By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Monday, July 4th, 2011) -- On a holiday night reserved for firework spectaculars, family entertainment, and military tributes, the Rockford Speedway encompassed all three as a trio of former champions put on a show of their own en route to the winner's circle on the Fourth of July. Scott Lawver's machine fittingly sponsored by Cornelier Fireworks put on the best display of all, going toe-to-toe with a determined Matt Lundberg in one of the best Bargain Hunter Sportsman main events in a while before emerging victorious.

Points leader and longtime contender BJ Sparkman put on an entertaining display as a sibling rivalry broke out up front. He had to hold off older brother George to take the trophy in the Budweiser American Short Trackers. And in the nightcap, the always amazing 'Midnight Ride of Paul Revere' featured the Mtn Dew RoadRunners pacing the high banks in total darkness for twenty caution-free circuits before 'Bullet' Bobby Frisch found himself enlightening the crowd in victory lane.

Robert Roush rushed to the early edge in the 25-lap Bargain Hunter Sportsman headliner as the field went door-to-door, side-by-side through the beginning stages. Tim Jendrycki eventually latched on up high and nosed ahead on lap three as the front ten cars continued to race around the high banks double-file, bumper-to-bumper.

Jendrycki finally broke free of Roush’s grasp with seven laps in the books as Scott Lawver took over second. Lawver hungered for more however, squeezing the leader up the track for the top spot as Matt Lundberg threaded the needle and took over the runner-up position.

The rotation of leaders continued up front as Lundberg dove to the bottom of the quarter-mile oval and eyed the top spot, finally breaking through with six laps left as Rich Hinerichson closed up behind the duo in third.

A feisty Lawver fought back on the high side though, using the high side’s momentum to launch off the corners as Lundberg felt the heat from Hinerichson for second. With his brake rotors glowing, Lawver led coming to the white flag but Lundberg made a last gasp effort coming to the checkers.

Lundberg’s desperate attempt at another win in the ‘Family Truckster’ came up a few inches short as six-time track champ Scott Lawver finally broke through for his first win of the 2011 in a nail-biter that had the crowd on their feet roaring in approval.

“Oh, I tell you,” Lawver exclaimed in the winner’s circle. “This is special for us because it’s our 100th feature victory. I had to give Matt (Lundberg) a hug because he’s a good racer and when he got up there, I thought, this is gonna be fun.”

Lundberg's runner-up effort closed him to within just six points of standings leader Austin Nason. Hinerichson earned a third place finish with a strong run while ‘Captain’ Chris Gantz came home fourth. Jendrycki jumped into the top five for one of his better finishes of the season in fifth.

With a backdrop of fireworks as the Monday night sky darkened on a special Fourth of July, the Budweiser American Short Trackers took the green flag for their 25-lap feature. Veteran standby Jack Atchison led the way as the lineup quickly thinned itself out and the cream rose to the top.

When Atchison was hung out to dry on the third lap, defending champion Kyle Lapier stepped up to assume command as teammates Scott Hoeft and BJ Sparkman closed up in hot pursuit. BJ Sparkman got around Hoeft on the high side for second as brother George snuck past for a podium spot in third.

BJ Sparkman didn’t wait long to begin his assault on the top spot, diving to the bottom of the high banks and slipping past Lapier by a nose with ten laps in the books. With a five-car breakaway up front, it was anyone’s race as the event quickly approached the halfway mark.

Eventually, BJ Sparkman managed to clear Kyle Lapier’s machine and fast qualifier George Sparkman followed suit via the low groove. While the Sparkman brothers waged a family war out front, Hoeft hurdled into the top three, taking away the spot from Lapier with nine laps remaining.

Up front, George Sparkman turned up the heat on his brother, hounding BJ’s back bumper as the laps began to wind down. George grabbed the bottom side and gave it a whirl with the white flag in the air but it wasn’t enough as points leader BJ Sparkman held on for his fourth feature win of the 2011 campaign in the caution-free affair.

“This went a lot better than last year,” the victor proclaimed. “That old guy in the 5 (George Sparkman) scares me. I just wanted to get away from him and get to the winner’s circle.”

While the Sparkman brothers cleaned up the top two spots, Hoeft ended up with a strong third place result. Lapier and Nick Cina Jr. rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.

