MARNE, Mich. — We are less than five weeks away from dropping the green flag on the 2022 season at berlin raceway but that's not stopping some of the best drivers here from heading south and getting their season started.
"I was serious when I told Jeff to plow the race track because we'd be out here testing, that's what we want to do, we want to get out there and get our race cars faster."
It's the it of a seasoned racer. Wyoming native Brian Campbell, coming off a super late model track championship at Berlin in 2021, is ready for another big year.
"We strive to be on the podium at every race, a win, we have fun when we win but we strive to be on the podium," said Campbell.
And those expectations will remain next weekend when he loads up and heads south for South Alabama Speedway to compete in the world famous Rattler 25 for the second straight season.
"The competition down there is fierce, the southern boys are a tough bunch, especially in their back yard. when they come up here, it's even ground, we can race with them, down there they're tough, they're a tough bunch, Evan can attest, Carson can attest, they're a tough group to race with," said Campbell.
And Berlin's second place finisher in the super late model division last year, 18 year old Evan Shotko will also make the trip from Coopersville to Alabama. But he's already down there after competing in the Alabama 200 at Montogomery speedway on Saturday.
"We had two races that we wanted to hit but they were back to back so there's no sense in driving all the way home just to drive right back, so the tracks are about an hour and a half apart or so, so we just decided to make a little vacation out of it," said Shotko
Shotko will be competing in the Baby Rattler 125 on Saturday night in the pro late models due to his crate engine, but last year, in the same race he led several laps before his day came to an end.
"Last year we were leading the baby rattler and we had a part break." said Shotko
Portage native and young NASCAR phenm Carson Hocevar will also be racing on Sunday against Campbell in the Rattler 250. Just another name in one of the deepest fields you'll find.
"With the truck series being off, there's a lot of truck guys there, Ty Majeski is running trucks this year, he's a past winner and he'll be there." said Campbell
Even with all of the competition in both the Rattler and Baby Rattler next week - Campbell and Shotko are confident they can represent West Michigan well.
"If we go down there and get a top three or win this thing, it's a huge deal for us in Michigan." said Campbell
"Hopefully all of us going down there, we can represent West Michigan well. Any race we go to, we plan on winning so if we don't win at least one of them, we'll be pretty upset, it's a steep goal, there's a lot of competition but you don't go to finish second." said Shotko
So we'll see how Shotko can fair in the baby rattler 125 on saturday night but then on sunday, it'll be Hocevar and Campbell taking on that talented field of drivers in the rattler 250.
