By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, August 15, 2009) – Jon Reynolds Jr. might have thought his shot at the championship was over just three short weeks ago, but after a wild night at the Rockford Speedway that featured “Driver X” finding victory lane in the 40-lap Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models feature for the second time in three weeks as well as seven-time track champion Ricky Bilderback finish 17th and lose his points lead, the race for the title is tighter than ever. Reynolds Jr. held off the new points leader and defending champion Jerry Gille for the victory tonight, picking his way through the field early and holding on late to close up to just 24 points behind Gille. Fred Nason made it a clean sweep on the evening to collect the hardware in the Bargain Hunter Sportsman while John Provenzano celebrated Old Timer’s Reunion Night at the historic quarter-mile by winning the Illinois Vintage Racing Association feature and Alex Papini collected the victory in the Mtn Dew RoadRunners headliner.

The action was fast and furious in the early stages of the 40-lap Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models main event, as Vern Fagerberg Jr. and Tim Slater made contact on the backstretch sending Fagerberg Jr. into the wall and ending his night before a lap was completed.

On the restart, Wayne Freimund held the lead on the first lap before the second caution of the night flew for points leader Ricky Bilderback’s car that suddenly lost power on lap two, creating a backup that ended John Beinlich’s night as well. Bilderback did not return, finishing 17th.

Freimund jumped back out front while “Driver X”, Jon Reynolds Jr, worked his way by Tom Gille up to second while defending champion Jerry Gille followed him into third. Reynolds Jr. turned his sights toward Freimund and the lead when a caution flew after Joe Rusciano and Mike Lloyd got together in turn three.

Reynolds Jr. grabbed the top spot on the restart, working his way by Freimund on the inside as Jerry Gille followed him into second. Michael Bilderback was looking to take third from Freimund when the two made contact on the backstretch sending Freimund spinning.

The ensuing restart came with 20 laps down and 20 laps remaining, as Reynolds Jr. felt the heat from Gille over the next five laps. Reynolds Jr. managed to escape Gille’s grasp though, holding on over the final 15 laps to claim his fourth feature win of the season and tighten the gap in the point standings.

“The car was a hot rod, just super fast after we made an adjustment following the heat race,” stated a pleased Reynolds Jr in victory lane. “Once we got a decent starting spot, I knew we had a chance to do some damage in the feature. It feels good to win another one and gain some points too.”

Jerry Gille took over the points lead and finished in second while his brother Tom Gille, Tom’s son Jake Gille, and Tim Noble rounded out the top five.

Gille’s ahead of Bilderback by five points while Reynolds Jr. closed to just 24 points behind in third, as all three drivers have legitimate changes to claim the title with just four weeks remaining in the season.

Darrell Garmin grabbed the early lead in the 25-lap Bargain Hunter Sportsman headliner while points leader Doug Bennett and three-time defending series champion Fred Nason battled for third behind him. Nason made the inside the place to be, driving by Bennett on the bottom before challenging Brock Behnke for second.

Nason was ahead of Behnke by half a car length when the caution came out for a Ron Morris spin in turn two, which also collected an unfortunate Justin Sellers who had nowhere to go.

On the restart, Behnke and Nason resumed their battle for second as Doug Bennett looked for a place to go in fourth. Nason reclaimed second when Garmin got loose in turn four with seven laps remaining, making it a four way battle for the lead.

Nason stole the lead away from Garmin with five laps remaining and held on to the checkers, bringing home his second feature win of the season and making it a clean sweep on the evening. Nason closed in on Bennett for the points lead, tightening the margin to just five points between the two drivers.

Garmin managed to hold on for second while an intense battle for third went to Behnke by a nose over Bennett. Ron Morris rallied back from his early incident to finish in fifth.

Alex Papini maneuvered to the front of the 25 car field early and held on late to go wire-to-wire and find victory lane in the 20-lap Mtn Dew RoadRunners feature event.

Howie Ware made a late charge to finish in second while points leader Bobby Frisch held on for third. Joe LaMarca and Jason Brockway came home fourth and fifth respectively to complete the top five.

In the night’s special event, the 20-lap Illinois Vintage Racing feature, John Provenzano made a move on Denny Falcos halfway in for the lead and held on to collect the trophy. The Joe Shear tribute car, driven by Tom Knippenberg, was forced to retire early due to a broken hood flying up while Knippenberg was riding around in third.

Provenzano and his 1968 Camaro prevailed in a racing paying homage to yesteryear at the historic Rockford Speedway, while Falcos, Bill Knippenberg, Gary Mitidiero and Pat Echlin completed the top five.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returns to the Rockford Speedway next Saturday night for Windsor Auto Sales Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models, Budweiser American Short Trackers, Mtn Dew RoadRunners, INEX Legends and INEX Bandoleros are all on tap plus the Sam’s Drive-In RoadRunner Challenge will feature the Double OH! Race. The first 1,000 kids will receive a free racing flag and anyone wearing pink will receive $2 off their admission. Spectator gates open at 5pm with qualifying scheduled for 6pm and the green flag will fly at 7:07pm. Admission for adults is just $10 while kids ages 6-11 are $5 and children 5 and under are FREE.

For more information, including the remaining 2009 racing schedule and more, please visit the track website at www.rockfordspeedway.com or call the Speedway Box Office at (815) 633-1500.

