Entering the middle of July, Stephen Bergh, Jr. held the top spot in the Pro Challenge Series North division points standings with his adversary, Kyle Benjamin, riding in second. After a two races in three days at two different tracks in North Carolina, Bergh not only increased his points lead, but brought home two victories to add to his dream season.
On Concord Speedway’s quarter-mile oval on Wednesday, July 15th, Bergh drove his #70 Pro Challenge machine to victory lane over Drew Calhoun and the rest of the field. That was his second win in two races held at Concord Speedway.
“We just had the car dialed in right and I’ve had a lot of laps there,” said Bergh. “It’s different because it’s on a quarter-mile, but we got it right. It feels great. All the college kids at UNC (Calhoun’s crew) are giving us a run for our money, but we’re doing well.”
At Tri-County Motor Speedway on Friday, Bergh once again was the driver to beat, but this time it was on a faster, larger track. The 4/10ths-mile banked oval produced a great battle for the top spot, first with Benjamin trying to steal it away from Bergh, then a late challenge by Brady Boswell. In the end though, it was once again Bergh’s day to shine in victory lane.
“We’ve never been good here,” explained Bergh. “We’ve had a fourth in the National race and we were too tight in the race (today). “They were putting pressure on us, but we were able to hold on and win.”
Benjamin was able to recover from a spin to take second, followed by Boswell.
In the North division points to date, Bergh leads over Benjamin, Trevor Edwards, Ryan Heavner and Chris Brown.
The next Pro Challenge North division event will take place on Wednesday, July 29th at Concord Speedway (NC).
