8/17/2025
Birch Run Speedway
Kowalcyk Memorial to Miller Jr/Worthy and Hayden crowned Champions in dramatic fashion!
Close points battles, hard-nosed racing, and racing to end prostate cancer highlighted Season Championships Round 1/Carl Kowalcyk Legacy Lap night at Birch Run Speedway.
Backroad Beaute' Salon American Trucks Fast Qualifier Awards went to:
Backroad Beaute' Salon American Race Trucks - Darren Burton 16.854
Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks - Fred Cummings Jr 17.420
True Performance and Fabrication Limited Late Models - Josh Hahn 16.957
Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks - Lonnie Saumier Jr 16.955
Four-car Dash, Australian Pursuits, and Heat wins were garnered by:
Hunter Doutre - Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks Dash
Jeremy Johnson - Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks Australian Pursuit (1st BRS win!)
Kyle Callahan - Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks Australian Pursuit
Darren Burton - Backroad Beaute' Salon American Race Trucks Dash
Matthew Moshier - Backroad Beaute' Salon American Race Trucks Australian Pursuit (1st win!)
Mark Palmer - Backroad Beaute' Salon American Race Trucks Australian Pursuit (1st win at BRS!)
Josh Hahn - True Performance and Fabrication Limited Late Models Heat
Austin Edmonds - True Performance and Fabrication Limited Late Models Heat
Chaz Taylor - Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks Heat (1st BRS Win!)
Duane Damon- Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks Heat
Honoring Carl Kowalcyk, the founder of Proglide Racing Transmissions, 17 Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stock drivers took to the third-mile for a chance at a $1,055 payday. Kyle Callahan took the lead after a four-lap battle alongside Andrew Shelters. Racing action was slowed twice on laps 27 and 13, and Callahan maintained the lead on each restart. With 19 laps to go, fast qualifier Lonnie Saumier Jr moved into second as current point leader Jim Miller Jr followed into third. Saumier pressured Callahan for the next two laps when the #M15 developed problems and had to pull off. Miller Jr stalked Callahan for the lead and got to the inside off turn two and completed the pass. The driver of the K9 went on to pull into the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Victory Lane and was greeted by family, friends, and the Carl Kowalcyk family. Callahan scored second, ahead of Hunter Doutre, Bill Livesay, and Anthony Duvernois.
Three-wide and hard-nosed racing throughout the Backroad Beaute' Salon American Race Trucks 25-lap feature highlighted the action. Walt Dalrymple Jr took the lead from his pole starting position. Mark Palmer moved into second on lap two and started chasing Dalrymple down. Intense battles throughout the field ensued as faster qualifiers came through the field. Dalrymple was relegated to the back, handing the lead to Palmer. Greg Long III and Zane Cruz had worked through the field. Caution on lap 10 put Long III to the outside of Palmer. After a couple of "cat and mouse" restarts, Long prevailed with the lead. Cruz and Long III took turns leading in the last five laps after they took turns "rattling each other's cage", and Gregory Long III picked up his third feature win of 2025. Palmer crossed the line second, Charles Hamilton third, Brent Voris fourth, and Josh Shaw finished fifth.
Josh Hahn had trailed Dalton Worthy by a mere 7 points coming into the night for the True Performance and Fabrication Limited Late Model Championship. Austin Edmonds, from his p1 starting position, grabbed the early race lead. Bob Farley moved into second and on lap 20, moved past Edmonds to take the lead. Hahn's bid for a Championship came down to the wire as he battled Worthy for the runner-up spot. Farley picked up his first win of 2025. Worthy held off Hahn for second in a thrilling battle to the checkered flag. Shawn Edmonds and Austin Edmonds completed the top five.
With his second-place finish, Worthy clinched the 2025 Birch Run Limited Late Model Championship by just five points!
The Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks 20-lap feature had multiple moments of drama, aside from the six-point difference between Johnny Hayden and John Leonard that determined the Championship. Leonard started outside Chaz Taylor when the green flew. Leonard had the lead at lap three, but there was a near-disaster two laps later when Taylor and Leonard made slight contact off turn two. The two got crossed up in front of the field, with everyone taking evasive action and no damaged racecars. Kevin Harder took command on the restart as Duane Damon got up to second. Damon eventually got the lead and had to contend with Larry Plamondon. Plamondon attempted a high-side pass of Damon in turn three as both drivers got loose, and contact sent Damon spinning through the infield. Damon held off Harder on a green/white/checker finish to take his second win in two starts. Fred Cummings Jr took third with Johnny Hayden and John Leonard finishing fourth and fifth.
Hayden, the 2005 Auto City Speedway Thunder Truck Champion, became the 2025 Birch Run Speedway Street Stock Champion by besting Leonard by 10 points!
Four Championships will be decided this Friday, with two being decided in the NASCAR Regional Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series. The Oguinn Family Funeral Homes Modifieds have Nick Lechota only two points ahead of Michael Luberda Jr, and only four points ahead of David McManus.
Jim Miller Jr looks to collect his second Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks Championship in a row, sitting 67 points ahead of Bruce Dunton Jr. Dunton has only a two-point advantage over third-place Lonnie Saumier Jr.
The Backroad Beaute' Salon American Race Trucks will be in action, and the lead duo in points, Darren Burton and Charles Hamilton, are separated by 14 points. Three-time winner in 2025, Greg Long III is 42 points back in third.
Mark Williamson, a feature winner twice in 2025, holds a 66-point advantage over Daegan Clayton in the quest for the Front Wheel Drive Championship.
The 2025 International 500 Snowmobile Race/Pure Michigan Summer Tour will be on hand with the #22 Bulldog Racing by D.G.M. Diamond Gilbert Motorsports on display. The Metro Jets Hockey Organization of the USPHL will have several players in attendance to promote their upcoming 2025/2026 season.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.birchrunevents.com. Children 14 and under are free with a paying adult, seniors and Veterans are $12, and adult admission is just $15.
Submitted By: Charles Darling
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