LOVES PARK, Ill. — On a night of celebration and reminiscing with former champions, Jake Gille captured the 30-lap feature for NASCAR late model stock cars as Rockford Speedway celebrated its 75th anniversary Saturday.
Gille, the 34-year-old, third-generation racer from Winnebago, Ill., wheeled his WREX-Channel 13/Kuhn Trucking/815 Automotive Detailing/HG Plumbing/Windsor Auto Sales/Tiry’s Race Engines & Components-sponsored Chevrolet to the victory.
Chasing down leader Johnny Robinson II with less than 10 laps to go, Gille, the current late model points leader, made the pass on Robinson and rolled to his third feature win of the season at the banked, quarter-mile, paved oval. At the checkered flag, it was Gille and Robinson, followed by Josh Thiering and Willie Nelson. Fast qualifier and four-time track champion Jon Reynolds Jr. dropped out of the race early with mechanical woes.
“He (Robinson) was faster than me early,” said Gille. I was trying to save my right rear tire in case he fell off and he did. It took awhile for me to wrangle him in but once we got there, his right rear was burned up pretty bad. It’s Rockford and there was a little contact. I really wanted this one.”
Alex Weber won the 25-lap sportsman feature race, which saw 14 cars start. Weber got out front early and scored his first career feature win, becoming the division’s eighth different feature winner this year. Weber scored the win over Bobby Frisch, Adam Cartwright, division points leader Chad Smith and fast timer Howie Ware.
Matt Berger won the American Short Trackers 20-lap feature, claiming his second win of the season over Steve Erickson Jr. and Jeremy Watson. The High School Racers main event was taken by 15-year-old Matthew Fairburn Jr. – his second win in 2022. Tyler Martin was the winner of the Roadrunner division headliner.
Built in 1948 for midget auto racing, the Rockford speed plant also saw the Illini Racing Series midgets in action with Scott Koerner winning the 15-lap open-wheel chase. Koerner, of Joliet and a five-time Illini midget titlist, defeated Jordan Caskey and Tom Schnabel, who had captured the two previous Illini midget features held at Rockford this year.
Scott Shilkuski took a wild, high-flying, multi-flip tumble during the second midget heat race of the evening. Shilkuski tangled with Mike Klein coming off of turn four with Shilkuski flipping out of control almost three-quarters of the way down the main straightaway. Shilkuski, conscious and talking to emergency crews, was taken to a local hospital for observation.
Keyword: Gille Captures Rockford Late Model Feature