone paced a 25 car field over the opening circuits as Alex Papini and Billy McCoy gave chase in second and third respectively.

After an early race caution, McCoy mashed the gas and took the lead as Papini inherited second from Featherstone and brought Howie Ware with him into third. Papini exerted minimal effort and wasted little time working his way to the lead while Ware stayed close behind in second as the race approached the halfway point.

As the top two cars built up a buffer over the rest of the lineup, Gene Marocco and Dana Czach Jr. picked off cars left and right before going door-to-door for a podium spot. The two drivers jousted for third and Marocco escaped with a top three on the last lap.

Neither driver had a chance to contend with Alex Papini on this night though, as the fiery hotshoe continued his strong start to the 2011 campaign, snagging a second feature victory in convincing fashion.

Ware hung on for second as Marocco managed to turn in an admirable performance for third. Czach zipped to fourth while Kris Nilson found his way up to fifth.

In a Sam’s Drive-In RoadRunner Challenge that would have made Carl Edwards proud, drivers left their mark, literally, competing against each other for the chance to win the RoadRunner Smokey Burnouts contest. Fans cheered on the driver they thought did the best job of smoking up their tires as plumes of smoke filled the night air and left the crowd roaring in approval.

When it was all said and done, Arlen Roush prevailed behind his cyclone burnouts while Raymond Hardesty grabbed second for his efforts.

Holiday weekend racing makes its way to the Rockford Speedway next Saturday night for a Memorial Day Weekend special featuring a full slate of action including Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models, Bargain Hunter Sportsman, Mtn Dew RoadRunners, and the season debut of the Illini Midgets, plus the Sam’s Drive-In RoadRunner Challenge featuring the Stop ‘N Go Race. A School Bus Jump will cap off what promises to be an exciting evening of racing action at the legendary facility.

With Cost Cutters presenting Kids Night at the speedway, all children ages 11 and under will receive free admission and the first 500 kids will also receive a FREE diecast car. Children arriving early will have the opportunity to draw on the track using chalk! Gates open at 5pm with qualifying scheduled for 6pm and the green flag waving at 7:07pm sharp.

For more information, including a full 2011 schedule, visit the track’s website at www.rockfordspeedway.com or contact the Speedway Box Office at (815)633-1500.

**NOTE** Results and subsequent points standings from tonight's race will be made available on our website as soon as possible -- due to a malfunction on the track's scoring computer, the availability of results and points may be delayed until the middle of the week. Thanks for your patience and cooperation.

This article posted by Rockford Speedway. Click here for more track information.