By: Eric Huenefeld
Whether it be on the track or on paper, as the 2009 racing season has wound towards its conclusion, the action at the Rockford Speedway has picked up in intensity. On Bobcat of Rockford Kid's Night at the Speedway, the drama continued at the famed quarter mile. When the dust settled, the points battles remained tight and those who outlasted their foes in the evenings feature events were the ones who truly earned their spoils.

Coming into Saturday night, the points battle in the Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models was a historically close battle with only three weeks remaining in the season slate. Defending Track Champion Jerry Gille held a minuscule one-point lead over Seven-Time Track Champion Ricky Bilderback and 26 point lead over Jon Reynolds Jr. The trio would find each other frequently on the Speedway Saturday night, and produce one of the most exciting feature finishes in recent memory.

Tim Noble and Tyler Peterson led the field to the Green Flag in the 30 lap Late Model main, with Peterson jumping to the early lead. Behind the 17 year-old, second year driver, the action was intense as Reynolds, Bilderback and Gille knifed their way through the field from their 7th 8th and 9th place starting spots respectively. Paint was swapped, and enemies may have been made, but in only 3 laps, Bilderback and Gille had made their way into the Top 5, with Reynolds in 7th. The first yellow of the race flew on that 3rd circuit, when 'Smokin' Joe Rusciano lost control of his racer, and climbed the wall in Turn 4. Rusciano was uninjured, but his mount was done for the evening.

When the field was turned back loose, Bilderback immediately began his assault on the lead, taking after the young Peterson and sliding into the lead on Lap 4. Gille would maneuver behind Bilderback and slip into second by Lap 6. Then, the two great veterans would begin to toil for the lead. Bilderback running the middle to high lanes, with Gille patrolling the bottom. Bilderback would hold off Gille's initial advances, but as the race neared halfway, Gille turned up the wick and would pull even with Bilderback. The two would joust for position fiercely, with Gille pulling into the lead on Lap 16. Gille would begin to get away from Bilderback, as Reynolds began to charge towards the lead, now sitting in third.

Gille appeared to be sailing away to his second victory of the year, but with only 9 laps to go, the yellow flag appeared as Tim Slater would loop his car in Turns 3 and 4. This would set up a frantic shootout to the finish between Gille, Bilderback and Reynolds Jr. On the restart, Reynolds would bust hard into Turn One and quickly dispose of Bilderback and pursued Gille, who spun his tires on the start and fell back to the pack. Reynolds slipped into the lead on Lap 22, as he and Gille continued to joust. Reynolds would finally move ahead of Gille by lap 23 and hold on for the win. It was the fifth victory of the year for “Driver X,” tying him for the most wins in the division this year with Bilderback, who came home in third behind Gille.

Gille would extend his points lead to six points over Bilderback and 24 over Reynolds Jr.

The drama is similar in the Bargain Hunter Sportsman division at this point in the season, with Wisconsin driver Doug Bennett trying to capture his first-ever Track Championship. However, the driver chasing him in the points is non other than three-time Champ Fred Nason. Nason has cut the points gap from near 30 to only 5 in a month's time, picking off two feature wins along the way. Nason upped the ante in qualifying, breaking the Track Record and setting the tone for another wild evening.

Scott Lawver and Brock Behnke led the field to the green in the 25 lap affair, and immediately began fighting for the top spot, Behnke would edge ahead of Lawver at the line on Lap 1, and continue to hold a half-length lead through the first six laps before pulling away from Lawver. The drama built behind them, as Nason looked poised to take the points lead on this night, churning around Bennett and setting his sights on the Top 3.

As Nason sailed through the field though, trouble hit the Roscoe driver, as Nason would get together with third place runner Ron Morris and bring out the yellow. Nason's involvement in the wreck put him to the tail of the field and gave Bennett a very nice sup rise present in an otherwise dismal showing in the opening half of the Sportsman main event. As the green reappeared, Nason began his climb back through the field and Bennett suddenly came to life, charging up to as high as third, locking himself into and intense battle with Rookie of the Year points leader Rob Goodman and Matt Berger. Berger would move around both in a bold move, and challenge Behnke for the win in the races final laps, with Behnke holding off Bergers advances to win his second feature of the year. Behnke won the race not in his familiar #35, but in Ricky Nielson's #27.

In the 'battle within the battle,' Bennett would finish behind Goodman in fourth, with Nason charging all the way back to 6th by races end. Bennett would lengthen his points lead to 9 over Nason.

In the Mountain Dew Roadrunners, the division would see another new winner. Loves Park driver Jason Van Hise would start on pole for the divisions 20 lap feature event, and cruise to the victory. It was Van Hise's first Saturday night feature win of the year, and he became the ninth different driver to win a roadrunner feature at the Speedway this season. Howie Ware would finish in second, ahead of Lloyd Hawkins and Arlyn Roush. The biggest mover of the race was last weeks feature winner, 'Zippity Czach,' Dana Czach. In the yellow-free race, Czach would maneuver his pink #33 from 18th to 5th.

The Central States Super Cups also made their final appearance of the year at Rockford Speedway, with Itasca's Camden Murphy picking up the win in the 15 lap Junior Division feature and Grayslake driver Erik Gehrke taking the win in a thrilling 25 lap Pro Division feature.

