Berry 2 for 2 in Sprint Cars

SPOKANE, Washington -- The Inland Northwest Sprint Cars (INSC) took to the track this past Saturday evening at the Stateline Speedway in Post Falls, ID racing not only each other, but mother nature as well. The inclement weather did nothing to slow down the fast paced action that set the stage for the night.

Series regular Dave Hill of Goldendale, WA got the evening started with qualifying at a 12.27 lap, quickest of the 10 cars that attempted to qualify. The trophy dash showed what would be the theme of the evening with the always-quick Kevin Burck of Ephrata, WA and Rookie of the Year contender Tony Berry dueling inside and outside for 4 laps, with Berry picking up the win.

Heat race action saw Wes Helgeson in the HEI Motorsports, Cyberwize.com sprinter take the lead early, but Burck began to move his way forward taking the lead on lap five. Burck went on to win with Berry second and Helgeson third.

The main event would truly be the feature event of the evening as these methanol-burning racers took to the track. The winner of the previous race, Berry, had to start at the rear of the field due to a club rule to make the on-track action better for the fans. Burck jumped out to an early lead in the Red Perkins owned; Inland Northwest Consultants, Jaba Jitters and Dean Alexander Motorsports sponsored car. Berry had begun to pick his way through the field, dispatching with many of the cars quickly. Burck in the #65 appeared to be on his way to his first victory of the season when working his way through lapped traffic he made heavy contact with another car. Burck’s night went up in sparks as he nursed a wounded car to pit lane. This handed the lead to current points leader, Berry. When they returned to green after the caution for Burck, it was a ten-lap shoot out that had Berry in the HEI Motorsports, River City River Runners, Cyberwize.com Gambler picking up his second win in as many races. Rookie Justin Popple of Spokane, WA brought home the Ricky Nelson owned #43 in second, in just his first race in a sprint car. Fast qualifier Hill wound up third and Helgeson fourth.

“It was a crazy night of racing”, remarked Berry. “We had a little bit of everything out there. I hated to see that for Kevin because he had the field covered tonight, but I am really proud of how hard my crew worked and put us in a position to win for our sponsors. It was certainly a great way to start our new relationship with the River City River Runners, a rafting company on the Spokane River.”