Drivers anxious for return to Berlin
(Aaron Skillman photo)
By Ken de la Bastide
A year ago the Kenyon Midget Series visited the lighting fast Berlin Raceway for the first time with two events. The series returns to the oval in Western Michigan for the first of two events in conjunction with the 500 Sprint Car Tour and drivers are excited for the return trip.
Last year rookie contender Kyle Sheard scored his first K&K Marketing fast qualifier award, won a KRJ Race Products heat race and finished a career best second. Sheard finished sixth in the other Berlin Raceway event.
“I'm ready,” Sheard said of the return to Berlin. “It's bigger than most of the other tracks and there is more room for passing.” Sheard said in the second visit to the track they made the set-up better. “We're going to tweak the set-up and hope to find more speed,” he said. “I'm hoping to finish on the podium again and maybe get that first feature win.”
Sheard is currently fourth in the point standings coming off a fifth place finish at Anderson Speedway and a ninth at Circle City Raceway. “We've kind of struggled a lot this year,” he said. “We weren't running good at Anderson, but Trey Osborne made some suggestions and we changed the set-up right before the feature.” Sheard said his car was too tight at Circle City and a mechanical failure prevented his finishing the race.
For the first time in his Kenyon Midget racing career Ryan Huggler is at the top of the point standings. He finished sixth at Anderson and drove to a fourth place finish at Circle City after winning a KRJ Race Products heat race. Huggler will be competing for the first time at Berlin Raceway. “I wasn't able to make it there last year,” Huggler said. “I'm excited about going to a new track.”
He is hoping his years of experience with the series will help him to rapidly adjust to the new track. “We'll see where we're at when we get to the track,” Huggler said. “I don't think I ever led the points before.”
Second year competitor Buddy Hollmeyer scored two top-ten finishes a year ago at Berlin and is currently third in the point's chase with a career best second place run at Circle City and a seventh at Anderson. “Hopefully we can do better than last year,” he said. “I wasn't confident during the first race and did better the second time. “I'm going back with some confidence,” Hollmeyer said. “It's a fast track with high speeds.”
He said the third and fourth corners are more technical from a driving standpoint and the goal is to diamond off the corner onto the front straight. “I'd like to get my first top five on pavement and maybe a podium finish,” Hollmeyer said.
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The Kenyon Midget Series make sit’s first 2024 visit to Berlin Raceway on Saturday June 8, 2024. Pit gates open at 2:00, spectator gates open at 4:00, and racing begins at 6:30. If you can’t make it to the track, check out the live stream on www.dirtvision.com