By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Sunday, October 24th, 2010) – It was only fitting that the final event of the 2010 season at the Rockford Speedway drew the biggest car count for a single race all year, as 152 cars, minivans, and trucks spilled onto the quarter-mile oval to tackle the 30th annual ‘Goblin 250’ enduro. After 150 laps of carnage and traffic jams all over the high banks, Dale Markham steadily worked his way to the front, grabbing the lead on lap 173 after relative TJ Markham fell out of the top spot with a flat tire. Markham never looked back from there, holding off Matt Arvia and surviving the battle of attrition to collect the hardware.

Lonnie Bresley Sr’s 1998 Dodge Neon grabbed the early lead when the green flag waved on the marathon ‘Goblin 250’. The 30th rendition of the season-ending enduro got off to a slow start, literally, with traffic jams backing cars up and eliminating several competitors in the early portion of the race.

152 machines quickly whittled down to double digits by lap 100 as TJ Markham closed the gap between himself and the leader. Seven laps before the halfway mark and a 15-minute intermission, Bresley Sr. suffered a flat tire and was forced to exit the track, surrendering the top spot to Markham as the field took a chance to catch their collective breath.

After drivers finished making small repairs and changing tires, their focus turned to the second half of the 250-lap race which was set to take place on the Monza course, featuring a chicane through the backstretch infield.

That chicane almost cost Markham the lead on lap 136 as the leader spun exiting turn two. He quickly corrected it though and continued to lead the event until lap 160 when the Sycamore pilot’s chances at victory were dashed due to a pair of flat tires.

Another Markham quickly positioned himself out front after TJ’s misfortunes, as veteran Dale Markham dodged several slower cars to nab the top spot with just 87 laps remaining.

With over two-thirds of the field falling victim to mechanical failure, flat tires, and just plain beat up race cars by lap 200, Markham had smooth sailing out front, keeping the car pointed in the right direction over the final 50 circuits to grab the trophy and taste victory in the final race of the 2010 Rockford Speedway season.

“We survived,” an exhausted Markham admitted afterwards. “You can’t go fast those first 20 laps. Patience is key and we were lucky to just get one flat (tire) and I got right back out there and kept going. This (season-ending event) is just a blast and it’s so much fun to get together with the family and go out there and just race.”

Matt Arvia settled for second while Tony Doherty finished off the podium in third. Star Roach and Scott Dixon rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.

Following the carnage and attrition that was the main event, the Darkhorse Demolition Derbies took centerstage with their hard-nosed action.

Andy Dei took home the victory in the Nostalgia class and stepped up to the Fair class, trying to tame the big boys. A 23-car field waged war on each other in the main event before the smoking machine of Junior Fortune proved victorious.

Carl Young won the Trucks portion of the Demo Derby slate while Matthew Andrus notched a trophy for his win in the Compact class, outlasting 16 other ‘Goblin 250’ survivors that were brave enough to pit their various vehicles against one another.

With the 63rd season in the books, the annual Rockford Speedway banquet is the next event on the speedway calendar, taking place in mid-January. Racing returns in April for a 64th consecutive season as the legendary facility maintains its impressive status as the longest continuous entertainment venue in the Northern Illinois region.

For more information on the 64th season at the Rockford Speedway, visit the track website at www.rockfordspeedway.com or call the Speedway Box Office at (815)633-1500.

Rockford Speedway Results

Demolition Derby

'Compact' Class -- 1. Matthew Andrus, Rockford; 2. Tony Schnupp, Belvidere; 3. Driver Timmy;; 4. Lonnie Bresley, Sr., Sterling; 5. Stephen Hillary, Machesney Park; 6. Paul Milbratz Jr, Wonder Lake; 7. Ben McKown, Hobart, Ind.; 8. Greg DeStJean, Valparaiso, Ind.; 9. Rich Schinderling, Rockford; 10. Dominick Murmann, North Aurora; 11. Carolyn Johnson, Poplar Grove; 12. Brock Boss, Dixon; 13. Thomas Andrus, Rockford; 14. Brian Murray, Alsip; 15. Charles Jenkins, Belvidere; 16. Stacey McElligott, Belvidere; 17. Kathryn Suyko, Romeoville.

