by Scott Bender
The Berks County Oval Series concluded another fun and competitive season of racing;
Kenny Gilmore was almost unbeatable as he won 6 out of the 7 races in the Series on way to his 2nd straight Berks Series point title. Making a 3 spot improvement in the standing, Billy Decker scored 3 runner up finishes, along with a total of 4 top 5 finishes on way to a good 2nd place finish. Rich Schmidt turned in a good season with 4 top 5 runs, including a 2nd place finish in race 5 at Bob Zelano’s track. Breaking into the top 5 this year, Bob Zelano turned in a steady season with 4 top 5 finishes, on way to a 4th place finish. Bob just missed a 3rd place finish by 2 points. Just 5 points behind Scott Bender recorded 3 top 5 finishes, including a 4th place finish in the season opener.
Rest of Top 15
6TH Randy Haydt / 7th Shane Heister (1win) / 8th Jim Levan / 9th Bob Amore / 10th Sheldon Hiester / 11th John Kosmoski / 12th BIll Brenner / 13th Eric Beard 14th Brett Gilmore & 15th Paul Barkasi
Stats & Stuff
Breaking into the B.C.O.S. win column this year, Shane Hiester scored his 1st career win in race 2 at Rich Schmidt’s oval. The final point standing was only a 46 -point difference from 2nd to 9th place. Good to see no DQs this year. At the final race of the year the group decided on no major changes to the rules with the exception of a slight change in the prize fund, now to be eligible for the full share you must run in 4 races in the Series. Finally thanks to Randy for all his hard work keeping the Series going, and keeping up with all the stats. And thanks to all the track owners who provide the fine hospitality and a good time. Check out later this summer for the new schedule, and maybe another track added?
Gilmore Edges Haydt for I R O C Title
Another competitive I R O C season saw the point title not decided until the final race, but Kenny Gilmore scored a 3rd place finish in the final race to collect his 3rd I R O C point title. Gilmore scored 3 wins on way to winning the title by only 12 points. Last years I R O C champion Randy Haydt turned in a good season with 2 wins and 6 top 5’s to finish 2nd. Only 6 points behind, Rich Schmidt scored 1 win and tallied 3 2nd place runs on way to a 3rd place finish. Jim Levan ended the season with his 1st career I R O C win, moving him up to 4th in the final standing. Bob Amore turned in a steady season with 5 top 5’s to round out the top 5.
Rest of Top 10
6TH Scott Bender / 7th Billy Decker / 8th Bill Brenner / 9th Eric Beard / 10th Sam Heller
Last Laps
Thanks goes out to Rich Schmidt and Kenny Gilmore for preparing the I R O C cars and keeping them as equal as possible. And to Bob Amore for supplying some great bodies. Top 12 in points all scored at least 1 segment win. Congrats to Jim Levan on his 1st career I R O C win in the Series final race
Feature Winners
Kenny Gilmore – 3, Randy Haydt – 2, Rich Schmidt and Jim Levan – 1.
