HOLLY, Mich. – After a rainout delayed the opening races of the tour’s northern schedule, the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series will try again to race at Berlin Raceway on June 11.
The Monday night special will see the winged asphalt 410ci sprint car series return to the seven-sixteenths-mile oval following an attempt to race on Mother’s Day weekend, this time supporting the $20,000-to-win Money in the Bank 150 for super late models.
NASCAR stars Kyle Busch and Matt Crafton plan to compete in the super late model event.
With a nearly two-month break since the season kickoff in the rear-view mirror, Must See Racing hopes to build on the pair of Southern Shootout races in North and South Carolina in April that saw three-time series champion Jimmy McCune and second-year fan favorite Bronzie Lawson IV pick up big victories.
McCune’s win at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway was the milestone 25th of his MSR career, while Lawson’s triumph at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway marked his first 410 sprint car victory of any kind.
Litchfield, Michigan’s Jason Blonde is the defending winner of the spring Berlin event, taking down his fifth-career Must See Racing win in dominating fashion. Last May, he led every lap and put all but the top-three finishers a lap down at the checkered flag in a caution-free race.
Blonde hopes he can duplicate that same success during the special weeknight event.
“Last year, our car was on an absolute rail,” said Blonde. “Berlin is a tricky place sometimes, but if you can hit your marks and have a good-handling race car, you’re usually going to be alright there and we were on that night. In these races, you never know how traffic is going to go … you can gain a lot of spots or you can lose a lot of time real quick, so that’s always a key to victory.”
Blonde will have a host of challengers to deal with heading into Birch Run and Berlin, however, led by National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Jeff Bloom, McCune and Lawson, who is anxious to get back in the seat after his breakthrough win during the second night of the season at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
“Man, it’s been way too long since I’ve been in the car,” noted Lawson. “This rain caused a break that I hated to have, because we just want to go out and race. We’re excited to be back in action and ready to roll at Berlin. It’s going to be a bit different, running on a Monday night, but we’ll see what we can do and give it everything we’ve got.”
NASCAR Modified ace Bobby Santos III, championship hopeful Aaron Pierce and home-state drivers H.D. Carter and Tom Jewell are also expected to throw their hats into the ring on Monday night.
Ontario’s Ryan Litt plans to add Canadian flavor to the field, while Ohio supermodified ace Charlie Schultz will also return, as Schultz seeks his long-awaited first MSR win for car owner John Reiser.
Berlin has long been a staple of MSR competition and welcomes the series for the ninth time since debuting on the calendar in 2011. Blonde and Brian Gerster split the MSR stops at Berlin last year.
Saturday’s race at Berlin will also mark the first race utilizing the new Engine Pro Fast Car Dash format, which will see the fastest eight cars from time trials racing in a fully-inverted, six-lap sprint race. The driver who scores the most Dash points over the four races using the new format will receive a $500 bonus at the end of the season.
Monday’s Berlin Raceway event for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series will be featured on Suzuki Presents SPEED SPORT on MAVTV on July 26 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET.
