Ohio driver grabs first win at Berlin Raceway during second Supermodified night

MARNE — In the second half of the third annual ISMA/MSS Great Lakes Classic at Berlin Raceway, a patient driver who bought his time was rewarded.

After a decent finish in the first night of action, Mike McVetta needed a late-race maneuver to get out in front and snag the win to cap off the Supermodified weekend.

Similar to what happened in the 40-lap feature on Friday night, there were a couple of incidents early on in the 60-lap main event on Saturday. Another malfunction with Tyler Shullick, who was the fast qualifier for the second night in a row, came just a few laps in.. Then, just a couple of laps after the green flag dropped again, Rich Reid spun out coming out of Turn 4.

As a rhythm came to fruition for the remainder of the race, the attention was turned toward the battle for the lead, as Otto Sitterly, who didn’t even finish the race on Friday night, was in front of McVetta for most of the feature. Sitterly started on pole, and stayed in first place, with the No. 22 of McVetta right behind him. A caution on Lap 31 gave McVetta a chance to get around Sitterly, and though the driver out of Medina, Ohio fell behind briefly, McVetta would get around Sitterly with 17 laps to go, and would go on to cruise for his first win at Berlin in his career, doing so by nearly half a lap.

McVetta, who finished eighth in Friday night’s race. has been coming to Berlin for years, both in supermodifieds and winged sprint cars, but has never touched victory lane following a feature.

• Maine driver rockets to the top in the first night of Supermodified weekend at Berlin Raceway

“I’m speechless,” McVetta said in victory lane. “We’ve been so good here, just had no results to show for it, but we finally put it together. The driver drove the full race without hitting anything…I saw that it was 18 [laps] to go when I got the lead. I just hoped the tires would last that long, and they sure did.”

McVetta’s father, Roger, was emotional following the win. Mike admitted that his work in the supermodified is a family deal, and that it means a little more winning with his dad working with his crew.

“My dad got me started in quarter-midgets at [age] nine. Here we are winning supermodified races. My father-in-law is my tire guy, and they were staggered special tonight perfect.”

BUSH DOMINATES THE SUPERS

In the TEKTON Super Late Model’s return to the track, it was one of Berlin’s top veterans who stole the show. Hasting’s own Joe Bush set the tone by setting the tone as the night’s fast qualifier. Then, he went out and beat Andrew Scheid with just a few laps to steal the victory in the first 35-lap race, his first checkered flag of the season. In the second race, he jumped out in front after an early caution, and won in a landslide, making him the first driver this season to sweep a double feature this season.

BOUMA AND SIMPSON BATTLE AGAIN

The Auto Value 4-Cylinders saw a great battle cap off their night of action, featuring the two drivers duking it out for the championship.

Luke Bouma and Dave Simpson had a great finish during last Saturday’s slate of action, with Simpson getting the better of the younger Bouma. However, the two speed demons battled early on in the second feature on this night, with Bouma getting the early edge. Though there was a caution with just a few laps to go, Bouma sped ahead of Simpson to grab his series-leading fifth win of the season.

Nathan McNabb won the first feature of the night, giving him two wins in 2024.

LOOKING AHEAD

Next week has a whole mix of series running in Berlin. The Model Coverall Limited Late Models lead a show featuring the return of the MCR Dwarf Cars, the National Compact Touring Series, the VROA Vintage Modifieds and Good Humor Mini-Wedges.

Racing begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and can be streamed on FloRacing.

FINAL RESULTS FOR JULY 13

Supermodified Feature (60 laps)

1, Mike McVetta

2. Otto Sitterly

3. Mike Ordway Jr.

4. AJ Lisiecki

5. Moe Lilje

6. Trent Stephens

7. Dave Helliwell

8. Johnny Benson Jr.

9. Mark Sammut

10. Larry Lehnert

11. Mike Lichty (DNF)

12. Kenny Sharp (DNF)

13. Kyle Edwards (DNF)

14. Josh Sokolic (DNF)

15. Tyler Shullick (DNF)

16. Rich Reid (DNF)

17, Kenyon Zitzka (DNF)

18. Jeff Bloom (DNF)

Super Late Model Feature #1 (35 laps)

1. Joe Bush (1)

2. Andrew Scheid

3. Austin Hull

4. Brian Campbell

5. Levie Jones

6. Chase Pinsonneault

7. Chris Shannon

8. Tyler Rycenga

9. Keith Herp

10. Brian Tillema

11. Ken Wobma

12. Nathan Koester

13. Todd Cowan

14. Lee Vandyk

15. Scott Thomas

Super Late Model Feature #2 (35 laps)

1. Joe Bush (2)

2. Austin Hull

3. Brian Campbell

4. Chris Shannon

5. Tyler Rycenga

6. Levie Jones

7. Andrew Scheid

8. Chase Pinsonneault

9. Keith Herp

10. Scott Thomas

11. Ken Wobma

12. Brian Tillema

13. Nathan Koester

14. Lee Vandyk

15. Todd Cowan

4-Cylinder Feature #1 (15 laps)

1. Nathan McNabb (2)

2. Luke Bouma

3. Don McNabb

4. Chase Roelofs

5. Dave Simpson

6. Justin Roelofs

7. Charlie DeJong

8. Robert Greene

9. Dave Avink

10. Steven LaRoche

11. Hunter Wiersma

12. Blake Huitema

13. Craig Wood

14. Kyle Steele

4-Cylinder Feature #2 (15 laps)

1. Luke Bouma (5)

2. Dave Simpson

3. Justin Roelofs

4. Nathan McNabb

5. Don McNabb

6. Chase Roelofs

7. Dave Avink

8. Robert Greene

9. Hunter Wiersma

10. Blake Huitema

11. Kyle Steele

12. Steven LaRoche

13. Craig Wood

14. Charlie DeJong

Check out the full Berlin Raceway schedule of events here