Evan Shoko wins Berlin finale, Brian Campbell is champion

The final championship standings will not reflect it but Evan Shotko was the dominant driver of the 2023 Berlin Raceway season and cemented that status with a bookend victory on championship night at the Marne, Michigan bullring.

His sixth victory of the season came in 10 starts, out of a possible 11 races on the schedule, which wasn’t enough to overtake Brian Campbell and Andrew Scheid in the standings but everyone leaves Berlin this season knowing the 22S was the class of the division.

“For now,” Shotko said. “Someone will catch up to us. We’re on top for just a brief moment in history. We just have to keep working hard to stay here but there will come a day where someone will knock us off. The last two years have been a dream come true.”

Shotko took the lead from Boris Jurkovic on Lap 6 and never looked back.

“This car is absolutely amazing,” Shotko said. “I have a good group of people and sponsors behind me that make this possible. My business is working in race cars and I just feel very privileged to be in this position.”

With the missed races due to the business and other racing endeavors, Campbell was able to claim his third championship and second in three years over Scheid.

“This is a good one,” Campbell said. “We had good competition all year and ran some big races. We just had some good longevity in this car and this was our goal from the start of the season.

In all, he claimed the championship with a win and eight top 5s in 11 starts.

“We didn’t have the raw speed we usually have,” Campbell said. “Everyone wants to win and we certainly wanted to win more but we’ll take top 5s and the championship.

His first title came in 2011 followed by 2021 and 2023. Those are also the only seasons in recent history that he’s run for the championship at his home track as Campbell has recently focused on the CRA Super Series.

What changed?

“Berlin did,” Campbell said. “They have a heck of a thing going on here with the purses for this division and all the divisions, NASCAR points and it’s 15 minutes from home.”

Berlin Championship Night
September 9 2023

1. Evan Shotko
2. Dylan Stovall
3. Andrew Scheid
4. Brian Campbell
5. Joe Bush
6. Boris Jurkovic
7. Austin Hull
8. Lee VanDyk
9. Scott Thomas
10. Ken Womba
11. Brian Tillema
12. Haden Horvath
13. Seth Moody
14. Natha Koester

If you like what you read here, become a Short Track Scene Patreon and support short track journalism!

Read more Short Track Scene:

• Dale Jr. leads an All Star CARS Tour ownership group
• The difference between a Super Late and Late Model Stock
• New Era for Super Late Models Begins Now