One of the coolest races of the year at the legendary Rockford Speedway capped off the night before the fireworks show as the Mtn Dew RoadRunners took to the asphalt oval for ‘The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’, a 20-lap feature ran in total darkness. With the track lights turned off, each RoadRunner rolled around the high banks with nothing but a roof light to guide them along the way.

Adam Cartwright cruised to the lead in the beginning stages of the event as ‘Bullet’ Bobby Frisch tracked him down up front. Points leader Alex Papini joined the fray as Frisch worked his way around Cartwright with three laps completed under the guise of night.

Papini pushed past Cartwright for the bridesmaid’s position and immediately set his sights on Frisch and the top spot. While Papini sized up the leader, Howie Ware worked his way by Cartwright and into the picture up front, emerging with third as the race approached the halfway mark.

Frisch slipped away as Papini and Ware jousted for the runner-up spot. The leaders began to negotiate lapped traffic as the battle for second raged on with under five circuits remaining. Papini escaped Ware’s clutches and regained second as Frisch took the white flag with a solid advantage.

‘Bullet’ Bobby was able to hit his marks despite the pitch black environment en route to the checkers and a special trophy. It was the former champion’s first win of the season.

“Anytime you’re running in dark, it’s a bit different,” Frisch acknowledged afterwards. “I think Alex got to me about halfway through but the car got better as the race went on. When you run this division, you always want to win this race. It’s a big deal.”

Papini extended his points lead to 19 markers with a runner-up effort while Ware settled for third. Cartwright ended up with a solid fourth place result while Dan Carlson completed the top five in fifth.

After three consecutive nights of holiday racing specials, the Rockford Speedway takes a night off before returning to action for Wild Wednesday in two days. With one week of Wild Wednesday racing in the books, the Mtn Dew RoadRunners return for the second go-around in their Super Summer Series. Also on tap are the Bandits, INEX Legends, Bandoleros, Misfits, Winged Women on Wheels, Figure 8, and Law Office of Kim MacCloskey Spectacular Drags plus the Bandit Challenge.

Wednesday is 'Bring a Facebook Friend' Night presented by Rockford Welding Industrial Supply as Facebook fans of the track get a special deal at the gate. Adult admission is just $8 while teenagers ages 12-17 get in for $6 and kids ages 6-11 get in for only $4. Children ages 5 and under are FREE with gates opening at 5:30pm and the green flag waving on all the exciting racing action at 7:07pm sharp!

For more information, including a full 2011 schedule, visit the track website at www.rockfordspeedway.com or contact the Speedway Box Office at (815)633-1500.

Rockford Speedway Results

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Week 9

NASCAR All American Sportsmen

A-Main 01 -- 1. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 2. Matt Lundberg, Rockford; 3. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park; 4. Chris Gantz, Rockford; 5. Tim Jendrycki (r), Round Lake; 6. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 7. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 8. Robert Roush (r), Marengo; 9. Brad Gerke (r), Loves Park; 10. Austin Nason, Roscoe; 11. Brandon Swinbank (r), Rockford; 12. Shannon Stoltz (r), Machesney Park; 13. Joshua Lundy (r), Loves Park.

Heat 01 -- 1. Robert Roush (r), Marengo; 2. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 3. Tim Jendrycki (r), Round Lake; 4. Brandon Swinbank (r), Rockford; 5. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 6. Joshua Lundy (r), Loves Park; 7. Shannon Stoltz (r), Machesney Park.

Heat 02 -- 1. Chris Gantz, Rockford; 2. Brad Gerke (r), Loves Park; 3. Matt Lundberg, Rockford; 4. Austin Nason,
Roscoe; 5. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 6. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park.

Time Trial -- 1. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 2. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park; 3. Austin Nason, Roscoe; 4. Matt Lundberg, Rockford; 5. Chris Gantz, Rockford; 6. Brad Gerke (r), Loves Park; 7. Scott Lawver, Roscoe; 8. Justin Sellers, Carol Stream; 9. Tim Jendrycki (r), Round Lake; 10. Robert Roush (r), Marengo; 11. Brandon Swinbank (r), Rockford; 12. Shannon Stoltz (r), Machesney Park; 13. Joshua Lundy (r), Loves Park.

Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Matt Lundberg, Rockford; 2. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 3. Brad Gerke (r), Loves Park; 4. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park; 5. Chris Gantz, Rockford; 6. Austin Nason, Roscoe.