8/29/2009 - Rockford Speedway Results...
NASCAR Stanley Steemer Late Models
A-Main 01 -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 2. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 3. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 4. Tyler
Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 5. Kyle Lapier (r), Belvidere; 6. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 7. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn,
Wis; 8. Tim Noble, Janesville, Wis; 9. Mark Hartline, Gilberts; 10. Mikie Breiner (r), Johnburg; 11. Dave Edwards,
Salem, Wis; 12. John Beinlich (r), Prairie View; 13. Brandon Eash (r), Rockford; 14. Timothy Slater (r), Hampshire; 15.
Robert Nelson, Solon Mills; 16. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 17. Bryan Ellis, Loves Park; 18. Joe Rusciano, Crystal Lake;
19. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park.
Heat 01 -- 1. Brandon Eash (r), Rockford; 2. Joe Rusciano, Crystal Lake; 3. Bryan Ellis, Loves Park; 4. John Beinlich
(r), Prairie View; 5. Robert Nelson, Solon Mills; 6. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park.
Heat 02 -- 1. Tim Noble, Janesville, Wis; 2. Mark Hartline, Gilberts; 3. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 4. Wayne
Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 5. Timothy Slater (r), Hampshire; 6. Dave Edwards, Salem, Wis; 7. Mikie Breiner (r), Johnburg.
Heat 03 -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 2. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 3. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 4. Kyle Lapier (r),
Belvidere; 5. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 6. Matt Berger, Loves Park.
Time Trial -- 1. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 2. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 3. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 4. Kyle Lapier
(r), Belvidere; 5. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 6. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 7. Mikie Breiner (r), Johnburg; 8. Wayne Freimund,
Elkhorn, Wis; 9. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 10. Tim Noble, Janesville, Wis; 11. Mark Hartline, Gilberts; 12.
Timothy Slater (r), Hampshire; 13. Dave Edwards, Salem, Wis; 14. Joe Rusciano, Crystal Lake; 15. Brandon Eash (r),
Rockford; 16. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park; 17. Robert Nelson, Solon Mills; 18. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 19. Bryan Ellis,
Loves Park; 20. John Beinlich (r), Prairie View.
Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 2. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Machesney Park; 3. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 4. Ricky
Bilderback, Rockton; 5. Kyle Lapier (r), Belvidere; 6. Matt Berger, Loves Park.
Bargain Hunter Sportsman
A-Main 01 -- 1. Brock Behnke, South Beloit; 2. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 3. Rob Goodman (r), McHenry; 4. Doug
Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 5. Ron Morris, Belvidere; 6. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 7. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 8. Justin Sellers,
Carol Stream; 9. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 10. Rob Solo Rio (r), Hampshire; 11. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park.
Heat 01 -- 1. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 2. Rob Solo Rio (r), Hampshire; 3. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 4. Rob Goodman
(r), McHenry; 5. Brock Behnke, South Beloit; 6. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park.
Heat 02 -- 1. Ron Morris, Belvidere; 2. Doug Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 3. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 4. Fred Nason,
Roscoe; 5. Matt Berger, Loves Park.
Time Trial -- 1. Fred Nason, Roscoe; 2. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 3. Doug Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 4. Ron Morris,
Belvidere; 5. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 6. Rob Goodman (r), McHenry; 7. Darrell Garman, Machesney Park; 8. Brock
Behnke, South Beloit; 9. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 10. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 11. Rob Solo Rio (r), Hampshire.
Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 2. Don Exline, Oak Lawn; 3. Doug Bennett, Brodhead, Wis; 4. Ron
Morris, Belvidere; 5. Rob Goodman (r), McHenry; 6. Fred Nason, Roscoe.
Mtn Dew Road Runners
A-Main 01 -- 1. Jason Van Hise, Loves Park; 2. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 3. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 4. Arlyn
Roush, Woodstock; 5. Dana Czach, Wauconda; 6. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 7. David Lignell, Rockford; 8. John Logan,
Jr., Loves Park; 9. Gene Marocco, Machesney Park; 10. Kris Nilson, Rockford; 11. Jason Brockway, Machesney Park;
12. Robert Roush, Marengo; 13. Jeff Allendorf, Belvidere; 14. Billy McCoy, Belvidere; 15. Brian Smith, Rockford; 16.
Linnea Lundy, Loves Park; 17. Michael Neblock, Loves Park; 18. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 19. Charlie Frisch,
Beloit, Wis; 20. Richard Nielsen, Byron; 21. Josh DiGiovanni, Loves Park; 22. Kyle Watts, Machesney Park.
Heat 01 -- 1. Jason Van Hise, Loves Park; 2. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 3. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 4.
Brian Smith, Rockford; 5. Linnea Lundy, Loves Park; 6. Michael Neblock, Loves Park; 7. Josh DiGiovanni, Loves Park;
8. Kyle Watts, Machesney Park; 9. Jason Brockway, Machesney Park.

Heat 02 -- 1. Arlyn Roush, Woodstock; 2. Brian Mayer, Machesney Park; 3. John Logan, Jr., Loves Park; 4. Jeff
Allendorf, Belvidere; 5. David Lignell, Rockford; 6. Richard Nielsen, Byron; 7. Billy McCoy, Belvidere.
Heat 03 -- 1. Charlie Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 2. Gene Marocco, Machesney Park; 3. Dana Czach, Wauconda; 4. Robert
Roush, Marengo; 5. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 6. Kris Nilson, Rockford; 7. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis.
Challenge 01 -- 1. Jason Van Hise, Loves Park; 2. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 3. David Pautsch, Jr, Roscoe; 4.
Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 5. Brian Mayer, Machesney Park; 6. Kyle Watts, Machesney Park; 7. Justin Hawkins,
Machesney Park.
Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 2. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 3. Dana Czach, Wauconda; 4. Kris Nilson,
Rockford; 5. Robert Roush, Marengo.