By John Rittenoure - PARK CITY, Kans. (May 31, 2025) - Kyle Berck made up for a tough last lap loss on Friday at Humboldt with a wire-to-wire run to victory Saturday at 81 Speedway in the Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation Sooner Late Model Series main event.
Over $3,000 in lap money was on the line for the Lonnie Smith Memorial event, run in honor of the late and well respected racer, and Berck pocketed $4,100 for his first career Sooner Series feature win.
“The last few weeks around home we have not been good at all, so this is a good weekend for us,” said Berck. “It was the right night to be right.”
The race was co-sanctioned with the United Rebel Series and Berck drove off the outside front row into the early lead and worked his way up against the wall as the race progressed.
“The track got a lot slicker than what we expected so I was trying to chase the moisture up the racetrack as best I could,” Berck said of his run out front. “I tried it down in (turns) 3-4 through the middle and it wasn’t bad, just a little loose. I am glad I did not have a lot of pressure on me because I probably would have killed the right rear tire.”
Joseph Gorby wheeled into second on lap 4 and tried to keep pace but fell back in the final laps due to power steering issues.
“We were quick enough to have some room that we could drive it clean most of the time,” Berck said.
During yellow flag laps Berck would move to the extreme inside of the track.
“I was trying to cool the tires and know what to work with,” Berck said. “I think we could have ran the bottom pretty well, but I had a good rhythm up top and thought I would stay with it.”
Josh Leonard led Dusty Leonard to a third place finish. Dusty came from 8th starting position to fourth. Delbert Smith, the brother of the late Lonnie Smith, finished 5th under the car number H147 in honor of his brother.
Sooner Late Model Series
81 Speedway, Park City, Kansas
May 31, 2025
Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 14-Kyle Berck[2]; 2. 9-Joseph Gorby[4]; 3. 85-Josh Leonard[6]; 4. 7D-Dusty Leonard[8]; 5. H147-Delbert Smith[3]; 6. 3J-Jake Nightingale[7]; 7. 92L-Dan Smith[21]; 8. 85J-Braxten Leonard[9]; 9. 77-Jeremy Petty[11]; 10. 4X-Dalon Helm[12]; 11. MC2-Clint McFadden[17]; 12. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[15]; 13. 3-Derrek Wilson[14]; 14. 22N-Kevin Newell[13]; 15. 84-Gary Kilbourn[18]; 16. B1-Dustin Bolster[5]; 17. 18B-Bob Bills[10]; 18. (DNS) 24C-Brandon Conkwright; 19. (DNS) 65-Eric Brill; 20. (DNS) 9XX-Dakota Dellinger; 21. (DNS) 2-Colby Moore
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 85-Josh Leonard[4]; 2. 9-Joseph Gorby[6]; 3. 3J-Jake Nightingale[7]; 4. 18B-Bob Bills[1]; 5. 22N-Kevin Newell[3]; 6. 65-Eric Brill[5]; 7. (DNS) 9XX-Dakota Dellinger
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 14-Kyle Berck[1]; 2. H147-Delbert Smith[3]; 3. 7D-Dusty Leonard[5]; 4. 77-Jeremy Petty[2]; 5. 3-Derrek Wilson[6]; 6. MC2-Clint McFadden[4]; 7. (DNS) 2-Colby Moore
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[4]; 2. B1-Dustin Bolster[1]; 3. 85J-Braxten Leonard[6]; 4. 4X-Dalon Helm[7]; 5. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[5]; 6. (DNS) 84-Gary Kilbourn; 7. (DNS) 92L-Dan Smith
Lap Leaders: 1-25, Kyle Berck.
Margin of Victory: 1.845.
2025 Winners: 3/28 - Eli Ross, Enid Speedway; 4/11 - Eli Ross, Thunderbird Speedway; 4/12 - Bryan Glaze; 5/30 - Brandon Conkwright, Humboldt Speedway; 5/31 - Kyle Berck, 81 Speedway.
2025 Top 10: 1. Delbert Smith 2070; 2. Dan Smith 1992; 3. Colby Moore 1620; 4. Eric Brill 1555; 5. Steve Hewitt, Sr. 1435; 6. Gary Lowe 1105; 7. Chris Hewitt 1040; 8. Bob Bills 985; 9. Eli Ross 960; 10. Kyle Berck 935.
Next Event: June 14, Caney Valley Speedway.
Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation
Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation goal is to help grow both high school, trade school and college programs to start and or develop a motorsports program, club, or organizations at their school as well as individual motorsports programs. HRMF will provide financial grants, equipment, expertise, scholarships, and educational opportunities for these organizations and individuals. This program will allow students to overcome the hurdle of entering motorsports due to the high costs and specialized experience needed to get started. This program will allow these students the opportunity to be part of a team with one overall goal of success on the track, including budgeting, marketing, mechanical skills, logistics, and team building efforts. All while honoring the life lost to early of Hayden Diesel Ross, #forever66.
Sooner Late Model Series
The Sooner Late Model Series was formed in 2016 by Enid Speedway co-promoter Mark Brill. Brill felt there was not many opportunities for late model competitors to race in Oklahoma and the Sooner Late Model Series was formed. Now the series has grown beyond the borders of Oklahoma with events held in the neighboring states of Kansas, Texas and Arkansas.