NASCAR American Short Trackers

A-Main 01 -- 1. Boyce (BJ) Sparkman, Machesney Park; 2. George Sparkman, Loves Park; 3. Scott Hoeft, Watertown,
Wis; 4. Kyle Lapier, Belvidere; 5. Nick Cina, Jr, Belvidere; 6. Steve Drays, Milton, Wis; 7. Zach Rodriguez, Rockton; 8. Rachel Sparkman, Belvidere; 9. Alan Bekielewski, Roscoe; 10. Bryan Ellis, Loves Park; 11. Christopher Jones, Rockford; 12. David Russell, Jr, Machesney Park; 13. Nick Letsinger, Rockford; 14. Artt Higbee, Rockford; 15. Mark Bielefeldt, Loves Park; 16. Dave Lee, Rockford; 17. Jack Atchison, Stillman Valley.

Heat 01 -- 1. Christopher Jones, Rockford; 2. David Russell, Jr, Machesney Park; 3. Bryan Ellis, Loves Park; 4. Alan Bekielewski, Roscoe; 5. Mark Bielefeldt, Loves Park; 6. Jack Atchison, Stillman Valley; 7. Artt Higbee, Rockford.

Heat 02 -- 1. Scott Hoeft, Watertown, Wis; 2. Boyce (BJ) Sparkman, Machesney Park; 3. George Sparkman, Loves
Park; 4. Nick Cina, Jr, Belvidere; 5. Zach Rodriguez, Rockton; 6. Rachel Sparkman, Belvidere; 7. Kyle Lapier, Belvidere; 8. Steve Drays, Milton, Wis.

Time Trial -- 1. George Sparkman, Loves Park; 2. Boyce (BJ) Sparkman, Machesney Park; 3. Nick Cina, Jr, Belvidere; 4. Scott Hoeft, Watertown, Wis; 5. Zach Rodriguez, Rockton; 6. Rachel Sparkman, Belvidere; 7. Kyle Lapier, Belvidere; 8. Steve Drays, Milton, Wis; 9. Jack Atchison, Stillman Valley; 10. Alan Bekielewski, Roscoe; 11. Bryan Ellis, Loves Park; 12. David Russell, Jr, Machesney Park; 13. Christopher Jones, Rockford; 14. Mark Bielefeldt, Loves Park; 15. Artt Higbee, Rockford; 16. Dave Lee, Rockford.

Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Boyce (BJ) Sparkman, Machesney Park; 2. Nick Cina, Jr, Belvidere; 3. Scott Hoeft, Watertown, Wis; 4. Rachel Sparkman, Belvidere; 5. George Sparkman, Loves Park; 6. Zach Rodriguez, Rockton.

NASCAR Road Runners

'The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere' -- 1. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 2. Alex Papini, Machesney Park; 3. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 4. Adam Cartwright, Marengo; 5. Dan Carlson, Rockford; 6. Jeff Allendorf, Belvidere; 7. Brian Mayer, Machesney Park; 8. Arlyn Roush, Woodstock; 9. Steven Dover, Machesney Park; 10. Patrick Featherston II, Byron; 11. Joey Thomas, Rockford; 12. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 13. James Gregory, Winnebago; 14. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 15. Brad Jones, Rockton.

Heat 01 -- 1. Adam Cartwright, Marengo; 2. James Gregory, Winnebago; 3. Steven Dover, Machesney Park; 4. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 5. Joey Thomas, Rockford; 6. Patrick Featherston II, Byron; 7. Josh DiGiovanni, Machesney Park; 8. Shawn Rickelman, Rockton; 9. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry.

Heat 02 -- 1. Brian Mayer, Machesney Park; 2. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 3. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 4. Jeff Allendorf, Belvidere; 5. Alex Papini, Machesney Park; 6. Gene Marocco, Machesney Park; 7. Arlyn Roush, Woodstock; 8. Dan Carlson, Rockford; 9. Brad Jones, Rockton.

Challenge 01 -- 1. Adam Cartwright, Marengo; 2. Lloyd Hawkins, Machesney Park; 3. Arlyn Roush, Woodstock; 4. Kyle Watts, Machesney Park; 5. Joey Thomas, Rockford; 6. Raymond Hardesty, McHenry; 7. Brad Jones, Rockton; 8. Steven Dover, Machesney Park.

Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Howie Ware, South Beloit; 2. Bobby Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 3. Gene Marocco, Machesney Park; 4. Arlyn Roush, Woodstock; 5. Dan Carlson, Rockford; 6. Alex Papini, Machesney Park.