LOVES PARK, Ill. — With Saturday night’s scheduled racing rained out, track officials packed in a lot of racing Sunday afternoon for the 55th annual National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway.
In addition to Max Kahler winning the 200 lapper for super late models, Michael Bilderback, Rick Corso, George Sparkman and Jim Tate Jr. were additional feature winners during the afternoon.
Hailing from South Beloit, Ill., the 29-year-old Bilderback was the winner of the 108-lap main event for Big 8 Series late model stock car competitors. Rained out Saturday, the race saw a field of 22 cars start. Ryan Gutknecht led the early laps with Bilderback taking over on lap 26.
It was all Bilderback the rest of the way with him building a half-lap lead at the finish. Fastest qualifier Jeremy Miller finished 9.246 seconds behind Bilderback’s winning Fabiano Law Offices/Crazy Times Pub & Grub/Lefthander Chassis Chevrolet SS No. 2. Jacob Nottestad came home third, followed by Jon Reynolds Jr., Max Kahler and Jeff Storm.
“This car is always a good long-run car,” said Bilderback. “It always stays there for us. I wasn’t looking for a caution. I got out in the lead and set my own pace. We still had a car if a (late-race) caution would have come out.”
Corso, from McHenry, Ill., won the 50-lap Mid American Stock Car Series feature race. The 56-year-old Corso and his Adams Auto Body-sponsored Chevy No. 88 got the lead early in the race and seemed to be in control although Jeff Wakeman kept him honest. At the checkered flag, Corso, a veteran of 31 years of racing, had a .262-second lead over Wakeman who was followed by Bobby Gutknecht, Ron Vandermeir Jr., who had won all previous series races this year, fast qualifier Cody Clubb and Andrew Meyerhofer.
“We knew we had a good starting spot – second row outside,” said Corso. “I wasn’t real comfortable with the car. It wasn’t the usual setup. I had a car underneath me though that I could run the whole race. I didn’t lose a lot of control. The guys were tight and right on my tail. I couldn’t get a breather. It wore me out. This kept me two hands on the steering wheel and going hard at it.”
Veteran Sparkman took top honors in the 40-lap Midwest Dash Series (four-cylinder) headliner. Sparkman defeated Nick Schneider and Justin Pearson. Tate scored the win in the 30-lap Hobby Stock Showdown, taking the victory in front of Jason Stark and Andy Moore.