Enduro

'Goblin 250' -- 1. Dale Markham, Maple Park; 2. Matt Arvia, Griffith, Ind.; 3. Tony Doherty, Aurora; 4. Starr Roach, Kingston;5. Scott Dixon, Janesville, Wis; 6. Mike Nelms, Lombard; 7. Corey Marshall, St Charles; 8. T.J. Markham, Sycamore; 9. Chris Reuter, Rewey, Wis; 10. Tom Markham, Kirkland; 11. Kyle Stark, Waterloo, Wis; 12. Eric DeLapp, St. Charles; 13. Douglas Finnern, Des Plaines; 14. Jerid Butram, Beloit, Wis; 15. Ralph Markham, Maple Park; 16. Louis Chatroop, Palatine; 17. Phil Speciale, Elgin; 18. Matt McCain, Aurora; 19. Jay Orr, South Milwaukee, Wis; 20. Sam Barris, Lake Zurich; 21. Matt Belknap, Lake in the Hills; 22. Scott Greenway, Lomont; 23. Jimmy Hartmann, Carpentersville; 24. Mike Jucius, Oak Lawn; 25. Derek Walker, Marengo; 26. Charles Chism, Jr., Roscoe; 27. Michael Eby, Belvidere; 28. Kenneth Hood, Lily Lake; 29. Alex Clubb, Morris; 30. Nick Clubb, Morris; 31. Chad Williamson, Rock Falls; 32. Adam Crampton, St. Charles; 33. Charles Jenkins, Belvidere; 34. Mike Mataragas, Dekalb; 35. Adam Krenzel, Janesville, Wis; 36. Jacob Aldrich, Rockford; 37. Matt Rowe, Maribel, Wis; 38. Mike Cunz, Dekalb; 39. Samantha Brannam, McHenry; 40. Nathan Rogers, Somonauk; 41. Gary Ballard, Beloit, Wis; 42. Lonnie Bresley, Sr., Sterling; 43. Becky Roth, Hazel Green, Wis; 44. Melissa Ermel, St. Charles; 45. Kyle Martinson, Belvidere; 46. Ryan Finley, Shabbona; 47. Jonathon Pawl, Lemont; 48. Jason Roth, Hazel Green, Wis; 49. Jason Martin, Rockford; 50. George Eskildsen, Park Ridge; 51. Tim Loomis, Kingston; 52. Steve Goll, East Dundee; 53. Phil Salley, Tinley Park; 54. Mike Stone, DeKalb; 55. James Dallmann, South Beloit; 56. Brandon Foster, Munster, Ind.; 57. Joe Moeglin, Hobart, Ind.; 58. Rick Zifko, St. Charles; 59. Jason Schlesner, Roscoe; 60. Lance Lane, Algonquin; 61. Michael Brancecum, Jr, South Elgin; 62. Joseph Rasmussen, Gilberts; 63. Alan Bekielewski, Roscoe; 64. Ron Schilling, Bernard, Iowa; 65. Jim Klingel, Aurora; 66. Dominick Murmann, North Aurora; 67. Trevor Robinson, Rockton; 68. Brock Boss, Dixon; 69. Roger Ware, Elgin; 70. Kathryn Suyko, Romeoville; 71. Ryan Decker, Palatine; 72. Austin Runge, Lake Zurich; 73. Roger Markham, Virgil; 74. Ryan Lagestee, Dyer, Ind.; 75. Shane Bennett, Warren; 76. Reno Markham, Kirkland; 77. Ben McKown, Hobart, Ind.; 78. Tom Gergits, Downers Grove; 79. Mitch Maloney, Lake Zurich; 80. Chuck Popejoy, Sterling; 81. Steve Gardner, St.
Charles; 82. Carolyn Johnson, Poplar Grove; 83. John Arndt, St. Charles; 84. Kyle Wittmann, Des Plaines; 85. Tim Runge, Lake Zurich; 86. Ben Kamp, Oak Lawn; 87. Mike VanHowe, Crestwood; 88. Thomas Andrus, Rockford; 89.
Steve McBride, South Beloit; 90. Jeff Ogdon, Crete; 91. Harley Conkling, Rock Falls; 92. Randy Ellis, Jr, Belvidere; 93. Fred Wittmann Sr., Des Plaines; 94. Megan Decker, Palatine; 95. Bobby Freitag, Carlock; 96. Trevor Tichy, Oswego; 97. Paul Milbratz Jr, Wonder Lake; 98. Scott Hall, Sterling; 99. Marqus Hoover, Seneca; 100. Brad Bush, Highland, Ind.; 101. Troy Boss, Rock Falls; 102. Michael Gerike, Crown Point, Ind.; 103. Jason Dull, Machesney Park; 104. Jim Stone, Candlewick; 105. Dan Geraci, Wood Dale; 106. Dave Lembke, Waukesha, Wis; 107. Danny Allen, Elgin; 108. D.J. Markham, Marengo; 109. Tony Theobald, Elgin; 110. Timmy Brannam, Holiday Hills; 111. Tom Goedert, Machesney Park; 112. Blake Andrus, Rockford; 113. Tyler Andrus, Rockford; 114. Matt Jerry, Pingree Grove; 115. Tony Schnupp, Belvidere; 116. Harold Reiter, Waterman; 117. Josh Hornik, Janesville, Wis; 118. Jordan Jackowiak, Somonauk; 119. Greg DeStJean, Valparaiso, Ind.; 120. Stacey McElligott, Belvidere; 121. John Blair, Rockford; 122. Liam Wohlberg, Johnsburg; 123. Brandon Williams, St. Charles; 124. Stephen Hillary, Machesney Park; 125. Justin Pearson, Belvidere; 126. Jasmine Stephens, Chicago; 127. Jeff Hooker, Dekalb; 128. Jim Meyer, Woodstock; 129. Matthew Andrus, Rockford; 130. Rich Blakely, Huntley; 131. Melissa Carlson, Rockford; 132. Dennis Claus, Jr, Loves Park; 133. Jason Alderden, Dyer, Ind.; 134. George Sparkman, Loves Park; 135. Devon Dixon, Janesville, Wis; 136. Eddie Brown, Sandwich; 137. Scott Vetter, Union; 138. Josh Russell, Rockford; 139. Erik Gehrke, Grayslake; 140. Chuck Sottosanti, Elmhurst; 141. Charlie Frisch, Beloit, Wis; 142. Chad Scott, Rochelle; 143. Captain Jack;; 144. Butch Iverson, Oak Lawn; 145. Mike Lillie, Woodstock; 146. Mike Wienc, Westmont; 147. Tim Wienc, Westmont; 148. David Prince, Oregon; 149. Jeremy Colley, Aurora; 150. Mike Lindsay, Aurora; 151. Justin Colley, Aurora; 152. Brick Boss, Rock Falls.