NASCAR All American Sportsmen

A-Main 01 -- 1. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 2. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park; 3. Brock Behnke, South Beloit; 4. Doug
Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 5. Ron Morris, Belvidere; 6. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 7. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 8. Rob Solo Rio (r), Hampshire; 9. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 10. Rob Goodman (r), McHenry.

Heat 01 -- 1. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 2. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 3. Rob Goodman (r), McHenry; 4. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 5. Rob Solo Rio (r), Hampshire.

Heat 02 -- 1. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 2. Brock Behnke, South Beloit; 3. Doug Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 4. Ron Morris,
Belvidere; 5. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park.

Time Trial -- 1. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 2. Doug Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 3. Brock Behnke, South Beloit; 4. Ron Morris, Belvidere; 5. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park; 6. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 7. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 8. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 9. Rob Goodman (r), McHenry; 10. Rob Solo Rio (r), Hampshire.

Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 2. Ron Morris, Belvidere; 3. Brock Behnke, South Beloit; 4. Doug Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 5. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park.

NASCAR Late Models

A-Main 01 -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 2. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 3. Tom Gille, Winnebago; 4. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 5. Tim Noble, Janesville, Wis; 6. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 7. Mark Hartline, Gilberts; 8. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 9. Timothy Slater, Hampshire; 10. Dave Cooter, Jr., Lincolnshire; 11. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 12. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 13. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 14. Mikie Breiner (r), Johnburg; 15. Joe Rusciano, Crystal Lake; 16. Brandon Eash (r), Rockford; 17. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 18. John Beinlich (r), Prairie View; 19. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park; 20. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale.

Heat 01 -- 1. John Beinlich (r), Prairie View; 2. Joe Rusciano, Crystal Lake; 3. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale; 4. Timothy Slater, Hampshire; 5. Dave Cooter, Jr., Lincolnshire; 6. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park.

Heat 02 -- 1. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 2. Tim Noble, Janesville, Wis; 3. Mark Hartline, Gilberts; 4. Mikie Breiner (r), Johnburg; 5. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 6. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 7. Brandon Eash (r), Rockford.

Heat 03 -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 2. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 3. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 4. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 5. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 6. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 7. Tom Gille, Winnebago.

Time Trial -- 1. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 2. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 3. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 4. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 5. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 6. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 7. Tom Gille, Winnebago; 8. Mikie Breiner (r), Johnburg; 9. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 10. Mark Hartline, Gilberts; 11. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 12. Tim Noble, Janesville, Wis; 13. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 14. Brandon Eash (r), Rockford; 15. Joe Rusciano, Crystal Lake; 16. Timothy Slater, Hampshire; 17. John Beinlich (r), Prairie View; 18. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 19. Dave Cooter, Jr., Lincolnshire; 20. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale; 21. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park.

Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 2. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 3. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 4. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 5. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 6. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit.

NASCAR Road Runners

A-Main 01 -- 1. Alex Papini, Machesney Park; 2. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 3. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 4. Joe LaMarca, Rockford; 5. Jason Brockway, Machesney Park; 6. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 7. Kris Nilson, Rockford; 8. Justin Hawkins, Machesney Park; 9. Dana Czach, Wauconda; 10. Jason Van Hise, Loves Park; 11. Ricky Nielsen, Rockford; 12. Joshua Lundy, Loves Park; 13. Brian Mayer, Machesney Park; 14. Robert Roush, Marengo; 15. Eric Schoffen, Crystal Lake; 16. Richard Nielsen, Byron; 17. David Lignell, Rockford; 18. Mike Leopold, Algonquin; 19. Dave Lumsden, Jr., Rockford; 20. Linnea Lundy, Loves Park; 21. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 22. Brian Smith, Rockford; 23. Ryan Kulpa, Loves Park; 24. Michael (Mike) Wallis, Machesney Park; 25. Jeff Allendorf, Belvidere.

Heat 01 -- 1. Alex Papini, Machesney Park; 2. Justin Hawkins, Machesney Park; 3. Joe LaMarca, Rockford; 4. Brian Mayer, Machesney Park; 5. Mike Leopold, Algonquin; 6. Linnea Lundy, Loves Park; 7. Brian Smith, Rockford; 8. Michael (Mike) Wallis, Machesney Park; 9. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 10. Anthony (Andy) Bristol, Rockford.

Heat 02 -- 1. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 2. Jason Brockway, Machesney Park; 3. Ryan Kulpa, Loves Park; 4. Jeff Allendorf, Belvidere; 5. Joshua Lundy, Loves Park; 6. Arlyn Roush, Woodstock; 7. Richard Nielsen, Byron; 8. Dave Lumsden, Jr., Rockford; 9. Jason Van Hise, Loves Park; 10. Kenneth Brazee III, Machesney Park.

Heat 03 -- 1. Dana Czach, Wauconda; 2. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 3. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 4. Eric Schoffen,
Crystal Lake; 5. Kris Nilson, Rockford; 6. Robert Roush, Marengo; 7. David Lignell, Rockford; 8. Gene Marocco,
Machesney Park; 9. Ricky Nielsen, Rockford.

Challenge 01 -- 1. Robert Roush, Marengo; 2. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 3. Eric Schoffen, Crystal Lake; 4. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 5. Mike Leopold, Algonquin; 6. Justin Hawkins, Machesney Park; 7. Michael (Mike)
Wallis, Machesney Park; 8. Jason Van Hise, Loves Park.

Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Ricky Nielsen, Rockford; 2. Kris Nilson, Rockford; 3. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 4. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 5. Robert Roush, Marengo.